Top 10 Cooking Tips

1. Preserve the nutrients and colors in veggies. Cook them quickly by steaming or stir-frying.
2. Use herbs, vinegar, tomatoes, onions and/or fat-free or low-fat sauces or salad dressings for better health, especially if you have high blod pressureor high cholesterol.
    
3. Use your time and your freezer wisely. When you cook once, make it last longer by preparing enough for several other meals. Freeze it and have a ready-made healthy treat for the next time you are simply too tired to bother.
    
4. A smoothie can cover a multitude of needs. Throw a banana (you can keep them in the freezer for weeks) into your blender along with frozen berries, kiwi or whatever fruit is around, some orange or other 100% juice, some fat-free or low-fat yogurt. You can get 4–5 servings of fruit in one glass of yummy shake. Try getting your loved one to sip on a smoothie. It’s easy, cool, refreshing and healthy.
    
5. Prepared seasonings can have high salt content and increase your risk for high blood pressure. Replace salt with herbs and spices or some of the salt-free seasoning mixes. Use lemon juice, citrus zest or hot chilies to add flavor.
    
6. Canned, processed and preserved vegetables often have very high sodium content. Look for “low-sodium” veggies or try the frozen varieties. Compare the sodium content on the Nutrition Facts label of similar products (for example, different brands of tomato sauce) and choose the products with less sodium. If you buy canned, rinse veggies under cold water to reduce the level of sodium.
    
7. Prepare muffins and quick breads with less saturated fat and fewer calories. Use three ripe, very well-mashed bananas, instead of 1/2 cup butter, lard, shortening or oil or substitute one cup of applesauce per one cup of these fats.
    
8. Choose whole grain for part of your ingredients instead of highly refined products. Use whole-wheat flour, oatmeal and whole cornmeal. Whole-wheat flour can be substituted for up to half of all-purpose flour. For example, if a recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, try 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour.
    
9. In baking, use plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt or fat-free or low-fat sour cream.
    
10. Another way to decrease the amount of fat and calories in your recipes is to use fat-free milk or 1% milk instead of whole or reduced-fat (2%) milk. For extra richness, try fat-free half-and-half or evaporated skim milk.

Tips& Tricks

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11 Tricks for Growing Your Hair Really, Really Long

1. Remember that it can't grow overnight.

Unless your scalp unleashes new strands like a Chia Pet, gaining new length is going to take time. "Hair typically only grows about a quarter of an inch — to a half an inch max — a month," says celebrity hair stylist Mark Townsend, who helped Ashley Olsen grow out her asymmetric bob to past her waist. "And that's only if it is super-healthy and doesn't have a ton of split ends." The bottom line: practice patience.

2. Ironically, a scissor is your friend.

Although getting regular trims to snip splits won't make your hair actually grow faster, it will keep tips looking healthy and prevent splits from working their way up strands, requiring you to chop hair off more often. "If you wait so long that splits are causing your hair to break off high up on the strand, your hair will actually be shorter than if you get consistent trims," Townsend says, who suggests asking your stylist to take around just an eighth of an inch off every 10 to 12 weeks to prevent extreme split ends before they start.

3. Use conditioner every time you shampoo.

"If your hair is wet, that means you have to condition it," Townsend says. "Over time, from coloring and heat styling, strands start to get thinner at the bottom." Conditioner helps replace the lipids and proteins inside the hair shaft, "as well as seal the cuticle to help prevent more damage from happening so that you can get your hair to grow longer and look healthier," he says.

4. And don't shampoo every time you shower.

"It's shocking to me how many women skip conditioner when showering, which is the worst thing you can do for your hair — especially when you're trying to grow it long — and it's actually shampoo that you should be skipping as much as possible," Townsend says. Here's why: The purpose of shampoo is to wash away dirt and product buildup, but it can also take essential natural oils that keep strands soft and healthy along with it. When you really do need shampoo, be gentler on your hair by only lathering up at your scalp and then simply letting the suds slide down strands, hitting the rest of the hair as the water rinses it away.

5. Apply an oil or mask treatment weekly.

Because hair that touches your shoulders or beyond can be several years old and most likely needs more TLC than normal conditioner. Townsend suggests using moisture-based masks and oils weekly. "I make a natural oil treatment and give it to all of my clients to use pre-shampoo," Townsend says. (His easy recipe: 1 cup of unrefined coconut oil mixed with 1 tablespoon each of almond, macadamia and jojoba oil.) Because oils can leave a residue on hair, he says to apply it to damp hair, leave it on for 10 minutes, then shampoo and condition like normal. "These oils are able to fill strands up with fatty acids and then, when rinsed out, using regular shampoo helps seal them inside hair," Townsend says, adding that Kate Bosworth, Diane Kruger, and Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen are fans. 

6. Consider trying hair-boosting supplements.

Your body requires many vital nutrients to create new hair, from ample protein to a slew of essential minerals. So take a look at your diet — because while eating a balanced diet helps, you may not be getting the proper amount of all the hair-building nutrients needed to create healthy hair that can grow super-long and withstand damage. "I take Viviscal Extra Strength and biotin tablets every day and tell my clients to do so as well — especially if they want to grow their hair and make it healthier as soon as it comes out of the follicle," Townsend says. Before starting to take supplements, it's best to check in with your doctor to make sure not only that you take the right amounts and that they won't interact with any medications you're currently taking.

7. Brush your hair like it's spun from gold.

Constant brushing can cause physical harm to your hair. "When you detangle wet hair, be sure to start from the bottom and work your way up — we often instinctually go from the scalp down but that just brings small tangles into one large knot and can cause you to lose a lot of hair," Townsend explains. He also suggests reaching for the Sheila Stotts Natural Boar Bristle Brush, as boar bristle brushes are good at distributing your scalp's natural oils down your hair and being extra-gentle on strands too.

8. Ditch your cotton pillowcase.

Townsend recommends switching to a sateen fabric such as Calvin Klein Sateen White Sheeting because it has a softer surface that won't cause friction the way that regularly woven cotton does with your hair, so you'll wake up with fewer tangles.

9. Never, ever wrap your hair in a massive towel again.

What could be so bad about putting hair in your super soft bath towel? A lot. "It causes so much breakage," Townsend says. "Your hair gets caught in all the woven fibers and since most women almost always wrap it too tight around their face, all those tiny, fragile strands around your face are more prone to break." Opt for the super-thin and soft microfiber hair towels instead (like Aquis microfiber hair towel), which are totally OK to wrap into a turban.

10. Switch up your pony placement.

It's an easy move that can help maintain the integrity of your strands wherever you tend to secure your ponytail all the time, which means they'll continue to grow out strong and damage-free.

11. Do a cold-water rinse at the end of each shower.

"This really does help to grow hair and keep long hair healthy for longer," Townsend says. "Cold water lays down the outer layer of hair more smoothly, which helps prevent moisture loss, snags and heat damage — you only need to do it for a few seconds, but this one extra step over time can make a huge difference."

Tips& Tricks

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Turn Your Green Juice Recipes into Superfood Meals

Green juice recipes are numerous, and there are some great ones which include kale, wheatgrass, celery, spinach, kiwi, cucumber, lime, avocado, apple, and leafy greens. If there is any one ingredient you want to include in your green juice recipes to turn your drink into a superfood its kale. This one ingredient is a superfood all on its own, so when you blend it with other great ingredients, you are starting out with a great superfood base and adding to it. Some important benefits of kale include ample amounts of Vitamin A, C, and K. You also get great minerals like iron, magnesium, zinc, calcium, and copper. Eating kale is like taking a daily multivitamin. Another great benefit of kale is the low calories, there really isn’t another superfood to add to your green juice recipes that is more important from a health perspective than kale.



Another superfood you can add to any green juice recipe is wheatgrass. This isn’t as easy to come across as kale, but it is also full of nutrients, and a great addition to any green juice drink. Most people just drink a shot of wheatgrass by itself. It only takes a one ounce shot of wheatgrass to measure up to the same amount of nutrients you get in a 2.5 lb. bowl of leafy vegetables. Just incredible nutrition from such a powerful little drink.

You can and should explore many varieties of green juice recipes to come up with your perfect blend, or you can save the time and enjoy a superfood green juice drink from Juice It Up! Visit any local Juice It Up! and you can instantly enjoy one of several superfood raw juice drinks like the Detoxifier, the Refresher, the Rejuvenator, the Energizer, the Immunizer, the Awakener, the Optimizer, the Invigorator or the Revitalizer. Some of the locally sourced freshest ingredients you will find in these raw juice drinks include kale, cucumber, apples, ginger, spinach, pineapple, lemon, beet, carrot, grapes, and celery. Along with that you will find a whole host of vitamins and minerals, along with antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory agents to help protect from free radicals. And if you just want to keep it simple you can always opt for the one ounce shot of wheatgrass, you can’t go wrong with that anytime of the day.

Green Juice

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GREEN JUICE DETOX RECIPE

RECIPE MONSTER

Green Juice Detox Recipe

Green juices contain green leafy vegetables rich in chlorophyll . Chlorophyll is very similar in molecular structure to the hemoglobin in our blood, the only difference is that chlorophyll contains magnesium, whereas hemoglobin contains iron. Remember that green juices are not obtained by mixing the vegetables in a blender like a green smoothie. By juicing you remove the fiber, which makes it much easier to digest and absorb.

GREEN JUICE DETOX RECIPE

SERVES

1

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup leafy greens (spinach, kale, etc.)
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 apple
• 1- inch ginger
• 1 peeled lemon
• 1/2 fennel bulb
• 1 “stick” celery

PREPARATION

1. Cut vegetables and run through a juicer. It is that simple! :)
2.  Enjoy!!

EXPLORE MORE VEGAN RECIPES WITH THESE INGREDIENTS

Green Juice

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30 Green Juice Recipes

Last season we hosted our first Free 30 Day Juice Challenge with great success. Thousands of you joined along as we juiced each day for 30 days. The challenge is not a fast. You will simply be adding in at least one glass of juice to your current diet. You’re free to eat whatever you want, however, a whole foods diet is recommended over heavily processed and fried foods. The juice recipes created for this challenge will offer many health benefits, including weight loss,  anti-inflammation, increased energy and a natural boost to immunity. The recipes below are from our the first challenge.  We’ll be kicking off our next challenge very soon, be sure to join our newsletter to be notified once the challenge is scheduled to being.  Special note the juice recipes will generate 16-20 oz of juice.

 Day 1: Pineapple Jalapeno

2 Cups Pineapple

5 kale Leaves

1 Cucumber

½ – 1 Jalapeno (use ½ a jalapeno if you don’t want it to spicy

 Day 2: Simply Green

5 Handfuls of Spinach

3 Kale Leaves

3 Celery Stalks

½ Cucumber

½ Lemon

2 Fuji Apples

   Day 3: Green Detox

½ Head of Romaine

1 Handful of Spinach

2 Kale Leaves

10 Sprigs of Cilantro

2 Apples (Fuji or Granny Smith)

½ Lime

 Day 4: Pineapple Kale Cucumber

1 Cucumber

1 Granny Smith Apple (Green)

½ Cup of Pineapple

4 Kale Leaves

3 Swiss Chard Leaves

 Day 5: Green Citrus

1 Orange

½ Cucumber

3 Celery Stalks

½ Lemon

1 Fuji Apple

 Day 6: Pineapple Mint

2 Handfuls of Spinach

4 Kale Leaves

1 Cup Pineapple

1 Small Handful of Mint Leaves

2 Granny Smith Apples (Green)

 Day 7: The Green Juice

2 Celery Stalks

½ Cucumber

3 Swiss Chard Leaves

2 Kale Leaves

1-2 Apples

 Day 8: Green Detox

1 Bunch Cilantro

2 Cucumbers

2 Green Apples

1 Lime

 Day 9: Green Goddess

6 Chard Leaves

1-2 Cups of Green Grapes

½ Cucumber

1 Green Apple

½-1in Piece of Ginger

 Day 10: Green Glow

1 Handful of Spinach

6 Kale Leaves

10-15 Sprigs of Parsley

2-3 Apples (Fuji)

1 Lime

1 Cucumber

2 Ribs of Celery

½-1in Piece of Ginger

 Day 11: Deep Green

1 Cucumber

1-2 Granny Smith Apple (Green)

6 Collard Leaves

2 Celery Ribs

½ Lemon

1/8 Fennel Blub

 Day 12: Clean Green

1 Zucchini

3 Pears

1/8 Fennel Blub

4 Broccoli Florets (or ½ C)

1 Bunch of Spinach

 Day 13: Hardcore Greens

2 Handfuls of Spinach

4 Kale Leaves

3-4 Dandelion Greens (optional)

10 Sprigs of Parsley

2 Celery Ribs

½-1 Lemon

2 Granny Smith Apples (Green)

1 Cup of Green Grapes

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 Day 14: Kale Kiwi Apple

1 Bunch of Kale

3 Kiwis

1-2 Apples (Fuji)

½ -1in Ginger

    Day 15: Romaine Chard Mint

1 Head of Romaine Lettuce

1 Small Handful of Mint

3 Swiss Chard Leaves

1 Lemon

2 Apples

 Day 16: Beet Apple Chard

1 Beet

1-2 Apples

1 Cucumber

3 Swiss Chard Leaves

10 Parsley Sprigs

 Day 17: Kale Orange Mint

3-4 Oranges

5 Kale Leaves

1 Small Handful of Mint

 Day 18:  Kale Grapefruit Apple

½ Grapefruit

1 Orange

2 Apples

4 Kale Leaves

 Day 19: Romaine Apple Mint

1-2 Apples

1 Head of Romaine Lettuce

1 Small Handful of Mint

1 Lemon

 Day 20: Chard Parsley Orange

3 Swiss Chard Leaves

8-10 Parsley Sprigs

1  Apple

2 Oranges

½ Cucumber

 Day 21: Cucumber Apple Mint

1-2 Apple

2 Cucumber

½ – 1 in Piece of Ginger

1 Small Handful of Mint

         Day 22

        1/2 Cucumber

        3 Kale Leaves

        1 Handful of Cilantro

        1/2 Lime

        1 Head of Romaine Lettuce

       2 Apples

    

       Day 23

        2 C Watermelon

        2 Apples

        1/2 Lemon (Remove Peel)

        4 Kale Leaves

         

Day 24

1 C Watermelon

 1 Apple

1 Orange

1 Handful of Mint

                                                                                                   

Day 25

1-2 Pears

2 Oranges

1/2 Cucumber

3 Swiss Chard Leaves

3 Kale Leaves

1 Lemon

1 Handful of Mint

             Day 26

             1 Cucumber

             3 Celery Stalks

             3 Swiss Chard Leaves

             1 Bell Pepper

             1 Beet

  1-2 Apples

1 Orange

Day 27

1 Handful of Arugula

1 Handful of Mint

1/2 Cucumber

2 Oranges

Day 28

1 Handful of Arugula

2 Celery Stalks

 1/2 Lime

2 C Watermelon

              

Day 29

3 Celery Stalks

3 Kale Leaves (Or Any Leafy Green)

1 Head of Romaine Lettuce

1 Handful of Cilantro

4-5 Oranges

Day 30: Classic Green Juice

1 Cucumber

2-3 Celery Stalks

1-2 Apples

5 Kale Leaves (Or Any Leafy Green)

½ Lime

½ in Ginger Root Piece

Tips& Tricks

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