Fresh Apple Juice. Drink Real. Connect to Your Food.

Fresh Apple Juice from a foam topped glass.
Milky golden caramel color.
Drifting particles of green and yellow, like sand sifting through a sloshing sea.
Real Apple Juice.
It's not clear or shiny. It's matte.
It doesn't catch the sunlight like a clear glass of water.
It's opaque.
Like the deep sea or a river bed.
It's not perfectly bronze colored with a tinge of pretty red.
It's not even that pretty at all.
It's musty. It's soggy. It's hearty to swig.
I sip and it's like biting into a juicy apple.
The juice runs down my throat,
The dry sweetness gives me a burst of zestful energy.
Tart. Sweet. Nourishing.
Real Apple Juice is alive and well - if you know where to find it.

I Hate Apple Juice. All my life I've said that I hate apple juice. I hate the taste. I hate the color. I hate the silky clear texture and sting of the too-sweet aftertaste. But guess what. I wasn't drinking real apple juice. I was drinking processed apple flavored extract - or even apple water (my unofficial title for it.) Real apple juice is made from crushed, squished and squashed perfectly ripe apples. And the best juice comes from familiar hands. And I know where to find it...


Where Did Your Juice Come From? There are some things that, to me, are priceless. Like knowing where my food comes from, how fresh it is and whose hands picked it from its tree. Lately, the world of food has become downright scary, confusing and political. It's a spider web of words, labels and warnings, made to inform and ultimately concern you: GMO's. Pesticides. BPA. Factory Farms. FDA. Recall. Farmer's Market. Organic. Non-Organic. Free Range. Gluten. Soy. Local. Farmed. Dairy. Downed. Natural. Fresh. Vegan. PETA. Expiration Date. Processed. Trans Fat. Fast Food. Green. Healthy. Toxic.

One Word: Disconnected.

My Soap Box. I'm not alone in my belief that the tragedy of today's modern diet is the disconnect between ourselves and the food we eat. Knowledge is power. We all strive to live a healthy life, in a healthy environment. And eating well and being kind to our planet is essential to that. Ignoring the full life cycle of our food is irresponsible and foolish. Food brings us life, helps us grow, inspires us, comforts us, feeds our children and creates our landscapes. And food has an origin. That origin brings truth. No veils. No propaganda. No latched gates. No secrecy. But eating true is a constant challenge. Truth in food is, well, fuzzy. I wish I could grow my own apples and pluck them from the branches myself. But since I don't - at least I can know where my tall glass of fresh apple juice comes from - my kitchen.

So back to the apple juice...
Pop Quiz: How can you tell if it's fresh pressed juice?
Answer: the foam.


Apple Cider. The closest thing to real apple juice on the market today is apple cider. Real apple cider. The kind that come from a local apple orchard farm. They crush the apples whole and the end result is an opaque brown liquid that is pure apple flavor. Seeds. Stem. Core. Skin. Flesh. But even the local farms don't always have the best apple juice in town. Who does? You.


Making Fresh Apple Juice. If you don't own a juicer. Buy one. Really. It will change your life. You'll cringe at the sight of processed, shelf-stable, made-from-concentrate juices. And even the expensive from-fresh-fruit 'earthy-branded' juices that have been sitting in the store for only a day or two will seem pedestrian to you. There is nothing better than fresh juiced juice. Apple juice. Orange juice. Ginger Pear juice. Cucumber juice. Green juice. Pomegranate juice. Strawberry kiwi juice. Pineapple juice. Cantaloupe juice. Peach juice. Grape juice. Made at home. By you. In just a few minutes. Why not start by juicing some apples. Fresh Apple Juice will change your taste buds forever.

But you do need a juicer. Even an inexpensive one will do. Although the 'better' juicers are usually more expensive. Juicers 101 Guide here. Not convinced? Maybe your wallet will be...


Juicing Economics. Everyone's shopping situation is different. Maybe you live next door to an orchard and get fresh apple cider for $5 a gallon. Or maybe you have a swanky little juice bar at the corner of your street, and you gladly get a fresh pressed juice there every other day. Maybe it only costs you a few bucks. And that's a grand situation for you. But for most people, fresh juice. Real juice is hard to come by. And for me, it was really kinda expensive. After doing the cost breakdown: if I bought 50 ounces of juice every 2 weeks, I'd be spending about 1K a year. (This is for the highest quality juice at 75 cents/ounce or about $6 per serving of juice.) Making that same high quality juice at home would save me $500-$900 per year. My calculations are below.

How Much Juice Does 1/2 Peck of Apples Give You? I juiced a half a peck of Honeycrisp apples and about 1 Tbsp of fresh ginger, plus one lemon. I got about 50 ounces of juice.

I also only got about 2 cups of dry pulp. Kudos to my Super Angel juicer:


Gourmet Juice=$$. Before I bought my juicer, I was obsessed with shopping at juice joints in NYC for their perfectly fresh juices, tonics and smoothies. But trust me, they are not cheap. $6 for 8 oz is the lower end of the price scale. But the juice was so amazingly delicious, I bought it. So don't get me wrong, fresh-pressed juices are totally worth the price - especially if you don't juice at home. But I knew for me, I could find a less expensive, equally healthy alternative. So I bought a juicer. At home juicing was my answer.

Though, I'll admit to still frequenting fancy juice bars for their snacks, juices and raw food. They serve delicious fresh juice - from a familiar hand. And there are amazing juice bars all over the globe. High quality ingredients, high quality staff and an overall enjoyable 'eat n drink' experience. But the downfall is that they charge a (well-deserved) pretty penny for their delicious, premium and irresistibly healthy offerings. So juicing at home gives my pocketbook a breather.


Saving Money. So how much juice can I get out of one half peck of Honeycrisp apples? 50 ounces. And how much would I have to pay for that juice in a store? Almost 40 bucks. And how much money would I save if I made my own juice? See below...

1/2 peck of apples = about 8 large Honeycrisp apples
Cost of 1/2 peck premium apples at local orchard = $8-$13
*mine cost $10, will use this figure
1/2 peck = about 5 pounds of apples
Juice produced from 1 peck = 50 ounces (Super Angel juicer)
Juice price per ounce at premium juice store= $.75

Price for 50 oz. at store = $37.50
Price for 50 oz. at home = $10*
*you should also factor in my previous investment in a high quality juicer...

Lets say you drink 25 oz. apple juice per week, 50 oz. per two weeks. You'd spend:

Per Year at Home = $260
Per Year at Store = $975

If you bought 50 oz every 2 weeks a year, you'd save: $715 per year.

The Clincher...I did this experiment using Honeycrisp apples, which are just about the most expensive apples you can buy. Just imagine if I had only spent, say, $5 on my 1/2 peck of apples, a common price. That would only cost me $130 a year. Plus I'd save $845 a year.

I can crunch numbers, facts, figures and discuss economics - that might get your attention - but the real lesson here is about the origin of the food we eat. Where did your apple juice come from? A factory? Or your kitchen?

I'll say it again. The tragedy of today's modern diet is the disconnect between ourselves and the food we eat. Connect. Step One: Fresh Apple Juice?

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Super Bowl Snackers Detox Playbook! Recipes and Tips.

Super Bowl Sunday means super sized snacking! But even if you've blown your day on salty chips, chunky dips and other easy-to-overdo snacks - there's no reason why you can't turn your 'munchies' game plan around at halftime and be feeling healthy and happy by the 4th quarter. Whisper this new strategy to your QB, aka your tummy. And what do ya know -you've scored. Touchdown. Game: You. You've just won a big fat shiny trophy of health. Put down that potato chip and keep reading! Get back in the game...


Super Bowl Snacking: The After Effects. There are five big problems that come from the big game day: dehydration, indigestion/bloating, nausea, fatigue and feeling crappy due to a lack of nutrient-dense foods. Here are my tips and recipes on how to get off the bench and win the game, er win your health and happiness.

After Effect #1 Dehydration
Too much alcohol or soda, too much salt and too many 'dry' water-devoid snack foods can leave you feeling less than hydrated. Try these:
*Coconut Water. Drink it all through halftime, and you may be back in the game by the 4th.
*Fresh Water. Sounds simple, but a few extra glasses of fresh, pure water can help you hydrate through your couch game.
*Healthy 'SlurpE'. Try this: blend 2 cups of fruit juice with 2 cups of coconut water (or regular) ice cubes. You'll get a nice chilled frosty beverage that will hydrate you and also cool off your dry parched mouth. I like concord grape juice slushees, or cashew fruit juice slushees.

After Effect #2 Indigestion and Bloating
Eating too many processed enzyme-deficient foods can leave you feeling bloated and benched, er couched.. Indigestion is the pits and there's not a whole lot you can do, but wait for your tummy to take its course. But here are a few foods that might speed things up a bit due to their natural enzymes:
*Papaya. Papaya is rich in the enzyme papain, which is known for its digestion inducing effects. Try raw papaya chunks, or even papaya tablets that can be purchased at a natural foods store.
*Pineapple. Pineapple is another fruit that contains a strong digestive enzyme: bromelain. I personally like to juice whole pineapple fresh, instead of consuming too much fibrous pineapple. You can juice it or eat a few chunks whole. But always use fresh, not canned pineapple for ultimate enzyme effects.
Enzyme Smoothies and juices:
Double Fruit Enzyme Smoothie
Pineapple Enzyme Banana Smoothie

After Effect #3: Nausea
Too many crazy food combos, think olives, pickles, mustard, salsa, spicy chips, bean dip and creamy dip. And maybe too much alcohol and jumping around cheering for your team, can leave you a bit nauseous. Try these..
*Ginger. Ginger cookies, fresh ginger beverages, ginger juice, ginger muffins or even ginger infused food recipes can be a good way to calm your tummy. My favorite way to get a dose of ginger is my Ginger Juice Shooters.
*Bananas. Bananas are fabulous for unhappy tummies. A nice ripe banana may help soothe your stomach and make you feel a bit more balanced.
*Smoothies and Juices:
Yellow Fruity Frothy with Ginger
Calm Tummy Banana Smoothie
Ginger Snap Smoothie
Calm Chamomile Banana Smoothie

After Effect #4: Nutrition Booster Needed!
Processed foods with little nutrients like antioxidants, minerals and enzymes can leave you feeling - crappy. Here are a few easy ways to get a nutrition boost:
*Fresh Fruit or Veggies. Simple, eh. Try munching on a fresh-cut apple. Fresh squeezed OJ. A light leafy green salad or even some steamed greens with a dash of EVOO, ACV (apple cider vinegar) and garlic. Yum.
Recipes:
Green Juice
Triple Threat Acai
Wild Blueberry Kickstart Smoothie

After Effect #5: Fatigue
Snoozing by halftime is no fun. Your Super Bowl snacks may have knocked you into a processed foods coma. Get off the couch and into the kitchen to blend up these fast delicious easy energy smoothies:
Easy Energy Almond Butter Shake
Or try these easy recipes:
Bullseye Spirals with Roasted Red Peppers
Sweet Treats:
Chai Berry Short-Cup
Zesty Lemon Custard Bars
Plum (Fruit) Perfect Parfait

So don't beat yourself up if you over-indulged this Super Bowl Sunday. Remember that health doesn't start tomorrow or yesterday. Health starts now. Today. This meal. You make the choice to eat healthy - or not at every single bite. What will your next bite be?...

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Healthy Homemade Dips: Five EZ Recipes. Part 2 of 2.

It's easy and fun to make healthy homemade dips. Five delicious and colorful flavors: Pure Olive, Roasted Red Pepper Salsa, Green Dream Dip, Maple Sweet Potato and Savory Sunny Mushroom Dip. These dips are also delicious spreads for sandwiches - and your grocery bill: $10. Your Super Bowl, Housewarming, Holiday and Birthday parties will never be the same... And that's a good thing. Get my recipes...

Ingredients List. Get the ingredients list in Part one of this post. Also check out the grocery list bill breakdown ($10 total for ingredients) in part one.

Beans! Beans are really the backbone of these recipes. They provide a hearty texture and a nice dose of nutrients like protein and fiber. The beans act as a delicious canvas for the fresh flavors. This is a great way to sneak beans into your diet - read more healthy bean facts here.

Taste Test. I had my husband taste test all these dips without telling him the ingredients (he hates beans). He loved them all. He had no idea that beans are in every recipe, except the salsa. FYI, his faves were the salsa, shroom (heated) and olive. My faves are the sweet potato and green dream dip. Onto my recipes...

Pure Olive Dip
1/2 cup cannellini beans, drained
1 can black olives, 6 oz.
*I used basic black olives, you can use kalamata or green olives if you choose.
1 Tbsp EVOO
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Roasted Pepper Salsa
1 large red pepper, roasted over stove
1 cup organic salsa

Maple Sweet Potato Dip
1 cup cooked sweet potato,
*about 1 small potato
1/2 cup cannellini beans, drained
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 small orange, juiced
pinch of sea salt
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Green Dream Dip
1/2 cup cannellini beans, drained
1/2 small ripe avocado
1 1/2-2 cups raw baby spinach
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 lemon, juiced
pinch of sea salt
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Savory Sunny Mushroom Dip
1 cup baby bella or white mushrooms, sliced
1 cup garbanzo beans, drained
1 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp sunflower seeds
pinch of sea salt (omit if using salted seeds)
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Directions:

1. Gather all your ingredients. Set up your serving bowls - five in all. I used my serving bowls to separate the ingredients for each dip.

2. Open your bean cans, and divide the beans as needed for each recipe - into the bowls.

3. Set up your food processor - I use a Mini 2-Speed Food Chopper for these small portion recipes.

4. You can do the dips in any order, but this is how I did it. It allows for optimal speed with less rinsing out the food processor (fp). My Order:
1) Sweet potato Dip. Blend. No need to rinse.
2) Olive Dip. Blend. No Need to Rinse.
3) Mushroom Dip. Blend. Rinse container/blade.
4) Green Dream Dip. Blend. Rinse container/blade.
5) Roasted Red Pepper Salsa.


5. First up, Sweet Potato Dip: Heat a small sweet potato, remove skin, add to fp. Add beans, maple syrup, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Blend, until thick. Then add in the fresh OJ and blend again. Pour into serving bowl. And Yum:


6. Next blend the Pure Olive Dip. Add olives, EVOO, pepper (no salt because the olives are salty enough) and beans to the fp. Blend until chunky-smooth. Pour into serving dish.

7. Next is the Savory Sunny Mushroom dip. Since both the olive and shroom dips are dark colors, it's OK to blend back to back w/o rinsing. However, you certainly can rinse for the purest flavors or food allergy considerations. Mushroom dip add: mushrooms, sunflower seeds, lemon juice, beans and s&p. If you are using salted sunflower seeds - no added salt is needed - raw sees will require a pinch of salt. Note: You will have about 3/4 cup garbanzo beans leftover from can - you can save in fridge, add extra beans to one of the dips, or make a double portion of the mushroom dip by doubling all the ingredients. Or get creative and make a bonus dip from pantry ingredients you have on hand.

8. Next is the Green Dream Dip. You will need to rinse your fp before blending this dip. You don't want black 'green' dip. Add: 1/2 ripe avocado, baby spinach, s&p, red pepper flakes (more flakes, more heat) and lemon juice. Blend until creamy-chunky. Pour into serving dish. *note: you will have an extra 1/2 avocado - either store it, or slice and serve as a garnish for your dip platter. Splash with lemon juice so it doesn't brown.

9. Last up is the Roasted Red Pepper Salsa - this is super easy. Stick your red pepper over a gas burner for about 1 minutes, turning every few seconds. Get it nice and roasted on all sides. Roasting a Pepper 101 here. After your pepper is roasted, chop it into rough big chunks (toss the seeds/stem) and place in fp. Add your salsa and blend. You won't believe how this process turns store bought salsa into something that tastes homemade and super yummy. Pour into serving dish.

10. Garnish your plates with chips, crackers, sticks, bread, pita, veggie sticks, whatever you'd like. Serve and enjoy!

Store dips in the fridge for up to one day. Be sure to cover tightly while in fridge so they don't oxidize too much.

NOTE: Both the sweet potato and mushroom dips can be served warm or cold. I actually prefer the sweet potato and mushroom dips warm. You can heat in oven for a few minutes, or microwave. Serve the olive, green and salsa's at room temp to chilled.

SIZE NOTE: Vegan Dip Tasting. Make all 5 at once using the ingredients I have given you - each recipe produces a tasting portion of each dip - about 1 1/2+ cups. For a big party, you'll need to double the recipes below. Once you are familiar with the recipes, you can choose your faves and adjust the ingredient amounts for larger portions.

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Eat the Rainbow. Colorful Fruits and Veggies List.

Every winter I like to step back and remind myself to eat the rainbow by perusing my colorful fruits and veggies list. Farmer's Market, or not, it is up to each of us to seek out a wide variety of healthy fruits and veggies every single day.

"Healthy" isn't Seasonal. Even though the sun may be hiding behind a soggy gray stack of snow-filled clouds or maybe there is just an extra bite of chill in the air - eating a colorful assortment of produce is a year-round commitment to make for your health. Lean away from consuming too much of your favorite beige foods. Fill in the gaps with colors. Lots of beautiful, juicy, sweet, ripe colors. But don't make yourself crazy trying to restrict your diet - focus on adding in the good stuff: living plant-based foods. Let the rainbow guide you. Pretend that every day you wake up, you are an artist painting a beautiful rainbow of health. You can't paint a rainbow with beige. So here is a handy list of produce to keep your artists "paint palate" full of colorful fruits and veggies...


Vegetarian Diet - Boring?! I love reading over this list to remind myself how many diverse fruits and vegetables there are to eat. I hate it when people ask me "So, what do you eat anyways?" or "Don't you get bored?" Anyone who says eating a vegetarian or vegan diet is boring - needs a bit of a wake-up call by reading this list. And just think, this is just some of the fruits and veggies (I'm sure I missed a few) - and I'm not even including all the various grains, beans, seeds and nuts out there as well.

The "Eating the Rainbow" idea has definitely caught on for kids and adults. Everyone from the CDC to Oprah has embraced the idea of eating a wide variety of colorful fruits and veggies on a daily basis. What colors will you eat today?...

You know red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple - but don't forget white, black and even pink fruits and veggies...

Colorful Fruits and Veggies List

RED
Beets
Cherries
Chili peppers
Cranberries
Pomegranate
Radish
Raspberries
Red Apple
Rhubarb
Red bell pepper
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Watermelon

ORANGE
Apricot
Butternut squash
Carrots
Fuyu
Kumquats
Mango
Minola
Nectarine
Orange
Peach
Persimmon
Pumpkin
Satsuma
Sweet Potatoes
Tangerine

YELLOW
Corn
Canary melon
Crenshaw melon
Lemon
Passion fruit
Pears
Pineapple
Plantains
Quince
Starfruit
White grapefruit
Yellow apples
Yellow onion
Yellow squash

GREEN
Artichokes
Arugula
Asparagus
Avocados
Basil
Bell Pepper
Bok choy
Broccoflower
Broccoli
Broccoli rabe
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Celery
Chard
Chayote squash
Cilantro
Collard greens
Cucumbers
Edamame
Endive
Escarole
Fennel
Green apples
Green beans
Green cabbage
Green grapes
Green olives
Green onion
Green pears
Green peppers
Honeydew
Jalapeno
Kale
Kiwifruit
Leafy greens
Leeks
Lettuce
Limes
Mache
Okra
Parsley
Peas
Poblano Pepper
Snap Peas
Sno Peas
Spinach
Sprouts
Sugar snap peas
Tomatillo
Watercress
Zucchini
other leafy greens
assorted green herbs

BLUE*
Blueberries
*Blue and Purple represent a similar color category

PURPLE
Acai
Boysenberries
Eggplant
Fig
Purple grapes
Purple plums
Radicchio
Shallots
Turnip

WHITE
Asian pear
Banana
Cauliflower
Coconut
Garlic
Ginger
Jicama
Lychee
Mushrooms
Onion
Parsnips
Potato
Soy beans, mature
White asparagus
White corn
White peaches

BLACK
Blackberries
Dates
Mushrooms
Truffles
Black currents
Black grapes
Black olives
Black plums

PINK
Grapefruit
Guava
Papaya

Read last year's winter reminder.

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