I am no expert on health or nutrition by any stretch of the imagination. What I know I've learned from reading books and articles, and talking to friends who are a lot more savvy about the whole thing than I am. That said, I do what works for me and what makes me feel good.
You may have seen my previous posts about
dieting and weight loss, calorie counting and so forth if you follow me on my
Deanna's World blog where I talk about more things related to beauty, makeup, skincare, etc. Dealing with my weight has always been an issue for me, for reasons that I will not go into because that's just a whole lot of baggage you don't want to read about.
I'm also pre-diabetic. My regular quarterly blood tests and sugar levels, which I go to my doctor to check are good and I'm in the healthy range. That said, I'd say that my blood sugar levels tend to be on the high side, but right on the borderline of still okay. That's been the case for 2 or 3 years now, so I can't complain. It's being managed.
For the most part, I eat normally and I enjoy my food. For any of you who follow me on
instagram you'd see a lot of pictures of the food I post. :-) I have not had to cut out anything drastically from my diet, but I do my best to do everything in moderation.
Recently, thanks to some leftover fruit from a BBQ which I didn't know what to do with, I juiced for the first time and I juiced it in the Thermomix.
Now, I've juiced in the past and using a juicer (I've killed one!) you get a lot of pulp leftover that comes from the juicing process. Anyone who owns a juicer will know what I mean.
With the Thermomix, there's no leftover pulp and every it of the fruit is used up. Nothing is wasted. I love that. The Thermomix blends everything to a very fine pulp, then with some added water turns into juice.
I am loving juicing in the Thermomix and after a few weeks of regular daily juicing, I am feeling healthier and my insides feel good. This may be TMI but going to the bathroom has been so much better too. I used to have to take fibre supplements on a daily basis but now, I'm feeling better with the juice I'm drinking even without the fibre supplements.
The big thing with juicing in the Thermomix is that there is no waste. You use up ALL the fruit and vegetables. All the fibre and nutrition is maintained and consumed. I love that.
I've been alternating between a red juice and a green juice.
My red juices are beetroot (fabulous for detox) and red fruits, like red grapes, apples, nectarines, etc., but mostly whatever is in season and fresh.
My green juices are usually spinach, celery or kale or any combination of those, along with packham pears, green grapes or any other green and sweet fruits. This morning, I added kiwi fruits to the mix.
And yes, I'm a bit anal about green stuff in my green juices and red stuff in my red juices. I don't like to mix the colors because I just love the vibrant greens and reds I get when my fruits and vegetables are in the same color family.
So yes, I'm loving juicing. On a work day, I take my juice in the morning as my breakfast and have recently added some protein powder to add a little substance and so the juice lasts me longer and I don't get hungry s quickly. If it's the weekend or a non work day, juice is usually something that The Boy and I have as an afternoon snack. Both ways, they work out great. I only use the protein powder when I have the juice for breakfast though.
So enough of my blathering on about my juices, here's the recipe that I use to make my juice. Bear in mind that if you do not have a Thermomix, you can still juice in your blender this way.
Ingredients:
- 500g of fruit of your choice, can be one kind, can be a mixture
Instructions:
- Blend fruit and ice cubes on speed 8 / 35 seconds
- Add water, blend speed 8 / 2 minutes
I hope you give juicing a try and let me know if you do. I also hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Stay healthy.
