Food, DIY, Chicago Mom Blogger
Hi, guys! We bought a new juicer, so in this video I’m sharing a Breville Juice Fountain Multi-Speed Juicer Unboxing.
If you’re interested, here’s a blog post where I wrote about our old Breville juicer.
And here are 3 Juicer Recipes that I’ve shared in the past:
You can get more information on this particular Breville BJE510XL Juice Fountain Multi-Speed Juicer on Amazon here.
(This postΒ includes my Amazon affiliate link.)
I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meets program,May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product andΒ post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May MediaGroup LLC or theΒ manufacturer of the product.
Juicing is something I’ve been doing for almost two years now.
But as with most other things in my life, everything changed in August 2013 when David was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. I couldn’t fit juicing in the way I once did. Life was far too unpredictable and hard to be able to juice with any real regularity. I didn’t want to give it up, but then again, I didn’t have time for it.
So I just let it go, and with that, I let go of any hope of being able to do a juice cleanse in the foreseeable future.
I definitely noticed a difference in my body when I stopped juicing. I still tried to eat healthy, but it’s hard to eat well when you’re constantly going to doctor’s appointments, the emergency room, and (my least favorite) the hospital for stays that lasted anywhere from one day to one month.
Because of all this, my weight increased, and I ended up gaining around 10 pounds in six months. π
Not good.
Skinny Limits Raw Juice Cleanse
Fast forward to January 2014, and things finally changed when Moms Meet offered me the opportunity to try a 3-day Skinny Limits raw juice cleanse. We were living at the Ronald McDonald House at the time as David was still recovering from his transplant, and juicing on my own was still out of the question. So, as you can imagine, I jumped at the opportunity!
With a Skinny Limits, all the work is done for you.Β The juices are delivered fresh and raw right to your home. I was sent a three-day supply for a total of 18 bottles of juice.
For the juice cleanse, you drink a total of six bottles of juice per day. And these juices actually taste really good.
Be Sure to Read the Directions Before Starting the Cleanse
There is a method to the way you consume the raw juice. All of the bottles are numbered, and you’ll want to drink each bottle of juice in the right order for the cleanse to be most effective.
Over Ice?
I love drinking my juice over ice. You don’t have to, but if you want to get a little fancy with the white Crescent Moon juice, feel free. π
It’s delicious.
How I Felt During the Cleanse
I’ll be completely honest and tell you that I didn’t feel great during the cleanse. I had headaches two days in a row, and I felt like I was moving in slow motion at the beginning of the cleanse. This is completely normal, because when you’re cleansing your body, you’re detoxing. And that can make you feel icky.
But guess what? After the first day, I no longer felt bloated, and I actually woke up with energy.
When the cleanse was over, I knew my body had done some serious detoxing, and I felt better, overall.
I’m going to try to do another juice cleanse in the near future. This time I’ll do it with my husband, because then we can cheer each other on. π
After all, two is better than one, right?
Have you ever tried a raw juice cleanse?
I’ve been blogging the last few weeks about how I can not get over a serious homemade frappe addiction, so, I thought I’d share with you just how I make them and encourage you to make them as well. I’ve also discovered a delicious chocolate syrup recipe in my raw foods cookbook that is perfect when drizzled on top of frappes. Β Only I’ve slightly adjusted the recipe to include less raw cacao powder because the original recipe calls for way too much.
To make the frappes, I use a Mr. Coffee Frappe Maker. Β 
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Water
3 Tablespoons Coffee Grounds
2 Cups of Ice (or fill to “max ice” line)
1/4 Cup of Organic Milk (you can also use almond milk)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2.5 Tablespoons of Raw Sugar
Directions:
Lift the lid on the top of the frappe maker, add water and coffee grounds in there respective compartments (there a small compartment in the front for a coffee filter and coffee grounds and then you pour the water into the compartment behind the coffee grounds). In the actual frappe cup, remove lid and, in this order, add ice, milk, vanilla extract, and sugar. Replace lid and secure the frappe cup in place. Β Push the “Power” button and then immediately after that push the “Frappe” button. Wait for the frappe maker to brew coffee and blend frappe. Β It takes about 3 minutes. Enjoy!
You can also enjoy homemade frappes WITHOUT a frappe maker if you have a coffee maker and a blender.
Simply add the ice, milk, vanilla extract, and sugar into a blender. Β After you’ve added these ingredients and before starting the blender, add 1/2 freshly brewed coffee. Then blend until smooth and enjoy!
Frappes are also delicious with whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top. I have yet to make a raw whipped cream. Β It’s one of those things I’m making plans to try, but I have made raw chocolate syrup which is a nice accompaniment to the frappe when drizzled on top or even mixed in.
Raw Chocolate Syrup:
3/4 Cup Cacao Powder (This is not cocoa powder but looks very similar. Β You can find it at Whole Foods or online. Β You may even find it in the organic section of your local grocery store.)
1 Cup of Agave Nectar (Looks like honey, and you can find it at a Super Target or your local grocery store in the baking aisle.)
1 Cup of melted Coconut Oil (just melt the coconut oil in the microwave and you’re good, you can also find this at the your local grocery store or even Target)
1/2 Cup Water
Directions:
Add cacao powder and agave nectar to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Β Then slowly add the coconut oil while pulsing. Β After that, add the water and pulse. Β Enjoy!
This chocolate syrup goes well with anything you’d regularly use chocolate syrup in.
And there you have it guys. Β It’s the treat I enjoy regularly and still manage to lose weight. π
This post is linked to Thrifty Thursday because making homemade frappes is a real money saver. Β It’s also linked to Ultimate Recipe Swap to share the frappe love.
By the way, for those who need a visual, agave nectar looks like this: 
Many of you know that I am on a journey to lose weight, and not only to lose weight but also to be healthy. I’ve been praying about this for quite some time, but recently I decided to fast for the Lord’s blessing on our new year and that He would help me to lose the weight that I’ve been carrying around for the last 10 years. I gained almost all of this weight during my FIRST pregnancy, and it’s never left me….well a little has, but not enough to get near where I was pre first child.
I literally gained about 10 pounds a month while I was pregnant with him. I know the reason why now. I was young, going to school, and working. I was effectively living for the most part off of fast food and things like chips and ice cream. Duh! How I wish I could go back, shake that girl, and tell her to order the salad and not the buy one get one free chicken sandwiches!
Every pregnancy since then, I’ve gain an acceptable amount of weight and lost most of it soon after the baby was born, but I’m still carrying the weight from baby number one who, by the way, was my biggest baby at 9 pounds and 2 ounces. Yes, he was definitely getting a few too many fried mushrooms as well.
All of my other children were more “normal” weights. Breanna was 7.14 pounds, and Isaac and David were both 8.1 pounds. Sweet Nathan was the big guy.
Everything is changing, though. Our diet will never be the same, at least I hope it won’t. You see, I few weeks ago, I came across a film called FoodMatters which was talking about how our bodies work and how it processes the food we put into it. Simply put, what I learned from this movie is that God created us to eat a certain diet and, for the most, we aren’t eating it. Also, the food we are eating that we think is “healthy” is terribly deficient because the soil it is grown in is deficient and filled with chemicals from all the pesticides being sprayed on it. Some of our food has even been genetically modified which has been proven to be dangerous and cause disease in lab animals! It’s almost criminal what these big corporations are doing to our food supply…the same food that we put into our bodies and feed our children.
After that we watched a film called Food, Inc. Another eye opening film on how our food is grown. This film also goes into great detail about where our chicken and beef comes from, how it is treated, and what these animals are being fed. The chickens are kept in unsanitary conditions and in the DARK all day. Maddening. I won’t name the companies who are doing this, but there’s a good chance you have some of their products in your freezer/fridge right now.
Our beef is kept in equally unsanitary conditions, probably worse, actually. Cows are also being fed an unnatural corn feed diet. For these reasons, we are constantly hearing of beef recalls due to the E. coli bacteria found the meat of these animals. I could go into further detail, but I’d encourage you to just watch these films.
Ruben and I have also been doing other research and have watched a bunch of other videos on the dangers of some of the other things in our foods like MSG (Monosodium Glutamate–commonly hidden in our food under other names) and Aspartame.
All of this has caused us to completely rethink our diet and make some drastic changes. These changes would not be possible without the help of the Lord. I know if we tried to do this on our own, we would completely fail. But the Lord is giving us grace and helping us to take steps to change the way our family eats.
to be continued….Next time, I’ll talk more specifically about the actual diet changes that we are making.
