Starting with juicing

One of the first steps I took when I started working on getting healthier and eating more fruits and vegetables was to juice.

I'm as guilty as the next girl of buying a shiny new kitchen appliance then losing interest in it as soon as the next shiny new appliance catches my eye. I can be fickle that way! Because of this, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a juicer, but I didn't want to buy something that would fall apart. After a little bit of research, I bought a small Breville juicer. There are hundreds out there, this is just the one that worked for me. I can say, though, if you buy a juicer, look for one that is easy to clean!

It looks like there are basically two different "camps" when it comes to thoughts about juicing. Some people don't like it because it strips the fiber out of food. Others are fans because they say without the fiber, we can absorb nutrients more easily. My personal feeling is that while I would love to get every single last bit of goodness out of everything I eat, including the fiber, any nutrition from fruits and vegetables is good.

Making juice was a fantastic way for me to ease my way into eating more plants. It's like cooking, which I love to do, but it is healthier than things I used to cook. It also was a great way to get hands on experience with all kinds of fruits and vegetables. I tried all KINDS of combinations, to find out what the texture would be like and how different foods would taste with other foods. I noticed quickly that my skin cleared up, and I had energy in the morning that felt like real energy, not a caffeine buzz.

I did learn a few tricks along the way, too. A few grapes thrown add just enough sweetness. Sweet potatoes are NOT my favorite thing to juice. And there are a TON of uses for the pulp that's left over. I made crackers with it, my husband makes a surprisingly delicious noodle dish with the pulp, spices, and extra tomato, it can be composted... there are a gazillion ideas out there!


Making juice has also been a great way to use some of the produce from our CSA that I might not get around to cooking.

Juicing isn't for everyone, I'm sure. For me though, I have a lot of fun with it. And if it's not fun, I'm not doing it!

Going out to eat

I'm thinking back about how changes I started to make in March seemed so huge. Some of the habits I tried to develop seemed like a HUGE pain in the where-you-sit. One thing especially seemed to take so much work, I wasn't sure I'd stick to it - Planning around going out to eat.

Tom and I like to go out to eat. It's fun, someone else does the cleanup, and we get to try things we wouldn't make at home. And, it's fun. In March, when I was following Engine 2 strictly, we still went out to eat, but not as often, and only to a couple of very "safe" restaurants. After March, I spent some time researching more vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Cleveland. This is where it got time consuming...

Every time we went out to eat, I would look up restaurants online to see where might be a good option. Then, once we picked a place, I would study the menu and pick out what I'd order before we even left the house. A few times, when I didn't do that research, I ended up really bummed out with what I got. I learned, mostly, that a sandwich called a "veggie melt" is usually really boring without the cheese.

Flash forward to today. Tom and I decided we want to go out to a very late lunch/early dinner. We knew a restaurant that will be delicious and vegan/veg friendly. I heard they updated the menu, so I took a quick peek - still awesome. I saw they have Jeni's sorbets for dessert now, so I shot Jeni's a quick tweet to see if their sorbet is dairy free. It is. Planning done, on to fun.

I still highly advocate at least a little planning. For me, knowing what's on the menu puts me in the mindset of what I CAN have, so when I check out the menu when we get to the restaurant, I don't focus on the dishes with stuff I choose not to eat and feel deprived. I'm also a little more comfortable making special requests. I used to almost NEVER speak up. Now, I'm not quite as hesitant to ask questions. I'm still not good at getting into the nitty gritty about what exactly is IN dishes, but I'm totally down with asking for stuff on the side, or swapping sides, whatever seems doable.

Point is, I still had to do a little work. Much of the same work I had to do before. But, it's so automatic now, it doesn't feel like work. Now it just feels like a little something to do to get ready for fun.

PS - I'm in Cleveland, Ohio. If you have any restaurant suggestions, lay 'em on me! I love having options!

Savory Pumpkin Sage Muffins

The weather drops down to a "chilly" 72 degrees, and all of a sudden I think it's Fall? I know, I know, I'm jumping the gun!

But, that doesn't change the fact that I was really craving pumpkin. I wanted to make something a little different, but still simple. My goal was to eat pumpkin, not spending an entire evening bonding with it while I tried to cook something with it! After a little bit of time searching the internet, I found something that I had never even thought existed before - A recipe for a savory muffin.

The recipe I pretty much followed calls for a whole quarter cup of chopped fresh sage. It sounded like a lot, but it is just right. I used some fresh Golden Sage from my herb garden. Its flavor is really light and almost lemony. I suspect if you use more traditional sage, the flavor will come out much stronger.

Looking at the ingredients, and not seeing any liquid except for some olive oil, I was afraid these would be super heavy. Happy to say, I was wrong! These are light, and very moist. They also go great with corn chowder!

Here is the recipe I followed pretty much: Pumpkin and Sage Savory Muffins

And here it is with a few minor tweaks that I made

• 1 cup Whole wheat pastry flour (whole wheat flour is A-OK, too!)
• ½ cup Rolled oats
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 1tsp Baking soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• ¼ cup Fresh Sage, chopped
• 2 cup pumpkin puree (if you use fresh pumpkin, cook and puree first)
• 1/8 cup Olive oil
• 1/8 cup Unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar

Preheat your oven to 320 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients, then add the sage,  pumpkin puree, olive oil, applesauce, and vinegar. Mix enough, but not too much.

Scoop into a muffin tray, and bake for 30-35 minutes. They're finished when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.


This made 10 smallish muffins for me. Depending on how big you want them, you could get a dozen, or go bigger and maybe 6 regular size muffins.