Raw Almond Milk in Omega Vert 330





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Raw Almond Milk is a creamy, tasty alternative for dairy milk and there is nothing like making your own.  It's packed full of protein but is so much healthier if you can make it yourself.  If you look at the back of some of the almond milks in the store, you will find some other ingredients in there that you may not want in your almond milk.  I have been making almond for a few years now and have always used the blender and nut milk bag method to do it and had no idea that you can make it using a juicer.

For years I used a Jack La Lanne high powered juicer to make my green juices. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, so after a few months, I was finally able to purchase a new juicer. After a lot of research, I decided to purchase an Omega VERT 330. The main reason I chose this one was not only because it was a cold pressed juicer, but because of how easily it can make Almond Milk. So far, I have made a few green juices and Almond Milk and they all came out great! I am very happy with it so far! Here's how I made my almond milk...

First you need to prepare your nuts for juicing. You will want to soak 1 cup of almonds over night.  The next morning you will want to rinse and drain them.   Add rinsed almonds to 3 cups of water.

 

Slowly add 1 spoonfull of the almond and water mixture to the juicer. Make sure to do this slowly because if you put them in the juicer too fast, your juicer may jam. You also want to make sure to have a good amount of water with the almonds as it goes through the shoot to help the almonds to break up and become a creamy, frothy milk. Do this until all of your almonds and water mixture is gone.  You should end up with a pretty good amount of almond milk and a very dry almond pulp.

You can strain the finished milk if you like in case small bits get through, but I didn't need to do that. My milk came out very creamy and smooth. You can also leave your milk plain or you can flavor it.  To flavor all you need to do is transfer your juiced almond milk to your blender.  I added 2 dates, a pinch of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of vanilla and a dash of sea salt. You can play around with it and add honey, maple syrup and even things like almond extract to give a little boost of flavor.   It will make a lot of foam, but because I like to froth my almond milk, this was ok with me. 

I steamed some milk in my nespresso milk frother and I was able to get a nice amount of froth from this milk!   Clean up is much easier than any of my other juicers.  I simply pour water through the spout to rinse it and then take the pieces apart and rinse.  It really did not take much time at all.  This was definitely a lot easier than the blender/nut bag method! 

Here's my video on you tube so you can see how the milk came out! 


Sweet Potato Lentil Soup and Vegan Hot Chocolate

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We're waiting for a possible snow storm here at the Jersey Shore, so I decided to make some soup in my crock pot today... I have to say that this soup came out really-really good and I will definitely be making this again!  Here's the recipe...

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

Recipe:

1 cup red lentils

3-4 cups organic vegetable broth

1 sweet peeled sweet potato (I softened in the microwave first)

2 carrots sliced in small pieces

4 celery stalks sliced in small pieces

1 small yellow onion diced

1 tablespoon chopped raw garlic

1 can fire roasted chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon Moroccan Seasoning by McCormick

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon curry

1/2 teaspoon tomato basil garlic by Mrs. Dash

1 teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)

1 tablespoon red miso paste

1/2 teaspoon cayanne pepper

Cook approximately 5-6 hours in your crock pot

Serve topped with fresh kale or spinach and a dash of  lemon

This soup is perfect for a cold winter nights dinner... 

We've been bracing for a huge winter storm here in New Jersey and luckily, it seems like the Jersey Shore is not going to be hit as hard this time.  It's still a weekend of staying inside and praying that we do not flood again,,, already this afternoon our driveway and lawn started to flood ... but I am hoping for the best!  

Sooooooo while we wait... let's have some hot chocolate!  Since I can't have dairy... here's my recipe for a dairy free hot chocolate, topped with some Dandees Vegan Marshmallows... I also top with some steamed almond milk and cinnamon ...

Vegan Hot Chocolate

Recipe

Blend 1 cup Almond Milk

2 Dates

1 teaspoon raw peanut butter or powdered peanut butter

(I use Just Great Stuff)

1 tablespoon raw cocoa powder

dash of sea salt

Heat in microwave and top with vegan marshmallows, cinnamon and a dash of coconut sugar!

ENJOY... 

The Clean Detox Program Day 2

So I made it to day 2 of the Clean Program.  I have to say I am feeling pretty good already!  I have been eating healthy for so long that this program is very close to how I normally eat.  I do occasionally eat peanut butter, soy, eggs and corn and eliminating them has been a little challenging.

For breakfast I made a shake, which I have to say I prefer eating fresh fruit, but I want to stick to his plan as close as I can.

This mornings shake was berries, almond milk, brown rice protein powder and spinach... very tasty!

I really needed a snack today, so I chose some fresh veggies with hummus... it definitely hit the spot!

I am drinking 1 cup of coffee a day, although you are supposed to eliminate it completely, I opted to keep 1 cup of coffee in each day... and steamed some hemp milk and topped with cinnamon ... yum!  

Lunch was a salad mixture of greens and small piece of poached chicken with my favorite new dressing that consists of 1 teaspoon of coconut oil, 1 teaspoon of stone ground mustard, 2 teaspoons of water and half a lemon squeezed in...  I have to say this dressing is just soooooo good... I think you could change it up and instead of lemon try squeezing in oranges, rasberries or a dash of pomergranite juice...

Dinner is detox lentil soup...

I am also having a snack which is an apple with 1 teaspoon of raw almond butter...

Today was definitely a great day!  I had plenty of energy and was able to get all of my orders done and even had time to play with my dog in the yard.  I have been trying to teach her to fetch, but she will only retrieve the item when I throw... she will not bring it back to me!  For some reason, this is a foreign concept to my dog!  

The Clean Detox Program

Day 1 of the Clean Detox Program ...

Today I decided to start the clean detox program after seeing Dr. Junger on Dr. Oz...  He put a free copy of his program on Dr. Oz's website and so I decided to read through it and give it a try   I had seen him a few years back on Martha Stewart and was intrigued by his program and have heard Gwynth Paltrow raving about him.   His program is available on Dr. Oz's website.

What I like about his program is that he includes real food, and not just shakes.  I also like that he has a large variety of food as well, which keeps it from getting boring, however, I am a little confused as to why he does not allow strawberries and bananas on his progam.  That is one I cannot figure out, but it's only temporary. 

Although I have already lost over 90 lbs. on my own, I am finding it incredibly difficult to lose the last 15-20 lbs. and was hoping that this program can help me jump start my metabolism again.  I have suffered from a skin disease and stomach issues most of my life and have been told I have lupus 2 times, however, my blood results continually say that I don't.   I decided to remove gluten and dairy 2 years ago, and have totally transformed my life.  I still continue to have some issues and feel like maybe there is still something in my diet that is causing me some difficulties.  I like the idea of elminating many of the foods that can irritate the skin and cause digestive issues, so I can see if there is another food that is still causing me some problems.

Day 1 was pretty easy... and I feel like I did eat a lot of food.   You eliminate all gluten, dairy, corn, eggs, peanuts, tomatoes, night shades (peppers, eggplant) coffee and sugar.   I was not able to elminate coffee completely, so I did have a cup of coffee... but since I normally drink 3 cups, I think I can live with 1 cup.  Here is how my day went:

Breakfast:


Smoothie...  Hemp Milk, Brown Rice Protein Powder, Berries.

I have to say that this smoothie was just ok.  I am not used to this brand of brown rice protein powder, so I may have to adjust the amount I use next time.  A few extra berries also would have made a huge difference too... 

Lunch: 

Large mixed greens salad with small piece of poached chicken. 

For dressing I mixed coconut oil with lemon, apple cider vinegar, stone ground mustard.

This salad with unbelievable.  I loved it and although I do not like to eat a lot of meat, he does include meat in his program.  I decided to add it in for now.  I just made up the dressing, and I thought it was really tasty!

Snack:  Smoothie with pineaple, 1 tablespoon of brown rice protein powder and almond milk
(not pictured)



Dinner: 



2 cups of Lentil Detox Soup

 

1 onion

2 carrots

2 or 3 celery stalks

1 cup red lentils

1 or 2 tablespoon red miso paste

3 cups organic veggie broth

1 tablespoon crushed garlic

spices to taste: oregano - mustard powder - garlic & onion powder - sea salt - curry - tumeric - cumin

1 or 2 tablespoons lemon

Today went really well and I can't wait to get started on day 2...

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My Favorite Cookies!

I was on the search for a cookie that did not taste like cardboard and finally found one that is awesome. I loved the taste and think it's the closest to regular cookies that I have found so far.

WOW BAKING COMPANY makes Gluten-Free cookies and baked goods. Their products are made with premium all natural ingredients and are one of the tastiest cookies I have found.

They have several different flavors including, chocolate chip, oatmeal, schnickerdoodle, brownies and they even have a holiday cookie. I found them in my local health food store, but they are also available online.

Always with…
Real Butter,
Real Vanilla
Organic Cane Juice

Always without…
Hydrogenated oils
Refined sugars
Artificial flavors
And of course wheat and gluten!

Give them a try!

Purchase them online at: http://www.wowbaking.com/

Purchase them locally in Brick, NJ at:

Brick Health Food & Vitamins(732) 477-7726280 Brick Blvd, Brick, NJ
Natures Nutrition(732) 920-3637383 Brick Blvd, Brick, NJ

Be sure to tell them Gluten Free Jersey Girl Blog sent you!

Help From A Friend

At first, it was very hard to accept that I could never have a Funny Bone again! I could never have my favorite eggplant parmigian, lasagna, cake and cookies and so many foods that this Italian girl absolutely loves! I soon came to realize that there are many wonderful replacements for these foods. Before I realized I was gluten intolerant, my friend Hiedi kept telling me that I should consider removing gluten from my diet. Her sister in law has celiac disease and many of my symptoms made her think I may have some problems with gluten, as Hiedi also had herself. So when I finally had to change my diet, Hiedi was a huge help in telling me what products to buy, where to get information and a huge support in handling all the up and down emotions of changing to a new way of living. I cannot thank her enough for all her advise, and kind words in helping me find my way...

How I Became Gluten Free

I decided to start my blog about my adventures with gluten free living because I wanted to share what I've learned about some of my favorite products, restaurants and recipes. I spent most of my adult life suffering from rashes, stomach aches, severe migraines, joint pain, vertigo, bronchitis, etc. I just thought it was something I had to accept, until I realized that I could change the way I was feeling, just by what I ate. I had always believed that I was eating healthy. It was always whole wheat pasta, whole grain breads, cereals, low fat ice creams, etc. I was forever suffering from horrible and sometimes debilitating dermatitis, and it never occurred to me that all the healthy foods that I loved to eat, could be making me sick. Last summer I experienced the worst bout with dermatitis which turned into infections. I could not go out in the sun at all and had to spend our entire vacation in sweltering heat covered up. It was so bad, and the fatigue was unbearable, that I had to be tested for lupus. Thankfully, the tests did not show lupus.  After a friend suggested I remove gluten, my symptoms finally stopped.  After accidently ingesting gluten, I suffered a severe aura migraine and vertigo.  I could not function at all and my migraine and vertigo was so severe, that I thought I was having a stroke.  This is something I never want to experience again. 

Finally, at my most recent doctor's appointment, I was diagnosed as Celiac after years of being misdiagnosed.  I also found out I was borderline pre-diabetic with a severe Vitamin D & B12 deficiency.  After years of frustrating symptoms, skin disease, sun allergy, maybe it's lupus, maybe it's fibromyalgia, maybe CFS, IBS, ulcerative colitis, maybe? To finally get a diagnosis on my record at least makes me feel better.  I was honestly getting tired of every doctor being completely stumped by all of my symptoms.  Removing gluten and then dairy from your life is very difficult, but the rewards are well worth the frustrations! 

Please keep coming back and I will be reviewing some of my favorite products, as well as my daily struggles in staying gluten and also dairy free.