MY GREEN JUICE RECIPE

If you're busy trying to get a business or shop up and running, it can be really easy to let healthy eating go to the bottom of your priority list.

When I am really busy, I tend to reach for the quick-grab foods, which are also usually the unhealthiest foods. That's why I like to drink a green juice, at least once every other day, if not every day.

Green juice is a yummy, easy way to get lots of nutrients without having to prepare a time consuming salad for every meal, and it makes up for the less-than-perfect diet that so many of us who own a business have.

These days, everyone knows about the health benefits of green juice, but you might not know where to start or what to put in your juice. I thought I would share my favorite recipe that I have found after experimenting with lots of different ingredients. These are things that I try to keep in my fridge at all times:

Why I Choose These Ingredients...

Green Apples - mainly added to sweeten up the drink and mask the flavor of the kale and spinach, also contains lots of antioxidants and vitamins

Kale - a "superfood", high in iron and calcium, tons of cancer preventing vitamins, lots of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular support, detoxifies your body

Cucumber - adds a fresh flavor and is 95% water, so adds a lot of juice to the mix, lots vitamins, good for your skin

Spinach - another "superfood", tons of vitamins, one of the most nutritious foods you can eat (ps make sure to get the spinach on the stalk not in the bags, as it juices much better this way!)

Lemons - detoxifies the body, flushes out toxins, lots of vitamin C, potassium, aids digestion, and more 

Ginger - good for your stomach / gastrointestinal system, helps nausea, anti-inflammatory, prevents cancer

Check out the video below to see how I put the ingredients through my juicer, if you are unfamiliar with juicing. 

Also, if you have a favorite juice recipe that you love, please let me know in the comments below! I would love to test out some new recipes. :)

JUICING, AND MY FAVORITE JUICE RECIPE

Wes and I recently bought a juicer, and we're loving it! I thought I would share my favorite juice...

Every morning I've been making grapefruit apple juice rather than my old breakfast beverage (coffee or an energy drink). You just juice one grapefruit and one apple - it's super easy. It's actually really energizing, and about a million times healthier. Wes likes to make green juice in the morning, which I also really like.

There's a lot of hype about juice cleanses right now too, but I don't really think that's a good idea for me. I'm sure it's super healthy, but it seems a little extreme. I think I might go crazy. haha Have you guys ever done a juice cleanse?

If you've been thinking about getting a juicer, I highly recommend it! You get all of the nutrients from consuming all those fruits and veggies, without actually having to eat that many fruits and veggies.

We have this juicer, which is pretty pricey, but everything that we read said that the cheaper juicers don't work well and you'll end up buying the more expensive one anyway. It also comes with a ton of juice recipes, which is great for people who don't know what they're doing (like me!). 

Do any of you have a juicer? What is your favorite juice recipe?

PS. Lots of great recipes here!

A HEALTHY NEW HABIT

As I've said before, I'm not big on resolutions, but sometimes new things just start at the beginning of the new year, whether you "resolve" for them to or not. Wes and I have started a new morning habit of drinking warm lemon water in the morning after reading about its amazing health benefits and how it improves your metabolism:

Warm water aids digestion, lemon juice contains vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that helps calm liver inflammation and protect sagainst free radical damage.

Personally, I would like to get to the point where I don't crave (see "need, or it won't be pretty") caffeine first thing in the morning. I've never been a huge fan of lemon ice water with dinner, but something about heating it up and drinking it first thing in the morning is energizing and refreshing. I squeeze 1/2 a lemon (Wes and I split one) in a coffee cup of warm water.

What do you think about this health tip? Would you consider (eventually) replacing your morning cup of joe with a healthier option like this?

HOW TO WAKE UP EARLY + WORK OUT

This time of the year, I get extra motivated about working out. All the sunshine makes me happy and gives me a major energy boost. Like a lot of people though, if I don't work out first thing in the morning, I have a hard time doing it later. I just get busy with other things or lose energy throughout the day or it doesn't work with my schedule. 

The problem is I am not a morning person - not even a little bit. I would much rather stay up late than wake up early so trying to wake up extra early to exercise is not appealing to me at all. It is something I have had to train myself to do, and it has taken a lot of practice. I thought I would write out my tips that I had to learn the hard way in case any of you have the same problem. I hope they help!

Do you have any tips for waking up early to exercise?