Thankful Thursday, 6.14.12

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Please show some love & post the button or link back to First Day of My Life :) 

I am thankful for...

-staying on top of my workouts & feeling great!


-being told "if I was 25, I'd be asking you out" - a simple, cute yet sincere compliment :)


-people visiting my juice bar from the gym! It makes me so happy that they take time out of their schedule to grab a juice! (Also family members visiting, too!!:)


-being told from my boss "and that's why I love ya!" 


-back rubs! oh how they put me to sleep!


-the iPhone ap "Bible Is" - I can listen to the Bible during my beach walks <3
-being a part of my first twitter chat (@firstdayofmylif) - I learned so much!


-being incredibly busy - I love being productive! 


-my uncle's girlfriend's healing - she had a stroke on Friday...she had a blood clot in the brain - they said 98% of people do not survive the surgery and she did...amen! Currently she is in coma, but she will beat this.


-soon to be cherry season...yay! Cherries are one of my favorite fruits :)


-having some great ideas for the juice bar for the Fourth of July! The Fourth of July is usually always incredibly busy down by the beach - I'm excited to be able to play a part of it in a business sense


-I wasn't as disappointing in this month's BIrchbox, when compared to other's...some people got Band-Aids...I wasn't particularly thrilled with mine but it wasn't horrible.


-new friendships with my lovely bloggers :)


-finding out you can adopt a sea turtle nest...eeeek!! Can't wait to find out more about it!


-a friend is going to take the Florida Bar Exam soon - I got a letter from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners give my opinion of my friend...is he trusting, etc. Makes me feel good :)


-peanut butter Ben & Jerry's when I was craving some sweets the past couple of days!

-my beautiful home...

Linking up with: Carina, Heather, Julia, Kate, Ryan, Sarah

Spring Time Fruits & Veggies

When I posted a delicious juicing recipe, many of you said you wanted to add more fruits & vegetables to your diet.

An easy way to do that is to go to a local farmer's market - the fruits & vegetables that are in season will be there for a decent price.

Having healthy fruits and vegetables in your diet is very important...it helps prevent: heart disease, strokes, diverticulitis, some types of cancer; and controls your blood pressure and protects you against cataract degeneration or vision loss.

Every fruit & vegetable is full of different essential vitamins and minerals - especially depending on the color. It is important to consume as many different fruits and vegetables of various colors.

There are so many ways to add these fruits and vegetables to your diet - delicious recipes, along with juicing!

The fruits in season for spring are...

• Apricots
• Avocados
• Carrots
• Cherries
• Grapefruits
• Kiwis
• Kumquats
• Lemons
• Mangos
• Pineapple
• Navel Oranges
• Strawberries

The vegetables in season for spring are...

• Artichokes
• Arugula
• Asparagus
• Beets
• Fennel
• Greens
• Leeks
• Lettuce
• Parsley
• Peas
• Radishes
• Rhubarb
• Scallions
• Spinach
• Turnips

Add as many of these fruits and vegetables to your diet as possible! -Starting NOW...GO!

Health Benefits of Juicing

Due to my delicious juice recipe I shared with you - I thought it was time for some health benefits...

About a 2 months ago, V & I started juicing. I am absolutely loving it! (Except for the clean up process - that is absolutely terrible.)

Juicers range in price from $50-$200+. The one V & I went with was a $99 Jack Lalanne juicer...which I highly recommend. You can't beat the price! This juicer is fairly easy to clean, as well. (Easier than less expensive, other juicers that I have tried.)

There are so many health benefits of juicing...

By juicing vegetables & fruit, your body absorbs all of the important nutrients.

By juicing vegetables & fruits, you can consume a large number of vegs/fruits in an efficient manner. (Instead of sitting there and eating 5 carrots, 1 celery stalk, an apple, a half of a lemon, some ginger, and a half of a beet - all you have to do is drink a glass of it!)

Juicing vegetables & fruits allow you to have variation in your diet.

Juicing helps your body detox by elimination toxins, fats, preservatives, chemicals, etc. that you consume from other food - anti-oxidants help this process.

(That's just to name a few benefits!)

Speaking from experience, you have more energy when you drink fresh juice like this - you can feel it in your body.

From my morning "Power Juice" recipe - the following nutrients is what is in each vegetable:

Beets- Vitamins A, B, C, E; iron, magnesiu, manganese, potassium
Purifies & cleanses the blood, liver, kidneys, and arteries.

Carrots- Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, G, K; calcium, copper, potassium, etc.
Prevents cataracts & other eye problems. Helps energize you, cleanse & heal the body.

Celery- Vitamins B and C; iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium
Eases inflalmmation, arthritis and helps lower blood pressure. Helps with sleeping problems as well.

Ginger- Helps with inflammation, digestion, motion sickness, and morning sickness

Green Apple- Vitamins A, C, E, B1, B6; calcium, iron, copper, zinc
Great source of fiber, helps reduce skin disease, contains antioxidants, prevents constipation and diarrehea, nourishes the skin

Lemon- Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C, E; potassium, calcium, zinc
Aids in digestion, stimulates your liver to make bile so you can digest food throughout the day

Usually I put spinach in it, too - but I had just ran out!
Spinach- Vitamins A, B, C, and K; calcium, iodine, iron, phosphorous, potassium
Helps with anaemia, depression, fatigue, and digestion. Great body cleanser as well.

If you would like more information on juicing - let me know! Would love to do more posts on it if it would interest anyone. :)

Happy juicing!

Tasty Tuesday - Fresh Power JUICE Recipe

When I mentioned that I found a new juice recipe, I had some questions as to a recipe - so I thought I would share it with you on Tasty Tuesday!

Fresh Power Juice Recipe

Ingredients:
5 carrots
1 celery stalk
1 granny smith apple
1/2 lemon
1/2 beet
ginger knuckle

Ingredients

Directions:
1) Add the following to a juicer, I go in this order of the ingredients: celery, carrots, ginger, beet, lemon, apple.

Final product

It is important that you consume your juice right away (or store it in a glass container and place it in the refrigerator) - otherwise bacteria can grow in it!

Every morning, along with my breakfast (which usually consists of eggs or oatmeal) I drink this delicious juice - full of so many nutrients!