Today's Breakfast

Today's breakfast: steel cut oats (simmered on the stovetop for about 35-40 minutes), fresh berries from the Farmer's Market, cinnamon, a tiny squirt of agave nectar and shredded coconut.  This is so seriously delicious it should be labeled dessert!

Want to try this at home?  I suggest using a crockpot (slow cooker) for a gentle overnight way of cooking this delicious grain.  Throw in steel cut oats + 4 times the amount of water as oats into a greased crockpot, add some cinnamon sticks and put on low for 8 hours overnight.  Add the toppings in the morning (raisins, berries, almonds, walnuts, ground flax, sweetener, etc).

OK, gotta go finish my breakfast!

What else can I juice??

I bought a juicer!  Well, actually I used gift cards from our wedding last year at Williams Sonoma to buy a juicer, but the point is, I have one!  I got the Breville Juice Fountain Elite.  WS doesn't really have a huge selection of juicers to choose from, in fact, they have two (same brand, different price and intensity), so my decision wasn't really that hard.  

I am a big fan of periodic cleansing and detoxifying (as you may know from my 21-Day Detoxification Program) but I have never done my own juicing as part of the program.  In the past, I rarely incorporated juices because by the time you purchase store-bought juices, they are pretty much just colored sugar water with some minerals.  They are devoid of most of the nutritive qualities inherent to freshly squeezed juices; enzymes, vitamins, and antioxidants.  I also wasn't prepared to fork over a couple hundred dollars for a juicer.  Luck struck the other day though when I found the gift cards!!  

This juicer is perhaps not the MOST amazing juicer in the world...I've read that the masticating juicers are sometimes better than the centrifugal ones (like the Breville one I have now), and if Santa Clause were to bring me a wish-list culinary tool it would definitely be the VitaMix (I hope Santa has deep pockets!).  But for now, this Breville juicer is putting a smile on my face and jump in my step.  I feel amazing after drinking the juices!  Here is what I juiced today:

Carrots, Celery, Mustard Greens, and a Plum

And the best part?  The only prep work for the produce is washing, trimming icky parts and taking the stone out of the plum.  Easy Peasy!

Taste Test: Good, but pretty bitter...squeezed half a lemon in to make it a little better.  

Nutrition Notes:  High in potassium and other minerals, beta carotene, low in sugar, and really good for the digestive system and the liver.  

Will it go on my favorites list?  Probably not as is, the mustard greens were really bitter!  My favorites so far have been:

1. Beets, carrots, and an apple
2. Celery, carrots, and beets
3. Ginger, carrots, and an apple (I went crazy with the ginger, careful, a little goes a long way!)

I think with the dark green leafy veggies you need to juice an apple or pear to offset the bitterness.  Either way, I still drink my concoctions for good health.  The beet makes it so vibrantly colored you just want to put it in your body...

Quick notes on juicing:

• DO try this at home if you have a juicer, but limit your consumption of juice to 8oz daily as some juices have a really high sugar content (like apple, pear, and carrot).  
• Some juices are best consumed about 10-20 minutes before a meal to "jump start" your digestive juices.  This includes lemon, ginger and bitter greens.  You can really feel it working!
• Store-bought, pasteurized juices are not the same as fresh, non-pasteurized juices! Pasteurization kills all the good enzymes that help you absorb and digest all the good nutrients in fresh squeezed juice.  Also, many of the vitamins and antioxidants are sensitive to air and light as well, so you may think you're getting lots of nutrition that was present when the food was freshly juiced, but over time the nutrient value is lost.
• Due to my last comment, fresh juices should be consumed immediately for optimal nutrition.
• Juicing can be healthy and used when fasting, but make sure you consult with a nutritionist (like myself) or your physician to outline a healthy approach to fasting. Fasting is not right for everyone!
• Just about anything can be juiced!

I seem to be a little obsessed with juicing at the moment...my husband and I bought 2 full large totes of produce at the Walnut Creek Farmer's Market on Sunday morning, and it is almost all gone already!  I walk around the house asking him if he wants to try my new concoction (he's a good sport) and "what else can I juice??"

Loco for Coco

I was always a little leery of drinking out of a coconut (it just seemed...odd), but I have fallen in love with coconut water! Cold coconut water on a hot day (like the sweltering humidity and scorching sun of Mexico) is unbelievable! Not only does it taste exquisite and refresh you, it is a healthy choice. Coconut water is an isotonic solution which replaces the fluids and minerals that the body loses during physical activities or sweating. Coconut water contains more potassium (at about 294 mg) than most sports drinks (117 mg) and most energy drinks and coconut water has 5mg of natural sugars where sports and energy drinks range from 10-25mg of altered sugars.

Looking for an alternative to Gatorade? Try coconut water. The greener the coconut, the more coconut water inside. As the coconuts age, the water and meal turn to coconut milk, also a healthy choice but much more dense and calorie rich.

Coconut is also great for boosting energy, an antimicrobial agent, and good for the immune system.

the GNH indicator

In the land of Bhutan, a small country nestled in the Himalayas, progress is measured by the GNH, or "Gross National Happiness". As a result of this more humane style of governance, Bhutan has developed high environmental protection standards (the use of plastic bags, for example, is completely banned) and a peaceful and harmonious society that actively protects its rich culture and profound Buddhist traditions.

When is the last time I measured MY progress by my happiness? I think I will incorporate the LDH indicator, or Leah's Daily Happiness. It is time to throw away judgments based on financial gain, celebrity status, or career achievements. This past week in Mexico, I scored a 10+ on the LDH indicator scale when I took the time to step away from the craziness, breathe and relax. I wish you all the same.