My mom found Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead on Netflix last year. She mentioned it to me. I watched it and was very inspired because of my autoimmune diseases. But also because I just want to be healthy and feel good.
Let's just be very clear here... I AM A JUNK FOOD JUNKIE AT HEART! If I could be healthy and just eat chips and a beer for dinner, I would. I absolutely adore cooking. I absolutely abhor dishes. I am passionate about fashion and love to have my clothes fit and feel really good. I was always thin..at times too skinny..until my autoimmune stuff started in my early twenties. And as I went through my pregnancies in my twenties, I found myself struggling more and more with my weight and my health. By the time I was 28, I was having severe indigestion and intermittent gall bladder pain and my thyroid was no longer functioning. By the time I was 37, I had been on numerous medications and I had my gall bladder out and I just felt unhealthy. I have followed numerous diets..low fat, no sugar, high protein..you name it, I probably tried it. I also had success to a certain degree. When the clock turned to the new millenium, I knew I could no longer eat white flour. I didn't know why. I figured out by process of elimination that white flour made me feel very sick. I continued to complain to doctors that I just didn't feel well. I didn't know why. I just didn't. In 2008, I had two surgeries back to back. One was a double upper abdominal hernia repair. And the other was to place my BAHA. I believe those two surgeries saved my life because they flared my autoimmune diseases. I finally found a new endocrinoogist who saw something else going on with me..unlike all the others who simply checked my thyroid and said I was fine. My new doctor found Hashimoto's which is what destroyed my thyroid, positive ANA bloodwork for Celiac (or gluten intolerance), and Sjogren's Syndrome which attacks your exocrine system..all the glands in your body that secret things like tears and saliva. It falls in the category with rheumatoid arthritis, schleraderma, or lupus and it mimics multiple schlerosis. And that is where my journey with healthy food really begins.
Why juicing?... because from what I understand..juicing makes the wonderful enzymes in produce permeate your body at the cellular level within 15 minutes of ingestion. And having been juicing for awhile, I can tell you that I feel good physically and emotionally when I juice. Sjogren's causes flares with extreme fatigue..and it is energy that I seek and get from juicing. It is also great nutrition which I feel can keep me off of traditional medications.
spinach, celery, apple, carrot, kale, parsley, and lemon
We have two Jack LaLanne juicers...work great and easy to clean...he was the epitomy of health...
spinach first...or leafy things first...bunch them up in a tight ball
spinach coming out...very dark green and not a huge amount of juice but awesome nutrition
and I also put the parsley through following the spinach... parsley is full of chlorophyll which cleanses your intestines and gives you great breath!
carrot next to wash the spinach through the juicer..carrots produce a lot of juice and add sweetness
celery..it is my favorite to juice and is a natural diuretic...great if you are have fluid retention
and apple to wash it all through the juicer... an apple a day ;)
lemon adds a wonderful brightness (we don't put the peel through)
all of that produce makes 2 cups... we drink 2 cups per person at least per meal...which if we are really juicing a lot would be 3 or 4 times a day
very green...but tastes wonderful! we use straws...we just like to
And I usually have some sort of healthy protein with my juice..this morning it was farm fresh eggs..we have a superb organic source
I wash my produce and do very little prep...cut off ends of carrot but no peeling...take seeds out of the apple...wash grapes only and put the whole bunch through...that's about it. Putting the produce through the juicer takes a minute or two. Then I quickly disassemble the juicer and rinse it very well while I drink my juice. We wash the juicer with soap at the last use of the day. That just seems to work the best for us...or we put all the parts in the dishwasher.
Don't get me wrong..everything in moderation. I will still enjoy my chips and a beer for dinner every now and then. And I will go out to eat or enjoy my chocolate when I choose. But that's the most important point. I can have what I want when I choose and just be okay and I can also choose to eat healthy or not eat at all if I don't feel like it. And I can also choose to reboot and cleanse my system for a couple weeks if I want which is what I am currently doing in anticipation for Easter dinner. I am looking forward to cooking for my family and them doing the dishes!!
Juicing helps me not worry about food...what I will eat..or how my clothes will fit. :)
Matthew 6: 24-26 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
God Bless,
love,
Monica
