Blogging Through the Alphabet: J is for Juice Recipe

I sort of missed a couple of letters in the Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge. Oops.

So, I'm going to try again, starting with J. I thought I would share the juice recipe I had come up with after reading about the benefits of cruciferous vegetables. 

Here is some very interesting information I found at whatcookingamerica.net.

"The best juicing recipes for weight loss, should always include ingredients from the cruciferous vegetables list. By giving your body the tools it needs to fight against xenoestrogens, nudging detoxification in the right direction and helping with hormonal balance, cruciferous vegetables are uniquely positioned to promote fat loss in your body."

Here is a list of the recommended cruciferous vegetables:

Cauliflower (white or purple) Broccoli (green or purple) Brussels sprouts Kale (green or purple) Bok choy (chinese cabbage or pak choi) Cabbage (green, red or purple) Collards greens Watercress Radish Broccoli sprouts Arugula (rocket) Kohlrabi (white or purple) Mustard greens Turnip Broccoflower Daikon

I use some kale and brussel sprouts regularly and I have added cauliflower and finally found some arugula mixed with spinach. I could not find any on its own.

Here is the one recipe I have come to enjoy.

4 carrots 

2 celery stalks

1/4 red pepper

1 beet (or 1/2 large beet)

1 cucumber

3 brussel sprouts

1 apple (seeds removed)

1/2 head of romaine

big handful of spinach/arugula mix

1 tomato

couple leaves of kale. 

This makes about a quart of juice. 

Blogging Through the Alphabet: G is for Green Tea and Grapefruit

When I was a part of a different challenge a couple of years ago (back when I was losing all that weight before getting pregnant with baby Harold) I learned about the benefits of drinking green tea. When I was pregnant I decided to stop drinking it because of the caffeine and I just never started back up until recently. Even now I am not drinking it as regularly as I would like. The plan is to have a cup of green tea with my breakfast every morning, after two cups of water earlier in the morning. Additionally, if I can tolerate the caffeine, I hope to begin drinking a second cup in the afternoon. 

So, just what are the benefits of green tea?

Two years ago, Vera at Plus Sized Bloggers posted about how green tea can help you burn fat naturally.

• As green tea is a diuretic it helps to flush toxins out of your body. Did you know toxins can cause your body to store fat? I didn't. So if you want to flush those toxins out of your body, in addition to drinking water, it seems green tea is a great addition to your diet. 
• Green tea is also an appetite suppressant. This is another reason I would like to start drinking it in the afternoon. I thought it might help keep me from snacking, seeing as drinking water isn't quite working all the time. Hopefully my body can tolerate the extra caffeine. .
• Lastly, green tea can help burn fat because it increases your metabolism. 

I also found some other health benefits of drinking green tea over at WebMD.

• Green tea has powerful antioxidants which help to fight against cancer.
• It also appears, that as a part of a healthy, active lifestyle, green tea can help improve heart health. 
• Green tea also lowers bad cholesterol.

Quite a few benefits there. I think, after writing this post and having this reminder fresh in my mind, I will be more faithful with my green tea consumption from now on. 

G is also for Grapefruit. Why? Because I was trying to think of something that started with G that would be appropriate for this blog post and I thought of grapefruit. I remember when I was growing up and my mother tried to help me lose weight she would serve me grapefruit and grapefruit juice. Did I like it back then? Um, NO! Perhaps I would have if she had gotten me some pink grapefruit, I don't know, but I was not really interested in eating this pucker-up fruit for breakfast.

After thinking about it at the beginning of the week I had my hubby grab some from the store. I have been enjoying half a grapefruit with my eggs and veggies for breakfast. I have got to tell you, I am really enjoying it. I am also thrilled to have found out that it really does have some great benefits and can help you lose weight.  

Here are some of the reason I found, over at 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet, that Grapefruit helps you to lose weight.

• Grapefruit is high in enzymes that burn fat.
• Grapefruit has a high water content.
• Additionally, it is low in sodium.

There are other health benefits to grapefruit.

• Like green tea, grapefruit helps in cancer prevention. 
• Additionally, grapefruit can help lower cholesterol.
• It enhances immunity against infections. 
• There are quite a few more benefits to eating grapefruit or drinking it's juice. If you would like to see them I would recommend following the link above. As a quick note, it was mentioned in the article that grapefruit can have a negative effect if you are on prescription drugs. 

So glad I have started adding both the grapefruit and green tea back in my diet.