Thank you goes to . . .

my husband for getting me a juicer for my birthday.

Smoothies are my first love, but there is nothing like a smooth, refreshing juice over ice, to get "my juices" flowing. Sometimes I make juice to add to my smoothies, but no matter what, there is green liquid in my diet EVERYDAY.

I love how all this turns into

this!

So what is the difference between juice and a smoothie?

The fiber.

Penni Shelton, of Raw Food Rehab, explains it well in her booklet, Living on Liquids:

Although there is no real nourishment in the fiber of fresh fruits and vegetables, fiber serves a very useful and much needed purpose. Soluble and insoluble fiber both act as an intestinal broom. Without fiber, the colon, and the body as a whole, cannot maintain a healthy condition. So, throughout our lives it is imperative that we eat a balanced diet of raw fruits and vegetables, preferably organic whenever possible.

However, when it comes to creating a space of cleansing, healing, hydrating, alkalizing and rebuilding---juicing has a very important role.  Solid food requires many hours of digestion before its nutrients become available to the cells and tissues of the body.  The removal of the fiber in juice extraction enables this liquid elixir to be very quickly digested and assimilated, sometimes in a matter of minutes, with minimum effort or exertion on the digestive system. The body is optimally supported and strengthened to do the deeper work of cleansing and repairing.  Juices extracted from fresh raw vegetables and fruits are the means by which we can furnish all the cells and tissues of the body with the essential nutrients and living enzymes they need in a manner that is most accessible. 

Thanks Penni for making that sound so simple!

Watermelon, lime, pineapple, ginger, celery, cucumber, spinach, kale and mixed salad greens made an amazing juice for today.  I was very thankful for this juice because it gave me the energy to

go school shopping with a six year old, who really didn't care much about what he got, but had a great time having fun from strangling the Old Navy boy to climbing poles! Riley is an experience!

Thank you too, to Denise of Raw Intentions for the fabulous recipes she shared recently, that we enjoyed this weekend.

Chocolate Mint Ice Cream

Banana Nut Bread Ice Cream,

and of course both of these are made from raw, plant based natural foods, with no sugar or cream!

I will end this post with a thank you to my RAWking friends,

and you know who you are,

who endlessly inspire, motivate, encourage and amaze me regularly.

I am forever grateful to know you!