ADVENTURES IN JUICING.

I don't blog as much as I used to. As a woman that wears (probably too) many hats, I've found that living and enjoying my life has a tendency to get in the way of me blogging about my life. However, recently I've had a rather large influx of people ask me to continue to blog and to share two specific topics of interest: one, my family's journey to get healthy and two, funny shit my kids say. Those are two topics of extreme interest to me and let's just be honest...I could probably spend a few less minutes scrolling through Facebook and watching Murder She Wrote and a few more minutes sharing things that may or may not inspire you to start your own journey to good health, or at the very least, entertain you with what comes out of the mouths of my genius super children. They've both recently been given Ipod touches, so they can text us now, which is adding a whole new level of awesome entertainment to our lives.

That said, I suppose I shall begin by sharing my newest interest (ok, obsession): juicing. I love it. I love my juicer. I love vegetables. I love the way I feel and the way my body is transforming. I love the energy I have and the way my hair looks. I love everything about it. It is my opinion that everyone should buy a juicer and get on it. I'll be 30 in just under two weeks and I feel like I'm 20. (minus the hangovers and other misc affects of my poor choices at that age) It's cured my allergies, my headaches, this weird spot on my face I hated. It's a miracle. I've also made a concentrated effort to eliminate most meat and some dairy in this home. We are focusing on vegetable based meals and clean eating. I'm not bold enough to say I'll never eat meat again. I know that to be untrue. Every once in awhile, mama just wants to hide in the closet and eat a chicken finger. It happens. That said, introducing the fresh juice into our diet has left all of us craving meat less and less. I haven't even been thinking about it, really. I've found it interesting how the healthier you eat, the healthier you want to eat. The kids occasionally put up some resistance, but have promised to keep trying everything I make until we find things they enjoy together. In the meantime, I'll just be honest...they're eating some stuff they don't enjoy so much. It's ok. They'll thank me later.

Anyhow, I'm still perfecting my favorite juice recipes. I swear I think I've bought everything in the store trying to get them just right and while we are enjoying most of them, some are better than others. I'll be sharing some of those recipes when I feel like I have it just right. For now, I will leave you with the two most important thoughts I have concerning juicing so far: 1. Coconut water is awful. Do not pour it in your juice. and 2. Grapefruit ruins everything. Just my opinion, of course, but trust me. Those are lessons you don't want to learn by ruining $20 worth of organic juice. (which we gagged down anyway, since I refuse to waste the money)

In conclusion, I would like to share a couple of really great recipes that I made this week. All vegetarian, all low priced, all delicious. We typically use all organic ingredients, with the exception of a few things. I feel like that's the best way to go. However, to me, the bottom line is this: Feed your family the best way you can. If you can't go organic, wash the veggies well and pat yourself on the back for skipping McDonalds and cooking them real food. Perhaps consider buying "the dirty dozen" organic. (The Dirty Dozen) I'm spending quite a bit of time cooking these days. Lots of recipes to follow. If you want to catch the play by play as it happens, follow me on instragram: @shopEBV.

Hope you are all enjoying 2014. Peace and love to you in this new year!

Cheers,
Savannah Marie

Avocado Egg Salad:
Put 4 eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water.
Bring to a boil and then let them continue to boil for 4 minutes.
Rinse under cold water until cool.
Peel eggs and put in a mixing bowl with one avocado.
Season with sea salt and pepper and mash with a fork.
Fun fact: tastes good on toasted whole wheat. (We like Rudi's organic whole wheat.)

Zucchini "Pizza":
Slice zucchini in half. Brush with olive oil.
Sprinkle garlic powder, salt & pepper.
Add sliced tomato & mozzarella cheese. (I prefer the antibiotic free shredded cheese. Earth Fare & Whole Foods have store brands. I believe it to be cheaper at Whole Foods.)
Bake for 20 minutes at 375.

Cucumber Salad:
Wash and peel cucumber.
Sprinkle cuke with sea salt and set aside.
Mix up 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tbsp sour cream, 1 tsp red onion, 1 tsp chopped fresh dill, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar. Set mixture n refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes or so, then toss cukes in it and serve.

Mushrooms:
Simply sauteed in butter & fresh garlic. I actually intended to saute these in coconut oil and I forgot. Will try that next time.

Enjoy!