21 day juice detox - day 10

Yay double figures! Day ten and I'm not dead! Though I must admit I'm losing momentum a bit with all the juicing, wish someone else could make me some for a while! I think tomorrow I'll make one big batch in the morning and flask it up for the day.

I had my massage today, an hour deep tissue massage...and yes, it was deep! Just what I needed, my shoulders feel much more relaxed. I wish I could have them every week!

I made apple carrot and ginger juice this morning. An oldie but a goodie. I just love the taste of this juice so much. I put quite a big chunk of ginger in so it's quite zingy and spicy but you can put as much or as little as you want.

Carrot, apple and ginger juice recipe:

1 bag (750g) carrots

6 apples

Chunk fresh ginger, peeled

2 tbsp aloe ferox juice

Put through the juicer, mixing in the aloe afterwards in the jug.

So to follow on from re-starting my tap dancing lessons on Monday, I rekindled another old dancing passion today, belly dancing! I love this sensual, exotic art form so much. I used to have to private lessons every week when I lived in London, but then moving away from a big city it's harder to find local classes and teachers. It feels great to be back dancing again.

I've also discovered that there is a hot yoga studio in Dorking. I used to practice hot yoga in Guildford when I lived in Horsley, but since moving to Rusper (West Sussex), the closest hot studio I could find was in Hove, which is a bit far to go for a yoga class as it's a 35/40 minute drive. Dorking is about 25 minutes from me. Still a bit of a drive but we're getting closer! Perhaps someone will open a hot yoga studio in Horsham sometime?! (Anyone..?)

I had some coconut water at dance class, this is great for rebalancing the electrolye balance of the body. If you go for this delicious drink on a fast, be aware that there are several different types on the market. Some actually have bits of coconut flesh floating around it the water, you obviously don't want that kind. Also, if they are coconut water with another fruit flavour, for example, pineapple, it will be blended pineapple pulp, so not a pure liquid, or worse, artificial flavour, so you want to go for the plain version. And always check the ingredients as some are made from concentrate or have added ingredients such as preservatives and even sugar! The one I had is literally just the pure coconut water and nothing else. Mmmmmm...deeelicious!

This evening I had another liquid salad. You can really feel this type of juice nourishing you as you drink it. It's so balancing and grounding, perfect for the evening. It's best to have the juices that are higher in sugar in the morning or at lunchtime so you can use the energy, and the green vegetable juices in the evening to calm and ground you.

Liquid salad 2 recipe:

2 large tomatoes

2 apples

1/2 cucumber

2 sticks celery

1/2 head of dark green lettuce

Handful parsley

Handful dill

Chunk fresh ginger, peeled

Juice of 1 lemon

Dessert spoon of Braggs liquid amino's or tamari

Put through the juicer, sandwiching greens between apples and tomatoes. Mix lemon in the jug and brags/tamari after straining.

Wishing you raw health and happiness,

Natalie. x

www.rawlifestylecoach.co.uk

21 day juice detox - day 5

Yay, sunshine! Wow, have I missed you! Lucky boy Max got to play outside three times today! So as I was feeling sunny I decided to make...

Carrot, orange, ginger juice with aloe ferox. I made the carrot, orange and ginger juice from day 2 http://rawlifestylecoach.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/21-day-juice-detox-day-2.html and added 2 tablespoons of aloe ferox juice in it after straining. Aloe ferox has considerably higher iron and calcium levels than aloe vera, contains no aloin (a substance in the outer part of the leaf of aloe plants, that gets into the vera juice but not the ferox) so consequently does not need to be filtered thus keeping all of the important polysaccharides. It boosts the immune system and is very soothing for the stomach and bowel, the polysaccharides act like a prebiotic and result in an increase of beneficial bacteria, thus aiding assimilation of nutrients. I got mine from red23.co.uk

I didn't have my psyllium drink this morning. Because psyllium expands in water, it makes you feel full. And I did notice that I felt a little hungry today, though only towards the end of the day, so I'm not sure if that is connected at all. I'll have it again tomorrow morning and see how I feel. Feeling hungry on a juice fast can be because of a few different reasons. If you have been having too much sweet/fruit juice and not enough green then that can result in feeling hungry (blood sugar levels). Also, if you haven't had enough juice, it can be your body craving nutrition, and its also important to make sure you're drinking enough water to satisfy your thirst (which is very often mistaken for hunger). Also, if you are doing a lot more than usual (like playing out in the garden with a toddler!) or exercise/gardening/shopping etc, that can have an effect on your hunger levels/nutrition needs.

I went into Horsham and was so happy to discover that one of the local charity shops has a vintage section! Alongside yoga, raw food and natural living, vintage clothing is one of my favourite (if a little expensive) passions! The prices were very reasonable, I got a cute little summer dress, a shirt, a jacket and a skirt for £33. Bargain! While I was out I stopped in Wagamamas...no don't panic I didn't have noodles, I had a deliciously refreshing celery, apple, mint and lime juice. It was so gorgeous, I'm definitely going to try that combo at home. If you haven't been to Waga's before, they juice all their fruit and vegetables there fresh for you, except the orange juice, so I avoided the juices which contained that. Forgot to take a photo though. Next time.

My delivery came today from my local organic produce suppliers, Greener Greens. They deliver to Sussex, Surrey, London, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. They supply local organic and biodynamic produce and they have a weekly box scheme too. Biodynamic is organic but one step further. The farms will create their own ecosystem, using everything (food/waste etc) in their farming. Check out their site here: www.greenergreens.com

Last juice of the day I made with my delicious new produce - Spring in your step juice.

Spring in your step juice recipe:
1 bag (200g) spring greens
1 pineapple
2 apples
1 broccoli stem
3 sticks celery
1/2 cucumber
1/2 pack alfalfa & broccoli sprouts (small handful)

Put through the juicer, sandwiching the greens and sprouts between apples and pineapple chunks. This juice does taste a bit stronger than the others so far, due to the sprout juice, but it is alive with raw enzymes and nutrition, and really does put a spring in your step!

Wishing you raw health and happiness,

Natalie. x

www.rawlifestylecoach.co.uk