Welp, that was a fun Memorial Day weekend!  Perhaps it is time for some juice!

A little story about my juice life:  I couldn’t eat enough food after I had the baby, so putting as many veggies and fruits into a juicer made sense for my need to maximize time and food intake allowance. It seemed like this alien baby that was once sucking all the energy and nutrients out of my body as he was developing his own within me, had been born into a world that revolved around the boob, and he wanted it all the time. So naturally, I gave it to him, but that meant mama needed to replenish with some powerfully packed proteins and greens.

For the first few months, I was lucky to grab something and shove it into my mouth between feeding, nap, diaper and pumping schedules.  Doing it all single mama style made it all the more tricky for getting regular meals that weren’t just cereal or toast.  I started to wrap him in my Moby and it got tricky when I was trying cut veggies or cook over heat, so time in the kitchen was a swift and babyless process for the most part.  But he sure did love to juice, and nibble while we juiced!  Still does!  I’m happy to say that his favorite juice is still apple-carrot-ginger-beat and whatever else we end up throwing in there he tries it out!

Some of my favorite mama energy boosting treats are pictured below: Hemp Protein and Whole Husked Hemp Seeds from Trader Joes are a perfect addition to Almond milk protein shakes with dates and an avocado topped with some coconut oil and almond or peanut butter makes for a smooth creamy shake that keeps me going strong.  Recently I have been trying to reduce eating fruit only as a stand alone snack (Ayurvedically speaking) so my addition of an avocado and dried dates is up to one’s own discretion and can be opted out for those of us sparing fruit.   Smoothies are best to be eaten within the day, but I’ve been known to forget about them after I go through all the trouble and eat it days later with gratitude that I still had something in the fridge to throw down the gullet.

At first I thought making juice was wasteful and messy, but if you save the pulp, it can be repurposed for salads and even muffins, I’ll soon blog with a few of my favorite recipes which include gluten free muffins -baby’s first birthday cake that he gobbled up and so did our guests, well, most of the guests.

There’s no getting around getin’ down and juice dirty so here’s a few tips from my months of attempting to use juice as a cleanse to rid my system of some digestive disorders.  From my Ayurvedic doctor’s suggestions, I have been recently encouraged to use ginger in my juice because my Ayurvedic type (Vata) needs to have the digestive system stimulated and oftentimes raw veggies and fruits are counterbalancing for this constitution (more to come about Ayurveda and constitutions).  For now, if you happen to be having any digestive problems (which I still do nearly 2 years postpartum) ginger can dramatically help in all forms raw, cooked and as a tea.  My favorite items to juice that add some delicious flavor to the usual suspects of apples, beats, greens, citrus and carrots are fennel, cucumber and ginger.  I usually just put it all together not any science, but separating the different ingredients and then mixing like a mixologist is fun as well, and can be easier for repurposing into those delicious muffins I was talking about.

Lastly, lemons!  I can’t say more about this delicious fruit than how can I get more?  I make a morning hot water, lemon, honey and cinnamon ‘tea’ that seeps and by the time I’ve stopped running around after the mini me is now cold, but sure is refreshing both ways.  Warm it warms up the insides, and I think is supposed to be transformational says all kinds of blogs these days, but it simply tastes delicious and I’m pretty sure the combo of all the ingredients is magical.  Drinking fresh lemon water is uplifting all throughout the day and complimented with fresh mint, cucumber or berries makes boring water a sugar-free and soda free treat!

Bon por la Sante!