Juicing

acarolinagurl

acarolinagurl

Cathlete
Hi Everyone,

Needing advice on juicing. I just started juicing in the past 3 days. I like it, but I feel with the juicer I have (Cuisinart Centrifugal) I may be wasting more of the fruits and veggies, when I see all of the pulp it leaves behind. I need more information on the nutritional benefits,also. For example, this is one of the recipes I've used, handful of kale, 1 stalk of celery, 1 inch of ginger root, half cucumber, 1 apple, half lemon. My juicer made one full 8 ounce glass, so my question is is this enough to give me the nutritional benefits that I need along with eating veggies with my dinner? I ususally eat two servings of veggies with my dinner, no white starchy foods. I've also found that it's very expensive to juice, especially trying to make sure the fruits and veggies are fresh and organic. Also, has anyone on here heard or tried "Juice Plus"

Thanks in advance,
Sandy
 
To be honest I started out juicing like you and was shocked and disappointed at how much was wasted in pulp and the yield was so low in comparison to the amount of fruit and veggies I had to use. Recently I have discovered making "green smoothies". Which is actually doing what your doing BUT BLENDING the veggies and fruits instead which is way more effective. You use the same veggies and fruits and using a HIGH-POWERED blender like the Blendtec blender (I have and LOVE) or the Vitamix blender you will get top yield WITHOUT wasting a thing and the juice becomes a liquid/smoothie These blenders pulverize/liquifies veggies and fruits like you wouldn't believe (carrots, etc.) and pulverizes the cell walls so you get all the nutritional benefits WAY more bio-available (MORE enzymes, vitamins, minerals are easily absorbed, and is a complete food that's easily digestible) for absorption into your body than chewing and just as effective or MORE so than juicing. And believe me I know from experience. I am very sensitive to magnesium and it can give me hallucinagenic dreams in my sleep. Spinach and Chard have higher levels of this than some other greens BUT when I eat it by cooking or in salads I have NO problems with the magnesium in them BUT when I blend them in my Blendtec with fruits to make my greens drink I trip out in my sleep! So I know from experience the nutritional content when the cell walls are broken and pulverized by blending to release the nutrients is WAY more bio-available into your system. And therefore I can't use those greens for smoothies, I use kale and romaines instead along with fruits. There are some great books on this and some great websites too:

BOOKS:
1. Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko and her website:
http://www.rawfamily.com/green-smoothie (they also have demo's on how to make green smoothies) and here's one of their great educational demos on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW5LUkeVA6s

2. Green Smoothies Diet by Robyn Openshaw and her website: www.greensmoothiegirl.com (has here demos on making green smoothies using the Blendtec blender) and here's one of her demos on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXr8-jru1KE&feature=related

OTHER WEBSITES:
www.greensmoothiequeen.com
http://www.smoothie-handbook.com/green-smoothie.html
http://www.greensmoothie.com/blend/green.html
http://www.squidoo.com/greensmoothies

As you can tell I'm a greens drink/smoothie convert and will never go back to juicing for drinks. I have to warn you the blenders are expensive BUT they're worth every penny. I bought my Blendtec blender on ebay as a demo blender which is practically a new blender. I bought it from this store on ebay for $299.00:
http://stores.ebay.com/Eds-Discount-Store/_i.html?_fsub=10.

Check it out and I hope I make you a convert. :D
 
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Hi there! Thank you so much for all of the information. I'm on my way to work, so I'll have to check out these websites when I get home this afternoon. Sounds very interesting and believe it or not, I almost got the BLENDER!!! Should have went with my inner feeling about this. I'll let you what I think about all of this, and really appreciate your help and feedback. I've been having some wierd dreams and thought it was from the meds I'm taking (Synthriod), but now it may be from some of the juices, although I don't use spinach or chard.
I'll get back with you this afternoon! Can't wait to check it all out.

Thanks again,
Sandy
 
Sandy,
I agree with Twinkeltoes.

Unless there is some particular reason you want to juice rather than blend (like you are using the juices almost medicinally, and want the concentrated nutrients--but also realize that the sugars are concentrated as well. Carrot juice, for example, is very high glycemic), I'd recommend a Vitamix (which is what I have) or a Blendtec. (there's also a cheaper version that Montel Williams is promoting, but it's quite new on the market, and who knows if it is as long-lasting as the other two).

Aside from wasting the fiber (though you can use some of it for recipes: carrot pulp, for example, can be used in carrot cake or muffins, etc.), juicers are usually a PITA to clean, even those that claim to be 'easy to clean'.

I use my Vitamix at least once a day (usually twice), but have a juicer that is sitting gathering dust (and I recently got rid of another one).

If you get a Vitamix or Blendtec, you can still make juices if you want them. Just blend all the ingredients up, then strain through what's called a 'nut-milk bag'. I intend to do that if I ever need juice for anything (I have some recipes that call for it). If you do it for carrots, you will, however, have to add water before blending, as carrots are pretty dry.

I have quite a few green (and not-green) smoothie recipes in one of my blog posts here: http://cathe.com/forum/blog.php?b=1595
 
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Hi acarolinagurl! That's so cool that you almost got the blender!! I still hope you do.

Kathryn, I'm so glad you agree. I will have to check out your recipes when I have time. So your a Vitamix girl and I'm a Blendtec girl. We both have AMAZING blenders!! Though Montel's blender is a great less expensive alternative to the Vitamix it's definitely made of MUCH cheaper material and there is ALOT of complaints about them breaking and not lasting long. Check Amazon.com for reviews. I think the safest bet is Blendtec or Vitamix.

About the weird dreams, Synthroid can do this to some people. Vivid dreaming is one of the potential side-effects that may not be listed in the side-effects list but google it. So, for you I very much doubt it was your juice mix unless you had no symptoms before and suddenly the night you drank the juice you experienced it. And if the weird dreams go away as soon as you stop taking the your juice then it could be that. But I suspect Synthroid may be the culprit. It may just be an initial response to taking it or upping your dosage and your body may get used to it and the vivid dreams subside. Sounds like you just started taking it?
 
Thanks Kathryn! This is all very new to me and the info you and twinkletoes are giving me are great! I'm going to check out your blog for the recipes and the links that twinkletoes listed! I knew I could get the some help here! :)

My juicer is not the easiest to clean either, it says it is, but it's more of a hassle to juice and then have to take it apart to clean each time. I had just started the juicing because my SIL has went strickly vegan and is juicing a lot. I thought I'd give it a try for nutritional purposes, but hated seeing a lot of it wasted. I'm not much of a baker, so we were puting it in our compost that we started. I'm def going to look into these blenders.

I have just started back on the synthroid and I'm on the lowest dose right, I'm borderline hypo thyroid.

Do either of you know of any nutrients that would help with that? I've researched but have yet to find anything,and my doc doesn't believe in the "natural" alternatives. I don't think he would be against it if I really wanted to go that way, but we'll see. I didn't do well on the synthroid when I was on it earlier in the year, so I asked (begged) him to let me come off of it slowly, and he did, they have been keeping a close look on my blood levels, and it hasn't got worse, but hasn't got better either. So, we both decided maybe I should try the meds again.

So, thanks again for all the great info! I LOVE smothies, we had a smothie maker and used it until it broke! It was a cheap one though.

Thanks ladies!
Sandy
 
Neither am I a vegan! ;) Could NEVER do it, that's impossible for me and too much work to do also. But trying to eat a cleaner diet and/or making better food choices and doing green smoothies is where I'm at to stay healthy. :D

For the hypothyroidism I don't know of any natural alternatives except for natural Armour thyroid which has both T4, T3 and a full spectrum of other thyroid hormones that closely mimics the human thyroid hormone working synergistically together as opposed to the synthetic T4's only. Alot do well on just synthetics but some do not. For me natural always seems better than synthetic but that's just my opinion. And getting a doctor on board can be a challenge. Maybe finding a naturapath, osteopath or a holistic M.D. that is more willing to go a more natural route maybe something to look into. But you need to choose what works well for your body. You may just respond great to the synthetics and if you do why mess with it but if you don't then I would definitely advocate for myself. Mary J. Shomon has alot of articles on About.com that may help you. (I just looked up some info from there to help me in writing this). You might also want to read her book's (if you haven't already) as she is a fellow sufferer on the subject. Their very informative:
1. Living Well with Hypothyroidism
2. The Thyroid Hormone Breakthrough
3. The Thyroid Diet

I was once borderline hypothyroid a couple of years ago (Mary Shomon would have said I was hypothyroid) with a TSH of 6. When my TSH would correct down to 3 (still borderline for Mary) my T3 would then switch to the hypothyroid range. It was weird. But I decided not to take anything since even though I was feeling a bit yukkie I could handle it rather than the side-effects from meds that I'm too sensitive to take. Now I'm glad I made that decision as my body did correct itself. But that's not always common. If you need the med definitely take the meds but do work with your doctor to find the particular drug that will work with your body to feel better. There are other synthetics besides Synthroid that might be a better fit for your body's biochemistry. Find out which one works for you.:)
 
twinkletoes129 said:
As you can tell I'm a greens drink/smoothie convert and will never go back to juicing for drinks. I have to warn you the blenders are expensive BUT they're worth every penny. I bought my Blendtec blender on ebay as a demo blender which is practically a new blender. I bought it from this store on ebay for $299.00:
http://stores.ebay.com/Eds-Discount-Store/_i.html?_fsub=10.

Check it out and I hope I make you a convert. :D
Click to expand...

Hi Twinkletoes! Did you get a warranty for this demo blender?

thank you!:D
 
Hi llp! You can ask the seller if they give a warranty. I think they may. But don't quote me on it. As I live in Canada and the seller is in the U.S. the warranty wouldn't apply here anyway. But do ask them. :D
 
This thread got me going. I didn't think I could make green smoothies with my Oster blender. I recently had to replace the blade, however, and I got an "ice crushing" blade. So I gave it a try today. It worked great!!!!
Here's what I tried:

1 C Kefir
1 carrot
2 stalks celery
2 kale leaves - middle stem removed
2 packets stevia
1/2 red delicious apple
1/2 C frozen fruit (peaches, strawberries, mango, pineapple)
2 T Hemp seeds

It was DELICIOUS! And the ice blade handled the carrot and everything just fine.

Thanks for the post!
 
Hey there Twinkletoes, thanks for sharing so much info on the thyriod issue. I just have a hard time understanding everything about it. I haven't responded too well on the meds, and I'm still tired, but I have been under a lot of stress too, so that could be a part of it. I go back to the doctor for blood tests in a month, I have been back on the synthroid for about 3/4 weeks now, and he wanted me to come back for blood work after about 8 weeks. I've been doing this for a year now. I have Mary as a friend on FB. Earlier in the year I was researching so much that I put too much info in my head and was very overwhelmed from it all! I don't have any of her books, but maybe it would be a wise choice, it may help my understanding of it all well "understanding" lol.
So glad to hear yours corrected itself, did you do anything different that may have helped that? I would love if mine would get back to normal. :)

Hope you have a great weekend!
Sandy
 
Hi Elsie,

That's good to hear, and thanks for sharing the recipe. I'm going to look at some blenders this weekend. I like juicing, but I don't like to see how much of the food is wasted and the clean up is terrible after making just one 8 ounce glass of juice from a plate full of veggies.

I'll let you know how I like the recipe!

Sandy
 
HI ACAROLINAGURL! I get what you mean by information overload and then trying to make choices with that info.:confused: Yowzie! Wow, that's great that your FB friends with Mary! I think reading some of her books might very well be helpful to you. And be patient, I think sometimes it takes a while for your body to respond positively to these meds. When your test numbers finally go into good ranges hopefully you should be feeling much better but if you're still feeling yukkie then be sure to work with your doctor about what you guys can do next. Don't settle for yukkie. God bless you in your recovery. :)

To answer your question if I did anything to help my body heal, for me the only real thing I did was trying to add more healthy choices to my diet AND getting more physically active which was a very slow process for me BUT my final destination was CATHE. To give you some background I had chronic fatigue and was very, very sensitive to medications/supplements of any kinds. My doctor knew this and given my mild hypothyroidism and severe sensitivity to meds my great doctor and I decided against meds and to take a wait/test and see approach. I went from being so sore and weak from just simply bending forward into a forward fold, to yoga, to power yoga, to light step cardio, to Cathe step cardio and weights! It took about 4 years to reach to Cathe and during that time my thyroid numbers normalized. But remember my numbers were mild. And most diagnosed people really do need to go on medications. However, in all interventions healthy lifestyle changes is still key to recovery. :D

HEY ELSIE3! What a great yummie recipe!!! And isn't it cool, I also started making green smoothies with my Oster blender!! They may take a touch longer but the end result is still in awesome green smoothie!! :D
 
Hey Twinkletoes! Everything you've mentioned about your hypo thyroid sounds so much like me. Mind has been borderline, and my doc had let me go without meds for a while and we both decided maybe I should go back on them, but he knows how sensitive I am to meds as well! I've often wondered if I have CFS too, but I do have arthritis so a lot of my pain is from that.
Back in 05 I was doing Cathe workouts and eating a good diet, and on Saturdays I would cheat. It worked so well that I lost 25 lbs and felt better than I had in a long time, then in 07 I had a lot of stressful events hit me at once, slowly I became less aware of my diet and how it was getting out of hand, I then began slacking on my workouts, and here I am.
I have ordered Cathe's new workouts and I'm looking forward to getting them soon, I've got my workout room ready to go, and I'm going to get some yogo dvd's too, do you have any suggestions to some good ones? I've heard yoga can be beneficial to the thyroid. I also bought a Ninja blender today, haven't used it yet, I can't afford the blendtec or vitamix yet, but will eventually. :) I hope this one is good, I didn't do my research before getting it, so I'm going to do that now.
I am going to feel better, I just know it, and thanks so much for all the info and sharing your experiences, we sound very simular. :)

Hope you have a great week!
Sandy
 
Hi CarolinaGurl!

Your health experiences sound so similar to mine! I'm so glad your getting back into Cathe and starting yoga. And that's awesome you got a blender! Don't sweat it that it's not those expensive one's, any decent one will do. I started out with my good old reliable Oster blender and it did a surprisingly good job!

Last night I looked up some good yoga dvd's for you and when I get some time I will list them and where you can get them. Some I have myself or really like the instructor as I have others of there's and some are beginners and others are more intermediate. If you can get to a yoga class just to familiarize yourself to yoga if you've never done it before that would be a great start. Just so you kinda know what your doing when you start with dvd's. However, I gotta say I didn't start that way as I was too sick to do that. I started with dvd's only (as I could pace and modify myself, and stop whenever I needed to and build up from 5 min to 10 min, etc) but I had very good body awareness from doing ballet, bodybuilding etc in the past. Be sure to always preview the dvd first (I ALWAYS do that anyway with any workout dvd, Cathe or otherwise) especially when starting out on something unfamiliar if yoga is very new to you. I'll get back to you in a day or 2 or 3 ;) with a nice list of dvd's you can start with and then branch out with. :D
 
Thanks Twinkletoes! I have "tried" some yoga dvd's and it was very hard to stay focused and to keep up. I think when I start something, I'm supposed to do it in it's entireity. I'm too hard on myself. I need to learn that starting out slow is not always a bad thing especially since I'm not feeling all the energy. I'm looking forward to seeing the list you have for me! :)

I didn't get a chance to try my blender yesterday, but I'm going to tomorrow. I don't know what happened to today. :(

Thanks so much!
Sandy
 
Hi CarolinaGurl!

As promised here's my yoga dvd favorites. I know I put alot of info. but I'm just so enthusiastic and when I give info. I like to be thorough, it's my boon and bane.;) And some of these dvd's you can actually make shorter or longer workouts with them AND choose easier flows or harder flows (like Shiva Rea's and Eoin's disks disks). All the disks I'm recommending I have myself except for Yoga Zone: Flexibility and Stress Release. I have oodles of others but these are SOME of my top faves. Here goes :p:

Here are my faves' for Starter/Beginner dvds:
• Yoga Zone: Power Yoga for Strength & Endurance (I have this one)
- Yoga Zone is what I started with before I branched out. They may be a bit dated though
- this is a really good power yoga for beginner dvd. She really explains the moves and one does the full expression whilst the other does a modification. Even though she explains it still flows enough that you still get an awesome workout, however you will sit in chair pose AND in warrior poses for a killer length of time as she has you do all one side before going to the other side! If you want a real leg thigh burner workout this is it!!:p Talk about BUNS of steel!!;) (www.amazon.com, www.collagevideo.com)
• Yoga Zone: Flexibility & Stress Release (www.amazon.com, www.collagevideo.com)
• Namaste (the television series): MY PERSONAL FAVE
- I also started with this one on TV and bought the two series on DVD. It's awesome and flowy, soothing music and soothing/trancelike voiceover yet beginners can do it. It's very creative and almost dance like. Check out Youtube (search Namaste Yoga) for clips (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4sbRBghZ1k). It doesn't have much of my fave power moves like the chatarunga's (yoga pushups) but I still go to this one often. Can get it here: http://www.katepotteryoga.ca/namastetv.html AND here's the purchasing page (I recommend Namaste Season I Disk One for $24.95 as the first 6 episodes are pretty much my favourite and it's the least expensive) Well worth the investment. http://www.four51.com/UI/Customer.a...4eb5&CEI=05b0c986-5cd5-4201-b1ba-ad4ca4b3a014

For Intermediate/Advanced Here's MY FAVES (they tend towards offshoots of Power Yoga which will make you sweat:
• Shiva Rea's two DVD's Yoga Shakti (which has 4 pre-set practices ranging from 30min to 90min AND a Yoga Matrix which has 30 vinyasa sequences to make your own custom practice) and her Fluid Power Vinyasa Flow Yoga (has 6 different pre-set practices from 26-103min AND also a Yoga Matrix with 20 vinyasa sequences to make a custom practice). Her dvd's are AWESOME, challenging, have a fluid flow and her second one is almost dancelike, has great music and her voice over is pure perfection, soothing, soft, one of the best ever. These are top notch!! And you can make SO MANY different practices out of them!! (amazon.com, etc)
• Eoin Finn's three DVD's Power Yoga for Happiness (which has 5 routines on 2 disks ranging from 30min to 80min), Power Yoga for Happiness 2 (which has 7 routines on 2 disks) and his newer one The Pursuit of Happy Hips with Eoin Finn (with over 4 hours of flow style yoga with 4 routines ranging from 40 to 80min of varying difficulty). He is fun, challenging and awesome!! (www.advancedworkouts.com also amazon.com)
• Yoga Radiance Four Season's of Renewal: Has 4 segments in it and you can choose to do all or segments. This is a soothing almost trance like flowing sweaty power yoga. I just LOVE it. (Amazon.com)
• Mark Blanchard's Progressive Power Yoga The Sedona Experienc: There's 4 to 5 disks in the set. You can just buy one or all. He's fun and intense. (http://www.collagevideo.com/searchresults.aspx?type=all&search=mark+blanchard)
• Inhale with Steve Ross: This is a TV program you can watch on the Oxygen channel early in the morning around 6 or 7am and can be Tivo'd. I hope it's still on. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE him. He was my go to guy for a LONG while and still will be! It's power yoga with funk and flair. Great hip music to bop to. As you can tell this will not put you in a soothing state but an invigorating, stimulating, happy yoga state.:p

Others That I Love:
• Radiant Flow with Janet Stone: She's AWESOME!! Can get from her website. (Amazon.com seller)
• Gentle Vinyasa Yoga Mystical Desert Mist Beginner & Intermediate with Jyl Auxter (can get on Amazon.com): Really good short soothing Ashtanga yoga and you can choose from 3 different music settings. LOVE IT!
• Ease into Ashtanga with Yoga Hawaii: Amazing dvd with 3.5 hours of practice that you can choose shorter or longer sequences with interactive instructions. It's really that good! "The DVD contains two elements. The first element is instructional, teaching all the postures in the primary series of Ashtanga and also offers modifications for each of the poses. The second element is the 75 minute flow series. You may also select from a 30 minute, 40 minute, 50 minute or 60 minute routine. Multiple Teacher Voices: Using your DVD remote you can select your teacher for the practice. Rupali, Diane or Tania" (Amazon.com)
• Yogatopia: The Art of Vinyasa Flow with Litsa Kapantais: She's really good!
• Bryan Kest's Power Yoga (3 programs: Energize, Tone, and Sweat): It's challenging and almost sexy in a way, will make you sweat. An oldie BUT a goodie!!!

And here's my fave places to shop for them depending on price and availability:
Advancedworkouts.com (she's great to work with)
Totalfitnessdvds.com (has video clips for most of their video's)
Collagevideo.com (has video clips for each video)
Amazon.com
Fitnessfly.com

Let me know how your new green smoothies come out with your new blender. :D
 
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Thanks so much! These all look very interesting. I had one of Shiva's, and I just looked at my collection of DVD's and I don't have it anymore, I know I gave my daughter some that I had quit doing. I think I did hers once, I remember it being kind of flowing and dancy, which I loved, but it was hard. I may call my daughter and see if she is using them and if not see if I can borrow them from her. :)
So much help with all of this, I really appreciate you taking the time to not only give me the DVD titles, but a little background on them as well! I'm going to go check them out and see if any have clips. I just want to get started and keep going and not stop, or give up. I want to reach my goal of feeling better and having better health as well as drop some lbs, and really make this a lifestyle. I have went back and forth for the past 3 yrs and it's makes me angry with myself. I would come here to get inspiration and it would last a couple of weeks and then I was back in the same routine. :( I'm hoping that this time will last the rest of my life, and help me feel better and become more energized and passionate about what I put in my body as well as how I treat my body and mind. :) Again, thanks so much for your help. :)

I did a green smoothie last night, and it was a little too thick, so I'm going to play around with it, but the blender did great! I'm very happy with it and see myself using it often! :)
 
Thanks so much! These all look very interesting. I had one of Shiva's, and I just looked at my collection of DVD's and I don't have it anymore, I know I gave my daughter some that I had quit doing. I think I did hers once, I remember it being kind of flowing and dancy, which I loved, but it was hard. I may call my daughter and see if she is using them and if not see if I can borrow them from her. :)
Click to expand...
Get that back quick!!! Shiva's dvd's are amazing ESPECIALLY the one's I mentioned. You can even make somewhat easier workouts from them using the matrix in those dvd's. So get it back!!;)

I know sometimes it's hard to stay motivated and life can get in the way. Just try to make it a lifestyle. And stay connected to keep that motivation going. When I get demotivated I get back on Cathe's site and read posts or look at health mags or health books to keep me fired up OR watch some Dr. Oz!! That really keeps you on target!!:D I mainly only workout 3-4 times a week and sometimes I may only get 2 workouts in a week and sometimes none at all. And that's okay. I don't have the energy to ever become a workout addict!:p And to be honest right now I've had a health set back so for 2 months now I haven't been able to do anything!:mad::( But I'm just biding my time and believing that as I did before in my many setbacks (I had one 3 years ago, and was able to crawl my way back to doing Cathe again–took a year) I will slowly be able to add exercises in until I'm back doing my Cathe Imax's & HIIT's & Gymstyles/STS's & Athletic Step and BodyMax 2 and the list goes on!! Can you tell I'm a Cathe fanatic!!!:p:D Keep motivated you can do it!!:D;)

Regarding the smoothie I'm not sure you know to add water to your ingredients but just in case you don't make sure to add at the very least 1/2 cup of water to the blender or whatever you need to get to your desired consistency. You don't want sludge!!:eek: Remember this is not juicing BUT it has similar if not better ramifications than juicing in that the nutrients are incredibly bioavailable to be absorbed into your system as the cell walls are broken and crushed. Have fun with your creations!!:D
 
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