Juicing Recipes For Health: New Years Detox!

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So Boxing Day is over yes? I hope you all survived the shopping day unscathed, and with some super awesome deals. With that thankfully behind you, and in case you need it on the days approaching, Juicing Recipes For Health has all the after Xmas eating, boozing, and partying hangover cures you'll ever need.

Read through this article and you'll be way ahead of the game, provided you have a great juicer and my super duper Uber-Awesome juicer recipes to put you back on track. Getting back on track may not seem important right now, but if you think about what's coming (New Years) you may want to spend the next few days juicing your brains out and eating the right foods, getting proper nutrition. Believe me, it will help you combat the oncoming parties in a big way. I say this knowing full well that with even the most disciplined health nut, New Years can be a serious challenge - what with office parties, house parties, lampshades on your head, karaoke hell, e.t.c...

Each and every New Years is a celebration that can end up with you ingesting a constant stream of alcohol, along with any number of sugary appetizers and a massive Meal Of Doom. So I've put on my white coat, gone into the Juicing For Health labs, and constructed the following recipes that will help you detox from what's already been a Xmas of excess. There's 2 days between now and New Years, so have each recipe twice (if possible) each day.

Like I said, ultimately you want to pound each juice combination back twice per day - once in the morning and once between lunch and dinner. If you can't pull that off, at least make sure you get the concoctions in once each day. The last "formula" will help you just as much after the New Years onslaught. A penultimate hangover cure, that last recipe is an excellent replacement for all the B and C vitamins that you lose thanks to the demon alcohol. Again, take your super awesome Breville Juicer (hint hint), combine these first 3 recipes for a great immediate detox, and make the last one on New Years Day when you're head feels like it will explode. Run with this folks, and come January 2, 2012, you'll thank me. :)

Juicing Recipes For Detox:

Carrot Cleaner
A great detox combination

• handful of Spinach leaves (2 or 3)
  
• 5 Carrots
• Flat Leaf Parsley (1 handful will do)
• 3 Sticks of Celery

Orange & Green Are Christmas Colors
This one's a no brainer!

• 3 oranges (peeled, duh!)
  
• 8 leaves of lettuce, spinach, or a big scoop/ handful of kale

Mint Apple Pipe Cleaner!
The title says it all!

• 3 large sweet apples
• 1 cucumber
• 2 sprigs fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 to 1/2 inch ginger root

New Years Day Hangover V8!
Your after party rejuvenator!

• 1 small beet
  
• 6 medium-sized carrots
• 1 green and 1 red bell pepper
  
• small amount of Kale leaves
  
• 3 large tomatoes
• 1 bag of baby spinach
• 1/4 head fresh cabbage
• 3 stalks celery
• 1/8 to 1/4 sweet onion
• 1/4 clove of garlic
  
• Chili pepper
• Salt (to taste)

P.S.,
If your boxing day shopping extravaganza isn't out of your system completely, Mike at Truth About Abs emailed this morning to tell me about his post Xmas pricing on his abs program. It started cheap, but for a few days between now and 2012 it's even cheaper than normal. It's also a deal exclusive to only myself and a few other sites. So click here (or the other links in this paragraph) if you don't already have this program (it's awesome). If you do have it already, make sure you're using it, because come 2012 we're gonna be getting in the best shape of our lives, right?!!

Longevity Series: Juicing Recipes For Health and Superfoods

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Superfoods, regardless of what the nickname may imply, are not food items that guarantee to have you wearing a cape and leaping tall buildings. That said, a diet that is consistently filling your body with superfoods can certainly make you feel like you could stop bullets and run faster than a speeding train. When you add any of these foods to your efforts of juicing recipes for health, you can be assured to get the biggest bang for your buck every time you fire up your super awesome juicer. 

The term superfood is often used to denote foods with high phytonutrient content. Phytonutrients - or phytochemicals - are those happy little chemical compounds that are found in plants and certain vegetables, the ones that give us the edge on sickness and disease. They have been used for medicinal purposes since time began. Salicin – for example – is a phytochemical that has proven anti-inflammatory (thus pain relieving) qualities. It can be found in the bark of certain Willow Trees. Now don't go running out to the yard for a Willow Tree to chop down and juice, I just thought that was a neat fact to add. Really, leave the trees alone.

I'm not here to give you a history lesson, or wax philosophical on the wonders of homeopathy, (and no, there won't be a test later ;)), but it is good to know that phytonutrients have been long held as a magic bullet in fighting the various physical problems we all face in life. To hammer the benefits of phytonutrients home, the phytochemicals found in fruits and plants have been linked to a reduced risk of cancer, cardio-vascular illness, and known to lessen the severity of common ailments such as colds and flus. This is all due to the antioxidant, fibrous, and anti-inflammatory properties they can manifest in us kind and gentle folks.

This is a smattering of phytonutrients, along with the food items that produce them:

• Dillapoile – Dill
• Carvavrol – thyme, oregeno.
• Quercetin – cranberries, apples, tea and wine, beans
• Apiole – parsley
• Myricetin – grapes, walnuts.

Of course the list could go on but needless to say; remember all those foods that people in the know have constantly recommended to you? Well the reason they keep on about it is - in large part - due to the phytochemical content found in such foods, and their knowledge of just how much your body can benefit from such a gift of nature. 

The bottom line when it comes to superfoods is: they are loaded with good calories, often times packing an amazing amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, in a very small package. In other words, a loaf of white bread is to superfood as etch and sketch is to art. 

To get the most from your juicing for health program(s) I've compiled a list of potential superfoods that can easily be added to your vegetable/fruit juices. While they won't make you feel compelled to change into tights at the nearest phone booth, they will boost your immune system markedly and have you feeling an excess of good mental and physical energy. 

JUICING SUPERFOODS:

• Berries: this includes anything from cranberries to blueberries, blackberries, acai berries, goji berries. Basically if it's a berry and you can handle the taste, throw it in your next juicing recipes for health concoction.
• Greens: chorella, spirulina, spinach, turnip, collards, beets, anything you would consider as lettuce (romaine and green leaf) broccoli, broccoli (yes, I said it twice on purpose because it is THAT good for you), kale, alfalfa, barley.
• Sea Borne Veggies: kelp, wakame, kombu, dulce.
• Wheatgrass: Wheat-grass is in it's own category simply because as super-foods go, wheat-grass is a frikin rock star. Look for future posts where I will detail some awesome wheat-grass juicing techniques and juicing recipes.
• Honey: Again, on it's own for emphasis. If wheat-grass is the Bentley of super-foods, honey is the Lamborghini. I'm not talking about typically store bought and pasteurized honey, I'm talking the real deal RAW honey, that is sold in most organic stores worth a salt. It seems that Winnie the Pooh knew what he was on about, because honey has antibacterial qualities, and some honeys are known for antimicrobial properties. It's been found useful for digestion, bronchitis, and some even swear that honey can get you better gas mileage. (OK, that last bit was a joke) In juices, honey is the great equalizer, since it can make the most disagreeable vegetable tasty in it's own right.

Here's a few Juicing Recipes that incorporate super-foods. Try them, test them, augment them to fit your own taste, and most importantly ... juice them all the time!

Akai Berry Delightalicious:

• 4 ounces of fresh (frozen if necessary) acai berries
• juice from ½ lemon
• 1 banana (peeled)
• 1 tablespoon honey.

Tropical Magic Medicine:

• ½ cup peaches
• ½ cup of pineapple
• 1 mango (peeled)
• 1 tablespoon honey.
• 1 teaspoon of ginger
• 1 scoop of blueberries (or goji berries)

Most of my more tasty and Uber healthy super-food juices will be detailed in an upcoming book. Included you will find an entire chapter on super-foods, along with 300 + awesome juice recipes, and detailed instructions for making over 50 delicious super-food recipes. And while that might seem like a whole heap of shameless self promotion, if you do happen to pick it up it should become obvious rather quickly that my work stands on it's own merit. ;)

DISCLAIMER: The video below is promoting a website I do not endorse, so I cannot verify that the site will be useful to you. Don't let that stop you from watching the speaker. The video itself is very useful in explaining how super-foods can enhance your quality of life and longevity, and the speaker, David Wolfe, is a certified rock star when it comes to nutrition. So as a disclaimer; while the video and the speaker have been included for your viewing pleasure, the site promotion within the video has not been verified by me. Having rambled all that, you really should listen to this guy, he seriously knows what he's on about. He knows more about nutrition then NASA does about rocket fuel. :)

Cheers!

Juicing Recipes For Health Longevity Series: The Colon Cleanse

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Hopefully all you Juicing Recipes for Health nuts had a most excellent New Years, used my recipes to cure your hangovers, and are now 25 + days into your juicing and healthy lifestyle again. The new year is the perfect time for renewed energy and for focusing on overall health improvements.

Today's post marks the first in a series I'm completing that really explains the benefits of juicing for health and for why it can be a critical component to helping yourself maintain an energetic and vital life.

And so we arrive at the colon (yes, that is possibly the most disturbing sentence ever). I'll say it before you... "ewww gross". Admittedly, the colon is not the most attractive conversation topic, and certainly one to avoid at the dinner table, or upon any surprise visits by the Queen. Nonetheless, understanding how critically important the colon is to proper health is of utmost importance to anyone searching for health and longevity. So at the risk of being, yes, "ewww gross", it's a subject necessary to touch on occasionally or I'm not doing my job.

THE COLON:
The colon is such an under appreciated system in the body, even by the most health oriented people. Having said that, understanding why it's important to keep the colon in tip top shape is a simple matter of understanding that any issues and problems with digestion can be of paramount importance to maintaining continuing good health, and that any problems in this area can be extremely dangerous to a person's longevity and health efforts.

The colon is the place where waste and toxic matter is gathered before being evacuated from the body, so having a colon that can properly absorb nutrients and then pass the remaining waste is extremely necessary. Without the colon operating at it's peak capacity, the risk of poisons remaining in the body is present, causing a condition known as auto-intoxication as the body is forced to reabsorb the harmful materials that accumulate. This occurs when the remaining waste is absorbed by the colon walls and redistributed through your body, through the bloodstream, damaging almost every organ in one way or another.

A JUICING COLON CLEANSE:
At this point I could go on and on about the functions of the colon, but it's of no real consequence to getting the help you may need. Anyone in their right mind should understand by now how critical a properly working colon is to your quest for better health. In order to ensure your colon is being taken care of, it's always smart to occasionally commit to a colon cleanse, and one extremely beneficial therapy for a clean and well performing colon is by juicing certain vegetables and fruits. By applying various juicing recipes for health you can offset any potential issues as the phytonutrients and enzymes in juices do their work flushing your colon of poisons and putrefied waste.

Aside from just vegetables, fruits such as lemon, lime, apples, e.t.c... are also known as very effective foods for colon cleansing.See the below guide.

There is a few qualifications to properly juicing for a colon cleanse, the most important being that you must always drink your juice fresh, as soon as possible after making it. Any long exposure to air oxidizes the juice and destroys important enzymes. This rule is basically important to juicing in general, not just for helping to heal the colon. Having said that, the enzymes present in fresh juices are critical to a proper colon cleanse. This is why you often see any juicing enthusiast drinking his recently made concoctions within moments of making and pouring. Enzymes and phytochemicals are considered the most important elements and benefits from juicing, so it's only natural to assume that storing your juice - thus allowing air exposure to hurt the juicing for health benefits - will have less of a positive and desired end result for your efforts.

WHY FIBER?:
This should be a pretty short explanation, since it's an easy concept to grasp. Fiber is the part of a food that cannot be digested, and as such, as it passes through the digestive system it acts as your very own personal roto-rooter. It is to your intestines as the broom is to a dirty kitchen floor. As fiber passes through your body it gathers and moves along many poisons, toxins, and other wholly unnecessary crud from the body. An excellent source of fiber is by eating raw and unpeeled fruits whenever possible.

WHAT WORKS:
The following veggies and fruits have been shown to provide the most benefits to a colon cleanse. Once a juicing therapy is decided upon, juices made from these vegetables should be consumed twice daily, for the length of your colon cleanse:

Vegetables:

• beets, carrots, sprouts, artichokes, eggplant, kale, capsicum

Fruits:

• kiwi, mango, pineapples, papaya, apples (skin intact), lemon or lime
  

As juicing recipes go, any combination of the above foods will work to assist a colon cleanse, providing you the best chance to get it right and help your colon do it's job properly. I find that by experimenting with some or all of the above I can usually end up with a combination that tastes fantastic as well as being extremely beneficial. If your pallet has any aversion to the above foods, try adding honey to the recipe. Honey is a certified Uber cool super food, and good for you no matter how you get it in your system. It usually makes just about anything taste good and for some reason it's very effective as a flavor enhancer in juices.

There are other fruits and vegetables out there that are beneficial to a colon cleanse, the above is just a basic starting point. If you are considering a serious colon cleanse in the near future, keep an eye out for my new book. Within the pages is a detailed 10 day colon cleanse, complete with a daily walk-through to make it as easy as possible to accomplish the cleanse.

Below is a short video that explains a few things regarding a proper colon cleanse. The lady in the vid certainly doesn't provide any real clarity, in fact it's almost entirely useless as a guide to cleansing, but the tiny bit of advice she does provide is of import and should be considered before you start. Cheers!

The Cure You (Will) Need Is A Juicing Recipes Classic!

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Ah yes, here we are yet again. It's almost time for the infamous New Year's Resolutions. Just about zero hour anyway, minus this one more yearly hurdle to leap. While it's still one day away for us, interestingly enough in Asia and Australia right now people are already finishing up their parties and after parties. Yes right now they are well ahead of us, looking forward to logging on to Ye' Old Wonderful Juicing Recipes site for their new juicers, they're also laying out clothes for their first New Year's workout, quitting smoking, taking up sky diving, petting small furry animals, joining the Peace Corps, e.t.c... Meanwhile we haven't even picked out a shirt for tonight's festivities.

However, the Asian example will pale in comparison to us tomorrow, certainly. Yes? Busily, like my friends in Singapore and Melbourne are doing right now, you'll be reading off your resolutions, adding positive affirmation notes to the bathroom mirror, making those calls to your favorite personal trainer, putting all the Twinkies in the rubbish bin, doing your first round of Plyometric/jump training.... OK, OK. Not. Not most of you anyway. And I certainly won't be that daft either, to be honest. Since I am an official juicing enthusiast/fitness nag for 364 days per year, on New Years Eve even I get the night off. So I'm likely to be wearing the same lamp shade on my head that you'll be sporting, which means the morning after could be a rough one all the way around.

Looking at things realistically - on the first day of 2011, we'll all quite probably be easing out of bed very methodically, avoiding sunlight, noise, sudden movement, and any floor debris that was collected from the previous night's shenanigans. The good news is this: in your kitchen is your friend "the juicer", and within the magic of that mechanism - combined with your vegetable crisper contents - lay a cure for the pounding head, along with the nausea and general happy-crappy feeling most of us will be suffering.

Of course you know this already because you read my last article, yes? In case you missed it I gave up a juicing recipe secret from my book, one that gives you the biggest advantage for getting rid of a nagging hangover. Look below, I'll put it up again here for ease of access. In fact I'll post it identically twice below, so that on the off chance you are still seeing double come January 1, you can just close one eye, pick the recipe you still see, and pop the ingredients into your juicer. Will even make a slight variation of the recipe so that it holds maximum taste, maximum amounts of B and C vitamins, and the least amount of effort to your weary, post "party all night long" body.

I've already made my own Resolution for the coming year, just so you know. It's my goal to help every person reading this site healthier than ever before, using juicing techniques, fitness and meditation tips that have been handed down to me from Greek Gods, Batman, and Chuck Norris. Yes, that's right, Chuck Norris. (OK I'm, kidding, Chuck was busy) Having said that I'm certainly not going to muddle your time now whinging and moaning about what vegetables should be in your fridge, nor what runners to buy for jump training and Pilates. Yes fair and gentle reader, Juicing Recipes for Health will patiently wait for a few days so you can get ALL your ducks in a row, lay out those resolutions, steel your resolve, and prepare yourself for the healthiest year of your life. This coming year we will make it happen, but in the meantime there is some serious partying to expedite.

So we'll see you in a few days! Oh and BTW, please, PLEASE be extremely careful on the roads. The weather has been miserable enough this year for most of us. Having said that, within this next 24 hours (as you well know) there could be a fair share of lunatics on the road without the proper common sense to NOT drink and drive. We don't need to figure out a juicing recipe for a cracked skull, thanks to some knucklehead drunk driver. Got it?! So take a taxi (or a dogsled depending on the weather), but be sure to have boat loads of fun this New Year!!

2011 Hangover Special (Left Eye)

5-6 Carrots

1 Beet

3 Large Tomatoes

1 bunch Spinach

1/8 Cabbage

Kale leaves

1 Red Bell-Pepper

1 stalk Celery

1/4 sweet Onion

1/2 clove Garlic

(add chili pepper and salt to taste)

2011 Hangover Special (Right Eye)

5-6 Carrots

1 Beet

3 Large Tomatoes

1 bunch Spinach

1/8 Cabbage

Kale leaves

1 Red Bell-Pepper

1 stalk Celery

1/4 sweet Onion

1/2 clove Garlic

(add chili pepper and salt to taste)

Juicing Recipes and the Leaning Xmas Tree Crisis

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope everyone is having the most perfect season of joy, spending quality time with family, all while maintaining a proper juicing schedule. (I had to say it :))

Juicing Recipes For Health (that's me btw ;)) is painstakingly assembling my incredibly elaborate Christmas tree right now in the living room, before the folks get home and my mother in law arrives from Colorado. Without a doubt I will be making Mom a tasty Xmas juice, complete with tons of special eggnog (so she falls asleep early). That last bit is between you and I, ok?

My current dilemma is this bloody Xmas tree I purchased. It's one of those expensive fake numbers I picked up at a specialty store, and it seriously takes a course in rocket science to properly stand upright. I'd have better luck solving global warming, or so I'm quickly coming to understand. So far it looks like "The Leaning Tower Of Tree", and it's just depressing. Instructions would have been nice, considering the 17,428 moving parts I'm to assemble. Instructions, or a coupon for the therapy I'll eventually need when I give up on the whole affair. I'm joking of course, I'm sure it will be assembled perfectly... once my 12 year old gets home and takes over. ;)

At any rate, I won't bore you with any more admissions of my lack of mechanical skill. What I will do is give you a present of sorts. Thought I'd take a minute to post a video for you all on this wonderful holiday season, because each and every fellow juicing enthusiast among us really should see the latest, greatest, veritable "cat's meow" of juicers, one of the new models of Breville Juicers.

This particular model is the "Dual Disc Juice Processor BJE820XL", which reads more like something you might say when you're fixing a transmission. As an aside, really Breville, come up with some catchy model names already! Enough with the numbers! OK, rant over. The really awesome thing about this new line is that it juices fruits and veggies with equal prowess. Basically it's the bomb, and I better get one for Christmas. (Said that last part because my wife reads this site too :))

Enjoy the video folks, and if - per chance - the juicer featured makes you want to weep with sheer holiday joy (as I did), click on the little juicer picture here at Ye Ol' Juicing Recipes For Health. (You'll find the pic at the top right corner of the site) The click - added to the wonderment of technology - will whisk you away to a showcase for the better version of the juicer in the video below. The better version is called... wait for it... the "Breville Dual Disc Juice Processor BJE840XL". Yes, I'm shaking my head at yet another model number. Breville, It's a juicer for crying out loud, not a drive shaft replacement. I digress, once more. :)

At any rate, while I go back to struggle with the physics exam that is my Xmas tree, Happy Holidays everyone, be extremely careful on the roads, and I sincerely wish you all the best in the coming New Year!



Orange Eggnog Sans Alcohol!

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Cups chilled orange juice
• 1-1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 Cup milk
• Pinch salt
• Nutmeg

How It's Done:

• First, beat the egg yolks until thick. Continue beating while adding 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Stir in the orange and lemon juice and make sure you blend it well. Now cover this and chill it in the fridge.
• While your stuff is chilling, it's a fantastic time to beat your egg whites with a pinch of salt until little soft peaks form. Once you hear your egg whites scream for mercy toss in the remaining sugar and beat the crap out of them again, until the whites are stiff.
• Take out you chilled orange juice concoction and mash it together with your egg whites, beating the crap out of it all some more.
  
• Pour into glasses, cups, bowls, or whatever else might float your boat.
  
• Sprinkle your servings with some nutmeg and then say Yummy 6 times.
  
• If you have the kind of in-laws I do, grab a bit of light rum or Vodka and get ready to add some to each serving, they'll love you for it. Just make sure the kids don't get into the secret "sauce".
  
• You're done, bask in the glory as everyone at Xmas dinner admires your amazing ninja kitchen skills.

Merry Christmas!

Juicing For Health Thinks It's Time To Talk Turkey!

Thanksgiving weekend is officially over. So now, after the 2500 + calorie turkey/ham/stuffing/sweet potato pie/pumpkin pie (e.t.c...) feast, comes the inevitable bloated stomach, the guilty feelings, the shame, the unavoidable trips for cognitive therapy, and the months of tears and self loathing. I'm kidding of course, if you feel that bad about some extra calories, the Thanksgiving feast has nothing to do with it. At any rate, make sure that no matter how guilty you may feel after pigging out, you jump right back into your favorite juicing recipes and get juicing for health again.

The truth is that Thanksgiving is the 1 time of the year when it's OK to scoff and throw down at the dinner table. The more you stuff in your tummy, the cooler you are. That's a rule. Really, it is. I think it's actually an International Bylaw, and written in the constitution. I've even heard that you can actually lose your facebook account if you don't eat like a pig on Thanksgiving. Could be mistaken, of course, but my point is simple; don't feel too guilty about the scoff you've just participated in, but DO keep something very close in your minds people, cuz there's a few bumpy roads coming right up.

THE BAD NEWS?
Sorry folks, but if I don't point this out not many others will, at least from now until New Years + 1. Thing is, it only get's worse from here - and deep down we all know it. Yep, unless you're a Martian, you know the Xmas holidays are less than a hop, skip, and a jump away. So get ready for the most tempting high fat foods, the best tasting cookies and pies, the largest amount of distractions from working out, and the glasses upon mugs of egg nog and beer. So there you go, read it, know it, learn it, and get depressed about it.

FACTOID: Did you know that statistically the holidays are the worse time of the year for alcohol related mishaps? Be careful out there oh fair and gentle reader!

THE GOOD NEWS?
... is that I'm here in cyberspace (and hopefully your inbox!), patiently prodding at your deepest desires to be healthy. You see a while back me and your higher self came together and made a pact. We agreed that occasionally it's smart to remind you of the various pitfalls that come with a combination of unhealthy food choices and no exercise. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the holiday excess, just make sure you also take the time to juice your brains out and do your exercises regularly, in any way possible. Which brings me to why I wrote this...

As most of you already know, personal training is kinda my day job, and my juicing lifestyle is a very important supplemental nutrition requirement to that job. So because I happen to be quite "in the know" (so to speak) on matters of exercise and nutrition (i.e. what works and doesn't work), I thought I would pester you guys to grab a fitness program and a diet solution if you haven't already committed to such helpful health blueprints. What follows are 2 of the secrets I've used throughout the years with a great deal of success, both of which can be utilized fully without costly gym memberships and all those arrogant personal trainers that look like Jersey Shore cast offs. (speaking of which, God I hate that show!)

DISCLAIMER 1: If you already subscribe to a fitness program or have a personal trainer working you blind, then you won't need these programs, all-be-it they can be great supplemental workouts and contain excellent nutritional/diet advice.

DISCLAIMER 2: I will always preface any product recommendation by saying this: I don't speak about anything to my readers that I don't fully believe in, nor have fully tested and seen results from the use. Anyone who's read this site for a while knows that outside of juicing advice, there are only a few programs I consistently stand by. There's a reason for that folks. These programs really. do. work. :)

Diet Solutions:
Hands down, the level best and most comprehensive program on the web right now for PROPER advice on dieting SMART. It utilizes multiple fat loss strategies focusing on nutrition not quick fix pills and the like. Essentially, you're not simply stuck to one way of doing things, so you don't have to punish yourself into eating crap that you don't enjoy for excruciatingly long periods. Really there is a solution within this program for anyone who has an honest desire to shed the excess pounds in a healthy manner.

Get the Diet Solutions Program by clicking the links I'm throwing at you. Or click here, here, or here, ;) or simply click on the pictures I've added in this post. Believe me, it's cheaper than a month's worth of Lattes and some have even said it's the best investment in health they've made in years.

Get Ripped Abs:
What else can I say about this program, really? OK, have you heard of John Alvino? World famous fitness expert and adviser to Men's Fitness magazine? OK, maybe not. Have you watched ESPN or the UFC lately(?), because this program has been featured on both networks numerous times. OK maybe not, but I can tell you that 1. John is a personal friend of mine and knows his stuff in a major way, and 2. I've incorporated his program in my own training for a year now. I have seen NO other health minded program out there that comes close to producing the results you will get from Get Ripped Abs.

The program has no quick fixes or shortcuts (I can hear you sighing... stop it!) but then nothing that works does so by means of a shortcut. And btw, liposuction is not a shortcut. Really John's stuff is nothing short of genius, and it has already fixed thousands of people -some of which I have personally helped through the program to see amazing body transformations. And it's so bloody cheap you could grab this program and still afford those Lattes I mentioned before. (Even though Lattes are fattening, rotten, disgusting purveyors of doom on your health ;)) Just sayin'.

So, again, grab Get Ripped Abs by clicking the links I've thrown your way. Or click here, here, or here (;)) Oh hell, just click on the pictures I've added already. (When in doubt, always click the pix :))

So folks, you are now prepared to enter the fray. Tread fearless and prepared into Ye' oncoming, ominous Holiday Battle of Waistline Doom. The 2 weapons outlined above will keep you strong and committed to a healthy lifestyle , come Xmas and beyond. As I've already eluded, if you're already on a good program you can ignore most of the post above, unless you like to supplement your own workouts and diet advice, that is.

At any rate, do or don't, it's your call, I'm just here trying to get you moving in the right direction with the right plan. Meanwhile, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, below are some calorie busting juicing recipes I found to jump start you back on the healthy bandwagon. Cheers!!!

Good Morning Sunshine:

• 1 medium grapefruit, halved
• 2 medium apples, cored
• Fresh Italian Parsley, several sprigs
• 1/2 handful of grapes, seedless

Hunger Pain Be Gone:

• 4 medium carrots
• 2 stalks of celery, leaves and all
• 1 handful of parsley
• 4 leaves of baby spinach
• 1 dash of tabasco

Stomach Filler:

• 1 small cucumber, skin and all
• 3 celery stalks, including the leaves
• 1 medium apple, cored
• 2 tablespoons of flavorless protein powder

Smile It's Morning Smoothie:

• 2 large oranges, skin removed
• 1 medium grapefruit without the flesh
• 6 strawberries
• 1/2 banana
• 2 tablespoons flavorless protein powder
• 1/4 cup ice

Watermelon Beach Quencher:

• 2 cups watermelon, cubed
• 2 cups honey dew, cubed
• 2 cups cantaloupe, cubed
• 1-inch of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Strawberry Refresher:

• 1/2 cup strawberries, frozen (not in juice!)
• 1 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed, not concentrate)
• 1/2 lemon, squeezed

Carrot Juice Dream:

• 4 large carrots
• 2 stalks of celery (including leaves)
• 1 medium green apple
• Handful of baby spinach
• Several sprigs of parsley
• Lemon and lime juice to taste

Waist Line Buster:

• 5 carrots
• 1 red apple
• 1 small cucumber
• 1 beet (washed well, peeled and sliced)
• 1 celery stalk
• Ginger optional (for more bite)

Hunger Buster:

• 4 carrots
• 3 sprigs of parsley
• 1 small cucumber
• 2 granny smith apples

recipes available courtesy lovetoknow.com

Juicing Recipes Hunts Down Black Friday Deals!

Greetings fellow juicing recipes...ers!(?) First entry in a while, but believe me it's not by choice. I had a brilliant time over the last few months consulting at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, where I saw and interacted with so many young up and coming athletes. Speaking of which, I'm giving you a heads up now by saying keep an eye out, because there's a few youngsters now that will be superstars in professional sports soon. I watched records broken and hearts swell at these games, and it literally left me feeling as though there may be hope for humanity yet.

FACTOID: A bit off topic, but if you've never been to Singapore, believe me the city is nothing short of breathtaking. And the food is ... well... you just have to go there to experience how good it is. Come to think of it, ALL of Malaysia and definitely every inch of Japan should be required travel. The culture and vastness of sights will take your breathe away, and once you've visited you will understand why the concept of Zen was developed in that region. These countries are worth entries into your "List of Places To See Before I Die". Truly.

At any rate, the point is that the travel left me completely unable to update this site much at all, and I say that with my humble apologies. Still, I have to admit my time in Asia was nothing short of brilliant.

So anyways, I just wanted to pop in quickly and say hey, guess what? It's Black Friday and it's coming up fast! Now although "Black Friday" may sound like the title used for the day the world will come to an end, it's actually nothing more than THE SINGLE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR to find deals, on anything you can think of no less! In fact I have friends who forgo many major purchases all year, until Black Friday, at which point they stock up on everything from juicers to plasma TV's, home workout equipment, e.t.c...

Believe me when I say, anyone in the know knows that AMAZON is definitely your best friend, come Black Friday. The deals you find (at Amazon) are nothing short of absolutely brilliant. I have mentioned that Amazon sells pretty much everything, yes?

(Yes, shamelessly, you can consider that Amazon paragraph the blogosphere equivalent of a 30 second TV commercial, or perhaps an annoying product placement in an otherwise brilliant feature film. What can I say, we all have to pay the bills ;) Honestly though, Amazon is the beez kneez... ahem... now back to the regularly scheduled program :))

For the proper utilization of the advice and recipes I provide here, there's a few things you should have already kicking around in your house. Now I'll tell you, if these items are not all bright, shiny, awe inspiring and virtual mainstays in your home yet, click the pictures you're looking at within in this post (below for example) and grab them now while the price is right! And no, that is NOT crass commercial self-interest, it's me helping with both your better health, and "simple savings 101". Believe me, you won't find deals like this any other time of the year (except perhaps Boxing Day) So if you are still without, get WITH. IT.


In light of my first day back from such a humongous lay off, below I've left you a veritable plethora of juicing for health recipes that will make your days brighter, make skittles and puppies fall from the sky to land on fluffy pillows, and cast a permanent rainbow over your home, wherever that home may be.

But before you go to recipe nirvana, just have to let you know this: Do stay tuned because soon my juicing book will be available here, which will include over 1000 healthy juicing recipes, along with a section dedicated to Diabetes and juicing, and a detailed section dedicated to juicing for medical conditions such as Osteoporosis, Cancer, e.t.c... All in all, my little foray into the world of juicing has received various awards and accolades, and has already sold almost 80 000 copies in literally no time. But alas, I had signed a contract with the devil many moons ago, keeping it an exclusive item on one very popular and very strict fitness magazine. The horror! But then if you're a regular on my site I've told you most of this before. Well, I'm nothing if not redundant :)

Having said that, after many delays and contract negotiations, I can almost assuredly begin offering the book here starting in December (around the 15th!) It was scheduled for July, but alas, when you dance with the devil... well you know the rest ;). Hey wait a sec... a December release? Perfect timing for Xmas, and my-oh-my, there's massive amounts of Christmas juicing recipes inside my little book on the web. Hmmm... Coincidence, or marketing genius? Believe me, it's the former not the latter ;), I am to marketing as etch and sketch is to art.

At any rate gentle reader, CHEERS!

Juicing Recipes:

Home Is Where The Heart... AND JUICER Is

• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 cup of kale
• 1 cup parsley
• 1/2 apple
• 1 banana

Tropical Getaway

• 1 guava
• 1 papaya
• 1 dragonfruit
• 1 mango
• 1 mandarin orange

Sparkling Canada Dry

• 1/2 Lime
• 1 apple, cored and sliced
• 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ginger
• 1/4 lemon
• one scoop (or large) handful of grapes
• mineral water

Veggie Delight #20

• 1lb of peeled carrots (yep, that's right a pound)
• green leafy vegetables (red or green lettuce, carrot greens)
• 1 apple
• 1/2 to 2/3 peeled lemon (measurement depends on your propensity for the "Tangy" factor ;))
• 1/4 cup broccoli (to taste)
  

Juicing For Health Eyes The Future, and it Looks Grim... Maybe...

factoid #1: Buying 1 Grande Latte at Starbucks for 31 days is close enough to the equivalent of buying the juicer linked here. While that juicer is not the most awesome Juicing For Health tool you can find, it's a far better choice than a month's worth of caffeine, sugar, addiction, e.t.c...

Hello again to all my fair and gentle readers/subscribers! :) Keeping in line with my last article, I wanted to stick with the whole "2010" theme, it being 1 month and 19 days into 2010, or just a few days past Valentines. Ouch!

When I hear or see "2010" printed somewhere, I can't help but thinking that 2020 isn't but a decade away, as the crow flies. Now don't get me wrong here; a decade, when your under 25, it can seem like an eternity away. For those of us approaching or at 40+ however, folks knee deep into the dreaded middle age, time doesn't pass so slowly at all. People in my age group and beyond no longer have the luxury of an "invincibility delusion" as young people do, nor a lightning speed, tip top, optimal immune system to keep us vital and thriving. Middle age is that time when - well, to be blunt - 100 years ago most of us died of old age.

In fact, a decade can pass so quickly when you're approaching middle age (and beyond) you can have a heart attack just from wondering where the time went. And so the question for anyone still sitting on the fence about maintaining and improving health becomes this: What will you be doing in 2020? Will you be alive and thriving? Will you require hospice, nurses and medical contraptions to stay alive? Will you be waiting to die, or will you be healthy as a pubescent ox, ready to combat any of the many diseases and conditions that - at around 40 or so years of age - start noticing you like you were the next James Cameron movie.

Factoid #2: Yes, I'm sorry to say it, but believe it; at or around 40 years of age you are officially lit up on the sickness/disease radar for the rest of your life.

It's the age old question (pun intended), once penned by the great Shakespeare, "To be healthy or not to be healthy" (I may be misquoting a bit there :))

I can feel what you're saying to yourself right now, oh fair and gentle reader ... "how depressing can one article be?" Well it's not meant to be all "foreboding", it's just that this needs to be said for anyone sitting on a fence that's about to collapse. Some people simply require one final wake up call, so I'm trying to be a very miserable, annoying alarm clock.

For those of you who think that what I'm saying makes perfect sense - yet you still can't find a single inclining to get on a good fitness program, or maybe you're the person who can't find enough money to buy a quality juicer (yet you can buy a Venti Latte every day at Starbucks), it is high time to stop deluding yourself and understand what neglecting your health will mean, in 10 years or so. The people avoiding this reality now are the same people that - in 10 or so years - when the doctor comes into the office with that somber test result and the "how do I give this crappy news" look on his face, they will be cursing an ignored past.

Here's why I mention 2020 only one month into 2010. Thing is, if you're coming upon middle age (or perhaps fully entrenched by it) you will start to ask yourself those preceding questions over and over - even without my assistance. Hopefully you will nag enough at your conscience that it becomes sickening beyond belief. Then perhaps you can start juicing for your health and getting in shape, just to spite yourself.

Why will these questions come up you may ask? It's simple. Middle age is that time when the phantom aches and pains start, pains that you've never felt in parts of your body you never knew existed. It's that time when you come home from a bowling game to find you've thrown out our back, permanently. It's the time when you have to ask your doctor why your knees creak and your bowels forgot how to move (or how to stop moving, respectively). It's when a practice round of tennis makes even your eyelids ache.

Here's some good news... in 10 years you can thrive and be as healthy as humanly possible. That is no joke, and no feigned optimism. Straight up facts, my fair and gentle readers. Get your health together now, and in no time you will be more prepared to fight the battles and ravages of aging (and your environment) than over 80% of the world's population. You can be part of the lucky few, that guy or girl that - God forbid - if diagnosed with something horrible - your doctor can confidently say "it may be bad, but your healthy enough to beat it". It's that, or you can end up in critical care on an iron lung, getting MRI's every few days, and waiting for the bomb to drop that you are about to die from whatever crap an unhealthy lifestyle has manufactured or promoted.

What's My Motivation?
Within the fundamental reality I've just written is an elemental motivation that may escape those of you who think change is impossible, and it is one you must now truly consider. Your loved ones. Yes, those people who care and love you will suffer right along with you if you fall ill, in fact more so, on certain levels. On top of the emotional suffering, I won't even get into the financial hardships a critical and/or worsening physical condition can mean to you and your family, but I will utter just 2 words on the subject... MASSIVE DEBT.

An Experiment:
This should only take a moment. Right now I want you to look at your spouse/your children/your dog or cat - anyone you love and who loves you back unconditionally. Go ahead, I'll wait. If they aren't close by then grab a picture or pull up some snapshots on your mobile. Now I want you to really look deep into the eyes that look back at you, examine the smile that was offered from that person who truly loves and adores you. Now I want you to take the time (while looking at them) to muse long and hard about what intense emotional and financial strain your unhealthy lifestyle could mean to them, come 10 + years from now.

OK OK, I'm pretty much done with the doom and gloom, and I'm hoping that by now at least you've come to understand full well that aging, sickness, and the ravages of time are multiplied exponentially from living an unhealthy life, from ignoring the techniques, guides and proven techniques available that can keep you healthy and more importantly, prepared to battle aging and disease.

In closing, here's a Juicing For Health kicker for you to think about when you reach the drive-thru window tomorrow. A thriving and healthy lifestyle is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING you can do for yourself and the people who love you, who care deeply for you, and who look to you for love, guidance, and support. Even if you can't muster the strength to do this for yourself, they desperately need you to do it, full stop. So get up, get your act together and get healthy, starting today.

Here's a green juice recipe video for your conscience to muse over;). Martha Stewart may be a convicted felon, but she sure knows her way around a Breville Juicer ... for real. (BTW you can find the juicer featured in this video here at serious discounts by clicking this link - or just by cruising around the site.)

Cheers!

2 Key Secrets To Help Keep It Real in 2010

So it's almost Valentine's Day, 2010. Yep. I know I know, time is literally flying by. It happens. More so when you're older, but it happens. You blink and an entire month has passed.

So, let me ask, have you given up your New Years Resolution yet? If you haven't, here's a disheartening statistic to make you cry long into the night... 78% of people give up their New Year goals within the first 2 months. That's not my statistic BTW, it belongs to an accredited study by that major English University we all hear about.

Without analyzing in detail why people give up so readily, here's my take on the infamous New Year's Resolution. It can be a rare and unique opportunity - once every year - to change your quality of life for the better, yet sadly an opportunity that 78% will miss out on from the simple inability to persevere.

So my first message of 2010 to all my fair and gentle readers is ... don't contribute to that statistic! Aside from the obvious reasons why you should keep at your goals, Oxford professors are entirely too smug to be proven right yet again.

Get back on the bus already! I mean how many more New Year's do we all have left to get it right, really? To stop working on your health goals now is to give up on yourself, and you're also telling your loved ones it's time to save up for that eventual open heart surgery and the consequent experimental drug therapies you'll be needing. Seriously guys (and gals!) get whatever help is necessary, stick to your guns, and most importantly keep at it. Impatience is for wimps and giving up on your health is just plain wrong on so many levels. Your frustration at not seeing immediate results should only motivate you to work harder, to get the proper tools, and to get moving more. Results will come, results you will be bloody proud of, and results that will make you feel and look 6507% better than you do right now. (That's my statistic :)) Trust me, time and time again during my tenure I've seen people change their lives starting with nothing but a new year, so don't give up now.

Without further adieu, here's 2 very important secrets to help you get the job done.

Secret #1... Persistence is the greatest secret to success in health, and in life.
So many people give a New Year's health resolution a month or so, then they look in the mirror and give up over the frustration that they don't look or feel any different. Some will wonder why after a few weeks they still feel like crap - and in fact worse - from missing the foods they crave, or from the sore muscles a proper work out gives your body. Thing is, these hurdles are exactly that which has been defined for hundreds of years as the "no pain, no gain" process, and it's the one process you can't avoid if you want true success.

These stumbling blocks are also the exact reasons for why the entire Western World is getting fatter, more unhealthy, and more complacent. People have become so riddled with the distractions of this, our modern and sedentary life. I submit right now that staying or achieving a healthy body today is harder than it has ever been in our history, but by no means is this a reason to give up.

So sorry but as of yet you can't swallow a magic pill and expect those excess pounds, bad cholesterol, e.t.c... to just disappear. You can't get the right nutrients or look and feel fantastic by simply wishing on a New Years star. You have to be patient, take in the right nutrients and put in the work. There is a necessary focus, discipline, a certain degree of self-sacrifice, and a strong mindset that is necessary for you to persevere through the doubt and the temporary reluctance to change. It is within that perseverance that will see you happy and damned healthy. Giving up should not even be a consideration, especially this soon after making one of the most important commitments you can make to yourself and for your loved ones.

Secret #2 to getting your groove back? ... A goal requires a detailed and proven plan of attack in order to have any chance of success.
A goal without a detailed and proper plan is nothing more than an ethereal dream. It's a movie score without the movie. It's Avatar without the tall blue people. If you're not on a program now to help guide you to success, get a system like The Diet Solutions Program or the Truth About Abs fitness regimen. (Click the links to have a look) I have sworn by these systems for some time now, and if you have read this blog before, you know why. Bluntly, they both work like gangbusters.

Conversely, if you happen to be one of "those people", the type of person that ran out on January 2nd to buy a gym membership - well firstly, you'll have to actually attend the gym before the membership starts to work! Having a laminated gym card in your wallet while you reach past it to the Visa card that pays for your second FAT BURGER... well, sorry but the gym card alone doesn't burn calories.

Secondly, get a good personal trainer, not some self important shmuck, but a well trained and helpful guru. Here's why: when your key strategy to everlasting health is to aimlessly walk around the gym for 45 minutes, playing with all the shiny machines yet having no clue what to do with them, you are not working out you are copping out. You're looking for a reason to give up, and that's bloody nonsense. Make sure to have someone show you what to do with those machines, and help you get the most from your time and effort. Put another way, if your goal was to learn how to fly a helicopter, would you jump in the cockpit, push the buttons, move the joystick for a while and then simply set to the skies? Going to a gym blind will give you the same end result as "self-taught helicopter flying"... inevitably you'll crash and burn. You need someone with certified skill and experience to teach you the protocols and the techniques to get the job done.

And so, in my ongoing effort to end any rant with some atypical Juicing For Health continuity, 2010 should be the end all/be all for you, if especially when getting healthy is something you desperately want or physically need. This is the beginning of the only 2nd decade of the only 2nd millennium the world will ever see. If that's not something prophetic and motivating for you, I don't know what else to say. There are only a few times in our lives when we can say, "this will be my defining moment". 2010 should be the year you swear you will lose unhealthy habits, fight the gravity of all that extra poundage, or maybe just to start feeding yourself good juicing fuel and not the junk that surrounds us every day. If that sounds like you, then you will need to do more than hope and pray for success. Like I said in secret #2, a goal without a proper defined plan is a failure waiting for time to pass. If you are trying to turn your 20 year old blender into a masticating juicer, stop the nonsense and get a proper Juicer. Start here (link, link, and link!) for some of the best and most cost effective juicers on the market, and at the best deals you will find anywhere. Oh, and before you start juicing Kool-Aid and Twinkies, grab The Juicing For Life 8 Pack for some awesomeness, combined with delicious, healthy recipes - sans Twinkies of course.

Factoid: my ultra sexy super cool and best selling Juicing Guide has recently fulfilled it's contractual exclusivity to a popular fitness magazine. I will most likely release it digitally here at a bargain on Ye Old Juicing Recipes For Health blog by no later than April. Please do check back often.

You should know by now that I'm not blabbering about all this health stuff just to sell you the latest nonsense. I rant about healthy living and how to properly achieve it time and again out of a singular passion, because my own life experience has taught me that 1) your health is the single most important thing you will ever own, and 2) you need proper tools to do the job of getting "healthy" right. Standing around wishing and hoping - without the requisite knowledge and skill set - while admirable it is quite useless. Bluntly, if that is your only strategy to gain better health, before long you won't need a juicer or a Diet Solution, you'll need a script for Prozac, some aggressive cognitive therapy, and maybe heart medication and/or daily insulin shots for your type 1 Diabetes. Proper nutrition combined with Juicing for Health and a good workout program is THE holy trinity of health. You simply can't go wrong by applying those three axioms in your everyday life. So get off the fence and in the game already, time's a wastin'.

Total Cleanse – What Makes Juicing so Effective for Health

The following is a guest post from Ed at Total Cleanse. Take some time to visit his site, it's a treasure of information!

Juice has long been popularized for its health benefits as well as its taste, but how much truth and real world benefit is there to juicing then... say... simply taking a multivitamin and buying store bought juice? The biggest and most important factor to this is something called “bioavailability”, which simply means how easily and proficiently the body can absorb the nutrients that’s being provided to it. Juicing has been found to be one of the most effective ways to transmit nutrients from source to body due to its' inherent freshness, and without all the food matter such as fiber that the body normally has to break down being present. This tends to promote the passing of vital nutrients instead of absorption.

This brings us to a key point here, fiber is extremely important to your diet, especially for maintaining a cleanse brought on by proper juicing. You simply don’t want to have fiber present when your juicing because you want all the vital nutrients to be fully absorbed and not blocked and passed by fiber. Hence the need to get your fiber from other sources like eating fresh fruit and veggies themselves and consume them without being juiced, and from whole grains, and other wholesome sources of fiber.

The other important factor here that contributes to overall “bioavailability” is the active and live enzymes present in the juice that contribute greatly to the absorption of juice after the fibrous material is separated. Store bought juices- even when lightly pasteurized - lose the vast majority of its enzymes due to their very delicate nature, and therefore most of the vitamins and nutrients still present in juice pass through your system with only minimal absorption, thus defeating its purpose (other than to provide a nice sugary beverage to enjoy). Also even if juice is not pasteurized or modified in any way, the active enzymes have a very short life span and die out quickly and should truly be consumed right after juicing for maximum benefit.

The reason vitamin pills and supplements don’t work too well is for similar reasons as the store bought juice, not only are these vitamins simply going into your system in the condensed form of a pill - thus lacking naturally occurring enzymes, they also are man-made or synthetic, and not nearly as beneficial as naturally occurring vitamins. So as you can see, juicing and then drinking fresh juice right afterward is truly the best way to get the most out of your juicing for health benefits, and it also tastes a lot better!

I Traded My Juicer In For A Flat Screen... Almost

The following is a guest post from a subscriber and regular reader Peter Gibson. You'll find his Interior Living Room site here. He has been juicing for 2 years now, and with my advice has grabbed a few fitness and cleansing products (this one's his favorite ;)) and adopted some juicing techniques that have - to date - helped him lose over 25 kg.

Since this is my first guest post on Juicing Recipes I really felt I should share my first and biggest influence, the one thing that really turned me into a juicing fanatic. (Aside from this site that is :)) That one thing was The Juicing Bible (by Pat Crocker and Susan Eagles). No I'm not affiliated with the authors (as Phineas is prone to say) however you can grab your own copy via Amazon through any of the links provided on Juicing Recipes (or by clicking here, here, or here).

Now you may be wondering why I would waste my introductory article here to rant about someone else's books and advice, so please keep reading and I'll try my best to explain.

You see, not terribly long ago (in dog years) I bought The Juicing Bible book because I was wondering just how best to use a new, fancy juicer I received as a Xmas gift. There's a picture of my juicer somewhere within this post (again, all nicely linked to Amazon should you wish to purchase one for yourself).

When I first opened up the juicer I thought it was a partially assembled Death Star, complete with some sort of quasi nuclear reactor. It was expensive according to my brother (who always finds it necessary to mention his financial commitment to gifts). I immediately thought to myself "wow, here's something I can secretly refund and put the money towards a new flat screen!!". Once my brother shared the fact that this juicer could juice super-foods like wheat grass and goji berries, well I was thoroughly convinced that my larger screen TV dreams were about to come true.

I need to qualify that back then I had become a lazy slob, and my brother knew it. That might not be such a big deal for some, except for the fact that for most of my adult life I've been involved heavily in physical activity. However, at or around my 35th year on planet Earth I had lost my energy and interest in so many things as my work in interior design overtook my entire life. I stopped playing racquetball with my mates, I'd lay around watching bad TV all day, I had Zero energy and couldn't for the life of me figure out why. I wish I could avoid mentioning that I also gained a spare tire that made me look oddly similar to Mr. Magoo. But I can't. My belly looked horrible and my skin became loose and just a big pile of whale blubber.

It was at or around this point that my niece and nephew started calling me "Grandpa", and by adding insult to injury, that very same Xmas my wife put Geritol vitamins in my stocking - as a joke. Now I do love my wife a great deal, but deep down that just wasn't funny to me. Oh sure I laughed and hugged her, but secretly I fully realized I'd become listless and in poor spirits without ever knowing why. Heck, just walking upstairs to lay down in bed was a chore.

Of course I went to the doctor in the new year to find out just exactly what in blue hell was wrong with me. As Doctors do, they offered me prescription after prescription in order to boost my energy level. Their various Diagnoses went from the sublime to the ridiculous. According to one GP I potentially had low blood sugar, another mentioned a possible thyroid condition, and yet another called it depression, or sleep apnea. Most of these conditions involved semi-extensive and invasive tests and expensive treatments, and I really didn't feel like being poked and prodded at that point.

So, instead of taking back my Star Wars Juicer and filling up the medicine chest, I set out to try juicing on the advice of my brother in law. In his words "It'll fix you right up".

Of course I had no idea how to juice oranges, let alone try an elaborate juicing regimen. Off I went to the Amazon site, where I grabbed The Juicing Bible. The book is exactly as the title represents. It is the bible on juicing. It makes for an excellent nutritional reference and espouses the many benefits of adding juice (in many a weird and great tasting combination) to you daily life - for a boost of energy and to improve the quality of life.

So back to the question, why did I waste my first guest post promoting this book? It's simple. That book forced me, through the vast quality of information presented, to plug in my juicer and have at it. As such, it became my body's owners manual for 6 months. Without that book I would have been lost, even with the best of intentions. Like I said previously, when you get a juicer - either by choice or as a gift - it can be a tad intimidating - learning how to use properly and clean the parts when finished. If you don't know a smoothie from a rum and coke, figuring out what to juice can be slightly less difficult than quantum physics. With some things, trial and error is not the best way to go, and where juicing recipes is concerned, knowing what to juice is just about the biggest issue. With the advice listed in The Juicing Bible and other similar juicing manuals I was able to do it right the first time - all while keeping me from becoming bored with the process.

The end result was that my energy level not only returned, it increased, and I haven't been a lazy slob since. It took roughly 2 weeks to feel the positive effects from daily juicing, but when it happened it was brilliant, shocking, and a total surprise One morning I simply woke up feeling as if I could run a marathon. Now, 2 years later I am 26kg lighter, my niece and nephew have to strain to keep up with me again, and the only spare tire I own is located in the trunk of my car.

So if you're feeling like a half-sucked orange, before you start taking anti depressants and blowing a pay check on elaborate multivitamins, go and grab yourself a quality juicer and The Juicing Bible. It may just be the one thing you need to pick yourself up from that middle age slump. Worked for me.