GO FRESH, GO JUICE!!!

I love any kind of juice out there; apple, orange, grapefruit, pineapple, grape, mango, you name it. If you're like me, you believe that drinking juice is very healthy for you, which in fact it is. 

And...if you're like me, you mostly drink bottled juice you buy in the store, which in fact is not necessarily bad for either of us, just not very good. Why? I'd first start by looking at the nutritional facts on the bottle and googling nutritional facts for the same fruit freshly squeezed and compare the two. 

Actually, I've done a little of this for you. Check out this table:

Nutritional Facts 8 fluid oz.	Florida’s Natural Grapefruit Juice*	Freshly Squeezed Grapefruit Juice**
Calories	90	96
Potassium	300mg	400mg
Total Carbohydrate	22g	23g
Sugars	20g	23g
Vitamin A	0%	2%
Vitamin C	100%	156%
Thiamin	6%	0%
Niacin	2%	0%
Folate	6%	0%
Vitamin B2	2%	10%
Calcium	2%	2%
Iron	0%	3%

information taken from http://www.floridasnatural.com/our-juices/ruby-red-grapefruit-juice.php

**Information taken from https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/grapefruit-juice-freshly-squeezed

Most of the vitamins that are in Florida's Natural have been added after pasteurization. What is pasteurization? It is heat processing the juice to kill bacteria. While it is killing bacteria, it kills the vitamins as well, so then synthetic vitamins are added to replace what was lost. 
Synthetic vitamins are chemically made and not near as beneficial for us as natural, God-given vitamins.

So, as you look at the chart above, what you see is a lot more natural nutrition in a fresh cup of grapefruit juice versus the bottled juice. This is why drinking juice from a grapefruit is much healthier than from processed grapefruit juice.

Okay, we agree on that, right? If we are going to change the way we do things, the new way has to somehow fit into our schedules, because hey, not everyone has time to hand squeeze fruit everyday, right? Or do we?

I was shopping at Ross Dress For Less this past Saturday and picked up a manual juicer. My first thought is I want to be healthy the cheap way. Someday I might splurge on one of those Breville juicers, but today, I'm taking this baby home and using my arms.

It's fantastic! The feeling I get from having squeezed my own oranges is an unbelievable accomplishment. It's like hugging myself.

I honestly thought that it would be much harder, but I was so surprised at how very easy it is to squeeze grapefruit 'by hand.'

Check out my video on my first time using my new manual juicer:

If you are not making your juice now, I strongly suggest for you to start. The freshness of the taste supersedes anything you will buy in a bottle at the store. 
And, you do have time everyday to squeeze your juice. It takes me less than 2 minutes to cut a grapefruit and squeeze it. I know, I know, you're saying, "Yeah, but it like takes me 30 seconds to pour a glassful from the fridge." I hear you, but do this for you!!! 

Okay, so you're not for doing it manually. There's lots of great juicers out there that you can buy under $60. What about this one or maybe this one. 

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you are convince that extracting your own juice is the best and most healthful thing you can do for yourself. 

GO FRESH,GO JUICE!!!!!

A Bit of History...Explained

We all have our preferences when it comes to choices of meats, vegetables, fruit, etc. I wanted to post what some of our preferences are and what I look for when I browse the weekly ads.

A year ago I went to a health food store and had the owner look at my eyes, palms and fingernails and help me understand what might be areas of weakness in my health. He told me that my digestive system is really damaged and that although he couldn't diagnose, he thought I was close to having Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He suggested the Blood Type Diet in which I eat only foods that relate to my blood type. Since I have never been on a diet in my life (I know that sounds kind of strange coming from a female, but thank the Lord, I never have had weight issues nor have been concerned about my weight), I was apprehensive about this. He suggested I change two major foods in my diet and then gradually start changing others when needed, but focus on the foods on the list that I am already eating. So, I immediately  cut out beef and pork and strictly went to turkey and chicken. The second thing I was to cut out was the type of grease I was using; I went from butter and vegetable oil to extra-virgin olive oil.

My husband was in total support of changing our diet which made it so much easier on me. He really made me stick to the diet the first six months, for which I am thankful. I noticed a drastic change in my pain and bloating levels two months into the diet which encouraged me to continue on the diet. As of today, I feel so much better than I did a year ago.

I do want to say that I am not a strict dieter. There are foods on the diet I am unwilling to eat or give up the ones that are restricted. However, I'm learning that the more I listen to my body, the more healthy I feel from day to day.

So, with a little history down, I wanted to explain that many of the foods in the sales ads I will not be buying because of the diet that we are on. You will notice a lot turkey and chicken recipes on my weekly menus that can probably be substituted for beef and pork. I do want to encourage anyone who has not tried ground turkey or chicken sausage to open you mind to the possibility of finding a deliciously new cuisine awaiting you. 

Let's go get inspired to live more healthy lives and enjoy what we eat.