How to use your Healthy Juicer

Growing Wheatgrass

What you will need:

1. Wide-Mouth Mason Jar (the bigger the better)
2. Black Trays w/slots
3. Black Trays w/out slots
4. Organic Hard Red Winter wheat Berries (actually seeds)
5. Sprout Toppers
6. Organic Soil

Step 1. Soak 1 1/2 cups of seed in water for 16-24 hours (this yields approx 8-10oz of juice)

Step 2. Rinse 2-3 times a day until little "tails" start to grow

Step 3. Fill slotted black tray half way with organic soil

Step 4. Place several rocks in the tray with no holes

Step 5. Put the slotted tray into the other tray with rocks in it

Step 6.  Place the seeds that have started the tail on top of soil (do not cover w/soil)

Step 7. Water the tray until you can hear the water draining to the bottom tray

Step 8. Cover with dark plastic or a dark cloth (for three days)

Step 9. Water generously everyday in the morning and mist at night

Step 10. After three days uncover the grass. (grass color will be a yellowish color)

Step 11. Continue to water and mist until the grass blade splits.

Step 12. One blade has split Harvest the entire tray and place into a plastic bag

Step 13. Juice

Here are some pictures of my grass:

I cover my seeds for three days with an extra black tray but you can use anything dark. If mold starts to grow put a fan on your grass.

This grass has just been uncovered after three days in the dark

 This grass is ready to be harvested  because the blade has split

                                                                   .

This is grass that I have harvested. Keeps up to 14 days in refrigerator

Hello Again

I have been reading some fabulous books! One of my favorites: Eating For Beauty by David Wolfe. Great book. I could not put it down. I am slowly going to add some of these super foods into my diet:
Cacao
Goji Berries
hemp
figs
olives

He also gives examples of Alkaline and Acidic fruits and veggies and how to eat them to best absorb their nutrients. This book talks much about the ph of your blood and what foods to eat to ensure your blood is slightly alkaline. (similar to the wheatgrass stay tuned)

Next.....Finding some good recipes for my new foods!

I'm so proud of my Mom! She got on her treadmill for 15 minutes this morning! What a Jock

A Must Read

Outsmarting the Female Fat cell by Debra Waterhouse is an amazing book for women who would like to lose weight permanently without "Dieting". She has six strategies to the OFF (outsmarting Female Fat) plan.

•      
• Aerobicize Your Fat Cells
• Stop Dieting and Start Eating
• Feed Your Body Not Your Fat Cells
• Shrink and Multiply Your Meals
• Become a Daytime Eater
• Fat-Proof Your Diet

Debra Waterhouse gives many real life examples of excuses and how to over come them. She takes the reader through a three month plan where you slowly integrate each one of these strategies into your life. This is not a diet plan this is a a lifestyle.

The key points I got out of the book are:

1. Stop starving yourself. When a female goes on a diet her body is actually storing more fat. Her fat cells enlarge, her metabolism slows down and she gains weight. Waterhouse goes into great detail on the science of this process and it is well worth reading. If you are hungry EAT
2. Stop eating after 6pm. 75% of calories are burned between 6am and 6pm. 25% are burned between 6pm to 6am
3. Do Not Over Eat.  Anything is fattening if you over eat it. Your body will store extra calories whether it is fruit or cake.
4. Exercise

It Takes Time! There is no such thing as a quick fix. Dieting does not work. Starving does not work.The last few months I have taken the information in this book and have gave it a shot. It works. I'm not starving. I have energy and I feel great. There are going to be times when I break the rules but there is always a new day to start again.

Source: Outsmarting The Female Fat cell by Debra Waterhouse M.P.H ,R.D

Here is where (some of the time) comes in

Friday = It was bad, real bad!

Breakfast:

• bagel w/ cream cheese + H20

Lunch

• egg and cheese sandwich on an English muffin + a can of coke

Dinner

• small veggie Italian w/ lays chips + Gatorade

Dessert

• cake!

NO EXERCISE

Need I say more?

Wednesday

Breakfast

• 2oz wheatgrass+ banana+H20

Snack

• granola + grapes

Lunch

• Half ham pita

snack

• hummus + carrots+ 2 cups of broccoli

Dinner

• Out to Chipotle for a cheese quesadilla + guac

Exercise:

•  elliptical for 30 minutes.

*I miss my Chia! Life is not the same. Back on board tomorrow!

Temptation

Its everywhere. I am on the road for my job. All I do is drive by fast food joints and convenient stores and there is always my favorite place to eat in each town I travel to. How about at the sales meetings with pizza and cookies for lunch. YIKES! So its been a little over seven years of doing just that. Not only did (notice the past tense) I stop and get food that was not the best choice, I was also making my fat cells very happy! Over the years I have started packing a lunch but recently I really put an end to the frequent stops. Did I mention what it was doing to my wallet?

It takes a lot of planning and prep work but its well worth it. I feel great now that I have been eating better. I have also increased my water in-take. In the past I would stop and get a diet soda each morning. Now I make my own green tea. The other food (?) I cut way back on is chocolate! How is that possible. I love, love, love chocolate and look forward to the next time I get to have some:) For the most part I made small changes with big results!

Now, I'm not saying I do not have the occasional soda or stop at my favorite sub shop. I certainly do but its more like once a week. I would like to get it down to never but for now I have made some positive changes and I will work towards that goal.

Tuesday

Breakfast:

• 2oz shot of Wheat grass
• grapes + H20 + Green tea

Snack:

• carrotts
• hummus
• everything crackers

Mini Meal

• Half a ham sandwich on Pita w/ a pcikle
• glass of gattorade

Snack:

• granola

Mini meal:

• eggs with veggies (mushrooms,onions & green peppers)

Today I felt a bit under the weather and had little appetite. I did not excersie either.

 I bought this book at The Goodwill on Sunday for 99cents!

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Happy Valentine's Day



For my Valentine

For Breakfast:

• A 2oz shot of wheat grass on an empty stomach
• an hour later a cup of green tea and my oatmeal w/chia

For Exercise:

• 1/2 hour on elliptical
• attempt to do an ab workout.

We must be the change we want to see. Mahatma Gandhi

Ok so Adam is most likely laughing right now! He thinks I'm strange but this quote sends a strong message. Here is what I am going to eat for dinner! I have not selected the best choices for food today but its never too late!

Whats for dinner:

1/2 cup oatmeal with 2 tablespoons Chia Seeds a little soy and a dash of real maple syrup:)

I try not to eat after 6. According to Debra Waterhouse 75% of our calories are burned between 6am and 6pm. Only 25% of calories are burned between 6pm and 6am. Become a daytime eater.

Talk tomorrow about what I am eating and my exercise for the day

CHA CHA CHA CHIA!

Chia Seeds are amazing! I heard of these last summer from a friend and I never did anything with the info. Then in late December I was listening to my favorite Sirius station Martha Stewart Radio and heard maryandsara.com talking about Chia. They call it Mila (name brand). Mary and Sara have written several cook books but the latest is "Super-Charged Smoothies" and they put Chia Seeds in their recipes! Here are some of the benefits:

• 6 X more Calcium than Milk
• 8 X more Omega 3's than Salmon
• 2 X more Potassium than Bananas
• 3 X more Iron than Spinach
• 6 X more Protein than Kidney beans
• 15 X more Magnesium than Broccoli
• 4 X more Selenium than Flax Seed
• 9 X more Phosphorus than Whole Milk

* source : http://www.maryandsara.com/

Pretty Amazing! Now I take 2 tablespoons in the morning with my oatmeal.

Here are a few interesting points about Chia:

• Chia does not lose its nutrients if cooked!
• Chia can hold 12 times its weight in H20 which means its filling and it turns into a gel when left in H20
• Chia does not have flavor so it goes well with any food
• Chia Balances blood Sugar

Chia has been around since the ancient Aztecs. It was made popular by the Chia Pet but there is much more to this tiny seed. You can buy Chia Seeds at your local natural food store. I get mine at Loius's in Scarborough. Its $9.99 a pound.

Note: once you add the chia seeds to your oatmeal eat it immediately. The chia expands and next thing you know your choking down double of what you prepared.

I store my chia in a mason jar in the pantry. Chia, unlike Flax has a shelf life of about 2 years and does not need to be ground or refrigerated.

Day 1

For a little over a month I have been trying to live a healthy lifestyle. Not that it was unhealthy before but I could definetly make some better choices with food and exercise. I have created this to share with my friends and family. This is what I am doing to better myself in hopes that others will share what they are doing as well. I will blog what I ate (good or bad) and what I did for exercise. I will also talk about what I am reading and some of my favorite things. Here are a few things I have done

• Chia Seeds
• Wheat grass
• Small meals all day
• exercise
• increased my H20