What is a juice fast?

I've had a few people ask what goes into a juice fast, so I will do my best to thoroughly explain this amazing yet difficult thing.

First, one must understand that juicing is not better or worse than say smoothies. It is the purpose behind the juicing.

When one juices you are getting massive amounts of easily absorbed vitamins and minerals from living fruits and vegetables.

When you make a smoothie, not including protein powder, but a true vegetable and fruit smoothie you are doing it for other reasons. When juicing, yes you are not getting the fiber from those fruits and veggies, but if you were to see how much fiber I eat in a day, it is not a concern of mine to miss out on that fiber. So if you are eating a mainstream diet, and a smoothie is the best thing you will get in your body that day, then I suggest smoothies. But you MUST have a high enough powered blender to masticate and break apart the vegetables and fruit.

Juicing is detoxing, vitamin and mineral rich drink I give myself every day, that my body gets a break from the constant digesting of food 24 hours a day.

What are toxins and why would we want/need to flush them out of our bodies?

Toxins are anything not natural, man made that we ingest/drink into our bodies. Toxins are also external things found in our air, clothing, makeup, body products, etc.

When we eat something that is not natural and our body doesn't know what to do with it, it takes that toxin and stores it in a fat cell It takes too much energy to figure out what it is, so by storing it in a fat cell our body is basically saying "I'll get to you when I have a chance". So when you are looking at your body and your fat, just think that is all the stored toxins my body hasn't known what to do with.

If you don't believe me about this stores in our tissues/bodies stuff about toxins, go get a massage.

What's the first thing they ask you to do when the massage is over?

"PLEASE, when you leave make sure you drink plenty of water today."

When you get a massage, the massage therapist is breaking apart (based on my limited knowledge of massage) and releasing toxins from the skin. During the massage the toxins are released into your blood stream and need to get flushed out of your body. SOOOOO how do we "flush" things?

1.) GO PEE
 2.) GO POOP
3.) SWEAT

So, now that we understand toxins, how does "juicing" release these toxins.

Remember when I stated above that when we eat something that our body is unfamiliar with or doesn't know what to do with like say food coloring RED-40.

We eat a strand of Red Vine Licorice. These are the following ingredients:
Corn Syrup, Wheat Flour, Citric Acid, Artificial Flavor, Red 40

Corn syrup...quickly used up but not a great way to get "energy", wheat flour...difficult to digest...citric acid...a little more easily digested depending on source which is probably not natural, artificial flavor...definitely not natural, and RED 40...I don't even think I know what that is, except a food color, which is SCARY!!!

So our bodies takes all these ingredients and pushes what isn't immediately used into our fat cells so we can use that "energy" later.

As we juice, we give our bodies a chance to rest from digesting, which is the biggest job our body has. I can't remember the exact percentage but it is anywhere from 70% to 90% of our bodies energy is used to just digest the food we eat.

JUST DIGESTING!!!!! Not chasing after your kids, running a mile, washing your hair, or doing the laundry.

So when our body is free from digesting and given the nutrients it needs, the body can go to work working on other items in your body of importance. It can now go to work after that thing you ate that it didn't know what to do with. Your body is an amazing  I can go break apart that fat cell and see what it is and dispose of it properly.

Have you ever wondered how we can have cancer in our body for years and it never surface until something triggers it...what if that trigger is an overabudance of toxins in our body that our body was never able to get to because we were constantly bombarding it with poor food and things it was busily trying to figure out what to do with?

This is why detox symptoms can be so nasty. Think of all the heavy metals you've eaten in your fish, seafood, antibiotics, medicines, etc, etc, etc,. They get released. Think of all the addititives, fillers, fake things that are found in our processed foods. They get released. And I'm not talking about the In and Out burger you ate last Friday, I'm talking years and years are in your cells, wanting and waiting to be released. This is why I am still "cleansing". Trying to get deeper and deeper into my cellular wall to release all the bad food I've eaten and eat (which is significantly on the better than worse).

I truly love juice fasting. As I lay out the three days below I hope you'll also see why.

Prefast Juice preparation:

I suggest you eat as cleanly as you can a few days before the fast begins, or just do smoothies for a day or two before. You want the most easily digested foods to be going through your system.

The night before you start Day 1 of the juice fast, you need to have a good bowel movement or administer an enema. This will help significantly with detox symptoms. I am not all about taking a product to help you go. There is nothing wrong with sending water in to help clean out what's coming out. If you decide to do the fast the info from Natalia goes into great detail on this portion. Just know enemas are not as bad as you think. I do not give myself one every day or every week for that matter. I am not doing it to just lose weight SO fast. I am doing it with cleansing in mind, not weight loss, but it took me a bit to get to this point. So also don't feel bad if you are wanting to do this only for weight loss purposes. You're understanding will increase on this and you'll definitely feel more enlightened as to our bodies functions/processes. What's especially great is that doing a juice fast actually increases your metabolism so if you have some weight to lose you should feel a great "boost" from doing a fast.

Fasting is almost a forgotten thing in the American society, so it is no wonder it is often frowned upon by outsiders. It is either used religiously or holistically. We will be doing it for holistic purposes but you'll be amazed at the religious and/or God given revelations through this fast. I love the deep connection I feel to my soul during these fasts as I am more forced to face my true feelings and addictions.

Day 1:

Upon waking make yourself some juice.

What constitutes a juice? You can alter and change and add whatever you wish, the only requirement that it be a truly fresh pressed vegetable or fruit juice.

For example my new favorite drink, and this changes all the time, but it is like a juicy tropical drink.

1 kale steam/leaf
1 small head of romaine lettuce
1 lime
A handful of cilantro
1/2 of a cucumber
green apple
1 small beet
2 carrots
I add a little stevia to taste ;)

Put in juicer, this yields 2 to 3 cups of juice with my juicer. If you have a Breville or something like it you'll want to double the above to yield the same amount. YUMMO!

But you mainly want to have a small base of dark greens followed with a LOT of light greens.

Jordan's Juice

1 or 2 kale stems/leaf
3 to 4 stalks of celery
1/2 cucumber
3 or 4 carrots
green apple
lemon

Just juice it and drink!

You can have as much juice as  you need/want. You can also have broth, herbal teas, lemonade (fresh pressed with stevia), orange juice ( fresh pressed with stevia), you can make lots of different types of juices and I'll forward that info on once I know you are on board!

Day 2:

Continue juicing and drinking as you did the day before.

You will want to do either a colonic or enema today.

Day 3:

Continue to juice and drink as you did the last three days.

Day 4:

Juice until lunch. At lunch you'll want to have an easily digested meal. I will give examples on the cleanse, once I know who is doing it. ;)

LASTLY!

Enema or colonic...

These are my feelings on this topic. My opinions, not a medical doctor, dietician or certified hydro therapist.

For the price and effectiveness an enema will do almost as well as a colonic. Yes, a colonic can go much deeper and pull out more waste, but a properly done enema can get a lot out as well. When I do my enemas I do 2 to 3 bags of water, so by the end I know I am getting a lot out.

The cost of 1 colonic can range from $40 and above. If you have it in your budget to do colonics, by all means do them. But for a $10 enema kit that you can use over and over again for months, and get great results...I'll let you choose.

And nothing makes me more crazy than to hear this lifestyle is extreme...

No, going and getting your stomach stapled is extreme

Having your stomach divided and then somehow rerouted to your lower intestine and colon is extreme

Working out for 2 to 3 hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week is extreme

When you  do a juice fast, all of this is done, except for a colonic, in the privacy of your home. You are making the choices. You are putting good things in your body and helping to get the bad things out.

By mid to end of day 2 and onto day 3 you feel so much energy and almost euphoric...why?

Your body can take the energy it typically devotes to digesting and put it everywhere else in your body. And when I say energy, I mean the clean your house in an hour type. It is amazing!

Please let me know if you are interested in doing this. I will send you a prefast email a week before and then again a few days before so you are prepared and can buy all the veggies and fruit you'll need so you stay on track!

xoxo Natalie

JUICE FAST!!!!! Who's in?

I cannot believe it has been almost 20 days since I've posted something. I'm so sorry!

It has been extremely busy around this house with getting ready for school and just taking care of life!

Alright, so I'm "planning" my next juice fast...

WHO'S IN? :)

You MUST have the following to participate:

1.) A Juicer!  Any kind will do, just something that will give you fresh squeezed vegetable and fruit juice.

2.) Willing to give yourself enemas or go and get colonics. If you are not going to do this, I will not let you do the cleanse. Instead of awaking the old matter and getting rid of it you will release it into your body and then your body will reabsorb it and make you even more sick. This will greatly help with the detox symptoms (trust me) and help move out the waste and move that ticker on the scale! YEAH! (I will require a verbal or written commitment to either enemas or colonic's)

3.) Be committed. Be committed to your health, your self, and your future. This is not a get skinny quick fade. Yes, you will lose weight, but if you go right back to your mainstream diet, and not eating good foods...GUESS WHAT? It'll all come back and with a gusto!

4.) Remember I am not a licensed dietician or any other thing of the sort. You cannot hold me liable if something goes amiss. If you have preexisting conditions, please check with your doctor before beginning something of this magnitude.

5.) THIS IS NOT EASY! This is not for the faint of heart or those who aren't all in. The second day tends to be the ugliest, as in your cravings will be rearing their ugly heads. I suggest you make these three days as low stress and calm as you possibly can! Do not plan too much on these days.

Juice Fast

September  16th, 17th, and 18th

I hope you can commit and join me. Please message me on here or through my facebook page.

So excited for what's in your future!

xoxo Natalie

My doings with a few recipes mixed in...

I feel like my life is on fast forward.

I am running faster than I have strength and energy.

Too much to do and not enough time to do it.

It's been a 32 oz kind of day every day this week...sheesh!

I knew this hospital mug would come in good use.

But, I got an A on my religion final. And let me tell you folks that is a big deal and a prayer answered cause I studied for only like 20 minutes before I walked in those doors at BYU and took that test. (When I write things like this it makes me feel 20 again, and then I look in the mirror. Oh yah, I ain't so young any more, for good and bad!)

So after I took my test, I went and "gleaned" again at Kim's. She is such a fun lady and we are a lot alike when it comes to gardens and being more self sufficient. I cannot wait to have a big 'ol plot of land and plant my garden, maybe a few chickens, some bees, and definitely an herb garden! ( And, yes, I know that sentence just made me sound like a 90 year old women with no teeth and an end of the world book on my night stand, which may or may not be true. The book that is!)

When I got home I washed all those veggies up, and, look at this pretty picture of vegetables. Oh, I love the smell of veggies fresh out of the earth, seriously nothing better!

Jace said this was the biggest green bean he'd ever seen. I think I had to agree. I had to watch him, he was "stealing" veggies. I found a carrot top in the garbage in the bathroom later that day. Silly kid! :)

Alright, so I have been trying and testing and tasting lots of recipes. But like I've said before, only the truly delicious make it on here. So here you go.

On Sunday morning we made Buckwheat pancakes. Ooooweeeee!!!! Were they good! We added pecans and blueberries, with butter and REAL maple syrup. My Kenzie Lou and Jace chowed them down. They were really good.

And of course, I forgot to take an actual photo of the pancakes...the rush of Sunday mornings, AHHHHHH!

TASTY BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES
from ALLRECIPES.COM

Ingredients 
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour (this is at WINCO in their bulk section with all the flours)
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup almond milk
3 TBSP Sunflower oil
1 TBSP Honey
1 egg, slightly beaten

Mix and make yourself some delicious pancakes!

So filling! I could eat this every day.

Then the other night, I was craving pizza something fierce. I looked on detoxinista.com for a recipe I saw during my cleanse.

http://detoxinista.com/2011/01/pizza-roasted-veggies/

Well, it did not disapoint and I've now had it two night in a row, with a salad before hand, of course!











And lastly, what do you do when life gives you kale?

You make KALE CHIPS!

Thanks to my neighbor and friend Heidi who is growing a plethera of kale right now. She dropped by a big grocery bag of kale for us! Well, what didn't get put aside to juice, has been made into kale chips.

Washed and ready to be torn apart.

I've rubbed these bad boys with EVOO, and salt. Once on the rack, I sprinkle generously with nutritional yeast. And, I just created the most delicious kale chips ever by blending soaked cashews with a red pepper, red onion, and a few seasonings. AMAZING!

Utah tomatoes make me cry

I have been so super busy. I apologize for the lack of posts. But, boy, oh boy, do I have some recipes and things to SHARE!

Ready, Set, GO!!!!

First, I have been beyond emotional lately.


Jordan's dad remarried last Saturday in Pocatello, so off we drove on Saturday for the wedding. He has married a wonderful women and I am so happy to have her apart of the family and apart of our lives.

But that hasn't stopped the tears lately. Today I completely broke down at dinner and started crying to Jordan because I am so, so, so sad the children will not remember Grandma Nadine. There were a million amazing things about her and it makes my heart break they will not remember her. I am so grateful for Carole, and for the Grandma she will be, but I'm still sad about the whole thing.

Speaking of Grandma's...Have you ever become so lost in your thoughts, the world around you literally disappears. A few days ago I was making this amazing tomato salad, recipe to follow, that created just that scene.

An amazing lady, by the name of Kim, that Jordan works with, and whom we've become good friends, also has a ginormous garden in Provo and let's us "glean" what the others don't pick on Monday's. I am so grateful for this because we are getting so many fresh, nearly organic vegetables!

So, she has like a million tomato plants and I picked around 6 or 7 of these heirloom, beefsteak tomatoes, absolutely gorgeous. But even more incredible than the garden or how many tomato plants she has, they are, ooooooohhhhh, and this is the exciting part...UTAH TOMATOES!

Now, if you've never had a Utah tomato, you really have no idea what I'm talking about but if you have, you KNOW exactly what I'm talking about.

Ok, so here's the point of the tomato story. So I'm making Ina Garden's Tomato Feta Salad, cutting my tomatoes, and I just start crying.

Again, why so emotional Natalie? (Yes, I talk in 3rd person)

So I omitted the feta because I didn't have any. But you could put in Goat feta or regular based on your desire and needs!
Oh so delicious! 

Well, I have many distinct memories of visiting my Grandma and Grandpa Hinckley, who still have their home literally 5 mintues down the highway from me in Highland (we are talking about 25+ memories of a home and people). We would come and visit Utah every year as a family growing up, and I would go and have Utah tomatoes out of my Grandma's garden every year. I miss Grandma so much. She died over 8 years ago, and I still cry thinking about her. As a matter of fact I'm crying right now as I write this. I can still see her hands cutting the tomatoes and the smell of them on the dinner table. She would boil them, eeeeekkkkkk, and peel the skin. Now that is not something I do, but I love tomatoes, and I know it is because of her and getting to go and pick them with her and watching her make them for us that I have such a love of tomatoes.

Well, as I am making this recipe, I am completely dreaming about seeing and being with my Grandma, when Sean yells, "mom, you hear me?"

Opps, yes son, I hear you. Well, not really...

I've gone black and I'm never going back...

Black rice that is! :)

I discovered black rice at WINCO a few weeks back and have been dying to try it!

Looks like coffee, but it ain't!

So dark, so beautiful!

Once I made it tonight I realized I have had it before. My girl Meghan and I went to this way cool restaurant up in Sugar House a few months back. It's called Ekami and it's fast food Thai. AMAZING! Well, they served this "purple" rice with the dish and I loved it. I now know it is black rice.

So tonight I made my sushi with it and it was really good, for a non white rice. Don't get me wrong, there is something so yummy about white rice, but the nutritional benefits from black rice are amazing! (I looked it up last night, think along the lines of blueberry antioxidants because of the color)

My pre-dinner salad. Some spinach, romaine, red pepper, mushroom and goat yogurt ranch dressing.

Jordan told me it was the best sushi I've made.

I had an Olympic type moment of pride in my sushi... haha!

I made the sushi tonight California style but added a few yummy new things.

So with the Californian, you have avocado, cucumber, cream cheese, and crab. But I added the red pepper drenched in Siriachi sauce and some aneheim chili pepper. SOOOOO good.

I hope you will try some black rice in the near future. I can't wait to try it with my massaman? curry...oh the anticipation!

Also, this last weekend we went to Island Park, Idaho for a family reunion on Jordan's side and had a blast. I pre-juiced which made me feel better that I had at least something good going in. I did the best with the menu. I ate a lot of "normal" meals and it reminded me how dead everyone's food truly is. It seems like a lot to add fresh fruit and veggies, but now it's such a habit, it isn't work any more. Just always try to add something living to every meal. If you think of it like that it makes it so much more doable. Don't think you always have to have a salad! Try including some fresh fruit before your meal or eat a cucumber. Give your body something living that will help it to pull your other food through.

The most amazing part about last weekend is that my girl Ginger was going to Island Park for this week and so we were able to meet up in Rexburg! It was amazing and felt like Christmas! I was so excited to see her and her sweet family! I cried, of course, but mainly laughed and wished I still lived in Nashville. But if I can see her randomly, it will be better than nothing. To my "whole" friend! xoxo