Spring Tune-up Juice

Somehow this is the winter that has never ended (today is no exception from 22C yesterday to 2C today) and it has just left so many of us ragged, full of toxins, sallow in colour and in need of a ‘Spring Tune-up’. We all need a new skip our our steps to be energized for this spring and summer and be healthy and vital enough to enjoy it.

The same way we clean our homes in the Spring Season. we really need to be cognizant of the fact that our beautiful bodies need to be treated with the same care. With our homes we clean the windows inside and out, we hose down the driveway from dirt and salt and remove all the excess debris from the flower beds that were covered in snow, we clean out the garages and remove the build up of salt and sand that is on the garage floor, we put away our winter sweaters and other insulated garments including ski jackets and bring out vibrant and bright-coloured spring and summer clothing. We clean the floors and change the our bedding from flannel to light cotton. It makes us feel good.

There is no reason why we can’t do this for the most important place we live…..our bodies.

Looking to revitalize your skin? Our skin can use a professional scrub to remove the dead skin that has built over the past 6 months. That way, toxins are more easily released or secreted through the skin if the dead layer has been removed. Eight glasses of water a day, fresh juiced juices, and body scrubs are all essential this time of year to get us in sync with the warmer weather that heals us.

From living in the cold and with more grey skies than blue, we all have vitamin D deficiencies so the sooner we can get outside with our bare cleansed and scrubbed skin and enjoy the sun, the better. That is our best source of this vitamin D: the SUN.

I choose to ‘juice fast” this time of year for two days a week for one month. For those two days I have nothing but approximately 8 – 8oz glasses of juice I make with my juicer.  That’s 64 ounces a day.  By doing it for only two days and not longer, I’m able to work a full day easily and never feel tired and can continue with my tasks at hand. The other five days are still green and plant-based oriented – nothing heavy.

Theres a certain vegetable that just says SPRING  to me and that is fennel. It’s fresh and light and has this licorice taste to it that works so well with apples and lemons and celery and cucumber.

Fennel with its own unique combination of phytonutrients give it strong antioxidant activity.  The most fascinating phytonutrient compound in fennel, may be anethole—the primary component of its volatile oil. In animal studies, the anethole in fennel has repeatedly been shown to reduce inflammation and to help prevent the occurrence of cancer.

The Fennel bulb is an excellent source of vitamin C.  One serving gives you 14% of your RDA and that is great news for me and for you too. Vitamin C is the body’s primary water-soluble antioxidant, able to neutralize free radicals in all aqueous environments of the body. If left unchecked, these free radicals cause cellular damage that results in the pain and joint deterioration that occurs in conditions like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

You can easily double the ingredients of this recipe and make more for your drive to work. I use mason jars to hold my juice going to and from work now. I love them!

SPRING TUNE-UP Juice

Spinach or kale (handful)
1 Cucumber (I just love cucumber juice)
4 stalks Celery
2 bulbs of fennel (including stalks and fronds)
1 lemon (rind cut off)
2 apples

Juice all ingredients and give it a stir.

Don’t you love the birth of a new season….let your body help you to live it up!