Guest Post: Wheatgrass Juice Without A Juicer

I am so excited to have Jacqueline guest posting today. Jacqueline is one of my former students and through the wonders of social media, I have been fortunate enough to stay in contact with her. I have been thrilled to follow along as she has discovered more natural remedies and developed a passion for all that is healthy, holistic and good for the body, mind, soul and earth. She recently posted about making wheat grass juice without a juice. My head nearly exploded from the wisdom she dropped and I was super stoked to try!

I am a huge wheat grass juice fan and feel a wonderful energetic lift from a shot. A wheat grass shot has normally been an extravagant treat, when I was at a juice bar or natural foods market. Knowing I can have this delicious and healthy treat more accessibly has made me down right giddy. I will let Jacqueline take it from here and share how to easily make this shot of wellness, anytime of day.

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Greetings! I’d like to firstly thank Angie, for allowing me to be apart of her blog and share with you all something I am very passionate about. My name is Jacqueline and I love learning and practicing with herbs, oils and all remedies that come from our mother earth!

Nature has everything living beings need to be healthy! I have recently been learning about all the incredible benefits of wheatgrass and the purist form to ingest it. Making wheatgrass juice is the best way to receive all of the nutrients it has to offer. Before researching different methods for making it, I would drink it from local juice bars or just blend it up in my blender. With further research, I found out that blending strips away most of its benefits and juicing is good but most places cut the blades from its roots way before serving to their costumers. Since wheatgrass is alive it needs to be taken that way in order for you to get the complete benefits, drinking it as soon as possible after it has been cut from its roots is best. After twenty minutes its nutritional value begins to decrease.

Wheat grass is powerful! Here are some benefits…

• Wheatgrass juice contains up to 70% chlorophyll, which is an important blood builder.
• Science has proven that chlorophyll stops growth and development of bad bacteria.
• Chlorophyll is antibacterial and can be used inside and outside the body as a natural remedy.
• Chlorophyll improves blood sugar problems, helps purify the liver and neutralizes toxins.
• Compared to other fruits and vegetables, wheat grass juice is superior as a detoxification agent.
• 2 ounces of wheatgrass juice is nutritionally equivalent to almost 5 pounds of the best organic produce.
• Wheatgrass contains a full spectrum of essential vitamins and minerals

 The purest method to make wheatgrass is with a good ol’ fashion mortar and pestle! I made some the other night and it was really fun and came out absolutely delicious. I’d like to share with you all the steps to making this powerful immune booster! 🙂

 All you will need is a mortar and pestle, water, scissors or a knife, cheese cloth, a cup and living wheatgrass!

 First step, cut enough wheatgrass to fill the bottom of your mortar. In order to grind the blades evenly it’s best to do a little at a time. When finished with the first pour start over again with the same amount of wheatgrass and water.

In a circular motion, grind the blades until they form somewhat of a gunky, shredded paste. Next, add enough water to cover at least ¼ of your mortar. Continue grinding the wheatgrass in the water until they get very light in color and the water is green. Finally cover the top of your cup with a piece of cheese cloth and pour in the juice. When finished gather the ground up blades into the cloth and make it into a little sac to squeeze the rest of the juice. Add a little lemon if you wish and enjoy!!!

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I had to try this for myself, so I got out all my tools and got to grinding.
It was a little more muscle work than I anticipated, but that’s never a bad thing. I was psyched that it worked and I was able to have my very own wheat grass shot, prepared at home! It’s not wrong to serve up wheatgrass shots in my Vegan Beer Fest cup, is it?

Thank-you so much Jacqueline, for sharing the recipe!

5 Day Juice Cleanse: Day 1

Today is Day #1 of a 5 day juice cleanse.

I have done a 2 day juice cleanse, and a 3 day juice cleanse. This is my first 5 day juice cleanse.

I considered buying all the juices from The Living Root Cellar (the juicery formerly known as Real Raw Live), but in the interest of saving money, I decided to do the juicing myself. I will definitely still use The Living Root Cellar in the future, their juices are amazing and you cannot beat the convenience.

I am making 4 juices per day and 1 smoothie, for the evening.

I loaded up on supplies this weekend. I bought the bulk of the produce at Costco and a few more items from my local health food store. 

From Costco, I purchased:

• 21 English cucumbers
• 1 pineapple
• 20 lbs of carrots
• 7.5 lbs of celery
• 12 heads of romaine lettuce
• 6 bananas
• 5 lbs of frozen blueberries
• 12 green apples
• 2 lbs of dates

From the health food store, I purchased:

• 6 beets
• 2 pineapple
• 4 bunches of parsley
• ginger

The juices I have planned out are:

1. Kale, celery, cucumber, parsley, lemon and apple

2. Apple, cucumber, romaine lettuce, ginger and lemon

3. Carrot, apple, beet, lemon and ginger

4. Carrot, pineapple, lemon, ginger and orange

The smoothie we will have in the evening will contain:

• blueberries
• banana
• dates
• spirulina
• flax seed
• spinach
• water

I  am incredibly fortunate that my husband participates in the juice fasts with me. It would be more difficult doing it alone. We both prepped ingredients and juiced yesterday,  in preparation for today. We will be doing all the next day’s juicing one day in advance.

It took exactly one hour to prepare all the juices. This included the time it took to pick kale from the garden and lemons from our tree, cut and prep ingredients and clean up all the mess.

I am excited to embark on this endeavor and new challenge. I will check in every few days to share how it is going.

Have you ever done a juice cleanse?

3 Day Juice Cleanse: Day 3 (Real Raw Live)

I woke up on Day 3 feeling much more energized (thankfully) and ecstatic that this was this last day of the cleanse.

7:00-I actually drank the juices in the correct order, and I started with a Green Vibrancy (organic kale, celery, cucumber, parsley and lemon) as I blogged.

Pretty soon, it was time for me to head out to yoga, for class and teacher training. I felt fairly energetic through class, and I got to this place mentally where I was content with being hungry. I heard my stomach growl a few times during class, and I felt strangely peaceful enough with that. I simply observed what I was feeling and did not dwell on it too much.

10:30-As soon as class was over, I started sipping my Liquid Lunchbox (organic carrot, green apple, beet, kale, lemon and ginger). This helped me not feel as hungry and I was able to focus on teacher training. As time went on, I started feeling my energy drop more and more. I felt like I was fading away. I kept chugging water to help revitalize me, but I stayed pretty lethargic.

12:30-I drank my second Green Vibrancy (organic kale, celery, cucumber, parsley and lemon) (no picture take, oops!). This helped with feelings of hunger, but did nothing for my energy level, which was at a record low. For the remaining of the afternoon, I felt like I could barely keep my eyes open or move.

I know this is going to sound stupid, but yoga teacher training requires you to do a ton of yoga! Shocking, right?! By Sunday afternoons, everyone in class is a little tired from having done 3 days in a row of hours of classes, pose break downs, adjustments, etc. We were all feeling a bit drained, but I am sure my particular feelings of dying can be attributed to the cleanse.

3:30-When teacher training was finished, I slowly walked to my car and snapped this picture. I felt as pathetic as I look. After this was taken, I sipped down the Mental Bee Sting (organic carrot, pineapple, lime and ginger).

 Once I was home, I wanted to collapse on the couch. However, I wanted to keep myself busy so I did not obsess over food, or go to sleep too soon and reck my night’s sleep. I ended up going thrift store shopping and found some new yoga tanks, then I took my dogs for a walk.

6:00-I drank down the Fat Burning Blueberryade (Secret recipe of organic anti-oxidant powder, organic whole lime and filtered water). This hardly helped my hunger or fatigue.

8:00-I was so happy that this was the last drink of the cleanse. I was really looking forward to going to sleep, because I wanted the day to be over, so I could live in a world again with solid food. I drank the Berry Grounding smoothie (sprouted organic buckwheat, mixed berries, organic banana, organic spirulina, blended with organic date water and ice) while settling in to read.

 I was asleep a little after 9:00. I felt completely spent, but proud that I had actually stuck it out!

Post Cleanse Thoughts:

The next morning I woke up surprised that I had survived! This is all very dramatic, but I never thought I would be able to stick to a 3 day juice cleanse. I was pretty proud of myself.

I woke up with a great surge of energy. Each night on the cleanse, my sleep improved more and more. I slept much more soundly and without waking through the night, which will happen on and off.

The most immediate change I noticed was with my skin. It looked more hydrated and healthy. My skin does not lie and will tell me if I am too dehydrated or eating poorly. It had a nice, healthy glow.

I also noticed my digestion was much better after the cleanse. I felt like I had rid myself of a lot of junk, and as I slowly filled myself back up with clean, healthy food, I was digesting it faster and easier.

I did not do this cleanse to lose weight, but I did lose 2 pounds in those 3 days, which I am sure was mostly water weight. However, I did feel that this was a great kick off to the Crazy Sexy Diet, which I started again on August 2nd, and will be completing till August 23rd.

A quick tip if you do a juice cleanse; stay away from Instagram, blogs, etc. that show food. I follow a few of my favorite vegans, and I was salivating over some of their yummy posts. It only made me more grouchy about what I was missing.

From this cleanse, I realized that most of my hunger is psychological. I often think I am hungry because it is a certain time of day or because a smell or sight prompts me to think of food. I only felt true hunger, on the last day of the cleanse, and it was pretty mild. I was never seriously malnourished by any means, despite what my dramatic mind may have conjured.

Thoughts of Real Raw Live:

I was very pleased with the quality and taste of juices. I found them all to be fresh, vibrant and delicious. I like the earthy, healthy flavor of green juice, so each drink was welcomed and enjoyed.

Their juice cleanse packages are extremely convenient. I did not have do anything, except pick them up. I did not have to clean my juicer or think about what to add to it. It is a high price to pay, however, I felt that it was reasonable, especially for the quality and convenience of what you get.

I will definitely visit there more to try every smoothie and juice on the menu, and maybe if I get really brave, I will try the 5 day cleanse.

I hope this gave you a good overview of what a 3 day juice cleanse entails. I am happy to answer any questions if you felt I left anything out, or if there is something more specific, you would like to know.

3 Day Juice Cleanse-Day 1 (Real Raw Live)

I gathered my courage and decided to try a 3 day juice cleanse to kick off this round of the Crazy Sexy Diet. I went the lazy, and oh so convenient route, and ordered a 3 day juice cleanse series from my local raw juice bar, Real Raw Live.

This is a fairly new establishment, but I have been nothing but impressed with their selection of fresh juices and smoothies.

According to the brochure description, the 3 day cleanse comes with; 2 Organic Greens, 2 Organic Roots, 1 Organic Fat Burning Lemonade or Blueberryade and 1 Organic Raw Smoothie. You pick up your set of juices fresh each morning and are set for the day.

I picked up my juices first thing Friday morning. Real Raw Live opens at 6 AM during the week (and 8 AM on Saturdays, which I learned the hard way).

The juices were ready for me when I arrived, only the smoothie had to be blended.

The juices have numbers on top of them, and are supposed to be drunk in a certain order. As you can see from below, I had 3 #3s the first day and was confused by this, so I just drank them in the order I chose.

8:30 AM-I started with the Fat Burning Blueberryade (Secret recipe of organic anti-oxidant powder, organic whole lime and filtered water). This tasted like water with a hint of blueberry, very fresh and energizing.

11:30-This was my first day back at work after my summer break. After a few morning meetings, I braved the task of organizing my desk and chugged down the Forever Green (organic kale, celery, green apple, cilantro, lemon). I was pretty hungry by this point, and it was satisfying, for the time being.

 3:30-When I got home from work I was pretty famished. This was one of the hardest parts of the day, because my routine is to have something to eat when I get home, or start dinner. I started folding laundry instead and sipped the Mental Bee Sting (organic carrot, pineapple, lime and ginger). I felt pretty wiped out at this point. My energy was pretty low and all I wanted was a sandwich and a nap. However, I had yoga class and teacher training from 5:00-9:30, so I had to muster the energy to be on my way. My energy was low at the beginning of my hot vinyasa flow class, the studio felt particularly hot and I felt a little light headed at one point in class. I am not sure if this was from being tired, hot or detoxing. It was nothing too bad though, and I finished class strong.

 6:30-As soon as class was over, I gulped down my smoothie. I saved this especially for after class, I thought I may want something more hearty after exerting more energy. This was the Berry Grounding smoothie (sprouted organic buckwheat, mixed berries, organic banana, organic spirulina, blended with organic date water and ice.) It was delicious and refreshing! I will definitely order this again. It helped rejuvenate me after class.

 9:30-After teacher training, I drank Liquid Lunch Box on my way home (organic carrot, green apple, beet, kale, lemon and ginger). This was another favorite! I always love beet added to juices and smoothies, plus the lemon and ginger added a spicy kick.

I mistakenly thought this was my last one of the day, but I was happy to find out I had one more waiting. I chugged down another Forever Green (organic kale, celery, green apple, cilantro, lemon) once I was home. This was green and earthy tasting, I loved it!

Final thoughts on Day 1: I liked this better than the 2 day juice cleanse I had done, I did previously. The obvious reason being, I did not have to juice myself or have any mess to clean up. The other reason being I felt like I had more juice and was drinking them intermittently throughout the day. I did not go hungry very long, because there was enough juice to last me through the day. My energy was pretty low towards the end of the day, but not too bad. At this point, I felt I could pretty easily do 2 more days of this….

Check back for Day 2 & 3 recaps

2 Day Juice Cleanse

Last weekend, I completed a 2 day juice cleanse.

I have never done anything like this before. I know there are strong opinions on both sides about cleanses and fasts, and although I am not sure if I could ever do something for an extended period of time, I wanted to try something for a short period of time. For virtually the whole month of June, I have been celebrating summer. Vacations, day trips and basking in the amazingness of not having to work have taken their toll, too many drinks and too much delicious food have not made my digestive system happy and I wanted to give it a bit of a break, plus a boost of alkalizing goodness.

I did a modified version of Dr. Oz’ 3 Day Juice Cleanse.

via

Actually, 2 weeks ago, I first tried it for one day, to see if I could handle it (I was pretty apprehensive). I loved it so much that I went for 2 days this time and I may brave the 3 days next week, when I am back from Portland.

I started off in the morning with the apple carrot ginger juice (all ingredients shown made enough for 2 people).

This is one of my favorites, I love the kick that the ginger adds in.

When I started to feel hungry in the afternoon, I drank my second juice. I tried to let my  hunger guide when I drank my juices, as opposed to a certain time of day.

The second juice had contained: 1 bunch of kale, 1 bunch of celery, 1 lemon peeled, 2 cucumbers, 1/2 bunch of parsley, 4 apples, 1 piece of ginger.

This one was very refreshing and green tasting! Juices are pretty easy to take on the go with you, as I did with this one, while reading in the park.

The last juice of the day contained: 1 bunch of swiss chard, 6 oranges peeled, 2 cucumbers,  1 bunch of kale, 1 bunch of celery. This one had a nice citrus taste, because of all the yummy oranges. I drank this one down immediately after leaving my yoga studio.

In between juices, I also drank ginger or mint tea and coconut water.

I did not feel true hunger, until the end of the last day. This really surprised me, I thought I would be starving without solid foods. I also thought I would be weak and sluggish, when the opposite turned out to be true. I felt more energetic and lively, even during HOT (So Cal is having a crazy heat wave right now!) yoga classes, I never felt light headed or nauseous like I normally do when it is too hot.

This was a very eye opening experience for me. I discovered:

• My “hunger” is mostly psychological. I see food and think that I am hungry and have to eat.
• I ate waaaaay more than I need to. I was able to sustain just fine on 3 juices/day. Although I know this is not adequate on a long-term basis, it showed me that I eat way more than necessary to sustain my active lifestyle.
• Yoga was much easier.  I thought I would lack energy or feel light headed, but I actually felt my focus sharpen, I was able to get into the class faster and was more focused on my breathe. I have a confession: I normally think about food for the majority of time during yoga classes, or throughout runs. Some of my most creative recipes have come from these times, but it just shows how focused my mind is on food!
• My skin looked better, by the end of the 2nd day. I can always tell what is going on with me, by my face. If I have been eating poorly, my skin looks dehydrated and sallow. In just 2 days, I looked much more hydrated and vibrant.

I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed this cleanse. I did not think I would do well without eating any solid food, and I was surprised how satiated I felt, with juice alone. I think I may try to go for the 3 days next time.

Have you ever done a juice cleanse, or any other type of cleanse? What did you think about it?

CSD: Day 17

Yesterday was another huge prep day. I tried out 3 new recipes this week and will be sharing them here in the next few days.

I was fortunate enough to have the day off, so I was able to take a yoga class during the day. It was a treat to spend 90 minutes in the hot studio, connecting my breath with my movements.

After a quick Trader Joe’s trip, I was famished and made up some quick sandwiches. These had: veganaise, dijon mustard, savory tofu, spinach, tomatoes and avocado.

Desert was an orange and a few dried figs

I then started my prep for the week. As mentioned before, I tried 3 new recipes. New recipes always take longer for me to cook, as I keep having to go back to read directions and ingredient lists. The one for sure thing I know I made was a mess.

I did some juicing for the next few days. In the first batch; 4 apples, 4 beets, 1 bunch of carrots and ginger.

The next batch contained; 4 peeled oranges, 2 cucumbers, 1 batch of celery, ginger and spinach.

Dinner was my first homemade attempt at vegan pad thai. I have tried this once or twice before, and have yet to master restaurant quality pad thai. This was my best batch yet, but I still was not thrilled with the sauce. I wish it had been more flavorful. I did love the way the tofu came out, though. I cooked it in peanut oil, which gave it a nice, nutty flavor. The recipe I used is here.

I am spending the rest of my evening at my local coffee shop Augie’s, catching up on my Google reader, with a hot drink and listening to live jazz!