more recipies to look up on for juicing--

Here are a few more recipies for juicing that I would want to try. Cant wait to get started and finally have more energy.

"sweet potatoe, apple and carrot juice with nutmeg and cinnamon"
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Green Grape & Pear Juice
1 cup of green grapes
1 pear
1 lime
2 cucumbers

Directions:
Wash all produce well
Peel the lime (optional)
Juice
Pour over ice
Enjoy!

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Ingredients:
3 small celery roots, ~1 cup chopped (also called celeriac)
1 1/2 bosc pears
Directions
Wash produce well, especially root. Cut ends off root.
Cut pear around core to fit into chute.
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4 cups butternut squash
1 large organic honeycrisp apple
dash cinnamon
Directions:
Wash apple and squash well
Peel squash and cut into chunks
Cut apple to fit into chute of juicer
Juice
Pour over ice
Sprinkle cinnamon on top of juice
Bon Apetit!
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 2 Broccoli stalks
1/2 head or 2 wedges green cabbage
2 cups or 6-8 leaves of kale
1 organic granny smith apple
1/4 lemon (peeled)
1” ginger root
Directions:
Wash all produce well.
Cut to fit into chute of juicer.
Juice kale first or between the apple and broccoli stalks to help pull more juice out of the softer greens.
Juice, pour over ice and enjoy.
*you can also include the broccoli florets in your juice or save those for a salad or another juice.

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Ingredients:
3 organic carrots
2 organic apples
1 small piece of ginger (about 1”)
Directions:
Wash produce well.
Run through juicer.
Pour (over ice as desired) and enjoy!

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Ingredients
6-8 leaves kale
6-8 leaves swiss chard
1 cucumber
6 clementines
Juice and enjoy over ice!
Here are a few ideas on how to customize this juice:

• substitute any greens, like spinach, as desired
• use 2-3 oranges in place of clementines
• keep the stalks on the greens for more juice yield

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If you’re seeking a wider variety of greens to juice, look no further! Dandelion Greens are in season and can be found at many local farmer’s markets or in your CSA/Farm Share box. A good source of calcium at 100 mg per cup dandelion greens are also rich in carotenes including lutein which has been shown to help preserve eyesight with age and promote healthy looking skin. Dandelion greens also boast natural electrolytes potassium, sodium and magnesium. If you can’t find these gems at a local market substitute with another leafy green like spinach, swiss chard, mustard or collard greens.
*Warning — dandelion greens lend a bitter and grassy flavor. Use less of these or more fruit and lemon if you aren’t a fan of this flavor profile.
Ingredients:
2 medium summer squash
6-8 leaves of kale with stems
4 leaves dandelion greens
4 small organic peaches
1 organic apple
1/2 lemon
Directions: Juice, pour over ice then squeeze in lemon and enjoy!

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2 broccoli stalks
2 organic white peaches
1 organic fuji apple
Wash everything well. Remove pit from peaches.
Juice and enjoy over ice.


http://jointhereboot.com/reboot-program/recipes/juice-recipes/

Starting to think about something--

I know I created this blog to be about homes, but I want to talk about juicing. Why? Because I can. I want to start juicing, but I do not want to start another blog for it, so I will record, for myself, on this blog. I want to start a juice fast because I think it seems healthy enough, with 80% vegetables and 20% fruits in the juices that I will be making. I am starting to get disgusted looking in the mirror, and that is not what I want to be. I want to be even more grateful to God for the life that I have, and be able to live it to the fullest and enjoy it as much as I can. I want to scuba dive, hot air-balloon, sky dive and do many more things that are only possible if I lose weight. I will look up more things and record them here for further reference.

"
Stage 1 (Day 1 To Day 2) --
On the first day of fasting, the blood sugar level drops below 70 mg/dl. To restore the blood to the normal glucose level, liver glycogen is converted to glucose and released into the blood. This reserve is enough for half a day. The body then reduces the basal metabolic rate (BMR). The rate of internal chemical activity in resting tissue is lowered to conserve energy. The heart slows and blood pressure is reduced. Glycogen is pulled from the muscle causing some weakness. The first wave of cleansing is usually the worst.
Headaches, dizziness, nausea, bad breath, glazed eyes and a heavily coated tongue are signs of the first stage of cleansing. Hunger can be the most intense in this period unless the enema is used which quickly assists the body into the fasting state by ending digestion in the colon.


Stage 2 (Day 3 To Day 7) --
Fats, composed of transformed fatty acids, are broken down to release glycerol from the gliceride molecules and are converted to glucose. The skin may become oily as rancid oils are purged from the body. People with problem-free skin may have a few days of pimples or even a boil. A pallid complexion is also a sign of waste in the blood. Ketones are formed by the incomplete oxidation of fats. It is suspected that the ketones in the blood suppress the appetite by affecting the food-satiety center in the hypothalamus. You may feel hungry for the first few days of the fast. This effect is temporary. The desire to eat will disappear. Lack of hunger may last 40 to 60 days, depending on whether you are on water or juice.
The body embraces the fast and the digestive system is able to take a much-needed rest, focusing all of its energies on cleansing and healing. White blood cell and immune system activity increases. You may feel pain in your lungs. The cleansing organs and the lungs are in the process of being repaired. Periodically, the lymphatic system expels mucoid matter through the nose or throat. The volume excreted of this yellow-colored mucus can be shocking. The sinuses go through periods of being clogged, then will totally clear. The breath is still foul and the tongue coated. Within the intestine, the colon is being repaired and impacted feces on the intestinal wall start to loosen.


Stage 3 (Day 8 to Day 15) --
On the latter part of an extended fast, you can experience enhanced energy, clear-mindedness and feel better than you have felt since childhood. On the downside, old injuries may become irritated and painful. This is a result of the body’s increased ability to heal during fasting. If you had broken your arm 10 years before, there is scar tissue around the break. At the time of the break, the body’s ability to heal was directly related to lifestyle. If you lived on a junk-food diet, the body’s natural healing ability was compromised.
During fasting, the body’s healing process is at optimum efficiency. As the body scours for dead or damaged tissue, the lymphocytes enter the older, damaged tissue secreting substances to dissolve the damaged cells. These substances irritate the nerves in the surrounding region and cause a reoccurrence of aches from previously injured areas that may have disappeared years earlier. The pain is good as the body is completing the healing process. The muscles may become tight and sore due to toxin irritation. The legs can be the worst affected, as toxins accumulate in the legs. Cankers are common in this stage due to the excessive bacteria in the mouth. Daily gargling with salt and water will prevent or heal cankers.


Stage 4 (Day 16 to Day 30) --
The body is completely adapted to the fasting process. There is more energy and clarity of mind. Cleansing periods can be short with many days of feeling good in between. There are days when the tongue is pink and the breath is fresh. The healing work of the organs is being completed. After the detoxification mechanisms have removed the causative agent or render it harmless, the body works at maximum capacity in tissue proliferation to replace damaged tissue. While a short fast will reduce the symptoms, a longer fast can completely heal. Homeostatic balance is at optimum levels. The lymphatic system is clean except for a rare discharge of mucus through the nose or throat. After day 20, the mind is affected. Heightened clarity and emotional balance are felt at this time. Memory and concentration improve.


Stage 5 (Breaking the Fast) --
The sticky, toxic, mucoid coating on the intestinal wall is loose, and the first meal frees it from the intestinal wall. Toxins enter the blood through the colon. The gallbladder dumps its waste in a heavy discharge of bile. This can cause an instant bowel movement upon eating followed by intense diarrhea. If the symptoms are too uncomfortable, an enema will help.
 "

Kale juice is good for you, and there are plenty of easy kale juice recipes to try. I juice kale because our family cannot always eat as much kale as we are supposed to. We discovered that raw kale juice was a wonderful alternative to taking vitamins and supplements and eating bunches of raw kale. It allows us to get whole food nutrition fast.


Why juice kale?
Of all green leafy vegetables, kale is the most nutritionally dense. Why is it important? Because we suffer from lack of nutrients in our food. Most of us don’t have a balanced anti-inflammatory and immune system boosting diet. So we get sick often, gain weight and fall prey to systemic diseases...
Our food is also less nutritious than ever because it is grown in deficient soil, stored for a long time, and transported across the globe. So making kale juice from local kale ( or better from your own - read my thoughts on Growing Kale!) is one giant step in improving your diet.
Because even if you cook everything at home, chances are your diet is deficient in those vitamins and minerals that green leafy vegetables provide. In fact, when I entered all my meals consumed in one day into the special program and calculated nutritional content, even my supposedly balanced diet came out deficient. And I am not alone. Many people lack those vitamins that come from green leafy vegetables because that’s the food they eat the least.
Kale juice benefits

• Besides strong anti-inflammatory effects that help your joints, kale juice works to strengthen your nails and bones. As an experiment, I was drinking kale juice for 40 days, and my brittle nails with white spots grew strong and healthy. No nail care products could produce the same effect so far. (I used kale juice recipe listed below)
• Kale juice helps to detox your body and boost your immune system.
• It aids in cancer protection
• Kale juice protects your skin and eyesight.
• It helps to lose weight 

Here is my own summary of top health benefits of kale for you. As kale is juiced with other veggies, the benefits of kale juice just get better and bigger.
Do you feel like a glass of kale juice right now? Let’s start.
How to juice with kale?
Some tips to make kale juice enjoyable for you:

• First of all, mix kale juice with juice of carrots and other fruit and veggies. You don’t have to drink 100% kale juice. In fact, it can be too much of a good thing. If you are not used to it, start with smaller amount.
• If you are taking blood thinners, beware that your medication may need to be adjusted. Kale contains so much Vitamin K that it can change blood viscosity. This should not stop you from drinking kale juice, you just need to drink the same amount every day and ask your health care provider to adjust medication. This was a priceless advice that I have received from an experienced Toronto Western Hospital nurse whose duty is to monitor blood and diet of outpatients who are on blood thinners. The amount of blood thinners may double for people eating plant-based diet, but it shouldn't deter us from doing it!
• Depending on your juicer, juicing kale may be a challenge. I bought a juicer that is meant to juice greens like kale. After long research I chose an excellent juicer, Omega 8006, that juices kale without hesitation.
• If your juicer doesn’t juice kale well, mix it together with hard veggies like carrots. You will need to alternate carrots, greens, and apples, for example.
• Use hard apples for juicing
• Use the pulp that comes out of juicer for baking and making bouillon. Carrot pulp and kale leaves (without stems) are excellent in muffins!

Simple and Tasty Kale Juice Recipe
Ingredients:

• 3 medium carrots
• 1 medium to big apple
• 2 stalks celery
• 3 cups of kale.. I use about 5 big leaves; I juice stems, too.

Directions

1. Wash apples, carrots and kale.
2. Cut carrots lengthwise to fit into your juicer
3. Cut apples to fit into the juicer. You can use apple heart as well.
4. Alternate pieces of kale, apple, and carrot.
5. Separate carrot pulp and put it into the zip lock bag to use in baking.
6. Freeze kale pulp for homemade bouillon.

This amount produces four portions. You can store kale juice in tightly closed jar for one day.
Tip: If you take omega-3 supplements, whether fish oil or vegetarian, take them with your kale juice. This will help Vitamin A to absorb much better as it is oil-soluble.



 ---------- 7 Reasons Kale Is the New Beef ----------


Like the saying goes, the only constant is change. We may resist it all we want, but Time and its inevitable evolution of everything in its path is unaffected by our attempts to stop it. The resulting trajectory of humanity's nascent ascent appears to be positioning itself to sweep us into progressive new times, especially where our food choices are concerned, as nearly 7 billion people are now standing on the little scraps of land that we share with some 55 billion rather large animals raised for food each year. (As another famous saying goes: This town ain't big enough for the both of us.) So, beef (and all factory-farmed meat) may be going from rib-eye to relic as we transition to a greener world… literally—as in leafy, green vegetables.
Environmentalists cite meat production as one of the biggest contributors to global warming, and the USDA's new food pyramid (MyPlate) suggests the healthiest choice is making vegetables and fruit the biggest part of every meal by reducing consumption of animal proteins. Kale is far more nutritious than other leafy greens, but these seven reasons why it is such an important futurefood may just surprise you.


1. Anti-inflammatory:

 Inflammation is the number one cause of arthritis, heart disease and a number of autoimmune diseases, and is triggered by the consumption of animal products. Kale is an incredibly effective anti-inflammatory food, potentially preventing and even reversing these illnesses.


2. Iron:

Despite the myth that vegetarians are anemic, the number of non-vegetarians with iron-deficiencies is on the rise. Per calorie, kale has more iron than beef.


3. Calcium:

Dairy and beef both contain calcium, but the U.S. still has some of the highest rates of bone loss and osteoporosis in the world. Kale contains more calcium per calorie than milk (90 grams per serving) and is also better absorbed by the body than dairy.


4. Fiber:

Like protein, fiber is a macronutrient, which means we need it every day. But many Americans don't eat nearly enough and the deficiency is linked to heart disease, digestive disorders and cancer. Protein-rich foods, like meat, contain little to no fiber. One serving of kale not only contains 5 percent of the recommended daily intake of fiber, but it also provides 2 grams of protein.



5. Omega fatty acids:

  Essential Omega fats play an important role in our health, unlike the saturated fats in meat. A serving of kale contains 121 mg of omega-3 fatty acids and 92.4 mg of omega-6 fatty acids.


6. Immunity:

Superbugs and bacteria are a serious risk to our health. Many of these come as a result of factory farm meat, eggs and dairy products. Kale is an incredibly rich source of immune-boosting carotenoid and flavanoid antioxidants including vitamins A and C.



7. Sustainable:

Kale grows to maturity in 55 to 60 days versus a cow raised for beef for an average of 18-24 months. Kale can grow in most climates and is relatively easy and low impact to grow at home or on a farm. To raise one pound of beef requires 16 pounds of grain, 11 times as much fossil fuel and more than 2,400 gallons of water.

Happy Christmas Eve :)

I just wanted to pop in and say my top things that I think anyone would want to have for Christmas, or really, any time of the year. I think its important to remember that there are birthdays, anniversaries, things happening all the time, so I don't want this to be too "timed" in a sense that the next day everything would be 50% off in a store. These things will be loved all year long, not just for a month.

I am loving trays right now--they can handle anything.

They can be to hold remotes, hair brushes and ties, or to keep all the perfume from taking over your whole dresser (as is the case in my room). I love this white one from Pier One. I love this place so much, I want to buy every other thing I see in there!

This wooden tray pic is from the blog "honewerehome". I love how everything is organized looking; this is definitely the way I clean and organize...so that everything I use is right in front of me and I have easy access to it---otherwise what's the point of having it if we are not going to use it, right?

I also love lanterns, I think that they are just so fun and pretty and add the right amount of whimsy to indoors or to outdoors. These black ones have got me smitten, and I had to break down and buy it from ZGallerie. I hope there are more coming in my future! ;)

 Can you see now why I'm so crazy about them?! AUGH. LOVE.

I think that cake stands (see previous post) are also a classic item that people are once again rediscovering. They are coming up everywhere, but I love when something can have multiple uses.

I'm loving this one by The Decorista (thedecorista.com) that has perfumes all on top..so cute. I love to display my jewelry, perfume, makeup, makeup brushes....yes, my husband has to put up with a LOT. :) But I love to see such fun and girly things all the time, especially since I believe we as woman take a lot of thought into purchasing something (I know I do!) unlike men who can just like something and get it right away. So I like to display the "winners", the ones that got to go home with me :)

All of these pictures are off of my pinterest page, (Which I LOVE). My page is http://pinterest.com/mariaaimen23/ come and check it out sometime :) If you have never been on pinterest before, be prepared to lose a few a hours of your life...just a warning :)

The millionth DIY cake stand

Hey guys and girls, I thought I would go ahead and post about the original, great, new idea of a cake stand (not). I know this idea has been done a million and one times, but I loved it and so I made one too. My pictures for this project have been in my camera for a long time because I do not want to be one of those bloggers who just repeats every darn thing that they see, but I have convinced myself that there will be times that I have an amazing idea, and sometimes where I will borrow another persons amazing idea. So. That's my story and I'm sticking with it!


I started out with one plate that I got at the dollar store:

I LOVED the detailing where the little bumps (such a scientific term, am I right?) were bordering all around the plate. I wanted to find more like that, but did not know where to turn. Luckily, the same day I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and found another plate I also really liked (I love white on white) and was ready to go home and get my plate cake stand started.

That's right you  guys...a whopping .48 from BB&B, I wish there were more, I would have bought all of them! I just got a candle stick from my stash (what? You don't have a candle and  candle stick stash?). For some reason I think that the stores will stop selling what I like and start selling weird stuff that I don't like, so I like to stock up on things that I do like. Hopefully that makes sense. And it makes sense that I have mulitiples of the same makeup items too, right? Because they always get discontinued after I already fall in love with them.

SO. This is instant love when combined with this. And you get this:

I LOVED this project and loved that it only took me a dayish to make ;) Added plus: the pink rose petals. Yes, they are real. I loved this stand so much that I defaced pretty real flowers. That is love, my friends.

Hello, Lover

Hi Guys. My name is Maria, I have decided to start a blog after reading blogs for a couple of years. I started to fall in love with them a couple of years ago, and am finally now deciding that it is time for me start one of my own. Why now, you ask? Well, because before I would always question myself and say that writing a blog would take too much of my time, and I would be making too much of a commitment (I don't have commitment issues, I assure you), but I have decided that there are just way too many design blogs out there that really do not have a purpose, and aren't really teaching you anything and that if I know how to do something, I want to share it. I hope that you all will enjoy my blog, and take the time to read it. I hope to write about designs that I'm crushing on, how-to's (because everyone loves a good how-to), things that I like at the moment, and maybe even make a few blogger-friends along the way.