I used to eat salads. Now I drink them.
Instead of eating raw vegetables, I plop a basketful into a juicer and turn them into a cup of greenish sludge.
It’s actually tasty. And healthier: higher concentration of nutrients and enzymes.
I use a modified recipe from Joe Cross’s excellent film: “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”—which calls for kale, celery, cucumber, green apples, lemon, and ginger. I juice two additional ingredients:
1. Carrots—for taste and Vitamin A — did you ever see Bugs Bunny wearing glasses?
2. Rainbow Chard—for taste and artistic vale — have you seen how pretty it is?
Rainbow chard colors: deep rosy red, tangerine orange, lemon yellow, and my favorite — FUCHSIA.
The benefits of juicing are huge: promotes weight loss; optimizes the immune system; lowers blood sugar levels; improves cognitive function; decreases inflammation, and more!
Physician/nutritional researcher/best-selling author Dr. Joel Furhman says the best predictor of health is how nutrient dense the food is that you eat. His formula: Health = Nutrients/Calories. Dr. Fuhrman coined the term “Nutritarian”—meaning a person with a micronutrient-rich diet lifestyle.
He also created a chart showing the nutritional density of foods based on a scale of 1000. At the top at 1000 (which mean 100% nutrient dense) are kale ale and greens (collard and mustard). Bok choy is second at 824. Spinach ranks third at 739. Next is chard (730)– right ahead of broccoli (715).
Chard, a member of the beet family, tastes sweet and earthy—better than kale, a member of the cruciferous family, which tastes bitter—like a batch of spring mix—or lawn cuttings.
But chard has something kale does not: betalin—a phytonutrient that gives chard its colorful pigments and provides anti-inflammatory and detoxing properties for the body.
Chard also makes a great fashion accessory. 😉 Look how well it matches handbags:
Leather tote bag by Icon Shoe Company (located in the Los Angeles area) printed with a painting of dogs at a luau (how fun is that?) by the contemporary French artist Guy Buffet.
Or another Icon tote with a painting called “Ajo Al’s” by American painter Stephen Morath:
Chard also goes well on a handbag with an artistic masterpiece, like Auguste Renoir’s “Dance at Bougavil” (France, 1883):
More fashion ideas: How about fuchsia chard with a fuchsia sweater and Juliana brooches?
Or chard with a San Francisco Giants sweatshirt?
If you don’t have chard, how about carrots? Painting by Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha called “Zodiac” (Paris, 1896) on a purse with orange coat and floral fascinator or headband.
To go healthy AND fashionable, go vegetable!
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Juicing film trailer:
http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/index.html
Dr. Fuhrman’s website:
Info on one of his books:
Cool Icon shoes to match orange chard or carrots:
Man am I ever with you, babe! I do smoothies, instead of juicing. I reserve that for when I’m not feeling up to par and need to reserve all my energy for getting well, not digesting stuff. I also saw the Joe Cross movie and also Forks Over Knives after taking a Mindful Eating seminar and also finally, finally admitting that I’m so wheat intolerant it was beginning to make me ill.
After viewing both movies I made an appointment with my naturopath and went on a 5-day green smoothie fast. I eliminated wheat and sugar from my diet. The difference was so incredible!
Since then I have gone Gluten Free and almost sugar free. I dropped 20 pounds without dieting, don’t hardly need any supplements anymore except Vit D which I tested very deficient in and I’m never going back. It’s hard sometimes but it’s worth it.
Once again, we are on the same wave length sister!
I need to totally bump up my juicing. I’m 98% gluten free. Seeing the SF Giants sweatshirt made me think that perhaps Timmy needs to juice to get his “mojo” back into the groove. I like the word Nutritarian. it sounds so healthy. I love the veggie/fashion pix. Very clever. I am sure that I am addicted to sugar !!! I need to focus on coconut oil, green tea, RAW milk, eggs, cheese and GREEN drinks. Does Spirulina count???? Bravo Fuchsiawoman !!!
WOW Georgene, that’s fantastic! Good for you. The mindful eating class sounds terrific. Let food by thy medicine and thy medicine food!
The no-gluten thing really works for me, too. You don’t have to worry about caloric intake — just eat whatever is gluten free. I can find no-gluten substitutes for every food I normally eat — bread, pasta, pancake mix, cookies, and even pizza. I am losing the belly fat — after years of building it up.
I thought my condition was menopausal/hormonal — but it’s dietary. You eat crap, you feel like crap, you look like crap. Plain and simple. I swear one day wheat gluten will be considered as deadly to the human body as cigarettes are. The U.S. government has to catch up to the scientific evidence and get out of bed with the food industry lobbyists. And then we’ll ALL be a whole lot healthier! 🙂
I know what you mean about the sugar addiction. That’s the last thing I will give up. I can go for a day or two without having any — but then I go back to eating cookies or dark chocolate or Mounds bars. There’s a brand called Pamela’s that makes lots of no-gluten products — like ginger snaps and chocolate chip cookies. YUM! I’ve also started eating these fruit roll things called “Squiggles” — a 100% fruit and veggie twist — kinda like a healthy-ish licorice stick. I’ll send you some — see what you think. Dr. Mercola rails against sugar as the scourge of American health — so I know one of these days it, too, will have to go.
I wonder if you can get hypnotized to get rid of a sweet tooth?? I think I’ll look into it. 😉