treats - juice cleanse (day 5)

day five has become the most difficult. i was hoping to go a full seven days, but i don't think i'll make it. i'm very ready to chew. i also want to ease back into eating a regular meat diet and know i'll need a few days before i can become a carnivore again.

don't get me wrong, the juices are very tasty! i hope you enjoy them.

christmas juice
*i was inspired by holiday colors for the ingredients in this juice
the goods:
- 1 apple
- 1 cucumber
- 1 basket strawberries
- 1 bunch kale (i used 2 different kinds of kale for this juice)

christmas-colored produce

the how to:
- juice berries on low
- increase to high and add kale on top of cucumber
- finish with apple

the results:
a very tasty green juice! the strawberries really stand out among the leafy greens. delicious!

purple juice
the goods:
- 1 beet
- 1 cucumber
- 1 apple
- 1 basket strawberries

the how to:
- wash beet thoroughly and cut off ends
- juice strawberries on low
- add remaining ingredients and juice on high

the results:
a rich purple juice. the beet definitely adds a rustic flavor, but the strawberries mix very well with the beet and fool your brain into thinking it's mostly berries.

purple juice

treats - juice cleanse (day 4)

day four was interesting because i let myself out of the house and went to the movies. luckily the smell of hot, fresh, buttery popcorn wasn't very tempting. unfortunately i did have to turn down a social invite to a post-movie dinner. i knew i wouldn't hold up very well in there.

i do feel like i'm not juicing as much as i should be, but i think it's because i'm waiting until i'm very hungry before i make a juice. my chompers are ready to start chewing!

orange veggie blend
the goods:
- 3 carrots
- 1/2 sweet potato
- 2 blood oranges (or regular oranges)
- 1 bunch spinach

the how to:
- peel the oranges and juice on low
- speed up to high and add spinach in with carrots
- finish with sweet potato

the results:
the spinach turns it a bit brown, but it's still very tasty. the oranges help add a hint of sweetness.

orange veggie blend

mean green (alt 3)
the goods:
- 1/2 bunch spinach
- 1 cucumber
- 1 bunch bok choy
- 1/2 bunch kale
- 2 apples

3 different leafy greens

the how to:
- cut end off bok choy so all leaves are separated
- mix leafy greens with cucumber and apples when inserting into juicer
- juice all ingredients on high

the results:
a very tasty green alternative. the bok choy has a bitter taste when it's raw, but the cucumber and apple reduce the bitterness drastically in the juice.

banana yellow
the goods:
- 1/4 pineapple
- 1 bunch green grapes
- 2 bananas

the how to:
- remove grapes from stem and juice on low with pineapple
- in a food processor, blend banana until smooth
- add juice mixture to food processor to incorporate banana

the results:
more like a smoothie. the pineapple is the dominant taste, so add extra bananas or ripe bananas to downplay pineapple.

banana yellow smoothie

treats - juice cleanse (day 3)

i was really fearing day 3 because i hear it's the worst day of the cleanse because your body is finally adjusting to everything. i'm happy to report i'm feeling great. i've even lost 3 lbs since i first started the cleanse.

i'm really enjoying the creative freedom i have with all of the juicing. i'm starting to spin off of each juice i've made to see which combinations work well and which ones don't.

day 3

mean green (alt 2)
the goods:
- 1 apple
- 2 kiwis
- 4 kale leaves
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 1/2 cucumber

the how to:
- wrap the spinach inside of the kale leaves and juice on low
- juice the kiwis on low
- juice the apple and cucumber on high
*if you've peeled off the cucumber skin, juice on low

the results:
a hearty green mixture. the spinach has a great flavor and it's not as punchy at the wheatgrass.

mean green juice (alt 2) - my favorite green!

orange creamsicle (CURRENT FAVORITE!!)
the goods:
- 2 oranges
- 2 pears
- 1/2 papaya

the how to:
- peel orange rind, leaving on the pith (the white part)
- cut off stalk of pears
- scrape out papaya seeds
- juice orange and pears (soft) on low
- juice papaya and pears (hard) on high

the results:
my goodness this is the best thing i've ever tasted! this was actually supposed to be made with peaches instead of pears, but they're not in season and i'm happy i had to substitute. the pears add a lovely smooth, creamy texture to this so it's not super citrus hoppy.

orange creamsicle juice

body factory's pb&j
my grandfather's love for peanut butter passed down to me and i was craving some protein to add into my mixes. i ended up venturing to the body factory and ordered my favorite smoothie, the pb&j.

the goods:
- peanut butter
- bananas
- blueberries
- body fuel protein powder

the results:
still delicious as usual, but i did notice that the protein powder made me feel a bit bloated. i think i'll stick with the raw fruits and veggies for the rest of the cleanse.

bodyfactory pb&j

treats - juice cleanse (day 2)

i was a bit apprehensive about continuing the cleanse after my exorcism remake the night before, but i decided to give it one more try.

it made more sense to me to completely eliminate celery, my bitter enemy (pun definitely intended), and stick with fruits and veggies i know i like.


day 2

there's a juicing method called "drinking the rainbow" where you go for a red juice one day, orange the next and so on. this method will help your body get a diverse mix of nutrients from the variety of produce you consume. i was hoping to do this last night, but had to push to day 2.

rainbow red
the goods:
- 1 bin of strawberries
- 1 bunch green grapes
- 2 red apples
- 1 pomegranate (juicing instructions below)

the how to:
- juice the strawberries and grapes on low
- cut the apples in half (coring optional) and juice on high
- add pomegranate juice to final juice

pour pomegranate juice into blended mixture

the results:
the pomegranate adds a bit of tartness, but it's oh-so good. tastes very much like candy and extremely kid-friendly.

rainbow red juice

juicing a pomegranate
the tools:
- 1 pomegranate
- sharp knife
- bowl of cold water
- food processor or blender

the how to:
- cut off the crown of the pomegranate
- using your knife, lightly quarter the fruit from crown to bottom, only going a few centimeters below the skin

gently quarter your pomegranate

- soak pomegranate in bowl of water for several minutes
- keeping the fruit in the water bowl, gently crack along the slit quarters; the seeds should fall to the bottom of the bowl

- place seeds in food processor or blender and lightly pulse until it becomes a liquid

- optional: run juice through sieve to strain the juice from the pits

mean green (alternate)
the goods:
- 2 apples
- 9 sprigs kale
- 1 zucchini
- 1 bunch wheatgrass

the how to:
- wrap wheatgrass into kale bunch and juice on low
- turn juicer onto high and toss in zucchini (peel on) and apples
*if you take the skin off of the zucchini, juice on low

the results:
the wheatgrass gives this bright green mixture a savory flavor, while the apples add a hint of tartness.

mean green (alt) juice

tie die
the goods:
- 8oz blueberries
- 4 carrots
- 1 red apple
- 4 sprigs kale

the how to:
- bunch kale and juice on low
- pour in blueberries on low
- juice apple and carrots on high

the results:
a tie-died fruit and veggie mix with a smooth blueberry finish.

by the end of day 2 my chompers are a bit sore because they want to be more active, but i'm not hungry or sick. i did decide to completely eliminate my food network viewing to help reduce temptation, so aside from my painful withdrawals from not watching CHOPPED, i'm feeling great.

treats - juice cleanse (day 1)

after watching the documentary "fat, sick and nearly dead," i was very inspired to not only try juicing but attempt what they call a "reboot" as well. in the film, they were challenging people to take a 10 day juice-only diet.

that all sounds fine and good, but i wanted to do something a little more realistic. having spoken to some juice cleansing friends as well as scouring the internet for juicing tidbits, i learned that your body feels a bit crummy during the first 3 days for the cleanse. guess i should push passed 3 days and go for 5! and why not challenge myself a bit and actually try for 7.

lucky number 7 it is! 7 days of fresh fruit and veggie juice creations that i put together in my own kitchen. that's realistic, right?


day 1

fat flush
the goods:
- 3 carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 1/2 cucumber (skin on)
- 1/2 bunch parsley

the how to:
- juice all ingredients on high
- if you do peel your cucumber, juice on low
*hint - bunch up your parsley and wrap around your cucumber to maximize your juice

the juice will separate, so give it a good stir before you drink it

the results:
a muddy green juice with a very strong celery taste
drink twice a day

fat flush juice

mean green
this recipe is actually from the movie "fat, sick and nearly dead."

the goods:
- 6 kale leaves
- 1 cucumber
- 4 celery stalks
- 2 green apples
- 1/2 lemon
- ginger (to taste)

the how to:
- juice lemon on low
- juice the rest of the ingredients on high
- be sure to wrap the kale around the cucumber to maximize your juice
- if this is your first mean green, start without the ginger and add in as needed

the results:
a bright green, full glass plus half a mason jar. the lemon and green apples make it very tart.

mean green juice

i wanted to do a second fat flush and fruit mix later in the day, but i ended up getting sick during my mean green juice. i'm going to blame it on the celery. i've decided to eliminate that ingredient since i strongly dislike celery in any form and will substitute another leafy green in its place.

wish me luck for day 2!

trails - point lobos

point lobos is a peninsula just south of carmel. it was a whaling hot spot in the late 1800’s and a blockbuster backdrop until the early 1990’s when it became part of the monterey bay national marine sanctuary.

there are many trails to choose from at point lobos. we were on a bit of a time crunch and couldn’t commit to the 6 mile perimeter loop, but ended up on a 4 mile tour of the point instead.

the trek:

- carmel trail

- granite point

- cabin trail

- north shore

- east grove

- sea lion point

- south shore trail

- piney woods

- lace lichen

old whaler's cabin

whaling cove

view from north shore trail

sleeping sea lions (bottom left)

total distance: 4 miles

travel time: 1h20m

difficulty: easy to moderate

the tips:

- skip the $10 parking lot fee and park along hwy 1

- give yourself at least 1 hour for photos; trust me on this one

- go in january or february to spot whales in the peak of migration

treats - white chocolate cheesecake

i'm one of those weirdos that isn't a huge fan of cheesecake. maybe it's my disdain for cream cheese, but that's just a guess?

however, my boyfriend is a cheesecake fanatic and i thought i would gift him his favorite dessert for this lovely easter holiday.

this recipe is super creamy and fluffy, with hints of white chocolate and almonds. if you want to get super fancy, i recommend stirring up some whipped cream and adding berries.

the goods:
the base
- 2 cups vanilla wafers
- 1/4 cup butter (melted)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
the filling
- 1 1/2 lbs cream cheese
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 3 eggs
- 12 oz white chocolate (melted)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp almond extract

the equipment:
9" spring foam pan, food processor, hand mixer or stand up mixer

the how to:
- preheat oven to 300F
- grease bottom and edges of pan
- mix all base ingredients in food processor until combined
- press base ingredients evenly onto bottom of pan

*hint - add foil to bottom and outside edges of pan to avoid any leaking

- combine cream cheese and 1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk on medium speed until fluffy
- gradually add in remaining milk
- add eggs one at a time, beating well on medium speed after each addition

- blend in melted chocolate, vanilla and almond
- add filling into crust

- bake 1 hour 15 minutes - 1 hour 30 minutes at 300F, until cheesecake is set in the middle
- remove cheesecake from oven and rest on wire rack for 1-2 hours, before removing rim of pan

*hint - go around pan edges with thin knife before removing outer rim of pan

- once cooled, remove outside rim of spring foam pan and chill cheesecake in refrigerator inside of airtight container for 4-6 hours

Enjoy!