Finishing the Race

Well my Winter Blend Smoothie is a hit! Those of you that have tried it really like it. Time to share the recipe with you.

I’d love for you to help me encourage others to try fruit and vegetable juicing or smoothies by posting a selfie of yourself drinking a nutritious juice or smoothie. Click on this link to post: https://www.facebook.com/jyuccasfinishingtherace. If you haven’t been able to make them at home yet, but you found a fresh juice establishment for your nutrition—please post your picture too. Thank you!

If you are new to this website, about eleven blogs earlier I posted:  Quick & Easy – Bursting with Nourishment – Smoothie. This recipe drew over 900 viewers through Facebook! Thank you for visiting! On that post I shared the base recipe for my smoothie, the grocery list, and the approximate cost each week compared to one chemo treatment. Approximately $22 for immune system protecting foods as opposed to $20,000 for one chemo treatment—seems like a better offer!

Now back in the 80’s, there was a liquid fad diet going around. It was even praised on TV. Lots of people lost weight, but when they started eating food again—they gained weight. Because of that disastrous outcome, I am not a fan of liquid diets or meal replacements, unless it is medically prescribed for health reasons.

For those of you that are not familiar with juicing or smoothies, juicing and smoothies are not liquid diets, instead, it a great way to cram lots of fresh whole food nutrients into a convenient package. I believe food grown from this earth is the best way to nourish our bodies. Now before you categorize me in the tree hugging group, I’m really not. However, when death knocks at your door with a disease in hand, it is time to step it up a notch and change what you were doing in order to gain a result you desire—strong health.

If you look at all the foods contained in the smoothies I make, it would be difficult to eat the quantity of food necessary to gain so many powerhouse nutrients in one sitting. However, concentrating them into a juice or smoothie is the perfect solution!  Juicing or making smoothies is a great way to help the body heal itself−loading up on nutrients in a convenient manner. Especially in this busy society, we are always looking for convenience and need healthy ways to combat the stresses on our body.

When I was diagnosed with cancer, my niece recommended information on The Gerson Therapy. I believe we can always learn from others medical successes; take the information and apply it in a way that works for our current situation. So for the last three years, once a week:  I juice 5 to 6 pounds of carrots (sorry last blog I wrote 4 – 5 by mistake), one clump of beets, two limes, and 3 to 6 pounds of apples (whichever variety is the least expensive that week), and store it in sealed glass pitchers in my refrigerator. The whole process only takes me thirty minutes to juice and cleanup.

I want to cram as much healing nutrients as I can, so I draw from this concentrated carrot/apple/beet juice supply as the extra liquid to make my smoothie. Using these fruits and vegetables in juice form reduces the pulp in my smoothie. I get enough fiber from all the other produce I put straight into the blender. If you are not able to make juice with a juicer and you don’t want to use water, use a favorite organic juice to thin out your smoothie. Organic apple juice or orange juice works well with this recipe.

Please note:  Not all smoothie blender containers are the same size, so you may have to reduce some of the portion sizes I use to determine the perfect amount of fruits and vegetables to add for your blender.