No Fail Ways to Become a Green Juice Pro

So many people assume green juice is not for them. They claim they don’t like vegetables. They fear it won’t be yummy. The color is off-putting. Sipping something you normally use a fork for is just…weird. And die hard green juicers seem nutritionally elite, right? Willing to compromise their taste buds in the name of super fuel, they’re like the Ironmen of healthy eating, and casual joggers feel, well, inadequate. But here’s the real deal. You don’t need to be an Ironman. You can simply have a cute pair of running shoes in your closet that you break out for a slow walk on a sunny day, and the nutrition community will love you all the same.   So yes, while there is definitely a continuum of green—from beginner to advanced—there is a place for you on the spectrum. No Fail Ways to Become a Green Juice Pro 1. You do need a juicer to make a green juice, but you do not need to buy the fanciest one out there. A blender can work for some recipes, but cannot separate the pulp from the juice, making it thick and less juicy and technically a smoothie. 2. Even if you don’t care for cooked broccoli, kale, collards or cucumbers, for example, you may like them in a raw juice—many times the flavors are more mild raw and combined with other ingredients. 3. Choose produce that is fresh and healthy in appearance. 4. Try to juice immediately prior to drinking. Once the juice is made, it starts losing its nutritional powers. Green juices are sensitive to time (how long from when they are made until consumed), temperature (heat can diminish some of the vitamin potency) and storage (air and clear glass containers can also make the juice less potent). 5. You can find commercially prepared juices in stores nationwide. But beware: to preserve their integrity on the shelf, there is often added sugar, usually in the form of juice, so choose selectively. The key here is to find a bottle with greens in it—not a green bottle with sugar in it. 6. A juice can be a great break from salad boredom but shouldn’t replace chewing your veggies. Try one in place of a snack with a handful of nuts. Or, if you’re not much of a breakfast person, a green juice and an ounce of cheese can be a great start to the day. 3 Green Juice Recipes Beginner Green Juice ½  head of romaine lettuce ½ cucumber 6 spinach leaves 1 green apple Clean all produce well. Toss in the juicer in order and drink immediately. Intermediate Green Juice (while the ingredients may seem intimidating, the flavor is mild) 2 celery stalks 1 cup kale or spinach ½ cucumber 1 cup wheat grass ½ lemon, peeled Clean all produce well. Toss in the juicer in order and drink immediately. Advanced Green Juice ½ cup broccoli 3 celery stalks 1 handful fresh parsley 1 handful fresh spinach ½ cucumber ½ inch fresh peeled ginger 1 teaspoon spirulina 1 lemon, peeled Clean all produce well. Toss in the juicer in order and drink immediately.

10 Awesome Pre- and Post-Workout Snacks

You’ve got your Lululemon gear on, hair in a pony, you’re ready to lace up and get your sweat on. But there’s one problem: you’re starving. The carrot kale salad topped with grilled salmon you had for lunch is a distant memory. You’ve been in this story a zillion times, so you know how this plays out. You open and close the pantry and refrigerator doors at least one hundred times. Plan A: You grab the leftover pizza, shovel it down, and regret it as it sloshes around in your stomach turning your workout into a seemingly counterproductive duel between exercise endorphins and digestive angst . . . Plan B: You white knuckle it through your workout on an empty stomach, and when you get home, you shove whatever you can into your mouth as fast as you can, feeling like you’ve undone your gym efforts as the first cheese cracker touches your lips. Your familiar situation has you stuck. A poorly planned pre-workout snack forces your body to juggle channeling blood to your digestive tract to digest and channeling blood to your muscles to work. The result is usually stomach pains and sometimes nausea. Alternatively, exercising on an empty fuel tank results in a low energy workout with poorer performance and gains. So what should you eat as a pre-workout snack and/or a post-workout snack? I’ve supported countless clients through navigating their pre-post-workout conundrum, but the fact is, there’s no one size fits all perfect pre-workout snack or post-workout snack. Trial and error is part of the game and is essential to figuring out what works for you, the activity you’re doing and your lifestyle. Your snack for the 90 minute yoga class may be different than what you choose before your Tabata sprint sesh on Saturdays. Your pre-workout snack should offer you a few things: Carbs: energy from carbohydrates so you don’t run out of steam Satiety: so you aren’t starving in 20 minutes Digestibility: easy digestibility so nothing lingers in your stomach and weighs you down H2O: hydration to keep you from feeling sluggish If your workouts are intense, your post workout snack should offer: H2O: water is uber important for your overall energy, maintaining electrolyte balance and restoring losses from the great sweat you worked up Protein: helps to restore your enviably hard worked muscle tissue Carbs: help to replete glycogen losses, and the energy you store in your muscles 5 Awesome Pre-Workout Snacks: Coco avo toast. 1 slice Ezekiel toast, 1 teaspoon coconut oil, ½ a small avocado & sprinkle of fleur de sel Choco-java lover. 1 cup iced coffee blended with 2 tablespoons  chocolate hemp protein and a small banana Fat’s your friend. Chia pudding (combine 1 ½ cups lite coconut milk from a carton, mixed with 5 tablespoons chia seeds and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight, makes 4 servings) top with a sprinkle of unsweetened coconut and raspberries Sweet ‘n healthy. Avocado banana smoothie. Fruitalicious. Take 1 cup fruit salad (oranges, grapefruit, berries, melon or whatever looks the best and freshest) and top with 2 tablespoons flax meal. 5 Awesome Post-Workout Snacks: Carb and protein perfection. Mix ½ cup steel cut quick oats with one beaten egg, 1 tablespoon coconut flakes and a ½ cup of water, a shake of cinnamon and a splash of vanilla extract. Microwave on medium for 4 minutes. Probiotic pie. Layer 4 ounces full fat plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons organic canned pumpkin, a tablespoon of chopped pecans, ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie mix and a teaspoon of turbinado sugar. Green master. The green master juice with 20 pistachios. Blazing trails. Make a trail mix with 10 almonds, 1 tablespoon dried unsweetened coconut, a tablespoon of raisins and 2 cups of air popped popcorn. The meathead. Two pieces buffalo, beef, turkey or salmon jerky (about 1.2 oz) and a bowl of crudite.