Once a juicer…always a juicer. …I find myself still craving a juice and even ginger! Today for an afternoon snack I reaffirmed my love of juicing with this delicious concoction:

Ginger Orange Delight
1 golden beet
7-8 carrots
1 apple
1 lime
1″ knob of ginger
1/4 ” knob of turmeric root (I don’t want to taste this. LOL!)
1 orange
3-4 stalks celery

With my carrot/ginger juice craving satisfied, I can share with you what I learned thus far this week.

If you’re like me and you just won’t eat brown rice because you don’t have the patience to make it, then you’re in luck! This quinoa & brown rice at Costco comes in individual packets which you just tear a little bit open and microwave for 90 seconds and they are super delicious! I like to use about half a serving of this and mix with some veggies like stir-fried broccoli, tofu or even snap peas. It makes an excellent base for veggies!

Berries are the lowest in sugar among their fruit friends. So, I always have a mixture of strawberries, blackberries, (you could also add blueberries), with some coconut meat thrown in. Yes, I’m still hacking those coconuts open every day, drinking the juice and eating the meat. Once you try that fresh coconut juice, you really can’t go back to packaged coconut water, I mean like never go back.

I like to mix some nonfat plain Greek yogurt in a small bowl (small bowl because this is a snack, not a meal!) with some of my berries, coconut meat and some sliced almonds on top.

So far so good except if you’ve tasted nonfat Greek yogurt it tastes a little bland. Never to fear! We have this little miracle called “Better Stevia” to the rescue! I added 4 drops but I think 2 would have been just fine. With less than 5 drops you will not notice any artificial taste, only sweet vanilla goodness with zero added calories. This is my little friend for anything that needs a bit of sweetness. Never ever add sugar to anything! Promise me this.

If you want to learn more about why sugar is bad for you, watch this documentary, please: “Cancer can be Killed” a Jeff Witzerman film available on Amazon Video.

In fact, after all my years of research reading and watching studies on the maladies resulting from sugar in the diet, you are far better off to limit the stuff. For example, look at your yogurt. I mistakenly purchased Chobani Greek Vanilla-Blended yogurt only to notice later that is has a whopping 20 grams of sugar per serving! OMG! So I switched to a plain Greek yogurt (in this case by Yoplait) that only has 6 grams of sugar per serving.

The American Heart Association recommends that women eat no more than 20 grams of sugar and that men eat no more than 36 grams of sugar per day.

The bottom line is that you don’t want to eat all your sugar grams in one snack. And sugar is in everything from bread to salad dressing to condiments. So be knowledgeable because you are the only one who can prevent cancer and fatty liver disease. Only you. I sound like Smokey the Bear “Only you can prevent Cancer!” LOL. I believe it. You are in control.

Here are some more food products from my fridge which shows that I’m moving in the right direction to lower my sugar, increase my protein, take in some good fats, and control my calories.

And on my kitchen counter:

Mix-ins! Just like at Cold Stone. Well almost like Cold Stone. We can pretend anyway. Go easy when you start with the ground flaxseed unless you want to be completely cleaned out in the next hour. I would start with a teaspoon in your yogurt, smoothie or in your oatmeal and work up to a tablespoon. And a teaspoon of maca powder until you get used to the taste. Maca is known for its benefit in balancing hormones and reversing hypothyroidism. (Do not consume during pregnancy!)

From left to right:
MegaFood Daily Turmeric (from Sprouts), Maca root powder, sliced almonds, ground cinnamon, whole raw almonds, ground flaxseed and cute baskets in the background from Costco!