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11/21/11 8:00 P

I finally came up with that meal plan for the day that puts me over 5000mg of Potassium, under 2000 sodium, hits my protein, carbs, and fat goals. Plus it was under 1900 calories. So it can be done. It took some experimenting and planning ahead.

Dinner alone was 3200mg. A 6oz Beef Round Steak, 1/2 of a giant 1lb Sweet Potato, and a whole can of spinach.

The smoothies I make for breakfast have almost 1100mg. Added some fruit and carrots to lunch.

I could eat like this all the time. 1900 calories and I'm not starving to get there by any means.

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10/20/11 11:42 P

Oh dear...I don't track; I did for a while but decided not to anymore 'cuz 1) the numbers aren't correct anyway and 2) I got bored and the whole thing drove me crazy!

I don't think you can totally track juicing. You are getting so many more nutrients than what is on the tracker anyway and you aren't getting much of the fiber--unless you find ways to eat that too which I do--not all of it but some of it. Mainly, juicing is all about getting a big dose of vitamins and minerals.

But if tracking is important to you then just weigh the veggies before you put them in the juicer because you are getting almost all of what is in them...and more. Your total fiber count will just read higher than what you actually got. Oh well.

When I end up with a juice that is a bit too...uh...dark I just add a few drops of liquid stevia extract. But we are getting better and better at making very tasty juices. We have found that adding lemon really helps and also apple.

Just keep at it and you will be making some good tasting stuff.

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10/20/11 7:02 P

Trying to figure out how to track that. I did find kale, celery, carrot, apple juice. It just lists 1 serving-100 calories. How do you track that?

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10/20/11 6:56 P

I ended up trying the kale-carrot-celery tonight. That kale has a strong flavor. Not something I would sip on and enjoy the flavor, but that has to be healthy .

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10/20/11 6:24 P

I should point out that if you look at the order of Dr. Kim's list you will notice that the least sugary ones, and the ones with the most nutrition are at the top while the fruity, sugary ones are closer to the bottom. My advice is to use the sugary ones with lots of moderation because if you choose them too often your body will store fat and possibly have blood sugar issues.

Fruit is nutritious for sure and we definitely need to include fruits in our diet. But when you separate the juice from the fruit you get a lot of concentrated fructose... but you can always add a sweet ingredient to something else that is more "green". This caution goes for sweet veggies as well-- like beets and carrots-- though they are less problematic.

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10/20/11 6:10 P

Thank you. I picked up organic versions of most of these tonight. Can't wait to try some of these.

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10/19/11 8:13 P

In cleaning out my recipe files I came across another list of simple juicing ideas. This list is from Dr. Ben Kim. Each little group is a recipe.


2 carrots
2 ribs of celery
8 leaves of romaine lettuce

2 carrots
Handful of parsley
6 leaves of romaine lettuce
Squeeze of lemon

2 tomatoes
3 ribs of celery
1 carrot
Squeeze of lemon

6 leaves of romaine lettuce
1 tomato
1 rib of celery
1 carrot

Big bunch of kale
2 carrots
2 ribs of celery

Big bunch of Swiss chard
2 carrots
2 ribs of celery

6 leaves of romaine lettuce
2 cups of green cabbage
2 carrots

6 leaves of romaine lettuce
2 ribs of celery
1 apple, whatever is in season

4 ribs of celery
2 carrots
1 apple

Fruit-based Juices (only for special occasions and if you don’t have high blood glucose levels):

3 ribs of celery
2 apples

Small handful of strawberries
Watermelon (cut into strips, rind included if you wash it well before cutting)

Honeydew (cut into strips)
Squeeze of lemon

1 apple
1 pear
3 ribs of celery

2 apples
8-10 strawberries

1 cup of pineapple
1 cup of grapes
Small handful of strawberries

from: drbenkim.com/juicing-health.htm

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10/18/11 12:12 A

Wow, thank you for the very informative reply. I think I will stop by the grocery on the way home for more produce. I like spinach with lemon, carrots, lettuce, celery. I have a lot of tomatoes from the garden I need to use also. I think I will start with that. I think the few times I did use the juicer was for fresh fruit juice (apple and orange). I'll have to start doing veggies too.

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10/17/11 11:57 P

This is my main recipe that I always turn to...LOL!
First, look in your refrigerator veggie bins. NO, first pull those bins out and put them on the counter so you can really see what's in them. Start juicing!

Well, it's sort of like that. However, after doing it for a while we know pretty much what we like and so my shopping is always around these things.

It's important to make sure you've got at least 2 dark green veggies in the mix; more is even better (like kale or collards or chard or spinach). If you can handle the stronger flavored ones then go for it (like dandelion and mustard greens) Also important to add celery for lots of minerals and sweetness. Cucumber adds nutrition and lots of liquid. Carrots add sweetness. Adding too many carrots will give your juice too much sugar and you don't want that so limit the carrots, also the beets (1/2 a medium beet will do for 2 people) But putting some of those sugary veggies will make the juice more tasty. Tomatoes will also give great flavor. If you put in tomatoes then you might like to add a big handful of fresh basil leaves. Don't forget some fresh parsley (very nutritious, but not so much as to over-power).

Fennel is good if you like the flavor--it's very nutritious for sure. Romaine lettuce will add more nutrition and more liquid for you. Its flavor is mellow. Cabbage is good; either red or green. And a 1/2 inch of ginger root for extra yum and nutrition. And lemon--just cut off 1/4 or 1/8 of a lemon and put the whole thing, peel and all into the juicer. That brings out the spark. Bok choy is almost always in the mix. And then you might want to toss in some fruit (not much as it is full of sugar) We almost always put in an apple (roughly cored but never peeled). Don't use bananas or any mushy things (like avocado) 'cuz, depending on your juicer, they might clog the progress. We have used mango and it works very well. Peaches and nectarines work but alas, that season is over. Jicama is always welcome; it's juicy and sweet. We found out that tomato and pineapple don't go together! This is how we learn.


So, it goes like that. I fill the refrigerator at the beginning of the week with fresh veggies and then every morning start putting stuff in the juicer. After you've done it a few times you will be able to tell what you like and don't like. But it's those dark leafy greens that are so important.

If you live close enough to the store that you can shop more times a week for your organic veggies then I recommend doing so. Fresh is best. My favorite store is too far for me to go more than once a week.

Here's a place for real recipe ideas:
www.healingdaily.com/juicing-for-health/ju
icing-recipes.htm

and here's a link to some more ideas and health benefits:
www.juicing-for-health.com/healing-foods.h
tml

Here's some information on juicing from Doc Mercola:
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archiv
e/2011/09/03/cherie-calbom-on-juicing-
part-2.aspx

Check this out; I particularly like the "Green Energizer Bunny". It is a recipe right down my ally!
zestycook.com/the-power-of-juice-juicer-re
cipes/

That ought to keep you busy!


PS: We have an Omega Vertical juicer and it's the best juicer we have ever had. It's fast processing the veggies and it's fast to clean it up. We do over a quart of juice every day and from start to finish, with 2 people working together it's about 10 minutes start to finish. I grab and wash and he cuts and stuffs. Zip zap for great health.

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10/17/11 11:07 P

I bought a juicer after watching that show "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" a while back. I haven't been using it enough though. It did get me to add lots more fruit and veggies to my diet though. Have any good juice recipes you recommend?

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10/17/11 10:47 P

Both my thumbs had been doing the same thing for about a year (locking and unlocking with a click if I moved them around a couple of times) up until we started regular veggie juicing. It's gone now and I've been able to decrease my mineral supplements with no further thumb problem. I can't recommend fresh veggie juicing high enough!

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10/17/11 8:41 P

That's interesting about the thumb locking. Mine used to do that and would pop when I moved it a couple times a day. Hadn't even noticed that it went away a couple weeks ago. I take a Centrum Silver every day for the Magnesium. I've increased my water intake quite a bit too. I find myself stopping at bathrooms all day

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10/12/11 9:43 A

Yes, it would be nice to have an OTC test kit, but I sure wouldn't want to draw my own blood. I want one of those tricorders like they had on Star Trek!

Diuretics are often used to treat high blood pressure and they will deplete your body of many minerals. I'm getting a blood test on Monday and will get potassium and magnesium checked along with D3. Are there any other other crucial mineral checks that should be done? We stopped taking a multi vitamin/mineral supplement, but that probably wasn't a good idea since we are both on diuretics. DH has to take a triple dose of prescription potassium to keep his numbers in range.

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10/12/11 12:51 A

Excessive elimination due to a large intake of water can also flush out your body's potassium. I have also come across a few people who cured their muscle spasms with a potassium supplement also know someone who's thumb started locking into place and upon recommendation started taking magnesium supplements and the problem has gone away. If we only had an over the counter test kit to test our bodies composition.

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10/10/11 5:39 P

I love baby bellas. I've been adding them to my chili, and using them when I make omelets. Interesting note about the muscle spasms. My girlfriend has those too at night. I'll pass that info on for sure.

Posts: 10,563
10/10/11 12:23 P

I have had for many years a problem with leg muscle spasms during the night. When I started taking potassium/magnesium regularly and before bed my muscle spasms went away. A couple of months ago dh and I started juicing veggies regularly again (every day!) and now I have cut my potassium/magnesium supplements down to 1 forth of what I was taking before and I sleep well.
Moral: (already pointed out by others) veggies are the way to go, especially a lot of raw ones.
Also, YES to chard and mushrooms. LOW sugar (which means no rise in blood glucose and no fat storage) and low calories.

Here's a quote from a website:
"Two-thirds of a cup of sliced, grilled portabella mushrooms contains the same amount of potassium as a medium-sized banana".
That is from:
www.naturalremediescures.com/2008/12/mushr
ooms-contain-copper-potassium-folate-n
iacin/

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10/10/11 12:08 P

Thanks for the tips. I have added spinach back into my diet too. I usually add a touch of lemon juice and minced garlic to give it a little flavor. I'll have to look for the coconut water. That would help with my water consumption too, which has gotten better than it used to be.

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10/10/11 1:57 A

Oh! Yes! Coconut water!!!

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10/10/11 1:30 A

If you feel like you need more potassium I recommend veggies, especially leafy greens like spinach (tons of potassium and you can eat a LOT of veggies for few calories) and especially coocnut water. I personally like Zico which has 60 calories per bottle and 569 mg of potassium.

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10/9/11 11:55 P

I was just reading about Dried Chervil and it sounds like it's basically a tasteless herb that can be used on eggs, chicken, fish, in salads. It might be good for boosting K intake without supplements. I'm really just giving some thought to trying to balance my diet out more and try to hit more of my targets nutritionally without going over on calories. I like guacamole to, so that might be something I'll add more often too.

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10/9/11 11:54 P

Here is another link that includes more foods. I was surprised to see that Swiss Chard has more potassium than a banana for a lot less calories. whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbi
d=90

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10/9/11 11:37 P

Thank you. Very informative. I do have high blood pressure. I would say what I used to eat was very deficient in Potassium. I'm just thinking about the RDA which is 3.5G. My goal in Nutrition Tracker is 4.5G-6G. This just seems unrealistic. No matter how I combine these foods I can never seem to hit that goal. Sunflower seeds seem to be out. I bought a small pack of those at a gas station one day and was shocked to find out it had 500 calories and tons of sodium. Chocolate seems about the same. I have added more beans, sweet potatoes, bananas, chili powder, nuts and fish to my diet.

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10/9/11 11:35 P

Quite a while ago I read something on SP that said unless your doctor says you are low on potassium, don't worry about it. The article went on to add that potassium isn't required on food labels, so you are probably getting more than you think.

You definitely don't want to take potassium supplements without doctor's prescription.

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10/9/11 11:25 P

my immediate thought was to eat more bananas and sweet poatatoes... are you deficient?
I googles potassium sources; this is what I found...
www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-s
ources-of-potassium.php

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10/9/11 11:16 P

I was wondering if someone could suggest a sample meal plan for a day that gets in 4500mg in one day. I thought I was doing well at getting there today. Had 2 ounces of Almonds, 2 bananas, a large sweet potato, 3 eggs. Almost everything else I ate had some Potassium in it. Still only 2800mg for the day.

Is it even possible to get 4500mg and stay under 2200 calories?