Book Recommendation

Since some of my posts lately have been about juicing, I thought I'd stay with the theme.

The Complete Book of Juicing is a great reference book for juicing. Its layout is clear and to the point. There are easy-to-follow descriptions of combination juices and their health benefits as well as simple info regarding the nutrients of individual fruits and veggies.

It's a helpful guide for newbies or pro juicers. :)

Delicious Summer Juice

Yum! If you aren't sold on juicing yet, give this one a try. Or if you love to juice and it's a hot summer day, you'll love this...

Watermelon, Carrot, Napa Cabbage

1/4 of a small watermelon

3-4 carrots

5 napa cabbage leaves

Health Note:

If you juice the watermelon rind and all, the health benefits increase significantly.

A Yummy Snack

I love nuts and I almost always have them in my kitchen. My favorites are almonds and cashews, but walnuts are also quite good for you.

Here's the breakdown of some of the health benefits of each of these nuts:

Almonds:

Almonds are a great source of calcium and as with all nuts they offer protein and are high in anti-oxidants.

Cashews:

Cashews are good sources of iron, magnesium, which promotes energy and bone growth, and phosphorous, which build bones and teeth.

Walnuts:

Walnuts have high levels of omega-3's which can also be found in fish.

I like to buy my nuts raw from the store and when I'm ready to eat them, I'll heat the oven to 350 and quickly roast some. When they are still warm from roasting, I'll mix them with dried cranberries. Mmmm tasty!

Choosing a Juicer

A friend asked me some good questions about juicing earlier on in my blog so I thought I'd share with you the little bit that I know.

There are a lot of juicers out there and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. When I chose which juicer to purchase I was making a decision between a masticating juicer and a centrifugal.

To masticate means to grind or knead into a pulp and that's basically what these types of juicers do. They chew up the vegetables in a slightly slower more tedious process and end up extracting more of the nutrients and juice from the vegetables.

A centrifugal juicer functions a bit differently and tends to be more common. Centrifugal refers to the spinning of the metal

bed that you push the veggies against and this force separates the juice from the pulp. It doesn't yield as much juice as masticating juicers and some people argue that the heat of the metal bed when spinning destroys some of the nutrients.

I prefer the centrifugal juicer simply because it's more convenient for my lifestyle. I don't have a lot of time to prep or clean up when I juice and masticating juicers tend to be a little more high maintenance in that respect.

I own the L'Equip Mini 110.5 (in the picture above). It's a centrifugal juicer and I LOVE IT! It's so easy for both prep and clean up and hardly takes up any space on my counter.

Here's a juice that I made today:

6 Carrots, 6 Napa Cabbage Leaves, 1/2 Lime

Curried Coconut Sweet Potato

I love coconut milk and as a Southern girl, I'm a sucker for sweet potatoes so, when I found this recipe in Spices of Life, I couldn't wait to try it.

I made a few adjustments to the recipe, but give a try and let me know what you think!

Serves 6

Ingredients:

4 sweet potatoes

2 medium red onions, diced

1 T grapeseed oil

3/4 cup fresh basil, cut into thin shreds

Curry Seasonings:

2 tsp hot pepper flakes

3 inches fresh ginger, peeled

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Sauce:

2 (13.5 oz) cans coconut milk

7 T fish sauce

4 T agave nectar (agave nectar is a healthy substitute for sugar)

Peel and cut sweet potato into 1 inch pieces.

Grind curry seasonings together in a food processor until it forms a coarse powder.

Add oil to a large pot or Dutch oven and heat until hot. Add curry seasonings and red onions. Stir over medium-low heat until onions are somewhat tender. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Add sweet potato and bring to a boil. Then turn the heat down to low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Turn off the heat, stir in the fresh basil and save some for garnish.

I served my curry with a combination of brown and black rice.

Health Benefits:

Coconut Milk:

Though fatty, coconut fats are the "good" type of saturated fats that your body can process, which means it can be easily metabolized and turned into energy. Coconuts are known to strengthen the immune system, promote healthy cholesterol and cancer prevention.

Sweet Potatoes:

Sweet potatoes are "good" carbs. They are also rich in vitamin A and C. One sweet potato contains five times the daily allowance of vitamin A. Apparently they are also good for stomach ulcers, colon issues, and low blood pressure.