The Heart of Life

"nothing without joy." - l. Malaguzzi

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day 6

breakfast & lunch: apple cooler

  • 2 cucumbers
  • 4 apples
  • 8 sprigs of mint
  • 1 inch ginger
  • juice, pour over ice - makes 2 servings
  • top with chia seeds
this one was nice and light - the cucumber is very refreshing. i added half a tablespoon of chia seeds to each meal and i can tell they are helping me feel satisfied longer!

pre-dinner snack: capple kiwi

  • 2 kiwis
  • 1 apple
  • 3 carrots
  • juice, pour over ice - makes 1 serving
this was delicious! stephen picked this recipe out, so i’ve been saving it to share with him. it made 2 small glasses so it was perfect as a little snack before dinner. in fact, it was so good i drank it before i could take a picture!

dinner: pineapple basic

  • 1 pineapple
  • 2 apples
  • 6 carrots
  • 2 celery stalks
  • juice, pour over ice - makes 3 1/2 servings

y’all…this was ALOTTA juice! i actually had to pour some out into a glass in order to finish juicing the pineapple. i was expecting this one to be pretty sweet, but the carrots and celery balance it out perfectly. i’m excited that i now have 2 full mason jars left in the fridge :) 

thoughts of the day:

tonight i had my first major craving to “eat.” and do you know what it was that put me over the edge? watching stephen eat a handful of fresh raspberries haha i know i can juice them, but for some reason i had the immediate urge to cram some in my mouth. at least my cravings are for healthy food now though, right?! 

i’m starting to think i may stop my juice reboot after tomorrow. we’re planning on going hiking on sunday and from my light workouts, i can tell my endurance is not what it normally is. so, if i juice all day tomorrow i will have had a full, 7-day week of straight jucing. that’s pretty good, right? i just want to be sure i have enough energy for hiking, and let’s face it….i can’t just fill my camelback with juice haha. after all, the whole point of this was for the reboot to a healthier, active body, and if i can’t do the active things i love then i need to assess the situation. i purposely have not planned much to do during these 10 days, but damn-it, the weather this weekend will be too perfect not to take advantage of! i think it’s only right to surround myself in mother nature and thank her for all of the yummy fruits and veggies she’s been supplying me :)

in order to be stay healthy while breaking the juice fast, i’ll need to wean off the juices and start eating small meals of raw fruits and vegetables, while slowly adding in elements of my normal diet. 

i still haven’t decided - a good night’s sleep should do me good though.

happy juicing!

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day 4 & 5

day 4: planning and grocery shopping

breakfast & lunch: green’n’pear it

  • 2 heads of broccoli
  • 6 celery stalks
  • 4 pears
  • juice, serve over ice - makes 2 servings
this was a nice, refreshing juice that wasn’t overly sweet. it was the first time i’ve used pears and i was pleasantly surprised - i’m not usually a pear fan.

dinner: tomorange fresh

  • 4 tomatoes
  • 2 oranges
  • a few fresh mint sprigs
  • juice, pour over ice - makes 2 servings
i was surprised this recipe yielded 2 full pint glasses! normally i’ve been doubling each recipe since i know it will be 2 meals. i had originally planned to make another recipe (capple kiwi - coming soon!) to go with it, but we were both full after the glass we didn’t need to! one thing i’ve discovered though…i’m not a huge fan of tomato juice. i think i’ll just stick to tomato soups…overall a tasty juice. B-

thoughts of the day:

after work today i spent a an hour or so planning out the rest of my 10 days of juicing. i picked 14 new recipes and made my grocery list. i knew i was going to have to go tonight in order to have enough produce to have meals tomorrow. i normally hate going to our ingles, but it’s close so off i went.

i have to say i was impressed how quickly i got in and out of there! i guess staying on one section helps too…i also noticed more than a few side glances at my cart loaded with produce. i was surprised the girl who checked me out didn’t ask what i was doing with 30 apples haha 

so what was the damage? for 6 full days of meals i spent just at $65. so that breaks down to 28 meals total, at $2.32 per meal, and $6.96 per day. not bad! yes, juicing can get expensive but if you try to stick with fruits and veggies that are in season you should be ok!

day 5: conquering the beet and the chia seeds

breakfast & lunch: grapefruit basic

  • 2 grapefruit
  • 2 apples
  • 4 carrots
  • 2 celery stalks
like i said in my last post: grapefruit makes everything better. i seriously cannot get enough of this sweet and sour juice! i may have drank my lunch a little too fast today, not on purpose - just because it was so delicious!

dinner: carrot cleanser 

  • 6 carrots
  • 2 apples
  • 1 orange
  • 1 beet (plus stem/leaves)
  • 2 celery stalks
the beet. one of the best veggies for detox. the one we’ve been most hesitant to try. i seriously felt like i was trying to pack a leafy monster into the produce bag at the grocery store. so clearly i didn’t go into this recipe with the best attitude, but boy did it turn around once i took a sip - it was surprisingly good! not my favorite juice yet, but i’m glad to know we conquered the beet! notice the chia seeds on top!

thoughts of the day:

so tonight after work the beau and i headed to athens to (finally) get chia seeds. thank goodness for Trader Joe’s…seriously. they sell them there for $4.99 a bag compared to the outrageous $16 at walgreens, and the fact that the lady at Publix kept asking me if i saw saying “tea seeds”….i’ve been super excited to try these in general and what better opportunity than with juicing?!

chia seeds are a fantastic, natural source of protein, fiber and omega-3. they help keep you feeling full, keep you hydrated, reduce food cravings, lower blood pressure, balance blood sugar, and are easy to digest. sounds good to me!

we added the tablespoon size serving into our glasses, already feeling a little unsure of the bright red from the beet juice. i honestly was beginning to doubt my decision to try the chia seeds the same time we were trying the beet, but thankfully as was well! the chia seeds definitely added some texture, but i didn’t notice an overwhelming taste. i’m a straw-biter, so the squishy seeds were making that a little difficult for me - but biting straws is bad for my teeth anyway (so they say). the beet juice was also surprisingly…great!

overall, i’m feeling great at the end of day 5! i’ve had some amazing positive encouragement and a bit of negativity, but that comes with anything we do. i’m keeping very aware of my body and how i am feeling, so believe me…if i start to feel like i need to stop i will. a lot of people have been asking me how much weight i’ve lost so far. 1) i’m not weighing myself until the very end. 2) i know that most of the weight that does come off will be gained back with the re-introduction to my normal diet 3) yes, the weight loss will be a great plus, but i’m doing this reboot to give my body a clean slate, a fresh start. i’m looking at the overall healthy benefits that will come from this. 

even if i don’t make it all the way to 10 days, i’m proud of myself for making it this far. it has been easier than expected, but usually i have major issues with self control. this challenge has been a wonderful confidence boost and is giving me the motivation to stay on track once the reboot is over. i’m looking forward to incorporating juicing into my daily diet! 

happy juicing! 

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day 1. 2. & 3.

day 1: away we go!

breakfast: morning berry basic

  • 2 large handfuls of raspberries
  • 2 apples
  • 1 orange
  • makes 1 serving

i’m so glad i made this as my first one because it was DELICIOUS! it was great way to start the detox and immediately gave a baby boost to my confidence that i can actually do this and have things that taste good for the next 10 days.

lunch: mean green juice

  • 1 cucumber
  • 4 celery stalks
  • 2 apples
  • 6-8 kale leaves
  • 1/2 a lemon
  • 1” ginger root
  • juice, and pour over ice - makes 2 servings

so lunch was a little more difficult than breakfast, but overall this was still a great juice. the lemon, ginger and apples balance the greens but i still felt great knowing how many essential nutrients i was getting. 

(note: i tried freezing the second serving of this and it did not thaw well. like it’s taken over 24 hours in the refrigerator….ain’t nobody got time for that.)

dinner: super defender

  • 5 kale leaves
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 orange
  • juice, pour over ice - makes 1 serving
i doubled this recipe for both stephen and i for dinner. it was simple and delicious. i think i forgot to take a picture of this one.

thoughts of the day:
so today ended up with a night of temptation and self control that i was not expecting. we went to go see “Oz” with some friends (great movie btw) but instead of the local commerce movie theatre, we ended up at studio movie grill…where you order dinner….and everything around you smells delicious. not gonna lie, i was a little grumpy when i found out where we were going. i had purposefully started this detox over a weekend so i could focus at home and not be around temptation. but overall, i’m glad we went. i got a cup of hot tea that ended up being terrible, but found that i wasn’t as tempted as i thought i would be! of course, watching a movie and being in the dark is a great distraction :)


day 2: lazy sunday

breakfast: grapefruit, carrot and ginger
  • 2 grapefruits
  • 5 carrots
  • 1” ginger root
  • juice, pur over ice - makes 2 servings
this one is AMAZING! seriously. i could probably just drink this juice for the entire detox…but i won’t…because i know to get the most of it i need lots of veggies. sigh. but this is a great juice if you’re a little hesitant to try it out. 
i forgot to take a picture of this one, but just imagine a mason jar full of orange happiness. 

lunch: green lemonade

  • 1 green apple
  • 1 1/2 cups spinach
  • 6-8 kale leaves
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 4 celery stalks
  • 1/2 a lemon
  • juice, pour over ice
so the above is the original recipe, but i basically winged it. i didn’t have any cucumber so i added a bit more celery and kale. also lemon juice works well if you don’t have a lemon. i’d like to try it with the cucumber though and see if i can get a more authentic “lemonade” flavor. overall i give it a B+.

dinner: the eye opener

  • 1 handful kale
  • 1 large handful spinach
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 grapefruit
  • juice, pour over ice - makes 1 serving

again, i doubled this for dinner for the two of us. i have come to the conclusion that grapefruit makes everything better.


thoughts of the day:

i’m feeling great! i truly believe our clean eating lifestyle has set me up for success on this detox. they always say the first 3 days are the worst - the documentary even showed joe not wanting to get out of bed. i’m thankful i’m not feeling this way or i may not be as excited as i am haha i think tomorrow will be the biggest challenge so far - work; however, i have the support (and curiosity i think) of some co-workers so i’m excited to share my first 2 days with them!


day 3: first day juicing at work

breakfast: green grapefruit

  • 8 broccoli spears
  • 2 grapefruit
  • makes 1 serving

my plan for the work week is to juice a large breakfast that i can also store for lunch that way i’m not juicing twice in the mornings. i ended up doing the entire head of broccoli i had ( a little more than 8 spears) and i added in one more grapefruit. next time i’ll definitely double it because i only got about half a mason jar full after i finished my breakfast glass.

lunch: leftovers

  • half a mason jar of green grapefruit 
  • 4 oz of carrot, grapefruit and ginger

this was my original plan, but i ended up switching my “green grapefruit” with a juice my mom made. she’s having a bit of a tougher time with the veggies and the bell pepper was too much for her. i happened to enjoy it :)

dinner: leftovers

  • 8 oz of carrot, grapefruit and ginger

i technically drank this on my way home from work. it was a hellish day with a bajillion people out, so i worked late.

thoughts of the day:

i’m really happy my mom has jumped on the juicing bandwagon with me! she’s having a bit of a tough time, but i know she can do it! the accountability factor and the recipe sharing are fun :) this evening is the first time i’ve had any of the “symptoms” but i’m pretty sure this headache  and lethargy are just work induced - i felt great all day up until about 4pm. because i drank my leftovers around 5pm, i haven’t really felt like eating again. i’m not sure if this is good or bad yet, but i did end my night with a cup of green tea. thank goodness for tea. 

if you’re interested in juicing at all, i suggest you get this amazing book - “the big book of juices” by natalie savona. the pictures are huge and amazing, and they make every drink look mouthwateringly delicious!

p.s. DON’T buy the bagged kale to juice…it won’t work and will make you think you broke your juicer the first time you try it….just saying. clearly this picture was taken before i even got the juicer out of the box - can’t you see the excited nervousness on my face?! :)

onward to day 4!

happy juicing :)

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juice.

and so it begins. my ten day juicing reboot!

i figured maybe i’ll start actually blogging a baby bit to keep track of my adventure. i originally started this blog to help keep me accountable for my weight loss over 2 years ago…HA. that totally worked, not. but it was interesting to go back and re-read my posts. 

i am happy to announce that i’ve finally, truly made a lifestyle change. i encourage anyone and everyone to hop on your netflix and watch “hungry for change” and “fat, sick, and nearly dead.” these two documentaries changed my life…and as dramatic as that sounds, it’s true. it opened my eyes to see that although i want to lose weight, my ultimate goal is being healthy. but seriously, watch these…it will blow your mind and forever change they way you view food.

                                   

stephen is a crossfit addict and we decided to start eating paleo after the new year. we completely cut out all dairy and grains and have been eating very clean. it’s amazing how much better this has made us feel. i started working out hard - twice a day whenever possible, and always at least 5 days a week. i began to get really discouraged when each monday morning when i stepped in the scale, the numbers weren’t going down. i had a major breakdown when after a full week of strict eating and 7 days of exercise left me 3 pounds heavier. what?! honestly, i think that was my lowest low. i felt terrible about myself and my body image. i felt that i was finally doing everything right to lose weight and it wasn’t working. i had even gone to the doctor to check my thyroid levels to see if there was an imbalance - everything came back normal.

that’s when my mom came to the rescue. it’s amazing how a little mom time and retail therapy can change your outlook. i’ve been trying to save as much money as possible so i hadn’t been clothes shopping in months. all of the pants in my closet were either a size 14, 12, and i had a couple of size 10 from when i lost some weight senior year. i knew that my work pants were getting too big, but because the scale wasn’t moving i still assumed i was still those larger sizes (seriously, it was doing crazy things to my mental health. not good). so when mom and i went into the first store i got a huge wakeup call: i’m no longer a size 14, i’m a size 8! what?! 

one of my biggest goals i wanted to accomplish before we move to sarasota was to be in a single digit pant size. this may sounds silly to some, but i haven’t been in single digits since freshman year….of high school. it felt so amazing to know i’ve already accomplished that with still 5 more months until the move! imagine the things i can get done in those months!

so needless to say, i put away the scale. i took my body measurements and will be taking monthly progress pictures. this is how i’m measuring my weight loss. no longer will i be obsessed with reaching a certain weight. as long as i’m healthy, active and on the way to being toned, i’m happy.

so where does juicing come in? after watching the documentaries, stephen and i decided we needed to get a juicer pronto to try it out. well, the time has come! for him, he won’t be doing only juice. in order for him to keep up with crossfit and continue gaining muscle like the beast he is, he’ll be juicing 1 -2 meals a day. i, on the other hand, will be straight juicing for 10 days. i can’t wait to reap the benefits this will have for my body and overall health!

i’ll try to post my recipes and pictures so i can keep myself organized from here on out.

happy juicing :)

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Children, as persons, are entitled to the greatest respect. Children are given to us as free-flying souls, but then we clip their wings like we domesticate the wild mallard. Children should become the role-models for us, their parents, for they are coated with the spirit from which they came- out of the ether, clean, innocent, brimming with the delight of life, aware of the beauty of the simplest thing; a snail, a bud, a shadow in the garden. Children are the closest thing to angels.
 Gerry Spence, “Give me Liberty”

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“i have come to the frightening conclusion that i am the decisive element in the classroom. it’s my personal approach the creates the climate. it’s my daily mood that makes the weather. as a teacher, i possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. i can be a took of torture or an instrument of inspiration. i can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.

in all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.”

HAIM GINOTT

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milk.

so this afternoon when i woke up (yes, it was so nice to sleep in), i headed into the kitchen for cereal. not only is it my all time favorite food, but also the easiest meal ever. as soon as i open the pantry to pull out my cheerios i realized we were out of milk. sigh. to the couch i went instead. after about an hour, the hunger pains got me off my lazy ass and i headed to walmart. 

big mistake. apparently as of a few days ago, walmart has now put out EVERYTHING school related. normally this is my absolute favorite time of year because of my obsession with school supplies and all things academic. however, being in my current position, this will be the first year i have not had to buy school supplies ever. i’m not going to lie, it was really upsetting and i found myself almost in tears as i walked through the isles. i thought by this time i would be frantically gathering as many crayola products as possible, but not so. 

i promise i really, really am trying to stay positive, but it just hurts my heart. normally i would at least have heading back to milly in mind by this time and getting ready for school. i just feel like i am empty without school. how lame does that sound? haha.

so i decided to grab a pack of pillsbury cinnamon roles (reduced fat of course) on my way to get the milk. so now at a few minutes ‘til 2pm, i am eating cinnamon roles and trying to cheer up. i think i’m actually going to finish unpacking today…yeah. i think my fervent need to clean when i’m stressed allows me to feel a baby bit organized compared to my mess of uncertainty that is my future. :]

so here is proof of my domestic deliciousness this morning:

hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

‎[let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up - galatians 6: 9]

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uncertainty.

so i decided to take today and tomorrow off to figure out my life. seriously. i feel so stressed between higher responsibilities with my summer position, car problems, relationships and just the adjustment from free college student, to a graduate living at home with mom. clearly, this has been a harder adjustment than i had imagined. 

so first thing on the agenda today: skip.

this is my beloved 2055 honda civic, skip. i am probably more attached to this car than most people are to their pets. however, last summer he started having overheating problems. i learned how to fill him with coolant and once winter came, we didn’t have a problem whatsoever. but of course now that we’ve made another trip around the sun and it’s summer again, he’s been overheating like crazy. i’ve already been stuck in milledgeville and late to work on a few occasions because of this. it’s just getting too stressful when driving. i fear the temperature gauge and the movement of its needle. 

well, yesterday marked the point of no return. after filling up the radiator (directly into mind you) with coolant before i left canton for work in lawrenceville, i had barely made it to 575 and it had already spiked to H. clearly, this should not happen after filling it with antifreeze… so it was a stressful and tearful drive to work. big thanks to chase daniels for keeping me calm though. needless to say, i spent the entire rest of the day thinking about what i should do. a) get skip a new (used) engine and pray that will last and the problems will be gone or b) take the money that i would use to repair skip and put it towards a down payment on a newer car.

after much thinking and conversations with chase and my dad, i decided to go ahead and get skip a new engine. after all, a new engine will basically make it a new car. and my dad made the valid point of “a car is not an investment.” thanks for that reminder dad. my reasoning behind it was that i would get a car that would last me the next 10 years through jobs and a family, but when i actually looked at the entire situation i realized i have NO CLUE where my life will be in 2 years, not to mention 10.

i called blake automotive and made arrangements to drop skip off sunday evening. so here’s to hoping skip makes it at least until i know where my life will actually take me.

second thing on the agenda: job search

even though i am genuinely, beyond excited for all of the cohort gals that have gotten jobs, i can’t help but feel discouraged. i have yet to have an email replied to…i know i started this process later than i should have (procrastination will always be my downfall) but i like to think that i’m a good candidate for a teaching position. i have seriously been looking all over georgia.

update on department of defense: i have heard nothing. so frustrating.

i’m starting to realize this is just not my year to be a classroom teacher. i hate even thinking about that statement but as it is already july 6 and preplanning activities will begin in the next 3 weeks, it makes it more of a reality. 

so now, what the hell am i going to do with myself for a year? 

i know that i want to be productive in getting my dream job, so i want to stay in the education field. right now i am blessed to be in an amazing early education center, but my heart it not with preschool and preK. it’s my ultimate back up, but i’d like to find something that i will thoroughly enjoy doing and will eventually help me get my foot in the door. the answer to this i think is: being a substitute. 

so today i will be researching how to get my name on sub lists in surrounding counties of cherokee and walton and maybe even in middle georgia. i’ll need to work as often as possible to be able to still make an income so i can move out by next year which is my ultimate goal. i’m also thinking about getting a part job in retail or something so i can work at nights too. 

this whole being a grow-up thing is not as fun as i’d hoped. BUT my life is still wide open to possibility, and for that i am excited.

this one of my favorite postsercrets. i just want to be free. and have some sort of clarity. i’m praying for that in the next 2 days.