What I Have Learned From Juicing (so far)

I have been juicing for about two weeks now (I've had the juicer for about three weeks but I had to take a week off due to travel - darn TSA and their liquid rule!) and I have definitely learned a few things about juicing - what to juice, what not to juice, what tastes good together, what to go easy on and what to include more of.

 

Here's what I have discovered so far:

• Bananas do not juice well - or at all - save them for smoothies!
• Frozen fruit/veggies do not juice well - if you are planning on juicing formerly frozen items be sure they are thawed completely.
• Be sure to place any berries in the juicer shoot very carefully and cover the shoot  immediately - if not, the berries WILL hit the ceiling.
• Juicing beets is a no go for me.  I wish I liked the taste of beet juice but I just don't - it's gross and the couple of times I have juicing beets I couldn't stand to drink much of it.
• Be sure to only juice one or two stalks of celery (if that) - anymore than that will make it seem like you are drinking a celery stalk.
• A little lemon or lime goes a long way!  And if you juice any citrus with the rind on your entire juice will be VERY citrus-y.
• The freezer is your friend, but not the fridge!  Juicing can take some time - all the set up, washing and chopping the fruits/veggies, and then cleaning the actual juicer afterwards; due to this it is not very convenient for me to do it everyday.  Since I started I have been making a couple of juices (2 - 3) at a time, putting one in the fridge for the next day and freezing the others (I have been using freezer safe ball mason jars).  One time I decided to not use the freezer and leave all of them in the fridge - the result was not good - the juice got slimy, completely separated and I ended up throwing a good portion of them out.  So use the freezer for juice storage!  Juice is also really good frozen!  I am looking forward to making some popsicles with the juice this summer! 
• Juicing keeps you full!  So far for me it cannot completely replace a meal but I have seen a reduction in how much I eat throughout the day.  On a typical day I will eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then around 11:30 AM/12 PM I'll begin drinking my juice.  I'll take my time and the juice will last around 45 minutes to an hour.  After that I will be full until about 2/2:30 PM or so when I will have a sandwich (my go to - peanut butter and banana) or some soup or a yogurt with granola.  Typically after that (and this will depend on the day) I am good until dinner!

 

So far some of my favorite juices have been:

• 2 orange bell peppers, 3 carrots, 1 peeled orange, 1 peeled lemon and a handful of fresh pineapple
• 1 large cucumber, 1 orange , 1 large celery stalk and a handful of fresh pineapple

Juice!  Juice!  Juice!

More to come!

Old School Fitness Trail

A couple of weeks ago was the first weekend when we had semi-nice weather in Albany.  Despite being pretty windy on Sunday the sun was shining!  We also had some visitors that weekend in the form of identical twin four year olds which meant that despite the wind we needed to go to the park!  We headed over to the Elm Avenue Park.  While at the park I discovered an old school fitness trail.  I was stoked!  I am always excited when I find a new place to run but I was even more excited that it was part of a fitness trail.  I remember the park in my hometown having a trail like this and to make it even more of a coincidence the playground adjacent to the fitness trail was the exact same style and layout as the playground next to the fitness trail in my hometown.  Talk about coincidence!  The fitness trail was comprised of two loops which made up a 2.3 mile trail - there were also 20 exercise states with 32 different exercises.  The stops were nothing fancy - wooden signs with instructions accompanied by wooden/metal 'equipment' and instructions for 'training' and 'competition' participants.  The trail also ran along a creek and will be really nice in the summer.  When I was there it was still a little muddy from the melting snow and the creek was looking somewhat dismal.  I ended up running one of the loops a few times and while I didn't actually do the exercises I told Adam that I definitely wanted to come back when it was warmer and do the whole thing!

 

Start of the trail - explaining the stations.

 Looking out from the start!

 Station #8 - stretching!

 Station #9 - still stretching!

 Time for some abs!

 I'm not completely sure what is supposed to happen at this station.

 

 Parallel bars for dips!

 

 Stumps for leg raises!

 

After my run I headed back to the playground - my inner child was so excited!

Adventures in Missouri (and Connecticut)

A couple of weeks ago my work travels took me to Springfield, Missouri and then Waterbury and Hartford Connecticut.  All within a week - literally!  Springfield, MO was Wednesday - Saturday and Waterbury/Hartford, Connecticut was Sunday - Wednesday.  It was a long week but also really good and challenging.  First up was Missouri.  I had never been to Missouri but oddly enough I will be going there again next week - from never to twice within one month!  Despite being the capital Springfield is a small city and had a tiny airport.  I traveled most of the day and after my layover in Atlanta (where I saw Newt Gingrich - he deplaned right next to my gate) arrived at the airport and headed to the hotel.  My hotel was right on the campus of Missouri State University (Go Bears!), unfortunately it was spring break for the students so not a whole lot was open on campus.  The first night I stayed in and relaxed and the next morning headed to the training site to observe three SOAR trainers.  The training was held at the Legal Services of Southern Missouri.  LSSM were such great hosts - the training room was high tech and they were sure to keep the trainees stocked with soda, snacks and other goodies!
 

Legal Services of Southern Missouri!

After the first day of the training the trainers took me out for sushi!  I have a colleague who went to school in Springfield and she swore to me that Missouri sushi was the best sushi she had ever had and that I would agree after visiting.  I was pretty skeptical because let's be honest Missouri is no where near the ocean and the mid-west is more known for cattle and corn than sushi.  I was so wrong!  I had some of the BEST sushi I have EVER had in Missouri!  We went to a place called Haruno - it had a great 'lounge' vibe and awesome happy hour specials (everything is cheaper in the Midwest!).  I ended up getting the 'daily special' roll which was a great mix of sweet and spicy topped with sriracha sauce.  It was delicious but it didn't hold a candle to the second roll I ordered - the 'Oh My God' roll - this thing literally came out on FIRE!  The roll was wrapped in tin foil and the plate was set abalze which not only served as a cool presentation but it also toasted the roll.  While the presentation was neat the roll tasted AMAZING!  I couldn't even tell you what was in the roll but it was delicious - best sushi roll I have ever had.  If you are ever in Springfield, MO the Oh My God Roll at Haruno is a must!
 

My sushi roll is on fire!

The next day was Friday - the second and last day of the training.  For lunch we ended up going to a minority owned local cafe called Big Momma's - since it was Friday I was not eating meat or cheese and the cafe had numerous options to accomidate me.  The best part of lunch though was the mixed berry scone - hands down one of the best scones I have ever eaten.  It was so good in fact that I bought as second and asked them to wrap it up so I could take it back to NY for Adam.  They gladly did and were stoked that one of their scones would be traveling. 
 

Mixed berry scone from Big Momma's in Springfield, MO.

 

After the training concluded I headed back to my hotel to change - it was a beautiful day outside and I wanted to take advantage of the weather and explore downtown Springfield a little.  I ended up walking around for a couple of hours.  My walk took me through the campus of Missouri State University and over to Historic Walnut Street.  On Walnut Street there were a bunch of resturants and local shops.  I 'yelped' around and ended up eating dinner at the Springfield Brewing Company.  I sat at the bar, watched the Sweet 16 basketball games and ate some fish and chips (they were good but not the best).  After dinner I had a craving for something sweet and I remembered one of the locals at the training saying that I needed to try The Cup.  The Cup is a cupcake bakery and has locations all over Missouri.  I ended up getting a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter icing and it was delicious!  After eating it though I was happy I had walked arounded for hours before - it was definitely filling.  After my adventures in downtown Springfield I headed back to my hotel and relaxed before my 6 AM flight back to Albany.

 

 Some cool sidewalk art in downtown Springfield, MO

 It's all downtown!

 

 Entrance to Missouri State University

 A HUGE bear statue in the middle of campus!

 It was a beautiful day for a walk around MSU!

 

 Dinner at the Springfield Brewing Company!

 

Followed by a cupcake from The Cup!

 

After I returned home from Springfield, MO on Saturday it was a quick turn around before my boss and I left for Connecticut on Easter Sunday.  Luckily Connecticut is only about 2 - 2.5 hours from Albany so prior to leaving I was able to have a very nice Easter dinner with Adam and his family.  First up was forum in Waterbury followed by a forum in Hartford.  The forums were challenging and could even be categorized as hostile at times.  Connecticut is an odd place and I will be perfectly honest in saying that I am not a fan of the state.  It is a state of extremes - parts of CT are VERY rich and other parts of VERY poor, there doesn't seem to be much of a middle and from my experience the rich seem to want nothing to do with programs are organizations that try to help the latter.  As I mentioned some parts of our forums were hostile and it seemed as if no one wanted to take ownership of how to best help people experiencing homelessness.  Anyway - as evident from my other posts about my work travel, I often like to go out, walk around and explore the places I am staying, however CT was different, I felt no desire to go out and explore - when I wasn't working I was pretty much in my hotel room.  Connecticut is one of my states so hopefully my favor for the state will increase but until that time - this picture is all I got!

 

View of downtown Waterbury, CT







My First Juice

My juicer arrived yesterday and I was so excited that I ran to the store and bought a ton of fruits and veggies!  Yesterday morning after spinning I had my first adventure into the juicing world!  Here are some pictures and then the run down follows ...
 

It arrived!  The Breville!

All set up on the counter!

One tip I got from all my online research was to put a small trash can bag or plastic grocery bag in the pulp bucket for easy disposal.

 Ingredients for my first juice (not including the celery). 

An apple, a pear, carrots, celery, half a lemon and spinach!

 Juicing!

 

 Up close!

 

 Post juicing pulp.

 

 A portion of my first juice!  The color is gross but it wasn't half bad!

 

So how did I like my first juice?  Honestly - it was decent - not great but definitely not bad!  I didn't follow a specific recipe and pretty much just tossed together what I thought would taste good.  The juice tasted initially like apple, followed by an intense celery taste.  I think I definitely added too much celery and will know for next time that a little celery goes a long way.  Since yesterday I have been looking up a bunch of juicing recipes and I'm excited to give some new ones a try. 

 

I was debating when to drink my juice during the day and I ended up having it at lunch time.  In the morning I had coffee and a bowl of celery, then at 11:45 AM I started to drink the juice.  I drank it slowly and finished around 12:30 PM.  The drink definitely kept me full for a while!  Around 2:30 I ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich (my favorite!) that I had packed that morning.  After that - I was good until dinner!  Moving forward it'll be interesting to see how juicing fits into my daily schedule.  So far I like drinking it for lunch/in the afternoon but I am definitely not opposed to having it in the morning.

 

In other news - I got my hair cut!  I went into the salon with the anticipation of getting some more layers and shortening my side bangs, but I left with a (longer) bob!  This is the first time I have had short(er) hair in a loooong time, but I really like it!  My hair is shorter in the back and longer and more angled in the front.   We'll see how it works out over the next couple of months but so far so good!  (If only my hair had more volumn, but I believe I may be destined for a life of straight lifeless hair.)  

 

New hair!

So Good It Deserves Its Own Post

A couple of weeks ago I made Sweet & Spicy Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes.  They were a major hit and I absoluetly loved them.  They were also buried in another post and did not get the front and center attention that they deserved.  Well the other night I had everything I needed to recreate the twice baked sweet potatoes so I set out to do just that; the only problem this time was that once the sweet potatoes were cooked and I cut into them the skin pretty much feel right off - not an ideal situation for a baked potato that needs to be restuffed.  So instead of abandoning ship I decided to throw everything into the mixer and make sweet and spicy twice baked MASHED sweet potatoes.  Honestly, they came out just as good if not better than the first time around!

 

Sweet & Spicy Twice Baked Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes

2 links Spicy Andouille Chicken Sausage (Trader Joe's)

1/4 cup light sour cream

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp minced garlic

1.5 cups fresh spinach
 

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 and place the forked sweet potatoes on a raised baking sheet ~ bake for about 1 hour or until tender ~ once cooked slice the potatoes (skins and all) into chunks and toss them in the mixer bowl ~ with the paddle mix on a medium speed until the potatoes are mashed but some chunks remain ~ in the meantime slice the chicken sausage into about 1/2 inch pieces and cook over medium heat until browned ~ just before the sausage is finished add the garlic, salt and spinach ~ allow the spinach to cook down ~ once complete transfer the spinach/sausage mixture to the mixer bowl ~ add the sour cream and mix all the ingredients on a low speed until well combined ~ once mixed transfer the mixture to a (greased) 8x8 baking dish ~ if desired top with cheese and bake at 350 for an addition 20 - 25 minutes. Enjoy!

 

This is fast becoming one of my favorite weeknight meals - I highly suggest you give it a try!

Jumping on the Juicing Bandwagon

Yep my friends, I bought a juicer!  The 'Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus 850-Watt Juice Extractor' to be exact and I am SUPER excited about it! I have wanted a juicer for a while now. A lot of the blogs I read constantly advocate for the benefits of juicing - not only is it a great way to be more healthy and get your fruits/veggies but it's also supposedly really tasty!  I had been debating buying a juicer for a while, every time I would see one in a store I would stop and look at it, I read a ton of reviews about which brand and type of juicers are best and I even consulted some coworkers who are avid juicers!  So the juicer has been sitting in my Amazon shopping cart for a couple of months and just last week I finally pulled the trigger!  Along with the juicer I also bought The Juicing Bible which I expect will have TONS of good juicing recipes. 

 

I am hoping that juicing can help keep me on track with my fitness and weight loss goals.  To be honest I have never been one to sit down and eat a plate of veggies for dinner nor have I been the one to munch on a bunch of fruit throughout the day.  I have definitely gotten better and incorporating more fruits and veggies into my diet but I know I could definitely use more.  From my perspective I feel juicing may be a good way for me to consume a ton of fruits and veggies without feeling like they dominate my meals.  We'll see how it goes!  It should arrive sometime this week and I can't wait to give it a try!


Adventures In Orlando

A couple of weeks ago I packed my bags and headed to Orlando, FL for a week long work trip.  Approximately four times a year my office holds a SOAR TTT (train-the-trainer) in various cities around the country.  In November we went to Denver and later this year we will travel to Austin, TX - but first up, Orlando!  I was psyched for this trip because even though we were going to be spending 90% of our time in a hotel conference room, that meant 10% would be spent in the sun, enjoying the warm weather or at Disney World!  So here is my Orlando trip - in pictures!
 

First night in Orlando we headed to downtown Disney for dinner!   Ate at  Ragland Road Irish Pub & Restaurant - it was delicious!

At the restaurant there were a bunch of Irish dancers - it was a lot of fun to watch them dance while we ate!

More of Downtown Disney!  This place had the most insane candied apples I have ever seen!
 

The room set up for the Train-The-Trainer!

Mickey welcomed us every time we went into our hotel!

 

Another night in Downtown Disney - me with a dude from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Mr. Potato Head!

On our second to last night in town we headed to Universal Studios.  We arrived at 6:15 PM, not knowing that the park closed at 7 PM - this fact did not deter us since were determined to ride Harry Potter, but first we had to get there and of course the most popular ride is located at the back of the park!

 

On our way to HP we had to pass through Dr. Seuss land!

 

Getting closer!

Hogwart's Express

 

Swording hat anyone?  We made it to the ride and there was no line - but it still took us a good 5 minutes to navigate the maze to the actual ride.  We were told that when the line is full it can be up to a six hour wait!

 

The rooms leading up to the ride was one of the best parts - everything was extremely interactive and (I am told) was pretty much straight out of the book.  I should probably mention now that I am not really into Harry Potter - never have been despite my sister's obsession, I haven't read the books and I have only seen bits and pieces of all the movies; so overall I was a little skeptical about whether or not the ride was actually worth it.  Boy was I proven wrong!  The ride was awesome!  I would probably go back to Universal Studios and Orlando, FL just to ride that again (and vacation of course).  On the ride you are seated and strapped into a harness - after that it is a simulated ride where you are essentially flying and following Harry.  Things pop out at you, the ride moves you this way and that and the entire time it really feels like you are flying.  Overall - it was awesome!  A must do when at Universal Studios!

Seen on our way to Spider-Man!  So after riding HP we had about 15 minutes until the park closed and we were told that if we were in a line before 7 PM we would be able to ride the ride.  Originally we wanted to do Jurassic Park but that ride gets you soaking wet so we opted for the Amazing Spider-Man!  I remember riding this years ago when I went with my mom and sisters but it was still a blast!

Trident!

 

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man!

 

And here is our awesome team in Downtown Disney!  Me (bottom) then Jen, Daz and Pam from left or right.

Our TTT in Orlando was a lot of work but also a lot of fun!  I really hope we can make it down there again at some point.  I hear there is an awesome food and wine festival every year - that coupled with a little park hoping would be so much fun!  Next up in September will be our TTT in Austin!