Terry Ryan
now browsing by tag
Day 12 – 30 Day Juicing Challenge
Day 12 and feeling great! Today I added some parsley to the mix and some tatsoi. Tatsoi you say? That was a new one on me. I bought another Organic Girl box of greens and noticed that in the ingredients it reads:
Tangy red and green chard, hearty tat soi, peppery arugula and mild spinach. I looked up tatsoi (according to the Internet it is spelled tatsoi and not tat soi) and it is the new spinach.*
My recipe today consisted of:
- Mixed greens
- Parsley
- Orange
- Lemon
- Apple
- Celery
- Carrots
- Slice of ginger
Yesterday I picked up some turmeric supplement as it has some anti-inflammation properties. I am working on getting inflammation down in my body. I had a CRP (C-reactive protein) test a few years ago and it was very high, showing inflammation throughout my body raising my chances for heart attack and cancer. Turmeric is important for an alkaline body which is a healthy body.
The medical community has established that an alkaline diet rich in plant foods is key to longevity, but maintaining an alkaline diet is increasingly difficult in modern western culture. Complex alkalizing minerals are contained in abundance in vegetables and a selection of fruits, yet convenience foods, soda, and excess proteins have replaced them. A whole cascade of health issues and degenerative disorders can be traced back to the excess acid caused by our changing habits. Bone loss, acidosis, gut issues, candida, cardiovascular concerns, inflammation, and accelerated aging are all connected to this phenomenon. Many doctors believe that an overly acidic system is a factor in cancer as well.
The good news is that we can do something about it; we can reverse the process and heal our bodies from a number of ailments in a matter of months. This is not a quick fix, and is a lifestyle commitment that requires some dedication. The following steps should help you on your way.
1. Increase your consumption of vegetables and fruits to 9 servings daily. Of the two, veggies are most important for bone building, and should include plenty of onions (these contain superior bone-building compounds), garlic, asparagus, kale, bok choy, endive, broccoli, cucumber, cabbage, collard greens, squash, sprouted seeds, sea vegetables, cress, leafy greens, and more. Wild edibles and grasses are also beneficial.
2. Eat root veggies and tubers: beets, carrots, yams, turnip, rutabaga, parsnip, radish, and burdock.
3. Eat fruits in moderation: avocados, tomatoes, grapefruit, limes, lemons, dried figs, watermelon, coconut, and ripe bananas are all beneficial. Dried prune plums are not alkaline but have a distinct benefit for bones and are therefore included on this list.
4. Eat grains in moderation, and concentrate on quinoa, millet, sprouted bread, and buckwheat. (Increase roots and tubers).
5. Reduce animal protein. Meat is highly acidic and should be consumed moderately or not at all. Choose fish and lamb over beef or chicken. Small amounts of goat or sheep milk may be tolerable.
6. Use olive, sesame, pumpkin, coconut, or flax oil.
7. Amongst the legumes, eat lima beans, white beans, and lentils. Fermented soy products such as tempeh or miso are good.
8. Nuts and Seeds: pumpkin, sesame and almond are best bets, along with fennel and cumin.
9. Increase your water consumption. Decrease or eliminate soda, coffee, processed juices, sports drinks, and alcohol.
10. Use plenty of herbs and spices in your cooking. Cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, curries, cayenne and all the green herbs are wonderful not just for flavor but to help our bodies detoxify. (source About.com)
Day 12 done. Check!
*
Tatsoi (Brassica narinosa or Brassica rapa var. rosularis) (in Chinese: 塌棵菜, 瓢儿菜, 乌塌菜, or 塌古菜; and, inJapanese: タアサイ or 塌菜), also called Spinach mustard, Spoon mustard, or Rosette bok choy, is an Asianvariety of Brassica rapa grown for greens. This plant has become popular in North American cuisine as well, and is now grown throughout the world.
The plant has dark green spoon-shaped leaves which form a thick rosette. It has a soft creamy texture and has a subtle yet distinctive flavour.
It can be grown to harvestable size in 45–50 days, and can withstand temperatures down to –10°C (15°F). Tatsoi can be harvested even from under the snow.
Day 11 – 30 Day Juicing Challenge
Day 11 and here I am. Talk about persistence! Really, there were times I didn’t think I could make it this far. Yea, for me! Today, as apposed to yesterday, I am feeling a lot better. The sore throat is almost gone and I’m feeling a little more energetic today.
With my morning juicing, I watched Joe Cross’ Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead for inspiration. I learned even more about juicing. Yes, inspired to go on! I am not juicing entirely for my meals and yesterday along with the Girl Scout cookies I had an Atkins bar and a tomato and mayo sandwich on whole wheat bread. Really, I was having an off day. Oh and I must not forget that I served for dinner Chinese food. I had a
My assistant
couple of bites but it tasted awful. My husband and mother who I prepare (or fast food buy) dinner for every night LOVED the Chinese. Meaning, it is definitely my taste buds that are changing and demanding better quality of food.
I noticed in the movie that Joe Cross’ extractor has a much wider mouth on its shoot and he can cram larger veggie pieces down while mine is narrow and I have to cut the pieces into smaller sizes. It’s mostly a pain when I’m stuffing veggies down. So here are some examples of some extractor:
Now why am I using an extractor instead of a mixer? I am using the theory of Joe Cross and Dr. Mark Furhman that extracting the pulp allows the micronutrients* to be easily absorbed into your cells. That’s what I am going for; healing my body. I have autoimmune diseases, yes multiple, and I am looking at years of prescriptions unless I can heal myself. As Joe Cross points out in Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, when you get a scrape you body can heal itself, so your body can heal itself on the inside. Okay, I’m trying that theory out by juicing.
My plea is…micronutrients please go right to my cells and make them healthy!
I want to be that same woman I was 10 years ago; a little turbo happily multitasking and socializing everyday. I want to climb Noonmark again.
Joe Cross, Australian dude as in G’day Mate!, started with a 90 day juicing personal challenge where he only juiced for 90 days….nothing else was consumed except water. Yikes! I am starting off with my own personal challenge as I pull out the extractor and make a veggie/fruit juice combo once a day. I’m getting to the point where I wouldn’t mind doing a total juicing everyday instead of any whole food, but I’ll think about that challenge after day 30.
Today’s recipe: (for 8 ounces)
- Kale
- Collard greens
- Carrot
- Apple
- Slice of ginger
- Sugar snap peas
- Orange
Day 11 done. Check!
*Micronutrients are nutrients required by humans and other organisms throughout life in small quantities to orchestrate a range of physiological functions. [1] For people, they include dietary trace minerals in amounts generally less than 100 milligrams/day – as opposed to macrominerals which are required in larger quantities. The microminerals or trace elements include at least iron, cobalt, chromium, copper, iodine, manganese, selenium, zinc and molybdenum. Micronutrients also include vitamins, which are organic compounds required as nutrients in tiny amounts by an organism.
Day 10 – 30 Day Juicing Challenge
Wednesday. It was not a good day for me. I wasn’t feeling great and was experiencing a little body pain and sore throat. I dragged the extractor out and made a juice that was heavy on the cucumber and that upset my tummy. I burped through the rest of the day. I also had to handle some stressful situations between my mortgage company who says I don’t have a wind policy on one of the rental houses, but I do and they are charging me some outrageous amount for insurance, and my actually insurance broker is dragging her feet on fixing.the problem. So, I had to be on hold, on hold, and then send supporting emails out. Then I couldn’t find my new checks that I just received in the mail….it was chaotic. Typical stressful day where I would have liked to munch down a box of Girl Scout cookies, and what do I hear but the doorbell and there stands this adorable girl scout with the 2 boxes I ordered. Of course you have to buy from the neighbor’s kid.
I must admit, between the burps, i did manage to eat 4 cookies….the chocolate peanut butter kind. Good but not as good as I remembered. So I am meh about it and the rest sits in a baggy in the refrigerator. What? Am I really losing my taste for fake, sugary food???
And by the way, I am only trying to be healthy not perfect.
I also think the Atkins bars that I am eating once a day are doing me no favors. When I eat one or two a day as a meal replacement or a snack, I don’t seem to lose any weight according to the bathroom scale. I think I’m going to pass those to my neighbor who loves them.
By the night, my throat was feeling sorer and I bought Chinese food for dinner. I had a couple of bites but it tasted bland and disgusting. My taste buds now demand better. After watching a little Sochi I took an Alka Seltzer Plus and went to bed. I woke up around 3:00 probably because of the cookies I ate as I have learned, sugar eaten later in the day will cause insomnia.
Today recipe:
- Kale
- Carrot
- Celery
- Cucmber
- Snap peas
- Apple
- Slice of ginger
Day 10, done. Check!
Day 8 – The 30 Day Juicing Challenge
Day 8 and still juicing. Hooray for me! I thought I was going to fold a couple of days ago but I have been re-energized! Yes, I actually have a little more energy today but nothing up to hallelujah strength! I’m still waiting for that moment Joe Cross of Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead talked about in the movie. Come on, Joe, don’t tell me I have to go all the way with juicing? I’m finding once a day hard enough. I want my hallelujah moment. This morning my juice recipe was as follows:
- Celery
- Apple
- Carrot
- Slice of fresh ginger
- Mixed greens of kale, collards, chicory
- Star fruit (yes I had to climb the fence again to get to the fruit)
- Snap peas
- Frozen raspberries
Easy cleanup
A rainbow of color.
Frozen raspberries don’t work.
What did it taste like. Wonderful! Yummy! I chugged, chugged, chugged. Down the hatch. I learned to fill the shoot with things like blueberries or frozen raspberries with the motor off and that way you can put the plunger over the shoot and turn on the extractor and no berries fly around the room. I also started with the frozen raspberries and noticed that they just went through without depositing any juice in the cup. So I scooped them out and waited until they defrosted to put them back through. Mental note: I will take raspberries out of the freezer the night before to defrost so they will be juicer. Juice and learn. Day 8, done. Check!
What the Heck is Diabetes?
What the heck is diabetes? Yes, I’m sure you have heard of it…and that it’s increasing. My endocrinologist’s office is filled with patients with Type 1 and 2 diabetes making it difficult for us thyroid sufferer to make an appointment. Okay, that’s only slightly true but according to JAMA over 44 million now considered obese
Currently, more than 44 million Americans are considered obese by body mass index (BMI), reflecting an increase of 74 percent since 1991. During the same time frame, diabetes increased by 61 percent, reflecting the strong correlation between obesity and development of diabetes. Today an estimated 17 million people have diabetes in the United States. And this was in the journal Lancet: An international study has revealed some shocking statistics. In less than 30 years, between 1980 and 2008, the number of people with type 2 diabetes more than doubled around the world, rising from 153 million to 347 million.
Yikes, right! But let me put what diabetes is in simple words.
Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95% of all cases of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is caused by eating too much sugar. Remember, sugar has 56 names.(Click here for the 56 Names of Sugar) Here’s how it works. When you eat a meal, the carbs in your food are broken down into glucose. The glucose enters your bloodstream where it is carried throughout your body to give…energy! Your pancreas in turn releases the hormone insulin to help your cells turn glucose into energy. What happens when there is too much sugar over and over again? Your body becomes insulin resistant. So, the pancreas sends more and more insulin out (poor pancreas) into the bloodstream so glucose can convert to energy but keep going along like this; forcing more insulin into your bloodstream, and your pancreas won’t be able to keep up. What happens instead is that the glucose becomes trapped into your bloodstream, and the cells of your muscles and organs are starved for energy. Eventually, this causes organ and nerve damage.which eventually will lead to heart disease, eye sight damage, limbs being amputated, strokes, etc.
That’s why your grandparents used to call it SUGAR. Because you give a urine sample and if you are experiencing diabetes an over abundance of glucose will present in your sample. Now, it is know as simply diabetes – type 2.
Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. Only 5% of people with diabetes have this form of the disease.
In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, even young children can learn to manage their condition and live long, healthy lives.
– See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/type-1/#sthash.meThJ71C.dpuf
Are You at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes?
- A waist that is 35 or more inches in diameter of you’re a woman or 40″ if a man.
- A Blood triglyceride of 150 or greater.
- Fasting blood sugar greater than 100mg.
Symptoms you may have type 2 diabetes:
- Common symptoms of diabetes: Urinating often Feeling very thirsty Feeling very hungry – even though you are eating
- Extreme fatigue
- Blurry vision
- Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
- Weight loss – even though you are eating more (type 1)
- Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet (type 2) –
- See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/symptoms/#sthash.souFT766.dpuf
What you can do to prevent developing type 2 diabetes.
Eat a well balanced diet that is high in vegetables, low in simple carbohydrates, zero in refined sugar except on your birthday and maybe Christmas…if you must, and, this is a big one…cut out the alcohol.
I recently read a magazine about diabetes and they had some recipes that included chocolate cake. Come on! Chocolate cake? Yes, it had stuff like sugar and white flour. No, not a good thing to eat if you have or have not diabetes. This recipe for 1 Minute Chocolate Cake is the correct recipe for preventing diabetes:
1-Minute Cake With Almond Flour
1/4 cup Truvia Baking Blend
1/2 cup almond flour
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 egg
2 tbsp half & half
Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until the mixture is even and smooth (no lumps).
Pour 1/4 of the mixture into a mug and microwave for 1 minutes.
Refrigerate remaining batter for later!
I like to add unsweetened whipped cream on top. No sugar carbs in this recipe!
If you suspect you have symptoms of diabetes it is imperative to seek a doctor’s advice as soon as possible and be tested. I have my blood tested every year.There is medicines that can control diabetes and in severe cases, insulin injections. Hopefully, you will keep good healthy eating habits and avoid that long, dark ride down type 2 diabetes lane.
D5 Creation