For the Love of Juice

Hello and Happy Wednesday! I hope you all are having a great hump day. Only two more sleeps until Friday...woohoo!

I've been meaning to share this post with you for several months. I was so fortunate to receive a Breville Juice Fountain for my birthday. I did a lot of research regarding juicers and found that this model best suited my juicing needs. I didn't need anything fancy and I wanted something that had only a few parts and that was relatively easy to clean. I know that juicers take up a lot of counter and kitchen space, so I wanted it to be an attractive model that could fit in a cabinet, look good on the counter, and whose parts were dishwasher safe. This Breville model fit all of those requirements.

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This beauty is a marvel and I use it every day. I'm not doing anything crazy like drinking juice for a meal or going on a juice-only cleanse, but I have been making myself juice virtually every day when I get home from work, school or the gym. While I'm making dinner, I'll be chopping up my dinner veggies and prepping my juicer fruits and veggies, too, so the timing is perfect. And I can enjoy sipping my juice while I finish making my dinner. It's a great appetizer!

The first juice I ever made was celery + carrot + apple and it was incredible! That's my go-to beverage, but I've become more adventurous lately. My sister shared a mojito recipe with me, which included a cucumber, kale, mint, celery, and lemon and, unfortunately, it was not very tasty. I am definitely not a fan of savory juices. I added a green apple, though, and all was well in the world...it really sweetened things up and made the juice palatable. Those ingredients aren't cheap and there was no way that I was not going to drink that elixir. It ended up being refreshing and I felt great after I drank it!

Another favorite is grapefruit juice. I like to have this either in the morning or after dinner. It's sweet and tangy and refreshing...I love it! All you have to do is peel a grapefruit and toss it into your juicer. One grapefruit yielded over one cup of juice! So yummy!

A few weeks ago, I was reading about juicing, and found out that most juicing experts suggest a 3 to 1 ratio of vegetables to fruits in order to reduce the sugar content of the juice and to keep your insulin levels from spiking after juice consumption. Whole fruit contains fiber, which slows your body's digestion of sugar and naturally prevents your insulin levels from spiking. Fiber is the reason why you can eat an apple and then not experience the sugar high and then crash 10-15 minutes later. When eating whole fruits, your body slowly digests the fruit sugar (fructose) and provides a steady stream of energy over time, due to the presence of fiber. Juicing extracts the liquid from the fruits, but removes the fibrous parts of the fruits and vegetables. By keeping the vegetable quantity high and the fruit quantity low, you're preventing the sugar high and subsequent crash since vegetables contain lower amounts of fructose.

With all of that said, here is my go-to juicing recipe, complete with the recommended 3 to 1 ratio. At the beginning of the week, I'll buy 4-5 green apples, 1-2 bags of celery stalks (not just the hearts), a 1 pound bag of carrots, and 1 to 2 packs of romaine hearts (3 are in a pack). Amazingly, all of these ingredients typically cost me between $8 and $10. Not cheap, but not terrible either. I've been juicing almost every day, and I know that if I have the ingredients, I'll make the juice. If I don't have the ingredients, then I'm out of luck. Note to self: always keep a well-stocked fridge!

Go-to Green Juice
from the kitchen of SMS
September 2013

Ingredients:

 

1 heart of romaine, washed

2 stalks of celery, washed and cut

2 carrots, washed and peeled

1 green apple, washed, cored and sliced

Directions:
Set up your juicer and place the juice jug under the spout. Start the juicer and remove the food pusher. Load head of romaine into feed tube and use the food pusher to move romaine leaves toward the blade. When romaine is cleared and juiced, add celery stalks to the feed tube and use the food pusher to move celery towards the blade. Repeat this process for carrots and finally, the apple.

Remove the lid of the juice jug and give the juice a stir with a spoon, since the juices are not thoroughly mixed. Marvel at all of the juice you've created from your veggies and fruit!

Pour juice into your favorite pint glass and serve immediately.

If you'd like to store this juice for later, or separate it into two servings, pour juice into small mason jars and fill to the top (to prevent oxidation) and secure the jar with the lid. Store in the refrigerator and be sure to consume within 12-24 hours. 

 

Now for the fun part - clean up (a.k.a. the worst part of juicing!). Unplug your juicer. Fill your clean sink with super-hot water and a generous amount of dish soap.  

Allow pieces to sit in the warm water for 3-5 minutes. Drain soapy water and rinse the parts. To clean the blade/sieve, use the brush that was sent to you with your juicer to carefully scrub the blade and mesh wiring clean under running water. This scrubber is a life saver. Trust me. Nothing else will work!

Once all of your parts are clean, lay a dishtowel on your countertop and place all of the juicer parts on the towel to dry. Once they are dry, interlock the pieces and store until you're ready to make some more juice!

 Happy juicing!

xoxo

A Simple Supper

Hello and Happy Tuesday! I hope you all are having a wonderful start to your week! I just wanted to share a quick recipe with you. The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler, and I've been wanting something warm for dinner. Adios summer salads...hello fall stews. Without further ado, here's a recipe that I know you'll love. It only has a few ingredients and it comes together in less than 20 minutes. Happy cooking!

Simple Quinoa Supper
from the kitchen of SMS
September 2013

Ingredients:

1/4 cup red quinoa

1 cup of water 

1/4 cup yellow onion (about 1/4 of a small onion), chopped

1/4 cup fired roasted tomatoes with green chiles

1/4 cup great northern beans 

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon garam masala

pinch of salt (optional)

Directions:

Rinse quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) in a strainer (or in a glass as I did) with cool water. By nature, quinoa has a bitter coating on its outer layer that protects it from birds and pests. It's great to have in the wild, but not so great to have in the kitchen. Therefore, rinsing your quinoa is essential.

Place rinsed quinoa in a medium-sized pan and pour 1 cup of water over quinoa. Give the quinoa a good stir and allow the mixture to come to a boil.

Once it's boiling, cover the quinoa and turn the heat down to low and let the mixture sit for 15 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking away, saute onion for a minute or two until tender and translucent.

 

Add garam masala, turmeric and salt, if desired. Stir to combine. Set onion mixture aside. 

Add fire-roasted tomatoes and beans to the same pan that you used for your onions. Combine and stir the mixture until it begins to simmer. 

After 15 minutes, the quinoa is ready to go. Add onion and tomato and beans mixtures to quinoa and stir to combine. 

Take a bite to check the flavors. If necessary, add a little bit more salt, turmeric, or garam masala. Let you taste buds be your guide. Spoon quinoa into a bowl and serve. This recipe makes one generous portion.

*Yes, this is a different bowl from my first photo and yes, I did eat this for dinner multiple nights this week ;-).*

Enjoy! xoxo

A quote for you...

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xoxo