Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
~ William Arthur Ward
Good day dear IPOM readers and friends! Need a little something to pick you up mid-week like I do?
How about a quick little shout-out to a most virtuous glass of nourishing and delicious fresh green juice?
I’ve mentioned before that it is tough for me to throw away the pulp that is left over after extracting fresh juice.
And it’s true, it is hard (for me).
Eating foods is definitely the preferred way for me to ensure there is plenty of nutrition being served up at our table, and all that fiber and goodness that comes from consuming roughage and delicious foods in their whole state is ideal (IMO).
Except when it’s time for a change up.
When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.
~ Victor Frankl
There are times when the body might be sensitive to things. There are times when we might be stressed. There are times when we just crave a glass of pure vital energy.
For these times, and often on short fast days, this drink is my go-to elixir.
Super-energizing, super-alkalizing, super-tasty, and super-charged, this drink brings together everything an ailing tummy or mind might need. Eating can be stressful on the body sometimes (especially foods that are not good for you), and that’s okay. Just knowing a good safe way to rest the body and mind is a good place to start.
Of course, you need a juicer for this (which I know we don’t all have) – thankfully juicers are easily found these days in all price ranges, so if you are inclined, with a bit of research you can pick one up without breaking the bank account. It is an investment that will pay dividends, regardless of whether you juice once a day, once a week, or once a month.
Live out of your imagination, not your history.
-Stephen Covey
Here is the lowdown on my favorite take on Natalia Rose’s Green Lemonade from her book ‘Raw Food Detox’. It’s simply divine, and actually tastes delicious!
The Less:
Less solids in your tummy means a little rest when its needed. Less pressure on the tummy means more time to just be. Less cooked and stored juices means more vital enzymes and goodness, and hopefully less time feeling less than the best.
The More:
More fresh lemon juice means more alkalizing health benefits. More fresh greens means more chlorophyll and minerals. More fresh simple fruit juice means easily digested sugars, without all the nasty highs and lows, because something this happy can’t bring you down.
Healing Green Tonic:
~ Adapted from Natalia Rose, Raw Food Detox
- 4 apples, skin on, cut into pieces
- 10 leaves kale
- 1 head celery
- 2 lemons, with skin on, cut into pieces
- knob of fresh peeled ginger (optional)
Simply wash all ingredients – try to use organic vegetables and fruits for this if you can. Chop apples, lemons, and ginger. Be careful when juicing to put the greens and lemon pieces in with a stalk of celery or a piece of apple to prevent clogging (depending on your juicer’s strength).
Strain through a very fine sieve (or not if you don’t mind a little pulp at the bottom), and enjoy right away for maximum life force and vital energy. Letting juice sit will oxidize the released nutrition, but if you like you can put some away in a sealed container (keep cold!) for enjoyment later.
I drink this when I need a nice boost. It keeps me going for hours and leaves a wonderful aftertaste and and even more glorious happy tummy smile.
It sounds extra-super-corny, but trust me it’s true!
I don’t juice too often as I get annoyed cleaning the juicer as well as I feel sad if I produce too much pulp – though it does certainly make a lovely addition to gardener’s compost 
I’ve got nothing to do today but smile.
~ Simon and Garfunkel
The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists
~ Japanese Proverb
My weekend reading!
The power we have to create good, and to impact positive change both within ourselves and within a greater collective community is never lost on me.
There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.
~ Author Unknown
So keep up your own unique brands of awesomeness, dear IPOM readers and friends, for it is your energy and enthusiasm that keeps us all going, and I can only speak for myself and I know this to be true for this blogger!
I also have to let you guys know there are so many exciting things happening here this week with regards to Not So Fast. Honestly, I can’t wait to share….all in good time!
- Are you a fan of juicing?
- What is your favorite fresh juice of all time?
- What are you MOST excited for right now (share anything!)?
I just adore hearing from you all, we’d all love to know!
I am off to enjoy the glorious Vancouver sunshine…and it sounds as though it is here to stay for a while!
Yours in Less,
Your juice certainly is a beautiful color, Shira. I am one of those people who live without a juicer: I can squeeze citrus by hand, but not carrots, celery, apples or kale.
I hear you Sharyn! I have one but am worried it will one day break, and replacing these appliances is a big pain! The beauty is we can always make them into smoothies too
!
Wonderful. I look forward to the quotes as well – it’s so inspirational:)
Shira – I really want to lose a lot of weight. Could inbox me some ideas (natural detox ideas) please?
Sure Ishita! I would love to – keeping in mind I only have my own personal experiences to go by – thanks for reaching out!
xo!
Yum yum yum!! I’m so into the juices and green smoothies right now! Making it a habit for life (ooh double meaning there!). And holla back atcha!
I know, right? How good do they make us feel?! this is by far my favorite as it makes a lot! Figure it’s good to get ready for the onslaught of vegan recipes coming up right?!
Green juice!!! I have it absolutely every day, my favorite combo is cucumbers, romaine, kale, lemons, ginger, and lots of stevia.
Sounds awesome – love cucumbers too – they make juice so fresh tasting! Never tried stevia but might have to try that!
Howdy up there, Shira! Your juice looks yummy (and what a colour!) I do love your energy, my friend. If you could bottle it, you’d have an excess of giving for Not So Fast.
I was a juice girl, and now I am not. My machine is gathering dust. (If there are any Sydney readers who’d like a juicer, contact me!) Love the idea. Loath the cleaning up. Now, I have a Vitamix. THAT, I love. And, it’s a doddle to clean.
Enjoy that sunshine!
Thanks J! I am SO with you on the juicer clean up which is why I only juice when I really feel I need it – otherwise I blend all the way (in my non Vita Mix of course which is a whole other story!! One day I will share, maybe when I pen a book haha!) – I need it from time to time to keep the energy positive! Truthfully I have SO much energy all the time – I just have to keep it tipped the right way!
Hope your day is starting out FAB!
All good here, my friend (I’ve had the caffeine injection). Off to the gym shortly. X
Impressive! Enjoy the gym girl!
I love juicing! And that recipe looks great. I think I’m going to go juice up some greens right now!
Thanks Rebecca! Enjoy your juice!!
Sounds like it would definitely increase my virility… I get tummy smiles a lot (it likes peppermint tea, of which I drink astonishing amounts). Green things are always good for you…
Isn’t it funny about green? It is good for you always! I should feed this to my husband then you say?
Check!! Love peppermint tea……every night I have it without fail! 
You are making me really want to get a juicer Shira! It’s one of those things I know I will eventually get, just need to bite the bullet! I wonder if I could make this my blending all the ingredients in my blender with a little water, then straining through a nut milk bag? Because I want a happy tummy smile too! Hmmm…
I love your take on the potluck! You’re right it’s such an amazing experience for us to connect with new and old friends alike and learn and share!
And you make sure you keep up your awesomeness too Shira! You have such a lovely view of the world
Can’t wait to hear your news!
Enjoy that sunshine xoxo
Oh Gabby! One day yes, truthfully, I don’t juice regularly (clean up hassle) – but I should do it more. This tonic is quite magical actually, made more amazing by the oils from the lemon skin – I am sure you could try it by straining!! Though it could get messy..
xox
Saturday will be blast for sure – thanks for being you! You’ve got so many amazing gifts to share!
Green has always been my favourite colour! I’m going to have to get myself a juicer one of these days/
I love green too! In my garden and in my home. It’s the only color I allow other than pristine white!
Thanks for checking out my blog. I am loving the green juices, so I am excited to try this new recipe from this post!
Fantastic! My pleasure! I hope you enjoy it!
I don’t have a juicer, but I do throw a lot of greens and fruit in my vitamix, and blend it right into a smoothie! This does sound nice though!
Smoothie/juice it’s SO all good!! I had green smoothie today!
Fantastic post Shira! I am a huge advocate of juicing and its health and well being benefits. This recipe looks delicious and I adore ginger in my juice. Yum! I’ll post this to my facebook page. Thanks!
Thanks Karista! Since you like juice (*yay!!*) I hope this combo is a winner for you too – after all these years it’s hands down my all time favorite!
This juice combo sounds soo delicious! I need a juicer. I have a nice blender, but never juice. It’s time.
Yes Britt, and thanks!! You won’t regret this purchase – it’s so worth every cent!
Love this reminder to just get the juicer out and get it juicing! I know the clean up is laborious so sometimes I cheat and juice watermelon for days (easy to clean)
That’s supposed to be good for the tummy according to Chinese medicine. However, I know the benefits of green juice and I am going to try your recipe. If only I could afford the blue print cleanse daily! PS Cannot wait to hear about Not So Fast! Great post; fave quote: there is always, always, always something to be thankful for.
Thanks Marina – I love your watermelon idea! Brilliant!! It is my fave summer sustenance..I hope you like this as much as I do, it’s so wonderfully energizing. I love that thankfulness quote too! NSF meeting tomorrow….a whole new look coming our way! Fingers crossed it goes well! xo!
AWESOME!! Cannot WAIT to hear about NSF!!!!! So excited!!
Fingers tapping….learning patience is hard but it will pay off!
Thanks for the support Marina – it means a TON!
You have just officially inspired me to dust off my juicer. I even have a nice fancy one, sitting in a cabinet all lonely in my kitchen. I have been doing green smoothies every day, time to switch it up and use some of that produce that is slowly expiring!
Totally! that makes me so happy to hear!! It’s that time of year…I get into it and then take a break as I can’t give up the counter space for too long, but it is nice to get out on a Saturday when there’s nothing else to cook – and just – relax and enjoy the wonderful feeling! Love it Somer!
I had my first shot of wheat grass last night. I thought I was going to be disgusted and had a chaser of carrot waiting. I was pleasantly surprised and didn’t need the chaser. Woot Woot!
Wow – congrats! you must be clean..in my experience the more ‘toxins’ a person carries, the worse wheatgrass tastes when you first start – impressed! Way to go! Imagine me 14 years ago…I used to paint my baby girl’s face with that stuff!
I had no idea about that! Cool! Yay for clean eating! Can I ask why you put it on her face, I have heard it has healing properties for skin, but were you using it for a certain condition?
Yes – woooot! I used to put it into the bath too..since the skin is such a large organ (and absorbs every single thin we put on it) it’s just another way to infuse the body with the wheat grass healing properties
And also makes you look like a warrior! xo!
Radical! xoxo!
One of the things I miss the most about my time working at the Omega Holistic learning center (besides living outdoors) is the staff juicer. When ever I need a pick me up it was there and we had access to so many beautiful fruits and veggies from local and organic farms. Over all it was food heaven. My favorite simple juice was lemon, grapefruit, lots of ginger, a bit of turmeric and sometimes a pinch of cayenne. However, I also loved throwing in apples, oranges, carrots, kale, celery, and really any veggie or fruit the kitchen had on hand that day.
At the time. I was doing very intense workout sessions everyday for 3 months and juice is what I would crave morning, noon, and night. Truthfully, I probably drank too much juice. As it actually became very hard to eat solids during that time. I am starting to work out again on a daily basis, it’s not nearly as intense, but strength exercise has been pretty absent from my life for the past year, so it will be intense during the start up. It’s only been just over a week, but already my appetite is changing. I wondered what you might suggest in situations like these? I don’t have access to a juicer currently, so maybe this will make it easier to eat solids. Let me know what you think.
As always thanks for the inspiration, color, and beautiful photographs of such gorgeous yummies, dear Shira. I love IPOM!
Wow Hillery I am so envious of you for that wonderful (and life changing I bet?) experience working at the Center! I would LOVE to enjoy such bounty available to me like that and I imagine you learned a TON! I admire you for getting started again with your working out – have you tried smoothies instead of juice? The ingredient list can be very similar and you get all the fiber and roughage too, otherwise if solids are tough for you, I like a super bland diet of steamed veggies/brown rice as it is so easy to digest if you are experiencing trouble with heavier foods….my motto is always ‘light’! Keeps me from feeling heavy – in my mood, or in my body, or in my heart <3 I hope this helps! Feel free to message me if you like too
I am so happy to have you here Hillery – thank you for always supporting IPOM! You are wonderful yourself and I look forward to the next part of your journey!
I love green juices, this one is a must-make for me! Now I just need to go out and buy some kale…and pronto!
I am so happy Nora! Honestly, kale is so so good for everything (crazy, right?!)- smoothie, salad, dip – and so amazing in this juice!! I hope you like it!
xo!
Your blog is sooo inspiring . Thank you very much and have a beautiful day !
Why thank you Renata! I am so happy you stumbled up on it! I really appreciate that wonderfully kind comment!
I love that color! That sounds so good. I can’t see getting another dedicated appliance, but I’ll ask you to make me one if we ever have the chance to get together.
Sounds like a mighty FINE idea Emmy! I like the way you think
xo!
what a great post shira! I have been crazy about green smoothies and juices lately and will do a 3 day juicing weekend starting tomorrow. i will use the recipes from jason vale- just want to give my system a weekend break and reset again after having trained for a half marathong (which I ran last sunday), many stressful months and some experiences i had to struggle with in the last couple of weeks, i need to give it a go and just take the time of not cooking to focus on reading, meditating, relaxing and finding to myself again. i need that time so badly so i hope the juicing will support me. after all it is only for a long weekend. plus i need to make use of my new juicer! i love your quotes in this post! thanks for the inspiratioN!
Wow – congrats on completing your halfer Alexiana! Amazing! I applaud you for taking the time you need to rest and renew – and I do hope you enjoy this combination – your new juicer will be so glad to be used! Thanks for your awesome comment – and for your inspiration! xo!
I am impressed by this recipe… I will taste for sure!
Enjoy!
Hope your tummy smiles too!
I don’t have a juicer, so I just have to envy other people’s home-made juices for now and stick to smoothies! My fav juice is apple rhubarb, which a health food store near me carries.
And… I’m most looking forward to a knitting-inspired trip to the Shetland Islands with my mom this weekend! (Haven’t seen her since Thanksgiving, so it’ll be nice to have a reunion.)
Enjoy the sunshine for me – London is pretty gloomy these days!
Have a fabulous weekend – that sounds wonderful!
Also, I am loving the sounds of that juice and ’tis the season for rhubarb! Thank you for that suggestion! I hope the sun comes out in London soon 
xo!
Shira,
What an uplifting post AND I’ve made that juice before and think your ‘tummy smile’ is an accurate description! Here’s another juicing recipe for you to try
1 bunch Fresh Cilantro
1 whole Cucumber, Cut Into Pieces
1 whole Lime, Juiced
½ Finger Length Ginger (leave the skin)
1/4 cup of roughly chopped pineapple
SUPER energizing, clean and delicious.
ENjoy!
I am so happy to hear you have had this before! That’s so awesome
This combo sounds absolutely fantastic – I’ll be giving it a shot this weekend! Will let you know how it goes, thank you for this idea!! xo!
I substituted kale with 10 leaves of spinach and 1 bunch of green parsley and I must say it was absolutely delicious ! Thanx again for inspiration .
FABULOUS! Sounds amazing – my absolute pleasure Renata! xo!
Although I don’t have a juicer, I do love green smoothies. My favourite combination atm is canteloupe, strawberries, cucumber, and a nice big handful of spinach. Sometime I throw in a bit of sunwarrior protein powder as well. It’s so good.
What I’m looking forward to most??? The weekend
Here’s to a fine weekend my smoothie loving friend!! That sounds like a fantastic combo! Xo!
Is your home/yard really green and pristine white?? That’s completely fantastic, Shira! I don’t have a juicer either, but I’m thinking I may just tag along with you and Emmy
But until that day comes, you’ll find me living out my imagination. I love your quotes and your view of the world 
Thank you.
Deb, the more the merrier! You ladies can sit up at my kitchen (yes it’s all white except for the counters!) and chat while I serve up some green juice!! From there we can hit the Farmers market
J’adore you too my friend! xo!
That looks great! I might try and put it into a smoothie, instead. And The Happiness Project is great reading. Very inspiring–enjoy it!
Thanks! I am at March so far of her project…its a great read for sure!!
Made it into a smoothie today! The texture was a bit hard, but I drank it all. Made me feel so clean and energetic!
So great to hear it works as smoothie!!! Enjoy the energy and good clean vibes!
Thanks for letting us know! xo!
love that color! my tummy doesnt smile with fresh greens.. its weird. so i just give the juice a quick light boil, blend then chill and everyone is happy. i usually make a thicker smoothie coz i totally dislike cleaning up the juicer.
Hi Richa! I’m with you and I only juice if I have a little time, the cleanup is quite the commitment! I like that idea of the pasteurizing, that is very innovative and must mellow it quite a bit! I think it’s genius! xo!
Man I needed this today! I’ve had some kind of stomach bug for a week, and need to clear it out asap. Good thing I have all these in my fridge and a fiance with a juicer
thanks for the lovely post!
Fabulous, it’s my pleasure!! Perfect timing – and a super handy fiance too (lucky girl!!) – I am so happy this helped, and I hope you enjoy it! And feel TONS better too! xox!
I have insane amounts of love for Natalia Rose. My lifestyle is largely based off of her Detox 4 Women. Glad to find another fan!
Likewise! I think I have a slight girl crush on her actually – and her recipes and lifestyle advice are amazing!
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