Got Juice?–Day 6–Final Day

Well, this was my final day of my juice detox/cleanse and I have to say it has been the easiest of all.  Not hungry at all, enjoyed my apple, carrot and ginger juice, my big ole salad for lunch and tonight I made delicious Raw Lettuce Wraps, again compliments of a recipe from my juice gal, Tiffany Finney, owner of Pour Me Some Juice.  It was actually dinner for my husband also and he really liked it too.  We have enough leftover for lunch tomorrow.  I know you want the recipe, so here it is:
Raw Lettuce Wraps

• 2 very ripe avocados
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1 beet, shredded
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• kernels from one ear raw organic corn
• 2 tsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp raw agave nectar
• 6-8 large romaine lettuce leaves

Prep: In a large bowl, mash the avocados.  Add remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed.  Spread 2-3 tablespoons onto lettuce leaves and wrap.

I changed it up just a little- and used only 1/4 onion and 2 garlic cloves, but added a second tomato.  I didn’t get all the seeds out of the jalapeno and it was a tad spicy, but it only lasted a minute (and a whole sippy cup of water!)  I also added sea salt and a little oil and vinegar. 

I will do one more post tomorrow about my juice week- sort of as a wrap up, so please come back one more day.

Blessings,
Diane

12 Weeks ‘Til Christmas

I just about didn’t make it, but I am jumping on the bandwagon and will be blogging each week as we countdown to that glorious celebration of Christ’s birth.  And, it will motivate me to get back to blogging about my favorite hobby of all time – stamping!  And, in particular, stamping with Stampin’ Up! products.  I am so glad that my friend Lisa introduced me to the work of papercrafts.  It has been a wonderful journey and now that I am retired- I can stamp all day long!  What could be better than that?

Anyway, each will I will post a card or two as we countdown the weeks to Christmas.  And, what type card will I start with?  Christmas, you say?  Nope, gonna be a Halloween card and a sister friend card.  These were my “swaps” at the Stampin’ Up! Regional Meeting in Chattanooga last weekend.  I made about 40 and traded for some gorgeous cards.  One or two of them just might show up on here.

 

I was very pleased with how they turned out.  I made rolled roses at night when I was watching TV.  Pretty easy, but I did go through a ton of glue dots!  I used the emboss resist technique on the image.  I embossed it in black, then sponged three different colors to create the background.  The embossing powder “resisted” the ink, thus a pretty background.  I used Rich Razzelberry, Lucky Limeade and More Mustard for the sponging.  This really cute Halloween set, Toxic Treats, is in our Holiday Catalog.  I ran the black layer through the Delicate Designs Textured Impressions Embossing Folder using my Big Shot.  Spooks, Witches and Goblins are one of the images in this set- I just stamped then cut them apart.  I did some sponging on all of the Crumb Cake pieces.  Peaking out at the bottom of the images is a stamp from the Fine Feathers set.  I liked the whimsy it presented.  The pretty shape that everything sits on is one of our newer offerings from the Apothecary Accents Framelits. I love. Just a couple of embellishments- lace ribbon, Crumb Cake seam binding, a First Edition flower, Basic Rhinestones and Pearls finished it well.

I will be back next week with more as we countdown to Christmas.  Thank you for tuning in…

Blessings,

Diane

Got Juice?–Day 5

Today I feel like I could do this forever!  Not really, but it has been a very easy day.  I have not been hungry at all.  I had delicious pure carrot juice for breakfast and my afternoon snack.  I fancied up my picture just a little hoping it would inspire the Vols to whip Georgia.  Apparently they did not get the message.
For lunch I had Corn Chowder made from a recipe from Wholey Chow.  Tiffany and her friend and fellow raw food guru, Amy Koerner create yummy healthy meals and since they both are detoxing this week, I’ve followed their menu carefully.  I was a tad hesitant because it would not be heated, except what the blender does while mixing.  But, friends, it was very, very good.  In fact, at the grocery today I bought a couple of ears of corn so I can make it again next week.  Very simple and quick recipe.  Try it- I think you will like it and it is good, good for you.  Maybe I loved it so much because it has the perfect food in it – avocado!
Raw Corn Chowder

• 5 cups or corn or 5 ears of corn
• 2-1/2 cups almond milk
• 1 avocado
• 1/8 cup alpha sprouts (if available)
• Salt, curry, garlic powder to taste

Put 4 1/2 c of corn and the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and slightly warmed by the blender. Add seasons and adjust them to your taste. Pour into bowls and garnish with remaining corn.
Tonight I made a Raspberry and Watermelon smoothie for supper.  Another of Tiffany’s recipes and easy peasy to put together.  Baby spinach, celery, raspberries, watermelon and a banana. Isn’t it pretty?  All that green goodness.  It was really tasty and filling.  But we had a mini disaster – I filled the blender with all the goodies and cranked it up and it just whirred and whirred without a spin in sight.  I reposition the bowl, poked the stuff down into the blades and…same thing.  My initial thought was that I had broken my blender, but thought I would try one more thing.  So I pulled out the food processor attachment (it’s a Cuisinart combo machine) and transferred it the stuff, then gave it a push.  Voila- worked like a charm.  I guess the blender bowl just wasn’t seated properly, because when I ran it with soapy water it worked fine.  Live and learn.  My motto for all of my life.

One more day to go and I am proud of myself.  I am feeling great and I do believe I look healthier.  The first of the detox I occasionally thought about what “real” meal I would want first after this was over.  Well, today at the grocery I bought lots and lots of organic fruits, veggies and nuts and fish and chicken.  I want to continue to feel good like I do today. I think I may be on the road to something big and life-changing.  I sure hope so.
Cards next…I promise!
Blessings,
Diane

Got Juice?–Day 4

To quote the Fresh Beat Band, “It was a Great Day.”  Fresh Beat is Bella’s favorite show and we actually enjoy it too.  Anyway, Day 4 has been the best yet!  I was able to get my hot green tea just right this morning and really enjoyed it.  I thought today’s juice was going to be a challenge.  It had apple, beets, kale and ginger.  The kale and beets didn’t sound very appetizing, but, it wasn’t bad at all.  In fact, quite tasty.  Tomorrow is pure carrot juice.  I love carrots, but don’t think I have ever actually drank carrot juice.  Well, we will just have to see how it goes.  Check out the color of today’s juice:

See how Tiffany labels our juice?  I pick up three days supply at a time on Tuesday and Thursday and she labels with our name and the day.  I love that it is in a Mason jar.  I love, love anything in a Mason jar, but that is a tale for another day.

I had lots of energy today and almost finished cleaning an purging in my craft room.  I already have five big boxes of almost new stamping and scrapbooking supplies that will be in our garage sale next week.  Lots of Stampin’ Up! stamp sets- for cheap!  Gonna have a little pre-sale for my crafting ladies and whatever is left I will take to my mother-in-law’s nursing home. 

But, I digress.  The detox/cleanse gives your colon and digestive system a break.  Then your body can work on getting rid of the nasty stuff instead of expending energy digesting all our food.  Is that where my energy comes from?  I don’t know, but I love it.  Another super benefit I have discovered- I sleep like a dream!  And it is really a restful sleep.  I hope to change to a partial raw food menu after the cleanse.  I will still drink my juice each day, but really focus on healthy eating.  Tiffany says 4-5 small healthy meals a day is ideal.  You don’t get hungry and are satisfied with yummy fruits and raw veggies.  She has some wonderful recipes I will be trying out.

Speaking of recipes- here is the recipe for the energy boosting Raw Green Smoothie that I had on day 2 (compliments of Tiffany Finney at Pour Me Some Juice).

• 1 cup of baby spinach
• 3-4 leaves of kale
• a mint
• 1 banana (I slice my bananas into chunks and freeze- makes the smoothie super cold)
• 1/2 apple
• 6 strawberries (I used frozen)
• 1/2 cup of cut pineapple (frozen)
• 1/2 avocado (to me- the perfect food)
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsps raw almonds
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp flax seeds or mill
• mangoes – frozen

That’s it- takes about a minute to put it all in a blender, then blend for a minute.  Very, very tasty.

I had a half-banana as a little snack mid-morning, then a salad for lunch.  It was so pretty.  Romaine, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, celery, fresh blueberries, a few almond slivers, flax seeds, 1/2 avocado and a couple of chopped medjool dates.  I dressed it with a lemon vinaigrette.  It tasted as good as it looks!

So, to recap the last four days.  I have had a lot of juice, lettuce, raw veggies, and a couple of smoothies.  No caffeine, dairy, no processed foods or sugar (except what is in the fruit).  Two more days to go.  Thanks for staying with me.

(I promised to show you a couple of cards, but I just ran out of room on this post.  Check back in a few for a countdown to Christmas!)

Blessings,

Diane

Got Juice?–Day 3

Today was a great day!  I had a lot of energy and didn’t get as hungry as yesterday.  My juice today was made with apple, orange, grapefruit and lemon.  Very citrusy I must say.  But quite tasty.  I treated myself at lunch to a big ole salad at Jason’s Deli.  They have all the good stuff to put in it and I cheated just a tad and had the nuts, raisins, almonds, seeds mixture they have.  Just kind of spooned it all over.  Oil and vinegar dressing.  Filled me right up. 

 

 

Tonight, I made a super good almond milk smoothie from Tiffany’s super good almond milk.  Bananas, strawberries, blueberries and mangoes- all frozen.  Yummy!

And, look how pretty it is!

 

 

I picked up my juice for the last three days after lunch today.  Two are orangey and one is beety looking.  I will show you a pix tomorrow.  I need to finish this post so we can watch the series premiere of Person of Interest.  Posting a couple of cute cards tomorrow too….stay tuned.

 

So, before I go, thought I would leave you with a new picture of Sweet Isabella.  Ain’t she something?

‘Til next time,

Blessings,

Diane

Got Juice?–Day 2

I made it through Day 1 with flying colors!  I had a Raw Green Smoothie for dinner and it was yummy.  But, not your typical smoothie that you would pay $5 bucks (or more) or the fun ones you make at home.  I started with baby spinach than added kale, strawberries, mangoes, pineapple, a banana, coconut oil, some raw almonds, flax, water, apple and avocado.  The strawberries, mangoes and banana were frozen so I didn’t have to add ice to make it cold.  I had never had a green smoothie before and just the thought of it, well, was not appetizing.  But….I blended all this stuff up in my handy-dandy blender/food processor combo and had a sip and it was delish!  Made a whole blender full, so tonight I will blend it a little and have the rest for supper.  It’s green, but it’s good.  Here’s a peak…you can see the green stuff hugging the glass.
I love my coffee in the morning, but on the detox caffeine is a no-no.  But, Tiffany said organic green tea would be a good substitute and full of antioxidants.  Don’t know what they are, but must be a good thing.  Anyway, I am not a hot tea drinker.  Tried it.  Didn’t like it.  Didn’t try anymore.  But, I do have lots of nice teabags, all flavors, for my tea-drinking buddies.  And, I just happened to bring home several big boxes of the stuff from Shanghai.  So, real Chinese green tea.  Served this morning with a touch of lemon and Truvia in this gorgeous teacup- also from China. I felt pretty special.


I am feeling pretty good, although today I woke up hungry and even with the lemon water and juice, I got hungry before lunchtime.  But, I ate another big ole salad, then drank my juice mid-afternoon, so now I am feeling much better.  I spent the day working on my craft room.  The last three or four months have been loaded with classes, clubs, family parties, baby and wedding showers and as soon as one project was over I was working on the next.  So, as I finished, the supplies would just go in the floor.  No time to properly store them.  Now I am suffering because I can’t find a dang thing.  So, today we simply put the stuff in the floor in the kitchen.  I am giving myself three, maybe four days to finished this project.  I pledge that not quite half will go into a huge garage sale.  I mean, how many shades of pink ribbon do you need?  Apparently a lot, cause that is what I have.  Here’s a couple of pictures of the breakfast area- this doesn’t include the stuff on the floor in Bob’s office. No one should have this much stuff.  But, I have been “collecting” for over 30 years….so….

Signing off ‘til tomorrow,
Blessings,
Diane

Got Juice?

Well, I do!  Today is the first day of my “juice cleanse” or “detox” and I am excited to start this journey.  What, pray tell, prompted me to jump on the juice bandwagon.  I could say it was because I love juice, veggies, salads and smoothies.  Which is true.  But not the real reason. 
I want and need to get healthy and stay healthy.  I want to chase after my little granddaughter- Sweet Isabella.  I want to climb to the top of a lighthouse easier than I did last month in Maine.  I want to be here for my family for many more years.  And, in order to make those things happen, I must change my eating habits, lose weight and get movin’.
I am going to share my 6 day detox with you, mainly as a record for me and because I think I will be more accountable if know I am going to blog about it.
My juice is provided by Tiffany Finney, creator of Pour Me Some Juice.  Tiffany has degrees, certifications and mucho training in nutrition and fitness.  She is a raw food counselor and master juicer.  She gets up at 4 AM to make our juice and have it ready by 8 AM.   I actually started eating healthier a couple of weeks ago and had 10 oz. of her wonderful juice 6 out of 7 days.  Folks, I tell you, it is yummy!  The juice for the 6 day detox is a little different. 

Each day’s “menu” is the same.  I start with 8 oz. of warm lemon water, then 8 oz. of juice for breakfast.  For lunch I can have a big ole salad with lots of colorful veggies mixed with oil and vinegar dressing.  Mid-afternoon is another 8 oz. of juice, then at dinner I will have another big ole salad.  Warm lemon water for a nightcap and I’m done for the day.  Oh, she also gave me some yummy smoothie recipes that can substitute for a meal.
Tiffany warned that Day 1 juice was not very tasty, but I had no problem drinking it.   It consisted of:

Kale, Apple, Collard Greens and Lemon

It just sounds green doesn’t it?  Well, it is. You can see it on the far right in the picture.  I forgot to get a photo until after I drank the first half for breakfast.  Day 2 and 3 are in the picture, along with a jar of her very tasty homemade Almond Milk for my smoothies. 

Here’s a little “juice” card I made for Tiffany when we started our journey together.  I used the terrific new Perfectly Preserved Stamp Set, the Cannery Framelit Dies and our new fall Designer Series Paper, Orchard Harvest. 
Thanks for going on this journey with me.  I will update each day of the detox and then as I move forward, I want to keep you up to date with my overall progress.
Now…I gotta get movin’!
‘Till next time….
Blessings,
Diane

Back to "Spool" with Stampin' Up! in September

While the kids are heading back to school, Stampin' Up! is going back to 'spool'! For the month of September, get a FREE package of 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon-an $8.95 value-for every $40 you spend!

Look at these GORGEOUS colors:

Gumball Green

Midnight Muse

Primrose Petals

Raspberry Ripple

Summer Starfruit

I made a quick "fold-over" bookmark this week using a Midnight Muse, Rasberry Ripply and Primrose Petals and the inspirational stamp set "Trusting God."  I really like how it turned out.

Have a wonderful day of worship tomorrow and come back soon.  I am gathering my Maine photos and Isabella's new studio pictures to share with you.  Here's a preview of sweet Isabella....

'Til next time....

Blessings,
Diane