Urgh. And a few other things.

Frustration. I wrote a brilliant piece two days ago about the Academy Awards and went to hit "publish post" and........ gone. Drat!

I was so mad that I shunned Blogger for two days.

And now I'm back and I'm over it. (Almost).

Sooooo - the juicing books arrived from the publisher today! That means I'm closing off the drawing at 7pm tonight (Pacific) and all you have to do is leave a comment and you'll be in the drawing. I'll contact you tomorrow if you win.

And now.........for the special juicing announcement that will most likely make you laugh. This is so embarrassing, but I'm telling you anyway, because thats what I do.

Theres a magazine called Womens World and I'm gonna be on the cover in a few weeks. Cherie Calbom (the Juice Lady) wrote a piece on juicing and used me as one of her examples, and the magazine picked up the story. And since I go along with the story...well, I'm flying to LA for a little photo shoot on Monday.

I'm all kinds of nervous. I've never done anything like this before! But I just knew that I had to say yes when they offered because I don't want to be the girl who turned down the chance to be on a magazine. I mean, my mom is gonna be so proud! She'll save it in a little box with all my report cards from elementary school or something. And my Texas cousins can see it because its a National magazine. I think I'm gonna keep it a secret from most of them, and see if they do a double-take next time they're in the checkout line at the grocery store. Like "My that girl looks a lot like Sarah - wait a minute..."

I told one of my friends about this and she said "Womens World! That transports me right to my Grandmothers couch!" I laughed and laughed. Told her I'd autograph her Grandmas copy if she liked.

I'd never heard of Womens World before this - but now I see it everywhere. I was at Walmart the other day and it was right at the front check stand next to People and US Weekly. So I guess I'll be competing with Brangelina in a month or so.

The magazine comes out in late March I think - I'm sure I'll learn more on Monday. I'll tell you all about the shoot, too, if you're interested. I know I'd be interested if it was happening to someone else! Sounds so glamorous! Wardrobe, makeup, the whole 9. If you are thinking about following me on Twitter, now would be a good time, because I update that a lot more often than the blog.

Ok. Thats all. I'm done now.
Sarah

Will it give me gas?

Ha!

I'm sorry, I just had to give it that title.

See, its still Question and Answer time about Juicing, and as long as the questions keep pouring in, I'll keep answering them.

And Beatriz asked the million dollar question. Will it give me gas?

Yes.

Next question. :-)

Seriously, though, yes. But a little gas is fine, when you're in your skinny jeans, right? And getting fewer colds! And feeling better!

Catherine asks: "Do you juice in the morning or evening or...."

I'm an evening girl. I do this for a few reasons.

1. I'm lazy in the morning.
2. I like coffee first thing.
3. I tend to eat junk mainly in the evening, while watching TV. So having juice first thing when I get home "curbs" the mindless eating.

Heres why. This is key to weight loss: Our bodies are smart. They know when we are giving them empty calories. Our bodies will continue to give us the "hunger" signal until they feel like we've given them enough nutrition. (Kind of why a Lean Cuisine seems like a good idea for dinner until you're hungry 10 minutes later.) The juice is amazing this way. You give yourself 12 oz of fresh carrot, cucumber, beet, celery and apple (plus a little snap of fresh ginger and lemon) and VIOLA - you feel full. Your mind says "satisfied! Thanks for the nutrition!" Plus, since there is very little sugar in the juice (I use a Granny Smith apple - lowest sugar) - it helps curb other sugary/carby cravings.

Dana wanted to know: "For weight loss, did you replace one of your meals with the juice? Or did you just add it to your regular diet?"

Such a good question, and the answer is complicated. Remember how desperate I was at that point? Stuck in a rut feeling like there was no way out? I was in a depression, to be completely honest. And in a depression, not only can you not see a way out, but you almost don't even care anymore. That was me.

So, I wasn't really into the whole "pull myself up by my bootstraps" kind of thing. I was not getting a plan together involving diet and exercise. The idea of the gym made me nervous. I thought to myself "I need to be in shape to go to the gym!" and had no plan to put on sweatpants and make a fool of myself on the treadmill.

The ONLY thing I could think to do was dig out that juicer from under the counter and plug it in. I could only handle one thing at a time, or I knew I would get overwhelmed and give up. So heres how the timeline went.

1. put juicer on counter
2. made juice
3. felt full (and a little queasy. it was day one, after all.)
4. didn't eat much else that night
5. woke up next morning, thought "just make the juice at one point today. thats all."
6. made juice that evening
7. felt full. felt proud Id done it two days in a row. Hated taste. Gulped it down.
8. didn't really feel like dinner that evening.
9. woke up next morning and hated my new routine. Thought "just do it one more day."
10. made juice that evening.

the only change between then and now is this: eventually I quit resenting the fact that I was making the juice. Then I began to actually enjoy it.

So to answer your question Dana, yes, at first I replaced dinner. But not on purpose. It was because I felt full. Had I been hungry, I would have had a little something. But usually (and my other juicing friends agree with me on this) the juice is a wonderful meal in-and-of itself.

Last question for today goes to Eva who wants a specific recipe for my favorite drink:

4 large carrots, well scrubbed
1 cucumber
1/2 beet (with greens if you're brave! tons of magnesium in there!)
3-4 stalks of celery
1 Granny Smith Apple
1 lemon, pealed
tiny amount of ginger

That is what I make (or my husband makes) everyday. I drink one full glass, and theres usually enough for my husband to have 1/2 a glass.

Hope I got all the previous questions answered. Did I miss you? Leave it in the comments and I'll get to you again.

And for those of you who are saying "Enough already! No more juice!" well, I'll try and mix it up on here in the next few days. I need something else to post about though....

How about:

1. Our plans for Valentines Day (trick question, we have none)
2. How is Tom doing with the fact that he's gonna be a dad in 5 months?
3. Joaquin Phoenix on David Letterman
4. More embarrassing things about me so you can know my life isn't perfect!

Your choice makes the next blog entry... let me know!

Question & Answer Time

Well. Color me surprised.

I had no idea you would be so passionate about this juicing thing. Seriously, I’ve actually been trying not to talk about it, so as not to sound like an infomercial. But now I’m realizing that you actually care… so here you go. Answers to your questions.

**OH! And the contest for the 10 free books is still open. I'll draw 10 names random from the comments from the last post, and this post as well. I'll do the drawing when the books arrive from the publisher, in about a week. **

Ok, question time.

What kind of juicer do you use?

Lots of you are mentioning your old juicer in the garage that you got for a wedding gift or from your grandpa. And I certainly don’t want to discourage you from using it. That being said, I must tell you that starting with a GOOD juicer is key here.

I use the Juice Man Pro. Cherie recommended it, and I love it because its powerful AND Dishwasher Safe. I never would have stuck with juicing this long if I had to wash by hand. Also, the feed-tube-thingy (technical term, I know) is large and so I don’t have to cut all the produce into minuscule pieces.

Malerie, this ones for you. Is it expensive?

Not at all. First of all, if you have a good juicer, then it doesn’t take much produce to get a lot of juice. So you’re not buying a whole bushel of apples. My friend Callie gets all her produce at Costco. I buy mine at my local grocery store and I try to buy organic when possible. Plus, we are just getting into Spring – when all the local produce stands open up! Also, try co-ops, Farmers Markets, and best of all – growing your own veggies.

Tara asks: Once you make a drink how long is it good for? Do I need to drink it right away?

Good question, Tara. I’m a big fan of drinking the juice immediately, because of all the healthy enzymes. Think of your fruits and vegetables as live foods – once you cut into them, the enzymes immediately start dying. The sooner you drink it, the more live enzymes you have which helps you digest. That said, you can refrigerate the juice for up to 24 hours if need be. You’ll know if it spoils.

Now for the questions that weren’t asked, but you might be thinking:

Why not just eat a carrot?

If you’re like me, then you have a hard time getting your daily dose of fruits and vegetables in. I was hardly getting anything! If you can eat 5 carrots, 5 stalks of celery, 1 Cucumber, ½ a beet, 1 apple and some ginger, then do it. But for me, I NEVER would have taken the time to sit down and eat all that. Juicing worked for me.

Aren’t I juicing out all the fiber?

Nope. Soluble fiber remains.

Why go to all the trouble of using a juicer? Can’t I just drink an Odwalla?

I’ll let Cherie handle this one. Fresh juice is a live food, like I mentioned earlier. Its full of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, enzymes and that living ingredient --light energy-- that revitalizes the body. You feel different when you drink raw juice! In contrast, commercially processed canned, bottled, frozen, or packaged juices have been pasteurized, which means the juice has been heated to high temperatures, and many of the vitamins and enzymes have been killed or removed. And the light energy is virtually gone.

Did I miss your question? Leave it in comments and I'll get to it.

And yes, the special juicing announcement is still forthcoming. It will make you laugh. And you will be able to see it at your local grocery store. Wait for it…….

The Juice, part three.

You ask, I deliver. A comment came in about another post on juicing, so here you go.

I think I'm going to go a little deeper into my story this time... mostly because I've been inspired by other women (see the Sonbreak post below) to share the truth, even when it's hard.

So lets try and keep the judgement to a minimum, ok? ;-)

I started talking about juicing last Summer when I was completely fed up with my weight. Picture me, if you will, 30 pounds heavier, eating junk for dinner, sitting on the sofa, wondering why on earth I felt tired and depressed.

And here is the tiny part I'm going to add, which I may regret later, but its the truth and I want you to know.

Along with eating junk for dinner (fast food, pasta, lots of dessert) I was also unwinding at the end of the day with a beer or a glass of wine. I had developed a habit of coming home and using that to de-stress. I didn't remember when exactly the pattern began. Like most things in my life, something starts really small and really quiet, and then after a few days turn into a few weeks which turn into some months, I find myself in a habit that I don't know how to break.

Interestingly enough, the beer/wine habit wasn't making me feel any better (or more relaxed) - in fact, it was doing the opposite. I was becoming more depressed, more tired... and my pants were fitting worse.

This is where God stepped in and did for me what I could not do for myself. I'm so thankful that God is patient enough with me to deal with me sometimes as if I am a small child. He knew that I needed a "replacement" instead of just saying "no more wine" - and through the encouragement of my friends Channah and Amy, I bought a juicer. Sure enough, the very first day I made the juice, I thought "Well, I don't really want to drink a glass of wine" because I didn't want to undo all the work I'd just done to get some health and nutrition into my body. Thus, the fresh juice replaced my bad habit.

Now, I'm not just talking about throwing some apples in a juicer. I used a very specific recipe of mostly vegetables. And yes, at first I hated the taste. But it was only because my taste buds were used to junk. Believe me when I say it only takes a few days to begin to crave this fresh juice. And if you already like vegetables, well, then you are light years ahead of me.

Once I got the juicer on the counter, and my husband willingly would go to the store and help stock the fridge, I found myself little-by-little beginning to look forward to the time of day when I would juice.

A few days turned into a week which turned into a month, and before I knew it, my bad habit was now a good habit. The side benefit was that my pants were fitting better, but the real benefit was that my mind was clearer, the depression was lifting, and I felt healthier.

After a few months, I was shopping one day and a sales gal said to me "you need some new pants, those are practically falling off of you." She offered me a pair of jeans that were two sizes smaller that what I was accustomed to wearing. I said "thanks, but I will not fit into those." She said try and so I did. They fit.

I walked out of that store in prayer. I was so thankful to God that He was moving me along a path of health. I was not doing it on my own. He was doing it for me.

Here we are, 8 months later, and I am wearing those same jeans today as I type. Thats another milestone for me - losing weight and not instantly gaining it back. And I believe the reason for that is that I'm no longer in this about weight loss.I'm in it to be a healthy person, because I don't want to be back in that slump where I was. Now that I'm out of the depression, and up off the couch, and my mind is no longer in a fog, I realize that I don't want to go back.

So... I just spoke with Cherie Calbom, author of Juicing, Fasting, and Detoxing For Life and she says "Lets give away some more books!" So you can feel free to leave a comment in the comments section (as long as it has a way I can get a hold of you, like an email or a link to your blog) and I'm gonna give away 10 more books, just like last time. I love Cheries books. She is a believer with a master of science degree in nutrition from Bastyr University - and her lifes mission is to help women regain their lives through proper nutrition. She and I both agree that when we have a clear mind and a healthy body, we are better able to serve God and love others!

Oh, and one more thing: I have another special juicing announcement coming soon that might make you laugh, but I will post more about it when it's 100% official.

For Tara

Its so close I know you can almost taste it.

He will be home before you know it.

And he'll scoop up Hunter and Dylan in his arms, and your family will be together again.

I love you.

Pancakes & Pigtails

Saturday mornings are usually met with cartoons and pancakes a la daddy.

This weekend was extra special because Olivia let me put pigtails in her hair. This is nothing short of amazing that she let me 1)come near her hair and 2)put something in it.

Perhaps the syrup served as a distraction?