Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday- What is your favorite homemade juice???

I haven't done a "Tuesdays Top Ten" in years.  With that idea creating a theme for me this morning, I realize I haven't used certain kitchen tools that I own.... In a number of years too. (Or at least not as much as I used to).

My April 1st resolution has everything to do with rediscovering  the healthy and amazing ways that I can help nurture and sustain my loved ones with the power of food and beverages.  

I confess that convenience has crept its way into some of my weekly routines over the last couple of years.  It's a type of convenience that I have never really wanted to subscribe to- and I'm not going to bore you with the details of it either.  As I would like to say I am making the healthiest choices everyday that I know are right for us, I simply just think I could be doing better- having a baby grow out of infant phase has helped too.

Once upon a time I was going to school to become a Dietician.  I was really serious about this endevour too.  I took every chemistry and psychology class I could.  I even took Statistics (a prerequisite math class) that almost wrecked me and my GPA.  My determination to become this type of professional stemmed from my love and dedication to being a mother.  I wanted my children to have the brightest, happiest, and healthiest start ever.  I knew from the moment they were born it was my responsibility to lead by example, teach them about good choices, and that with a little patience you can discover the most amazing things.  Of course all my energy to accomplish this went into how food could help us achieve these goals.

My mantra was established during this time "We all have to eat to live, so make it something good."  This was a derivative of another mantra we all are familiar with I am sure... "You are what you eat!!"  

Little did I know as I coursed ahead to become a leader in the world of nutrition that a little nagging feeling I had been experiencing would soon take over and send me down a parallel path instead.  I had always wanted to go culinary school and when the College I had applied for put me on the waiting list to start my final years of becoming a dietician, I took that as a sign that maybe I should instead pursue the career that included foods and cooking that I was truly passionate about.  A new idea and mantra swelled to life as my mindfulness to what I truly loved about food came to a full understanding.  I did not want to "tell people how to make good food choices."  What I really wanted was, "Make and create good food choices that people wanted to eat!"

Along this journey I have practiced and practiced and practiced.  I have taken time to understand what works and what doesn't in the kitchen.  I have learned how to work with a team to create some amazing experiences for guests.  I have found ways to transfer these skills to my home kitchen too and be able to quickly whip up a tasty dinner for starving children.  It all brings me back to why I started this concentration on food in the first place.  My children.  



With growing kids it's a daily challenge to provide enough, a balance, and especially complete these tasks with something they actually like to eat.  I am fortunate that we had an early start with a variety of flavors, so that I have children with very developed and adventurous taste buds.  They amaze me now with so many of the things that I showed them when they were little- they have very developed palates for kids I think.   They also have these habits and understanding of making intentionally good choices that I think will help them the rest of their lives.  

It's my hope that as they grow up- even if they get caught up in being busy and having no time that they will remember these practices and choices and always fall back on these things I have shown them.

 I realize now that it is ok that I had to dust off the juicer this morning.  It may have been a while since I have used it intentionally to have a healthy start to our day, but I made a great choice and that is all that matters.  I watched our 9 month old baby's eyes light up with her very first tastes of raw apple carrot juice this morning.  That's proof enough for me to start dusting off even more of the memories and skills I have learned over the years of practicing nutrition and culinary artistry.   I'm excited to explore and practice and this is what leads me to my top ten today:



Top Ten Juice/Smoothie Flavors I want to try and make:

1. Apple Pear Parsnip
2. Blueberry Cherry Blackberry Sage
3. Pear Ginger 
4. Mango Banana Coconut milk with mint
5. Green Juice: Parsley, Swiss Chard, Beets, bok Choy, Carrots,etc....
6. Clean the refrigerator juice- you know when you have produce that needs to get used sooner than later :)
7. Citrus ginger juice- oranges, lime, red grapefruit
8. Beet apple
9. Lemon thyme apple juice

Now here is where I need your help friends......

10. Please share with me your favorite juice combination!!!

Cheers Friends!!