Spring Cleaning

I eat what I crave, and my cravings have been leaning towards lighter foods as temperatures are warming in Philadelphia. Another reason I love spring and summer (and sunny destinations).

One of my favorite vacation spots is Tulum, Mexico where I drink fruit smoothies and coconut water by day and eat fresh veggies and legumes by night. Eating light is so easy in warm climates, the body doesn't really feel hungry in the heat (mine prefers to stay hydrated) and the last thing I want is to feel heavier in humid climates.

Back in everyday life, raw has been an elusive concept for me because let's face it, tasty and healthy vegan isn't convenient in this town, let alone raw. With the addition of long days, I'm not really in the mood to cook at 9pm. I just want to eat dinner! Until I can afford a personal chef, I need to get with the program. I know eating less starchy meals would do me so much good- been feeling weighed down by many nights of restaurant food. Time for a cleanse.

I'm starting the transition today. I have no expectations of how raw I'll go or for how long. I'll let my body decide and listen accordingly. Here's my first green juice. There are many variations; this is my mash up of what's available in the fridge today. My masticater hasn't arrived yet, so everything is going in the blender. It was still very light and refreshing. As long as I didn't use any starchy fruits, the drink came out light.

The end product looked a tad putrid in color after I added the wild blueberries. So no image of the final juice. The green from the veggies was a spectacular deep and bright green. The chlorophyll was calling my name! There are so many green juice recipes. Some add vanilla and sweeteners, which I've omitted. Personally, I like to keep sweetness to a minimum and saved only for dessert. I don't want to train my taste buds to crave sweets any more than it already does. Feel free to do as you like.

Green Juice #1

Ingredients:
8 oz organic wild frozen blueberries
5 oz organic baby spinach
3 oz organic lemon juice (used Meyer lemons today)
2 oz organic cucumber (kept the skin, removed seeds)
1 oz organic petite pak choi microgreens
2 cups of filtered water

Directions:

• I blended the spinach with enough water to cover the greens. Blend in small batches and until all leaves are pulverized. I only used about 2 cups of water.
  
• I added freshly squeezed lemon juice (seeds removed).
  
• Cut up some cucumber, removed seeds, kept the skin, and threw it in.
• Threw in the microgreens and pulsed.
  
• Added blueberries for extra antioxidants and minimal sweetness to off-set the bitterness of the greens.
• Results in about 30 oz of green juice. Enough for you and a lucky mate.

Have fun experimenting! If you have favorite combos I should try, please let me know!