Juice Up You Life 101: Orange Juice

Orange-pineapple juice

Orange is a perfect match of pineapple juice. The sweetness of pineapples and the sour-sweet zest of oranges blend well to make a refreshing drink. Each juice is equally good when drink pure. But if you want a variation of your daily orange juice, you may add pineapple juice. I usually drink this juice 3 hours after a heavy meal.

photos taken from google image

The enzymes from pineapples help digest food. If you need to boost your daily fiber intake, it is best eaten raw. I tried grilled pineapple and it tasted so good.

grilled pineapple... yummy!

Pineapples contain vitamins A, C, calcium, phosphorus, trace minerals and carbohydrates. It contains the enzyme bromelain, that helps digest proteins and prevents blood clot. A perfect juice for meat eaters and people who has high blood pressures. However, because it is acidic, I recommend to not drink this juice with an empty stomach.

Oranges aside from its Vitamin C source, they provide vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and flavanoids. It has antioxidant that helps boost our immune system.


Make this juice a 3 hours after meal habit. Do not drink it right after eating meal though, to avoid putrefaction.


Cheers!

Level Up

Did I tell you guys that I changed my Nikon D60 camera to Nikon D90? Yes I did. After I found out that D90 has better features, I decided to let go my D60.

photo from google image

I'm glad I bought it. There is joy in taking photos that I never thought there was before. It is very rewarding, I must say. :-) I am way far from being pro, but I would like to share some of my photos anyway. Everything is unedited. I still have to learn how to edit photos at this point. :-p So guys, please leave a comment of how to improve each shot - composition, exposure, everything :-) Thank you. :-)

Foliage
settings: ISO 800, 50mm, aperture f/5.6, speed 1/400

                                                        

                                     

I decided to take photos this morning, but it drizzled. My heart sank. Then I remembered I've read somewhere that it is nice to take photos of leaves after a rain. So I tried that shot above.  

Orang hue

                                                    settings: ISO 800, 92mm, aperture f5.6, speed 1/400

                            

      

I was practicing how to achieve a good depth of field. I was surprised how subtle the rays of the sun against the orange hue of the bougainvillea flower. 

Yellow Orchid
settings: ISO 800, 92mm, f/5.6, 1/500

                                                    

                                        

Another tweaking to achieve good bokeh. I love the yellow color of this flower.

Pink Bougainvillea
settings: iso 800, 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/1600

                                                     

                                             

Pink bougainvillea this time...

Soothing Green

                                                    settings: ISO 800, 52 mm, f/5.6, 1/400                                                         

                                                

I found the green leaves soothing to my eyes. 

Nothing magnifico to these photos. I am still learning guys. It would be of great help if you leave a comment on how to improve my shots. Thank you very much :-)

happy mood! :-)

Juice Up Your Life 101: Green Juice

Green juice is one of my favorite juices to drink. I usually have this juice for lunch. Aside from its distinct taste and colorful hue, it's super rich in antioxidants, phytonutrients and minerals as well as vitamins that help our body fight diseases. Two glasses of green juice is made up of 2 big jicama (singkamas), 2 green bell pepper, 2 cucumber, 4 leaves green lettuce, a pinch of basil, and a pinch of parsley. If you find the taste unacceptable, titer your juice with jicama until you achieved the taste that you like. Into this juice, you may add whatever green vegetables you have in the house such as brocolli, malunggay, kangkong, spinach, wheat grass, kamote leaves. Fresh buko juice blends well with green juice too. If you can find spirulina powder, you may add 2 tablespoon of it. 

Go green for your afternoon delight? Yes!

Cheers!

Juice Up Your Life 101: Maroon Juice

                                                   photo taken by me :-)

This juice is an absolute yum to start your day. I made it this morning with 2 peeled sugar beets, 2 peeled large carrots, 1 pc large cucumber, and 1 jicamah (singkamas). I usually start my day with this drink. 

                                               photo taken from google image

Sugarbeet is rich in folate, manganese, vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus. It contains nutrients rich in antioxidants that helps boost immune system and helps fight against heart disease as well as phytonutrients that has anti-inflammatory properties. It helps detoxifying the liver too.

                                                 photo taken from google image

Jicama or popularly known here in the Philippines as singkamas is my favorite vegetable to add on to any juice. It's like my seasoning to every juice that I make. It can do magic even to the bitter arugula. Its yummy taste blends well with pretty much everything. It is rich in sodium, iron, protein, Vitamin C and calcium. 

                                                        photo taken from google image

Carrots are one of the most healing foods available. It is an excellent source of pro-vitamin A, vitamins C,D,E,K,B1 and B6. It is rich in biotin, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and some trace minerals as well as phytonutrients that promotes healing. 

                                                      photo taken from google image

I love to munch cucumber sprinkled with little himalayan salt and pepper. It is very refreshing and is rich in vitamins C, A, potasium, manganese, folate, magnesium and trace minerals. It soothes irritations and inflammation. 

Oh well, that's a load of info! You don't need to memorize the nutritional facts of each vegetable or fruit in your juices, but I just put it here anyway, just to show you how nutritious this juice is made of, and  how good it can do to your body. Now who would prefer colas over fresh juice?

Cheers! :-)

Juice Up You Life 101: Fruits and Vegetables

Have you chosen the right juicer for you?  You may be very eager to use it, but hold on it for a while. :-) It's not yet time. Let's first check on what to juice. There are two kinds of juices that you can make - a fruit juice

or a vegetable juice.

Most of them can be mixed, however there are certain combinations that result to unpleasant tastes.  What to combine in making a juice deserves a separate blog.  So I'll be blogging about it in my next post. For now, let me just remind you that not all fruits and vegetables are created equal! Yes. So we have to be careful of what kind of fruits or vegetables we are juicing. Remember, the primary reason to gulp in juices daily is to take in something that is packed with nutrients. If you are not being careful of what to juice, you might be taking in a drink concentrated with herbicides and pesticides, thus defeating the very purpose of juicing. Organic fruits and vegetables should be the first option. In Metro Manila, organic fruits and vegetables are available in Market Market and Salcedo Village in Makati during weekends. But don't lose hope if there is  no organic produce available in your place. The next best thing to do if fruits and vegetables are not organic is to  wash your produce with running water for a while or dip it, of not more than 15 minutes, with water plus salt. Also, fruits such as apples and pears must be peeled and deseeded before juicing because those are being waxed. You don't want your juice mixed with unseen wax, right? With crops such as sugarbeets, carrots, jicamah (singkamas), radish and sweet potatoes, I preferred them peeled if not scrub thoroughly to avoid soil contamination to my juice. 

Are we now ready to make juice?  :-)

P.S. I've been swamped with work today, I can't wait to hit my bed right after finishing this blog. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my site. I really appreciate it. 

Juice Up You Life 101: Start With the Right Juicer

Are you thirsty of fully loaded fresh juice? The easiest way to grab one is to buy a freshly squeezed orange juice like Del Monte orange juice.

              photo taken from google image

That's available in any S&R chains

         photo taken from google image

There are juice bars that you can find inside the mall too, such as fresh sugar cane, coconut water and even fruit juices. I find these stores convenient especially when I'm not in the house and I could not make my own juice.  But that's quite expensive if you are planning to make it a daily habit.  Each glass will cost you 60-110 pesos. So the best thing to do, if you commit to chug in fresh juices daily is to purchase a juicer that suits your budget. Yes, a juicer NOT a blender. You'll have a 24/7 juice bar right at the comfort of your kitchen. If you searched on the internet, there are many kinds of juicers available in the market. Depending primarily on your budget, you have a wide array of options. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. But here's how I chose mine. 

There are three general kinds of juicer: Centrifugal type, Masticating type and Hydraulic Press type. 

Centrifugal type of juicer usually is the cheapest.  I started with this kind of juicer when I was a student. I bought mine in SM appliance center and cost me 2,500 pesos. However the downfall of these inexpensive juicers is they usually produce a wet pulp. Meaning, there are juices that were not extracted properly and many enzymes and nutrients put to waste.  In my experience, with 2 fuji apples I can make 1 glass of juice with the use of hydraulic type or masticating type, but with centrifugal type of juicer, I'll have to use 5 apples. Moreover, it operates in high RPM, meaning it produces heat while extracting the juice. It destroys the enzymes that we want in our juices.

       photo taken from google image

Omega juicer is one of the expensive type of centrifugal juicers but still produce wet pulp.

Masticating juicer is the one I'm currently using. It's not too cheap, but not as expensive as the hydraulic press type of juicer. It is known for its maximum juice extraction and squeezes out more juice. It operates in low RPM thus preserving most of the enzymes and nutrients.

         photo taken from google image

Hydraulic Press Type of juicer like the Norwalk Juicer is claimed to be the best. It produces 50-100% more than any other juicers. It extracts juices even from the difficult to extract vegetables such as brocolli, wheatgrass, sugarcane and many others. It preserves nutrients to every juice you made from this machine. The downfall of this juicer is it's VERY expensive. It costs around 100,000 pesos!!! But if you are interested in this kind of juicer, you may check this link: Norwalk Juicer

If you want to explore the wide array of juicers check this site. Juicers at harvest

I hope at this point, you aren't discourage yet of the prices of the juicer. It is worth the price. Like me, you can start buying the affordable centrifugal type, then save up so you can invest on masticating type of juicer. If you invested expensive gadgets such as celphones, laptops, cars,  why not invest juicer? You are investing not just for your own health but you can share it with your loved ones as well. 

So, shopping time guys? :-) Let me know what juicer you get. :-)

On my next blog, I'll be talking about what fruit or vegetable to juice and how to prepare them. :-)

Juice Up Your Life 101: Chug! Chug! Chug!

         Are you a soda type of person, a juice type of person, a water type of person or a coffee or tea type of person? I was once a coffee addict.

                                                  photo taken from samraff's photobucket

I consumed 3-5 glasses of coffee in a day. It kept me awake, yes, but I had my frequent attacked of hyperacidity in addition to the nasty 'hang-over' feeling few hours after. Then I changed to teas.

                                              photo taken from google image

I'm more comfortable drinking tea, and until now, if I need to be alert, I chug a cup. I especially love mancha green tea with soy milk. But because teas are diuretics, I don't feel vitalize after drinking one.

Then I learned the goodness of fresh fruit and vegetable juices.

                                                    photo taken from google image

Every glass of juice is refreshing, in a way that colas and other high paid ad drinks can never do. Aside from its yummy taste, it's packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytochemicals. All needed to revitalize your body. A drink with good taste packed with nutrients, who wouldn't drink, right? 

The juice that I'm talking here is not the concentrated ones available in supermarkets, or the falsely claimed "all-natural' juices commercially packed. How can a juice be fresh and natural when it's already packed? I'm talking about the juice that is freshly made. Yes, the ones you made in your home. 

In my next blog, I will talk about what juicer to get to have 24/7 juice bar right at the comfort of your kitchen. :-)

If you have inquiries, just leave a comment, and I'll try to cover them in my succeeding blogs. :-)

Cheers! :-)