Juicing.  We all know it is so good for us but what a mess and hassle.  I have developed a few tricks out of necessity so that I am more likely to incorporate juicing into my day.  There is however some nutritional compromises that will be met so if you a juicing to support an anti-cancer diet and/or need to squeeze every last nutrient out of the juice the ideal juicing scenario is:

• Use a masticating juicer over a centrifugal juicer as this doesn't heat up the juice.
• Drink the juice in the first 30 minutes after preparing it.
• Keep the juicer on your counter ready to go at all times.
• Use all organic produce

That being said, I like to bulk juice.  It's less messy, less clean up, less time and it's a great way of getting rid of all of your extra vegetables that would normally rot in your veggie drawer.  Here's some ideas:

• Bulk juice before my weekly shopping trip to empty my veggie drawer and ensure all my produce is super fresh and nothing just rots in the fridge.  
• If you've got too much of one fruit or vegetable and you are afraid it is going to go off before you use it, Juice it all and freeze it in it's own glass container.  A good example is cucumbers that are so wonderful at extending juices but can go off quickly.
• Freeze extra spinach in ziplock bags before it goes off.
• Always buy bananas.  If they go brown, remove the skin and freeze them in ziploc bags.  They are perfect for smoothies and making faux ice cream.
• Recipes that call for brocolli stems are common.  The broccoli stem will last a few weeks in the crisper drawer but the florets won't.  I wash and remove all the broccoli florets and freeze for soups and stirfry.
• All vegetable pulp (no fruit) can be used to make veggie broths and there are some recipes that call for pulp to make dehydrated crackers.
• Before turning on the juicer, make sure you line the pulp collection container with a compostable kitchen liner to facilitate clean up (unless you are using the pulp for other purposes).
• Buy a dozen 2-cup mason jars with lids and buy little labels for storing and freezing.
• As you will be juicing large quantities, use a large (4 cup) glass measuring cup to collect the juice.
• Juice hard fruits and vegetables to make a 'base' juice.  Light vegetables like spinach and other greens, herbs and frozen fruits are added in a blender to the base juice before serving.  If you have a centrifugal juicer, those herbs and greens will just fly through without being properly juiced.  This way you can retain the all nutrition and flavor of the greens and also save some money. 
  
• If you can't afford organic produce for some items, make sure you peel it to limit your exposure to pesticides.
  
• You get more juice if you use a citrus juicer for your lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit rather than peeling them.  It's faster too.  You can buy some good quality citrus juicers that have non-slip bases and big collection bowls.  All you need is some muscle.
• Make 2 juices at a time. Divide the liquid in 2 2-cup mason jars, label and freeze.  Freezing the base juice helps to retain the nutrients. Simply thaw out the juice in the fridge overnight to use the next day. Then you can add your base juice to a blender or Nutribullet along with the greens, herbs and frozen fruit or ice depending on the juice recipe.
• Use frozen organic berries for your blender juices.
• Use frozen pineapple rather than fresh.  It adds some thickness and coldness to the blender juice, it isn't as messy and you don't have to worry about it going off in the fridge.
• Make as many base juices as freezer space allows. Then you can freeze them all. Empty and clean you juicer parts and store away until the next batch. You may have to empty your pulp container and rinse the parts if you are making lots of base juice to ensure the juicer is working efficiently.

​Nothing is better for your body than sprouts.  This is truly live food.  It can be expensive to buy them but they are so cheap to make.  All you need are the beans, water, a sprouting jar and time.
You can make or buy a sprouting jar.  If you are making one, you need a big mason jar and some wire mesh secured to the top with an big elastic.  I found it simpler to buy mine from Pomme Natural as it has a mesh lid that’s awesome.  I started sprouting with a sprouting bag but I found it hard to rinse, it would dry out too quickly and there was a lot of wasted seeds in the process so, for me, a sprouting jar is best.
Supplies:
·         ½ cup mung beans, or lentils
·         Purified water
·         Sprouting jar
Method:
1.    Add beans or lentils and about 4 cups of water to your sprouting jar.  Soak the beans/lentils for 8 hours.
2.    After soaking the beans, drain the water and add more water, swirl the beans to rinse and drain well.
3.    Invert the jar, and keep in a warm dark place. (You can cover with a cloth or bag) Sprouting time increases with more light and cooler conditions.  For me, I like to see the action so I leave my jars out on the kitchen counter and watch them grow.
4.    RINSE THE BEANS/LENTILS TWICE DAILY. Ideally rinse in the morning and evening.
5.    After 3 days keep uncovered (like on the counter) in indirect sunlight to encourage chlorophyll.  Continue rinsing twice daily until sprouts are ready.
6.    The sprouts should be ready in 5 days.  Do one final rinse and drain and transfer sprouts to a glass container.  They will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week in a covered glass container.

Apple Cider Vinegar:

• ​According to Dr. Axe's article, there are 20 unique uses for apple cider vinegar:

1. Detoxifies Body
   
2. Hair Conditioner
   
3. Teeth Whitener
   
4. Acid Reflux Cure
   
5. Weight Loss Aid
   
6. Household Cleaner
   
7. Relieves Allergies
   
8. Candida Cleanse
   
9. Soothes Sunburn
   
10. Repels Fleas
    
11. Cure a Cold
    
12. Natural Deodorant
    
13. Anti-Fungal
    
14. Balance pH
    
15. Ease Varicose Veins
    
16. Skin Toner
    
17. Heal Poison Ivy
    
18. Blood Sugar Balance
    
19. Lower BP
    
20. Removes Warts
    

​Considering all the great things Apple Cider Vinegar can do, $9.99 for 946 ml at Country Grocer is very reasonable.  I can personally attest that it has totally relieved my acid reflux.  Just add a teaspoon of ACV to a glass of water and drink before your meals. Fantastic.  I prefer Bragg because they use glass bottles rather than plastic.

​Check out: www.draxe.com/apple-cider-vinegar-uses for more specific information on each of these uses.

When you return from the market with all your beautiful fresh vegetables, don't just throw them in your refrigerator and forget about them until they are mush in a plastic bag.  Start washing, chopping, and storing in glass containers so they are ready to go.  This cuts down on food waste and ensures all your vegetables are ready to eat at any time,  It's easier to eat more  vegetables if they are already cleaned and prepped.
​The above photo features: Organic Romaine lettuce, washed, spun and cut with a plastic knife.  Pre-washed organic mixed greens taken out of the clam shell, fluffed up and put in a glass container with paper towel on the bottom and top.  These delicate greens turn really quickly so you don't want to keep them in the moisture ridden clamshell. Organic baby carrots rinsed and stored in purified water in glass container. Great for quick snacks with hummus.

Finally, salad vegetables stored separately from the lettuce.  This way you can add as much as you want.  From bottom to top:
​1 cucumber, peeled, split in half, seeds removed by running a spoon down the middle (cucumber seeds make the salad too wet and turn the cucumber faster)
​2 carrots, peeled, halved and sliced
2 celery sticks, sliced
​1 pepper, diced
2 radishes, sliced
​2 green onions, sliced

Part of a holistic kitchen is glass storage containers for fridge and freezer.  Plastic storage containers generally contain BPA which can release xenoestrogens into your food. Xeno (meaning foreign)​ mimics estrogen in the body which can lead to estrogen dominance.  Estrogen dominance can have lots of symptoms and conditions such as: accelerating aging, allergies, asthma, hives, rashes, breast tenderness and breast cancer.  Switch to glass by using Mason Jars, Anchor containers and Snap Lock.  Canadian Tire has a great selection and they are usually on sale.

I opened up the cupboard this morning to get a glass for my morning water and said, "Holy Crap!  Are my glasses ever shiny!" I said this in my head as it was pretty early and didn't want to wake my husband or the dog. I'm not sure if the picture does them justice.  It's like taking a picture of a sunset and later realize you should have bought the postcard.
​Anyway, the reason I was so excited was I just bought this new dishwasher detergent that is natural and safe in an effort to detoxify my home.  The dishwasher cubes were one of the last things I have reluctantly changed over as I was afraid I wouldn't get clean enough dishes.  This is probably due to all those TV commercials where an evening can be ruined with spotty glasses.  Below is a picture of what I am using now.

I bought this second pack yesterday from Save On Foods for $8.99 for 25 tablets but I think I got them cheaper at Country Grocer for around $6.99.  Unfortunately, this is not a Canadian product.  It is manufactured for Ecover in San Francisco and produced in Denmark. The symbols on the front and back indicate the following:

• ​We use naturally derived fragrances in our cleaning products.
• Made using renewable plant based and mineral ingredients.
• Powers away stuck-on food and gets dishes sparkling clean.
  
• Phosphate free for cleaner waterways.
  
• Made of 94% recycled cardboard.
  
• Not tested on animals.
  

​When detoxifying your body and home, go step by step.  If you do not have a chronic illness, you can use up what you are currently using and replace your cleaning products with natural products step by step.  However, if you or a family member has a chronic illness change over to natural products as soon as possible to stop overloading your system.  I changed over to natural because I could taste the detergent in my water glass.  That can't be good.  Step by step you can detoxify your home without hurting your budget.

(ORIGINALLY WRITTEN 10/23/16)
​Check this out! It is awesome.  I bought this 'Happy Light' from Costco in Nanaimo for $59.99.  It's like having natural sunlight in your house on dull days.  I haven't had my afternoon blahs since using it.

​Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) is very common for us above the 49th parallel.  We simply don't have enough bright sunny days to help boost our mood.  After all, there is a reason those vampires in Twilight could wander around and go to school during the daylight in the Pacific Northwest.

​I highly recommend this product to boost energy and lighten your mood.
​

Most particles found in the air have a positive charge.  In nature, negative ions are generated by sunlight, lightning, waves, and waterfalls.  That's why people feel so invigorated in these settings.  Indoors, however, negative ions are lacking hence the development of negative ion generators to improve air quality inside businesses and homes.

The science behind it is that negative ions will be attracted to positive ions in the air.  When there is a high enough concentration of negative ions in the air, they will attract floating positively charged particles in large numbers.  This causes the particle to become too heavy to remain airborne.  As a result, the particle will fall out of the air, preventing it from being inhaled into the respiratory tract where it can trigger breathing and health problems.

The claimed health benefits of negative ion generators are:

• The reduction of dust in the air which can help people suffering with asthma, allergies and other respiratory problems.
  
• The reduction of viruses, bacteria and fungi in the air.
  
• Improvements in depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), fatigue and sleep by changes in serotonin production and/or brain receptor responsiveness to serotonin.
  

The cheapest ways to incorporate more negative ions into the home are:

SALT CRYSTAL LAMPS:

Salt crystal lamps are natural ionizers:  The salt crystal binds the negative ions with the excess positive ions.  When the lamp becomes warm, it absorbs moisture and crystal will be damp on the surface.  This builds up the ion field.  Through the lamp, the positively charged atmosphere of the room can be neutralized.  In addition to this, the colors of the salt crystal stones can have a healing effect.  You can buy these at Pomme Naturals on Metral Drive or The Soap Exchange in Country Club Mall, Nanaimo.  The prices range depending on the size of the crystal starting at $25.00.  That's the price I paid for the one pictured above.

INDOOR WATERFALLS:

Indoor waterfalls and desktop fountains provide a constant source of running water.  Running water reduces stress factors in the environment by producing negatively charged ions and by creating white noise which can help neutralize irritating sounds.  You can buy these online starting at $100.00.  The one pictured above was a gift so I'm not sure where it was purchased from.  If any island business sells these, please contact my site so I can spread the good word.