.: juicing addict :.

if you follow me on any type of social media (Twitter: @sweetdeesnuts or Instagram @lifeonthedeelist), you've seen me blasting pictures of my new juicer and all the fun i have been having with it! i am SO excited to finally have a juicer - i literally have been doing research for the past year and a half on juicers. i originally boughta  $100 JuiceMan from Target a couple years ago, but immediately returned it because i was overwhelmed by how much produce it required to just get a cup of juice! i couldn't afford the time or the money at the time for a juicer. well, i'm now another year further out of college and further into my career and decided that i wanted to give it another shot. plus, being a wellness coordinator, i should probably continue to work on my wellness, right?

after talking with a few of my 'juicing expert' friends and a few nutrition professionals, i knew that i wanted to get a Breville, but there are SO many makes and models, it was overwhelming. i researched the capabilites and reviews of every Breville model that i heard of. i wanted to give you guys an overview of what i found, in case you are looking for a juicer!

Breville JE98XL - this is going to be the most basic juicer. if you have ever seen 'fat, sick and nearly dead' this is the juicer he uses. if you haven't seen it, you should. this is a great start for people who are tip-toeing around the possibility of starting to juice. it's fairly inexpensive and easy to find - Best Buy happens to sell this one for $149. this will juice your most basic produce - this apples, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers. it is dual speed for both hard and soft produce.

Breville JE510XL - this is a step up from the basic juicer - it has 5 speeds to adjust depending on which produce you are trying to juice. this also has a Nutri disc which easily separates the pulp and the juice. some people may find this desirable while others prefer to have some pulp - completely personal preferences. this juicer runs about $199 at Macy's.

Breville 800JEXL - this is going to be another step up, yet. it runs about $299 from Macy's or Williams Sonoma. this one is also a dual speed, but will juice more efficiently than the JE98XL - it will give you about 30% more juice! the opening to this juicer is extra wide which cuts down on all the chopping and preparing of the produce - i have found that this is a huge plus for obvious reasons!

now i get to talk about the juicer that i bought - my plan was to get the JE510XL or 800JEXL, but i was also hoping for a store associate to shed some light on which one would best fit my lifestyle. the guy at Williams Sonoma, not only loved his job, but was very educated when it came to juicers right down to the sound differences of them....

anyway, he broke down all the juicers from the most basic to the mack daddy of juicers including a Hurom slow juicer (which is also another great choice, but he mentioned that his fellow co-workers returned the Hurom for a Breville). after talking with him and hearing his lovely and accurate sound effects, i decided on the Breville BJS600XL. it only has 1 speed, but it is a slow juicer, so it really gets the most of out of the produce. with that being said, it is extremely efficient - i can juice AND hand wash all of the pieces in about 25 minutes and that's been the first couple times i used it. i fell in love when i realized how much juice it sucked out of everything! it also leaves some pulp which is great not only for nutrients, but for the volume of your juice! apparently, my past experience with the JuiceMan traumatized me enough that i literally washed 2 cucumbers, a mango, 2 kiwis, 3 apples and a handful of carrots for my first round of juicing (see picture below). i think i was halfway through the batch when i realized that the jug was already full! to give you a better picture, when the jug is full it fills about 2 1/2 mason jars (the standard size, not the jumbo). most of the parts are dishwasher safe, but since i use my juicer almost everyday and don't run the dishwasher everyday, i have been handwashing the parts. super easy to do!

a couple other things worth noting, this juicer is fairly small - we don't have a lot of counter with all the kitchen appliances we have, but this juicer fits really nice next to our espresso machine and even underneath our cupboards! i love being able to leave it out on the counter all the time! this juicer also has the capabilties to turn flax seeds into oil or peanuts into peanut butter. i doubt i will rely on that often (i haven't gotten into flax seeds, yet and i'm allergic peanuts), but it's nice to know that it is an option.

anyway, i just gave you the VERY basics of all SOME Breville juicers - there are a ton more reviews and information on good ol' Google or even Amazon. check them out!

i am clearly already a huge fan of juicing - i am excited to start playing with recipes and see what it can do for my health. this week is really busy for me with hosting biometric screenings, but i feel comforted in knowing that i can bring some juice to get my nutrients and hold me over until i get the chance to eat.

always striving for more,

dee b.

DETOX DAY 3:. the LAST day



happy humpday, friends! this humpday seems to be an extra special celebration because it is my LAST day of this darn detox! i may never want to see a fruit or vegetable again! ok, little dramatic, but seriously, it is hard to function on only fruits and veggies and NO PROTEIN! i am tired, a little shaky and i guess a little irritable (according to my mf....whatever). not quite sure if all of these are truly from this detox diet or a combo with lack of sleep and ZERO time to workout, blah! i can almost guarantee that if i did have time to workout, that it would be pointless because of my lack of energy. i have time for a short run before practice tonight, so i am curious to see how that goes...

here is a recap of day 2 (don't get too excited it is very similiar to day 1) :.

breakfast:.

banana, strawberries and blackberries

lunch:.

again, same thing. diced tomatoes, avocados and cucumbers over spinach. so good, yet getting so old!

 

snack:.

an apple, carrots and peapods

dinner:.

i'm sorry that i'm not sorry that i steamed another big basket of veggies similar to day 1, you can judge all you want! :)

**confession time**

one of my awesome basketball parents brought me homemade caramels to practice last night. it literally made my day and was exactly what i needed for a pick-me-up from the cruddy day that i was having, but i politely put them in my bag and said 'i cannot wait to try them later' (which was true, but later meant thursday). her daughter kept insisting that i MUST try one ASAP. i was very disciplined and kept repeating, 'i am very excited to try one, but i am going to wait until after practice to try one' (of course, banking on that she would forget and i could move on with my tasteless detox). well, being the sweetheart that she is (seriously, she's one of my favorites), she took it upon herself to unwrap a caramel for me so she could be there when i tasted it for the 1st time! i could have felt quilty for breaking my detox diet, but i'll be honest, i didn't. i truly think i needed it get through practice and the rest of my day. plus, what kind of role model am i to explain to an 11 yr-old girl that her healthy-looking coach is on a detox DIET?  by the way, it was THE most delicious caramel i have ever tasted!

i forgot to add, i weighed myself yesterday morning and i lost ONE not worth it POUND! let's see if i get more surprising results in the next day....

always starving striving for more,

dee b.

.:act great, feel great, be your best:.

what's the best way you get your body back in equilibrium after thanksgiving?

before, it was the typical 'watch what i eat for a fews day' and exercise a little more to get back to pre-thanksgiving health, but this year i am trying something different.....a DETOX diet.

trying a detox has always been something i wanted to try, but never knew where to start! to be honest, i still don't know what i am doing, so i decided to make my own rules for it.

i am at day 2 of a 3-day detox and let me tell you, it's not easy, but it's not too hard either. maybe my rules are a little too lax?

here are my rules:.

>eating only fruits and veggies--cucumbers, avocados, tomatoes, spinach, snow peas, broccoli, cauliflower, aparagus, carrots, bananas, blackberries, strawberries, apples....
>drink lots of lemon water and water in general--i've read that by adding lemon to water is great for creating an acidic pH balance within your body. the lower your body's pH level (read more acidic), the less likely you are to manifest illness, disease and cancers. now, this is what i've read from a few sources, i would like to research this theory a little more...
>no coffee, dairy, carbs, gluten, sugar (besides what is in the fruit)--i have adjusted to this by drinking lots of herbal and green tea which still does not suffice my caffeine headache, but it makes me feel like it's doing something.

i started out this detox diet by getting all of my produce from whole foods, if i'm detoxing, i better use organic, right? i am sure there are better "detoxing fruits and veggies" then the ones that i purchased, but like i said, this first time around, i'll create my own rules.

here's a recap of day 1:.

i did weigh myself before this adventure began....my starting weight was 141 lbs. i know as a female i am not suppose to be comfortable sharing this with the world, but whatever, i'm not a normal female and as long as i am healthy, the number on the scale doesn't matter to me.

breakfast:.
banana and a cup of strawberries and blackberries

lunch:.

this was a mixture of cut up cucumbers, avocados and tomatoes. SUPER good! i actually put it over spinach as the 'dressing', but i ate that before thinking about taking a picture of it. since i'm being honest here, i didn't get around to eating the carrots and snowpeas....

snack:.

an apple and banana

dinner:.

ok, i may have cheated here a little bit by steaming the veggies before i ate them, but to my defense i was very cold after watching my mf's soccer game and the thought of eating more cold veggies made me shiver.

anyway, my dinner consisted of a big basket of steamed veggies:. asparagus (yum!), snowpeas, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers (green and red) and maaaaybe a little bit of salt for taste. although i was drooling over my mf's streak and sweet potatoes, it was actually surprisingly filling and satisfying (and i may have stolen a few sweet potatoes slices).



anyway, reflecting on day 1, i can say that it was pretty easy, there were a few times when i really wanted to eat just 1 starburst, drink 1 cup of coffee to get rid of my headache or get pizza for dinner because i had ate so well all day. NO! it is 3 days, i can suck it up for 3 days...

this is currently my main goal and focus, i don't think i'd be able to accomplish it if it didn't have my full attention, so my list of goals will have to put on hold except for 2:. get an oil change and make spare keys for our house (both getting done before practice this evening).

always striving for more,

dee b.