Last night, I invited some friends over and held a great RAW foods class! No, I don't know a lot about Raw, so I didn't teach it! A gal I've met a few times who just received her RAW Chef Cerification taught the class in my home! She is a great wellness educator on so many levels- but I really enjoyed learning more about Juicing, smoothies, dehydrating, and the tasting was great! We made several juices in my new juicer AND a delicious raw veggie bisque in her awesome Vitamix! Now a Vitamix's is on my wish list! She says she uses hers almost daily; couldn't live without it! Joline Wondergem was our instructor and if you want to see more of what she does visit her web site: http://healthylivingwithjoline.com/
I've been to another one of her classes last year and I learned so much- here are a few tips I picked up at that class and from the class last night:
1. When juicing lemons, peel them first- it's ok to have a lot of pith, but not necessarily the peel. Peeling also allows you to purchase non-organic lemons at a much better price (like from Costco/bulk). Just hold the lemon and go around w/ a sharp knife, sort of peeling it, but not too perfectly. The juicers can handle this better- the thick skin is a lot of work for the juicers. The peel also changes the flavor- while the outer rind is nice (like when you are using a grater to just get the yellow part off for use in a recipe) the part right under the yellow is bitter and will change the taste of your juice.
2. If you still go for coffee in the am, just be sure to start you body going in the am with JUICE first, then if you still must have coffee-go for it. At least the first thing to hit your stomach to get you rolling was something very healthy!
3. If you are juicing and adding fresh ginger- add it in the beginning. Also, there is no need to peel it; just make sure to wash it first. Ginger has such a stringy tough texture that it needs to be "pushed" through by other veggies coming into the juicer afterwards in order for you to get the most juice out of the ginger.
4. If you have thyroid issues, do not juice spinach, kale or swiss chard or other dark leafy greens, just go for other lettuces. It's a idodine issue. Ok, wish I had taken more specific notes on this issue.
Joline shared some great recipes and I can't wait to try some out! One of the yummiest things we had were these dehydrated pizza crackers and a dip made from cashews that was heavenly!
