Get the Juices Flowing...

So when I turned 30 one of my best friends, Lena, got me one of the best presents for my birthday! I had recently stopped eating meat and she signed us up for a raw food cooking class at the  Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC. We had such a great time and learned all about the benefits of eating raw. I know that to some this sounds strange and so not tasty but surprisingly it is yummy and quite easy to make.

A raw food diet is based on eating whole, live, nutritionally-dense organic uncooked and un-processed foods as a large percentage of your diet. When 75-100% of your total food consumption is raw food, you are a raw foodist. At that rate it is believed that your body's own elimination system can eliminate all or most of the toxins in the cooked portion of your diet.

When you eat more cooked food you are eating toxins faster than your body can get rid of them so they back up causing disease. Heating food above 118 degrees F. is believed to destroy valuable enzymes in food that can assist in digestion and health.

Ok so you now understand the principles of raw food and why you would eat it. I've done some reading and research on it and I've found that many women who are diagnosed with breast cancer (many of them at a young age - before 40) turn to a raw diet and that along with other treatments have eliminated their cancer or slowed the growth. Check out Crazy Sexy Life

For me it's a way to get more protein, etc that I would normally get from eating meat but without the digestion issues. You can start slowly and the best way to ease into this and help detox on some level is to Juice!

Juicing is easy and quick and you can get full servings of fresh veggies, etc in one glass. My two favorite books for raw food are Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet (she taught the class that we took) and Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose.

I've taken their recipes for "green lemonade" and "green juice" and just made up my own recipe. One item you do need to continue to this juicing journey is a juicer. I have this one

It's an investment but if you commit to juicing and see the health benefits then it's worth it!

Alison's Juice (I drink a glass in the morning. This is the first thing in my stomach)
-2-4 stalks of Kale
-One peeled lemon
-2-4 apples
-4-6 carrots
-1-2 TBSP ginger
You can also add a handful of fresh parsley or cilantro as well. Sometimes I also throw in a whole peeled cucumber.

I know, kale is not sexy. But it is one of the best veggies you can eat! It has a powerful taste so add a little and go from there.

Here is a fun way to use fruit and veggies...you can make this for your kiddies and they won't be able to tell a thing and all you need is your blender. In Jennifer Cornbleet's book she has a smoothie recipe. I make this one quite often.

Berry Smoothie

1/4 cup water (you may need to add more as you blend)
1 ripe banana
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, strawberries or blackberries
Handful of fresh spinach (you won't even taste it)
Alternatively you can add some green powder like Green Super Food which you can get at any health food store...don't add too much or it will be too much green for your smoothie. I usually add about 1/2 scoop.

My niece loves it!