Cold Pressed Vegetable Juice Challenge -Day 4

And today its beetroot.

Btw, congratulations,it's #Day4 .

I still had two days worth of ash gourd to go for my vegetable juice. So today and tomorrow,this is what it will have to be.

Beetroot. Did you know it's amazing.

It's supposed to be magic for all those athletes who consume beetroot juice after a super stressful workout session .

We had vegetable patches of beetroot back in our backyard in Jalandhar. I so miss the fresh,go pull out of the ground and use bit of living in a metropolis.

Even mint hasn't taken root...

But I have wheat grass...

Anyways, beetroot.

In my vegetable juice.

Did you know that beetroot is considered to be a superfood. 

It is known to control heart disease, because it controls blood pressure. Lowers cholesterol and cleanses blood vessels of plaque. It detoxifies the body by keeping kidney function optimal and it is beneficial to your bones and helps in osteoporosis. It's great in the anti cancer diet and is good for your pregnancy-(I've been there 17 years ago..) and it improves immunity.

So in all, free radicals and antioxidants guarantee anti aging benefits.

What's not to love in a beetroot.

So Ash gourd again, and beetroot.

The ash gourd 's virgin white was disparaged by the beetroot.

For #Day4 I used

1 medium beetroot 

250 GMs ash gourd 

Handful mint leaves 

1 inch piece ginger 

Juice of 1 lemon

250 mils cold water

Liquidised and blended and strained with a spoon full of fibre added.

Hola to good health.

Cheers.

Let's add the goodness of raw vegetables into our diet.

Cold Pressed Vegetable Juice Challenge -Day 3

Congratulations on coming back on Day 3. 

I had bought one medium sized ash gourd the other day, so I am going to use it before I do variations.

I had always believed that ash gourd was a pumpkin. Turns out it is a winter melon. Growing just like pumpkin,on vines ,ash gourd is generally used to make a sweet called Petha.

That's day 3.

And I never, ever knew, the benefits were so numerous.

It is packed with Vit B, thymine, Vit C and has a large amount of calcium. A high quantity of potassium makes it ideal for people with high blood pressure.

It's juice is good for people with jaundice, treats constipation and urinary disorders. It balances out the fluid content of the body. Also,useful in weight loss-the fibre content keeps you full longer and balances out the good cholesterol.

Regular use of ash gourd is also beneficial in reducing symptoms associated with Thyroid malfunctions.

So with so many benefits,it's all a win win situation.

So I have enough ash gourd to last me two more days.

As always four basic ingredients.

250 GMs ash gourd peeled, deseeded and cubed

1 inch piece ginger

1 handful mint leaves 

Juice of 1 lemon

250 mils cold water

All into the blender jar and liquidised till a pulp forms.

Then pressed out through a metal sieve till you can press no more.

Pour into a glass with lemon juice...

And drink up.

Cheers to good health.

Winter melon, (Waxgourd), raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	54 kJ (13 kcal)
Carbohydrates	3 g
Dietary fiber	2.9 g
Fat	0.2 g
Protein	0.4 g
Vitamins
Thiamine (B1)	(3%) 0.04 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	(9%) 0.11 mg
Niacin (B3)	(3%) 0.4 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	(3%) 0.133 mg
Vitamin B6	(3%) 0.035 mg
Vitamin C	(16%) 13 mg
Minerals
Calcium	(2%) 19 mg
Iron	(3%) 0.4 mg
Magnesium	(3%) 10 mg
Manganese	(3%) 0.058 mg
Phosphorus	(3%) 19 mg
Sodium	(7%) 111 mg
stats I pulled for you from Wikipedia

Let's add the goodness of raw vegetables into our diet.

  

Cold Pressed Vegetable Juice-Vegetable Juice Challenge DAY2

Congratulations on coming back the second day.

Cold pressed vegetable juice is something that I am extremely happy that I adopted. Even Harry Potter loves his pumpkin juice. Why should I deny my body the benefits of the best vegetables.

So since this is dat two, I'm keeping the safety of the mint leaves.

Mint has the tendency to improve the taste of a lot of insipid ,bland,yucky stuff.

Mint and lemon juice...

Awesome combination.

So by now you know that cooking and processing destroy the micronutrients that are superbly beneficial to our bodies.

And of course, after mid morning.

Never early in the morning.

My glass on day two

250 GMs Ash Gourd -the variety used to make a sweet called petha

1 inch piece ginger

A handful of mint leaves

Juice of 1 lemon

1 glass cold water

Peel and dice the ash gourd, ginger and the mint leaves and place in blender jar with water.

Blend and liquidise.

Strain and press through a clean steel sieve. You can allow some fibre into the juice.

That after all is the magic extra.

Pour into a mason jar or large glass and add the lemon juice.

NO Salt. 

At all.

Stir and drink up. You may store,covered in the fridge for a few hours, but be sure to consume it soon.

 

And only by juices which are removed and squeezed from vegetable pulp can we get these benefits.

There has got to be a reason why the raw pressed cold vegetable juices is a big industry now.

So we'll start with the benefits of Mint.

Mint helps activate your digestive enzymes, allowing for better digestion. Aids weight loss. Improves memory, acts as a breath Freshener, it fights depression and fatigue and is good for skincare and pimples. It's benefits are tremendous. 

There is so much research that is being carried out on the properties of mint against cancer and in improving brain activity. 

Easy to grow, all it needs is a little sunshine and some love and care.

Try this in your vegetable juice.

We'll check out another herb/vegetable tomorrow.

Let's add the goodness of raw vegetables into our diet.

Image www.organicfacts.net

Vegetable Juice Vs Fruit Juice -Vegetable Juice Challenge DAY1

Hello y'all...

The entire world is in love with juices.

Vegetable or Fruit, it's "juice" a matter of choice- yes the pun was intended.

I'm also a sucker for juice.

For the simple reason that it's easier to drink the essence of a whole lot of veggies or fruit , than it is to eat them.

So I've been doing the smooth smoothie bit for a while now.

However, when I calculate the calories, sip for each delicious sip...the calories just don't seem worth it.

And then we keep reading up about cold pressed and raw juices etc.

So I tried a few variants available in the market.

Yes they were yum, but in the long run I have my doubts about the efficacy of anything that comes in a bottle.

And of course,one needs to factor in the cost per bottle.

Truth be told, I'd rather buy a book or a ceramic owl than spend a few thousand rupees a month on raw, cold pressed juices.

So research.

Been doing that for a long time now. 

And simply stating,the benefits weigh out the inconvenience of juicing the veggies at home.

I used to have a centrifugal juicer. That's just a fancy name for the juicers available on the market. A mesh scraper that goes round and round at high speeds,using tangential properties and spewing out a small amount of juice and a large amount of pulp.

Most of the times the pulp has more juice than the juice itself.

And concentrated,vegetable juice is really yucky. If you know what I mean.

To a palate accustomed to sweet and sugars...it's unnatural and quite disgusting.

So help or wisdom in this case came from one of my oldest friends,my namesake,who is a believer in the benefits of cold pressed juice.

All the equipment we need to start is a blender, a strong sieve and a lemon squeezer.

I will be documenting each day's progress in this blog and I do hope you follow.

So according to Shalini, twenty days is all it will take to bank the goodness of the vegetables in our bodies.

From then on,hair fall, bad skin, breakouts,minor ailments will all be history.

A few points to take care of

*All vegetable juice is to be consumed after 4-5 hours after waking. So as your digestive system is slow and sluggish in the morning,we'll need to allow it to wake up.

*Avoid the use of salt.

*No fruit is to be mixed into the vegetable juice.

*No adding Karela /bitter gourd or methi/fenugreek leaves.

Try an consume the juice ASAP. You may store it in the fridge,but it's better the antioxidants and free radicals work inside your body.

*Make this a daily ritual. Include your entire family. You don't need a bucket full of vegetable juice to reap benefits, a small glass per person will also suffice.

*Clean your blender jar and steel sieve immediately ,every day. You don't want mould or fungus growing there.

Today was my first day.

I used Red Pumpkin 200gms 

Mint leaves -handful 

Ginger 1 inch piece 

1 lemon 

1 glass cold water

              That's Red pumpkin vs Ash Gourd

I washed and peeled and chopped the pumpkin into small pieces. Into the blender jar, I added the ginger,mint and water.

I blended the veggies till they were pulpy.

I pushed as much juice as I could through my metal sieve. 

Squeezed a lemon into a glass, added the cold pressed juice and drank up.

This is my first instalment.

I used red pumpkin,but the image wasn't good enough to use.

This was #Day1 . Let's first get to twenty days...

Let's add the goodness of raw vegetables into our diet.

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Complete the look with natural curls and loose buns. Partner natural and bright lippies with exaggerated brow lines for. Kundans and metal frame jewellery will elaborate your style and emboss out your appeal. So, get, set and explore the fantastic collection and spiff up the aura around you! 

Tomato Oatmeal Face Pack

Your kitchen is a storehouse of anti aging ,anti tan, skin polishing ,rejuvenation etc facials.

Yes, that's why a happy cook always has the best glowing and firm skin.

Blemish free,despite the fact that freckles and blemishes are part and parcel of fair skin.

Any person with red to red brown hair and fair skin will understand the curse of the freckles.

It sounds really Romantic,brown sugar sprinkles on whipped cream and stuff.

But ask a red head like Archie Andrews and many many more insignificant others , why they would trade their souls with the devil for clear blemish free skin.

Your skin is a result of your diet.

And broadly speaking, all those whose diet primarily comprises of rice, will have clear blemish free skin.

Those whose main dietary sources are wheat and wheat products will have freckles and facial hair.

Unfortunately, I can't quote my source, because for once I can not remember it. But based on observations, I guess, I can concur.

So mine is fair, blemish and freckles endowed skin.

And the primary focus of all face packs are reducing the same.

Tomatoes and yogurt are a great source of nutrition and skin lightening.

Oats are good fo skin, but here they act as exfoliating agents.

So your scrub is done too.

And generally,whenever you cook, you're invariably going to use either tomatoes or yogurt.

So we make a face pack of the same.

If you are prepping for a curry,start with the tomato.

Blend the tomatoes first in your clean spice free blender and save yourself a tablespoon.

Keep some oats, ground , in a jar for face packs such as this.

Use a clean glass bowl, place the spoonful of tomato pulp and add a spoonful of yogurt or curd.

Try to use the thick part and not the whey.

You want the lactic acid.

Now mix in a spoon of ground oats to get your face pack.

Mix well.

Apply evenly all over your clean face and neck, and if you are alone all over the part of your shoulders and arms that are exposed,with a clean brush.

You can either relax ,or read or just watch the world go buy.

Or maybe do some breathing exercises.

Just don't talk at this time.

When it dries a bit, wash off with cold water.

Spray rose water all over and pat dry.

Now go by your normal routine,applying your sunblock,make up and whatever else your skin loves.

And make sure you eat tomatoes and yogurt and oats too.

Nothing can nourish your skin better than a good diet.

Till the next, stay young,stay beautiful.

Anti Aging Face Mask -Caffeinated

Now that I have gone ahead and admitted my age to the whole wide world, I am also going to admit a few more things. 

a) I am mildly claustrophobic and can't stand wet hands for a period longer than a few seconds. I can also not stand someone's hands on my face. I know ,weird, right?

b) I have undergone a facial only twice in my life. Once as a pre bridal before my wedding and the second time before my sisters wedding. And I enjoyed neither experience.

c) I love coffee.

So you see ,it's even more imperative for me to maintain a skin care routine regularly,as I do not indulge in professional facials.

My dresser drawers are full of a myriad of face masks and face packs.

But my favourite ones are all DIY.

And this one takes the cake.

My Anti Aging Face Mask -Caffeinated is something that I do atleast twice a week.

Honey, which is a humectant-or something that attracts water ,is very good for skin. It maintains a moisture level.

Yogurt or homemade curd is an age old anti tan, anti aging tonic. The lactic acid within cut the tan and bleaches the skin. And the same also acts as an anti aging plumper for your skin.

Wrinkles and crows feet don't stay if you apply cold yogurt on your face regularly.

And coffee.

The caffeine is almost like Botox.

It ensues that your skin gets revitalised ,ensuring that wrinkles are few and far between.

All you need is  

1/2 tsp honey

1/2 tsp curd without the whey- cold -straight out of the fridge 

1/2 tsp instant coffee

Mix in a small , clean glass bowl to get an even mix.

Wash your face with a mild face wash.

Tie your hair and cover your hair line with a band.

You don't want honey in your hair.

Use a face pack brush to apply evenly on your face, neck, shoulders and upper chest. 

Remember to take your face pack or mask down to below your necklines .

This ensures that tan lines and fine wrinkles are not visible.

Apply the remaining on your arms, hands ,feet and ankles too.

Lie down for about 15 minutes .

Make sure you don't chat on the phone or text.

Allow the skin around your eyes some relaxation.

The coffee mask will be just the right boost for you.

In mildly cold weather , yogurt is beneficial. If your skin is dry, go right ahead and use cream from milk. Malai. Or even soy cream.

And even for warmer weather , yogurt is good.

So wash off your mask with normal tap water. Never warm, and hot is a taboo.

Pat your skin dry and spray a bit of rose water.

After 10 minutes, continue as usual.

Remember, glowing,line and blemish free skin cannot be achieved overnight. You need a good diet and a good skin care routine.

And be happy.

Only then will your inner beauty be reflected on your skin.

'Till the next, stay young, stay beautiful.