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Juicing Challenge

Well guys, we did it! We survived yet another crazy Christmas season! I know that I haven’t been posting much lately, but that’s because I have been busy with working on finishing up working on the cookbook I am planning to publish this coming year, creating new fabulous recipes, cooking up a storm for my man and I, and still managing to fit in enough movement and exercise that my body is still continuously improving in strength and shape. And adding Christmas into that already-hectic mix? Yikes!


Craziness! But it was the best, full of food and family and love and laughter. Just the way I like it!


The trouble with me around Christmastime though is that I really don’t pay all that much attention to my body’s limits when it comes to things like all of the delicious food and such that is so readily available literally EVERYWHERE you go. And so, I stop weighing myself around mid-November and don’t even go near a scale until at least March!


Why March? It isn’t that I am scared of what the scale will tell me – it’s nothing that I do not already expect: I will put on usually between 5 and 15 pounds, and lose a bit of muscle tone in the process. I don’t feel as well, and I definitely don’t digest my food as well. No surprises there!


But luckily, unlike what seems to be a lot of peoples’ response to that, I have a plan to get back on track every year. And next week is the beginning of it!


It’s actually really convenient that New Years’ Eve falls on a weekend this year, because then I am hoping that even more people will find themselves highly motivated come the following Monday to start setting and working toward some exciting new goals. And goals are one thing that I ALWAYS make sure that I have and that I am working on, especially at the beginning of a new year. And this year is no different… some of the ones that have made it onto the list for 2022 include things like finishing (and PUBLISHING!) my cookbook, making it to a year and beyond at my job, helping support Alex as he works on growing his business (guys, do you have your winter tires yet? Hit up Adrena Garage in Oakville! They will take care of you), and lifting even more weight/improving my health and fitness even more. Pretty reasonable list, no?

That list will shape my year, as I find that it tends to have a pretty heavy influence on the activities that I will be likely to engage in (example: if I have the choice between going out for a walk after a heavy meal or sitting in front of the TV set, just knowing that one of my goals is to improve my fitness will make me more driven to get out those running shoes and get moving).


But how to get started? It’s easy to SAY that we want to improve in different areas, but actually doing it? Now that’s a different story!


That is why I wanted to extend the beginning of my plan to all of you! I am introducing a 7-day juicing regime for the first week of 2022. It isn’t a juice fast (I will still be eating regular food as well, but also adding one or two juices every day). The key is to create delicious, healthy juices every day! You can use a juicer to create the juices, or if you don’t have one, just use a blender! (My family got me a Magic Bullet for Christmas, which was the inspiration behind this plan.)


The key is to drink one, maybe two healthy juices each and every day for a week. Easy, right?


It’s fun too! But even more importantly, juicing is great for your body. And it’s a really easy way to get a lot of good nutrition in. It will make you strong, healthy and beautiful from the inside out.


Juicing can actually be more of a lifestyle. It’s not a quick fix and not just for cleanses. It’s a great everyday way to get complete nourishment for a healthy body, and it has many positive results:

  • Better sleep. Wake up without the alarm clock, and never need a nap

  • Glowing, clear skin

  • Morning-till night energy

  • A clearer, sharper mind

  • A happy digestive system. Get regular!

  • Lean, bikini-ready body (the waxing is up to you)

  • Less inflammation

  • Less bloat, less pain

  • Body detox (give your bod a clean slate)

  • Ageless looks

  • Boosted immunity

It’s easy to join me in this adventure… simply follow my Vita-Mentality Wellness social media accounts and try out the recipes that I am going to be diving into! I plan to hit up the Hamilton Farmer’s Market this week while I have a few days off from work to stock up on the fruits and veggies that I will need, and speaking the afternoon today planning out just what those are (guys, do you have any amazing juice recipes that you could share with me? Please post them in the comments below!).


I am still going to eat food during this week as well as drink the juices, and recommend that you do the same. Think of them as a side dish to add to your regularly scheduled meals.


If you want your body to cleanse and you’d like to use this week to kick-start a new chapter in your healthy-eating life, try embracing a vegetarian or vegan diet (more fruits and veggies!) and avoid all processed foods. Meats and processed foods slow down our body’s cleansing processes. A light, clean fruit and veggie diet is the most beneficial if you’re trying to turn your health around. This would include soups, salads, smoothies and raw foods recipes. More importantly, focus on clean eating. Avoid foods with ingredients that you cannot pronounce and are free of processed sugar.


I am going to drink one 20-ounce glass of freshly pressed juice at least once a day, every day, for a week. It can be fruit juice, green juice, veggie juice… it can even be a blended juice or a smoothie, just in case you don’t have a juicer or just want to change it up a bit!


You can drink your juice whenever you like throughout the day. I want to keep it super flexible so that anyone (including you!) can do this. Juicing can be your breakfast, lunch, dinner or super yummy snack. Try the recipes that I am using, or invent one of your own!


During the challenge, I’ll be with you the whole way to share tips and recipes. They will aim to keep you motivated, inspired and on track. I know that even if you are super motivated, it can be difficult to change your habits.


The most important point I want to make here is this: have fun with it! Create new, wild and crazy combinations of ingredients to make amazing new flavours and nutrient profiles. Add colour! Add texture (try throwing in some chia seeds or hemp seeds after it has been juiced or blended… this not only adds some great texture elements, but also omega-3 fatty acids and fibre!).


A few juicing tips to get us all started on the right track:

· Try to stick to a ratio of 2:1 or 3:1 of veggies:fruit for your juices. The goal is to keep the sugar content as low as possible

· Drink your juice right away after creating it. The liquid loses nutrition within 15 minutes of creating it, meaning that it can go rancid very easily. You can safely enjoy your juice within 4 to 8 hours of juicing it. If you have to wait, try to store it in a glass jar or bottle in the fridge

· To make bitter juices tastier, try adding things like apples, carrots or bell peppers. Lemon and gingerroot also sweeten up the flavour of otherwise-bitter juices

· If you are using a juicer and not a blender, try making the pulp that is left over into things like veggie bark or soups or stews. Composting is also a great idea if you have that option

· Do not include the peels of things like mangos, papayas, carrot tops and melon rinds

· Try to change up the greens that you use in your juices throughout the week. Plants contain alkaloids that can become toxic if eaten in high enough amounts. All that means is that it probably isn’t the best idea to eat kale all day, every day, for a week!

· Sip slowly and enjoy the different flavours! You want the juice ingredients to all mix completely with your saliva to help with the digestive process and releases enzymes that your body needs to utilize the nutrients in the juice properly



Starter shopping list


To get started, here are a few ideas for ingredients that you might want to grab before we get started:

· Citrus (oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit…)

· Fruits (pineapple, apple, kiwi…)

· Veggies (kale, carrots, red/orange/yellow bell peppers, celery, broccoli, tomato, fennel, zucchini…)

· Herbs (parsley, gingerroot, turmeric…)

· Honey or agave nectar

· Coconut water


To get us all started, I wanted to share one or two of the recipes that are being considered for the week ahead… and they sound incredible! I picked two that are pretty different from each other, just to show you that all juices are extremely varied and unique. So many flavours that you can accomplish, just by changing up one or two of the ingredients!


So make up some of your own recipes, load up on fresh produce, and then left’s get started on Monday next week! 7 days of juicing, but it may lead to a lifetime of better health and vitality!


Green Detoxer:

· 2 large kale leaves

· ½ cucumber, cored and chopped

· 1 lemon, peeled

· 1 orange, peeled

· 1 cup water

· ½ tbsp. raw honey

· Ice


Pineapple/Fennel Punch:

· ½ zucchini, chopped

· ¼ fennel bulb

· 1 kiwi, chopped

· 1 lime, peeled

· 1 cup pineapple

· 1 kale leaf, destemmed

· 1 cup coconut water

· ½ tbsp. raw honey

· Ice





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