Green Juice

Lean, Mean, Green Machine!

Juicing isn’t just another passing fad. There’s a reason that the benefits have been talked about since Jack Lalane was a young man. By drinking your fruits and veggies, you’re absorbing your vitamins and phytonutrients quickly and efficiently without fiber restricting the volume. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I love fiber. It helps you feel full and satisfied, prevents your blood sugar from spiking and plummeting and helps lead to a healthy lipid profile. But when I drink my broccoli, I can easily consume 2 or 3 times the amount, get 2 or 3 times the nutritional benefits, without getting too full. Today’s fruits and veggies have been measured have about half the nutritional benefits of those farmed in the 1950’s due to the depleted soil composition and modern farming practices. When we consider the depleted nutritional profile of modern day fruits and veggies, increasing serving size of your veggies and fruits could be a vital key to good health. 

Green juice can be drank by itself, or used as a base for shakes. I don’t recommend adding too much to your juice since fat, protein and fiber will slow down the absorption of nutrients. That being said, I do usually add chia seeds to my juice. I like the consistency (it is similar to pulp in OJ) and the added Omega 3 fat and fiber helps me feel more satisfied and lowers the glycemic load of the sugars in the juice (so my blood sugar doesn’t spike then drop dramatically.) 

To make a green juice, you’ll need a good juicer able to juice fruits and veggies well or a high power blender like the Vitamix.  Here’s what I’ve been drinking the past couple of mornings:

Servings 2

Prep Time: 15 min

•     1-2 apples
•     1-2 cucumbers
•     1 cup kale
•     1 cup broccoli
•     1 cup collard greens
•     Several stalks parsley (stem and leaves)
•     1 lemon (peal removed)
•     ¼- ½ inch of knob sliced ginger
•     2-3 large beets
•     1 tablespoon Chia seeds per serving

Juice all ingredients except the chia seeds. Pour out each serving of juice into a shaker cup and add 1 tablespoon of chia seed. Shake well and allow the seeds to plump up for about 10 minutes. The seeds will develop a gelatinous coating. To avoid the seeds clumping, shake vigorously every couple of minutes. Drink immediately for highest nutritional value.

* If you plan on refrigerating the unused portion, you can keep it for about 24-72 hours IF the juicer you are using is a low speed juicer designed to preserve the enzymes in the juice.

Use this as a guide- don't get hung up on the exact ingredients and amounts. Use what you have, and omit what you don't. Experiment with different combinations. The most important thing... Drink up! 

ENJOY!

Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad

Root vegetables, like sweet potatoes, are a staple of any winter diet. Hearty and full of minerals, it's a great addition to help bulk up meals and make you feel more satiated. Beans are not only full of protein, but as you'll see below, also packed with tremendous health benefits! 

                                                    

How it Works?

Cold weather makes us naturally crave comfort foods. Choosing foods with lots of fiber and protein will help keep you feeling full and satisfied. Since there's less colorful fruits and veggies to choose from in the winter, take advantage of those colorful root veggies and legumes to get your antioxidant power-on! 

Black Beans- They’re high in phytonutrients (basically the antioxidants that are responsible for cell repair), fiber, folate (a vital B vitamin) . Above all other legumes, black beans have been shown to be the most effective for warding off colon cancer. That’s probably because they have the perfect mix of substances that allow for the production of butyric acid by your gut bacteria. This in turn helps support the digestive tract. 

Do you have trouble digesting beans? Maybe you need more probiotics in your diet! You might need to increase the good bacteria in your intestinal flora. Email me for a good recommendation. 

Sweet Potatoes- Research has shown that they posses anti-inflammatory properties that can prevent/reduce arthritis symptoms. The Vitamin C can also improve collagen and further prevent inflammation. Besides Vitamin C, sweet potatoes contain vitamin B6, beta-carotene, and manganese. They’ve even been shown to be able to cleanse heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic and prevent toxicity. 

Make it!

Servings: 4

Prep time 30 min

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 2 large sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus wedges for garnish
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained (or prepared from dried beans.)
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced orange or red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
• 4 cups baby arugula

Directions: 

1. Heat oven to 375°. On a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, place potatoes in a layer; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bake until tender, 15 minutes.
2. Let cool. In a bowl, whisk juice, vinegar, garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
3. Add potatoes, beans, tomatoes, bell pepper, scallions and mint; toss; serve over arugula, and garnish with lime wedges.

In case you're counting:

*283 calories, 2 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 58 grams carbohydrate, 14 grams fiber, 11 grams protein 

We talked last month about the blood type diet and how specifically gluten intolerance might be associated with Type O. Well this month I’d like to go into Type A: the Vegetarian/Vegan.

The type A blood developed about 200,000 BC when man first started to move from hunting/gathering to an agricultural society. As settlements and farming developed, those who adapted best to this new lifestyle where those with blood type A. They thrived on consuming vegetables, grains and legumes that they cultivated on their farms. Since many of these settlements developed near the coast lines where water for irrigation was easily accessible, seafood and sea vegetables also became staples of their diet. 

People with A blood don’t do well with animal meats and are best suited for a vegetarian lifestyle. In fact, dairy is also not recommended, so many type A’s do best on a vegan diet. For those in this category, dairy causes excessive mucous production, sluggish immune system and problems with digestion. In fact diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes are prominent in type A’s who stray from their ideal vegetarian diet. Amazing reversal of these diseases has been observed when they consume vegetarian and vegan diets. 

Here’s a breakdown of the prominence of type A by ethnicity:

•   Western European 47%
•     Jewish 41% 
•    Caucasian Americans 40%
•    Japanese 38% 
•      Korean 32%
•     Hispanic 31%
•     African Americans 27%
•      Chinese 25%
•      Indians 22%
•      American Indians 16%

Thai Rice Farmer

Interesting how the majority of these groups are coastal and agricultural communities. Many are Asian, and still maintain a highly vegetarian based cultural cuisine. In fact those communities which continue to eat traditionally have seen very low incidence of “Western Disease” such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. On the other hand, once they begin to eat the traditional Western diet (highly processed food, almost no vegetables and rich in meat and dairy) the incidence of these diseases increases tremendously to dangerous levels. 

An interesting note is that wheat is not recommended for Type A’s (if you recall it wasn’t recommended for Type O either.) Wheat was still not cultivated for food yet during the development of type A blood. Interesting to consider.

Have you checked your blood type yet?