April 20, 2009
In England the spring sunshine coaxes me outside to enjoy the beautiful flowers and revel in the fresh air and warm sunshine on my skin. I find I love to run again, and am spring cleaning and decluttering the house in wild abandon.
Bags of books, videos, and clothes, have been donated to the charity shop, and still there's more.
My body too is in need of a spring clean, and ready for a week of fresh juice, smoothies, and salads.
Fresh Spring Juice
Ingredients - Serves 2-3
- 4 apples
- 4 stems of celery
- 1/2 lemon
- Fresh spring nettles and/or cleavers - 1 (gloved!) handful
How to make
- Put on your gloves and go forage some nettles. Wash them well.
- Wash and core the apples
- Cut the rind off the lemon.
- Chop to fit your juicer
- Juice and enjoy
You will need a masticating juicer to handle the nettles. If you've got a centrifugal model then try replacing the nettles with some more celery.
Click here for more recipes with nettles
Blending v. Juicing
I love to drink both juices and smoothies.Juices are fiber free and very easy for the body to digest. It is easy to make delicious fresh juice from a wide range of fruit and vegetables. Juice is great at keeping the body well hydrated.
Smoothies on the other hand are rich in fiber. The fiber can act like a sponge drawing toxins from the body and helping to keep the colon clean and regular. I like to make smoothies from whole fruit and fresh greens.
Can you recommend a good book on blending for health?
If you'd like to learn more about blending for health the two books I recommend are:
- The Blending Book: Maximizing Nature's Nutrients: How to Blend Fruits and Vegetables for Better Health
: Written by raw food pioneer Ann Wigmore it has recipes for both sweet and savory smoothies, plus lots of info on the living foods diet.
- "Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko": Loads of information on the nutritional importance of greens, plus smoothie recipes - 17 sweet green smoothies, and 6 savory ones.
Date for your Diary
Reversing Diabetes Action Day
The producers of the documentary film Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in Thirty Days are organizing a Reversing Diabetes Action Day on the 25th April.
The event aims to promote raw food and a healthy lifestyle to some of the 246 million diabetics in the world.
Click here to join the movement and find out more
love,
Amanda