Let Me Tell You About Sweden » juicing

Running on Juice

Shane — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 02:30:47 +0000

I dont blog much about my juicing lifestyle thesedays mainly because its become a way of life. I dont go on juice fasts as such but I try and get at least one good juice in a day. I have tried my great ones but for simplicity you cant beat juicing carrot and apple with a lump of ginger. All that goodness and natures finest!

Juicing breakfast

Now this juice may not look so appealing. Its been my breakfast for this week. Its action packed with minerals and vitamins.

This is from Jason Vales book.

2 apples
1 celery ( I use the leaves as well!)
Slice of Lemon
Beetroot
Carrot
Cucumber
Quarter of a Yellow Pepper
Broccoli (one floret with stem) – dont worry,like the celery you can hardly taste it.

I then blend it with ice and some Maca Root. Maca Root is alleged to be the ‘superfruit of the Andes’. It has an interesting history and I thought I would give it a blast having read it in Brendan Braziers Thrive book which Nomeatathlete reviewed some time ago.

It tastes delicious and a great way to start the day. You can last until lunch time no problem on this.

And of course juicing is great for your body and fits in very well with a vegetarian lifestyle.

So again, I repeat, it doesnt look the best but this is an awesome way to get some natural goodness into you and it actually tastes very nice.

I am leaving for Amsterdam on business this week. So blogging may be light.

I knew it would happen one day!

Shane — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:28:41 +0000

Last week I went to NK. I have never been one for ‘posh’ dept shops and still have a feeling of being looked down on. Must be something to do with my working class roots.

I needed a new suit. I have a keynote speech to give at a crucial sales conference in Oslo next week and I want to look the business. I need to dredge up every bit of confidence I have and I want to feel good. So I went to NK. Now the last time I was there I saw a lovely jacket very expensive but smart and so me.

Long story short, they didnt have one my size. I am ‘lucky’ to be broad chested but with my then protruding stomach getting good suits was always difficult. I was braced for this kind of disappointment again.

However I was now fitting comfortably into a size 54 and even bought a Hugo Boss suit at size 52! Then I went a bit mad, well I had been saving. I then bought a fantastic coat by Swedish designer Oscar Jacobsson. Unfortunately theirs is a flash site so I cant send you a link to it.

Now think back this was one of my ten reasons to run. Remember that post? When I was out there slugging it last November, struggling to put twenty minute runs together. Well here was reason number 9, they were not listed in priority.

Running means I will lose weight and therefore have a greater selection of nice suits to choose from.

And it worked! I was now where I wanted to be and have greater choice. And if the ‘papers want to know whose shirts I wear’. I can proudly answer Linnea Braun as I can now fit into those as well! They are lovely shirts and she is a local Stockholm designer and its a family business, great quality shirts.

And just when you think I have no money left, today the best surprise of all… I went to buy some jeans as a colleagues wife came into the office last week and said I had lost weight. She then told her husband that my jeans were too big!!

The surprise…I am down a waist size..get in there!

Running and juicing oh and an alcohol ban is working! I still have more work to do, I am still not happy but ten kilos lighter, a waist size smaller and running around 15 miles/24 kms a week this is my best fitness drive ever!

30 day vegetarian challenge update Week 2

Shane — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:39:43 +0000

So that week went by really fast and I have to be honest I have not missed meat at all!

Its interesting to see the world through a vegetarians eyes. Supermarket shopping for lunch and at the local Thai for lunch…both had good veggie options.

Home cooking is easy, thats the beauty of vegetarian cooking its not just lentil soup. There are so many lovely dishes out there to cook. The Veggie Jalfrezi was delicious.

Some of you have written to me asking about Jason Vale aka The Juice Master‘s three day detox juicing plan. I have only ever done the seven day plan. So just for you and because I feel like getting some more fresh fruit and veg inside me I will do the three day plan starting from tomorrow.

I have to give a big shout to the Blueberry Lifestyle shop in Stockholm. They have a few of the Juicemaster’s supplements in stock and lots of other goodies as well. They even have raw hemp powder so it means I do not have to order it in from the UK. Lovely!

Check out their menu, they offer a lot of freshly made juices and smoothies as well as some fantastic wraps and soups.

Mathem – Buying food online

Shane — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:48:45 +0000

When I lived in the UK I used Tesco.com delivery all the time. Some say its lazy, but for me it saved time, definitely saved money as you can see how much everything is as you go along and it also helps save your waistline as you are not tempted by the power of the supermarkets marketing.

Packed and delivered by Mathem.se

I mean did you really set out to buy the Death by Chocolate and end up having two as it was buy one get one free?

I decided to try a similar Swedish service called Mathem. It works on the same premise as Tescos Home delivery. You register, search for what you want, select a timescale, ok they only offer Monday to Friday but early till late, then pay with the credit card of your choice and thats it.

Mathem has a very easy interface to use and I had no trouble finding most items. In fact its great practice for my Swedish!

The cost of delivery was 85 SEK but I think thats good value for money when you consider the time and effort they save you. Especially for those like me who do not own a car.

The timeslots are two hours, so I picked 7-9 on Monday.

The guy actually arrived at 18.40, so thats good and bad, what if I wasn’t home in time?

I am sure they would have come back. The delivery driver was very polite and helpful and insisted bringing the bags into the flat. Nice.

I felt so sorry for him though when I lifted them as the bags were really heavy and he came up three flights of stairs with them!

The reason I used Mathem this week is that I am still juicing! Yes believe or not, not a juice fast. Two or Three a day with a home made soup in the evening for seven day and then 2 or 3 juices a day replacing meals and then whatever I want (within reason.)

Juice yourself slim...my fridge goes through a makeover!

Last time I was back and forth to ICA or COOP all the time, it was expensive and heavy! Also a bit frustrating when they didnt have some of the fruit and veg I needed. So with this I know what I need.

In truth I wasnt expecting the best with this. I never ordered fruit and veg with Tesco because I knew they didnt care what fruit and veg I got, in terms of quality I mean. However the fruit and veg picked by Mathem was very good!

In total with delivery my weekly shop came in at 950 SEK, roughly 95 Euro. Yeah quite a lot but organic fruit and veg aint cheap anywhere so…

I will do a comparison with Tesco like I did with the Sunday Dinner costs comparison that I blogged on before.

I really recommend Mathem and will definitely use them again!

The Benefits of a 7 day juice fast/detox

Shane — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:27:33 +0000

So thats it the 7 days of juicing were over.

How did I find 7 days of Juicing

Benefits

Ate sorry drank a lot more fruits than ever before in my life
Taught myself that I really dont need a lot of the food I usually eat.
Nice to be alcohol free, no hangovers or paranoid thoughts I will stick with that.
Taught myself that I can still be social without drinking alcohol
No coffee for a week, I didnt miss it and dont need it
Lost 3 kilos in weight by juicing
Felt very alert from Day 2 actually.
Slept so much better!
Woke up earlier
Morgonpigg, thats Swedish for lively in the morning.
Learned that my stomach can cope with smaller portions.
My skin is looking good
I got to taste some great tasting but natural drinks! Beetroot, plums and grapes all juiced up was my favourite.
Today I could have whatever I wanted to eat but I opted for a juice for breakfast and enjoyed it. Even made some for an afternoon snack
Drank lots more water, can only be a good thing!
Learned that I am mentally stronger than I think. This wasnt willpower but me wanting to do something.

Negatives of a juice fast

Early days are mentally tough
Headache on Day 1 and Day 2 not fun
More tired in the evenings. (also a positive for me as I usually go to bed too late!!)
It can seem expensive, certainly fruit is not cheap in Sweden but when you balance what you normally spend on a grocery shop and lunches/dinner out its cheap.
Mates can be questioning and make you doubt. Not very supportive as some thought it was lunacy to live on juices only for a week
No tea! I am a real teapot though I learned to live without it. I can drink red tea with no caffeine and in all honesty will still drink tea, better that than the beers and whisky I usually down!

As you can read there are a lot more benefits than negatives. Thats the honest truth, this blog is always truthful and I am not on commission to say this.

Today when I can eat what I want, I didnt go mad. I made Jason Vales Turbo Smoothie for breakie and had a chicken salad with no dressing for lunch and I feel good!

If you are interesting in juicing please check out Jason Vales excellent Juicemaster site

One of Jason Vale’s book Slim for life should arrive this week and I will opt onto that programme as it includes salads and soups.

Juicing is wonderful and an exciting journey, its not a fad diet but a way of life. I really recommend it!

Juicing Day 7

Shane — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:04:19 +0000

Today is the last day of my juice only diet. From tomorrow its no longer a diet but a way of life.

By tomorrow morning, my body will be cleaned with natural vitamins, minerals and ingredients and my weight will be lower than when I set off. Of course this weight loss is very welcome but I now need to think about how I keep it off.

This morning I knocked up Jason Vales Turbo Smoothie, very nice with all the essential fats needed. I actually made enough for two flasks so I will have it for lunch as well. I will post up my other juices tonight.

Yesterday I only needed 3 out of the five juices I could have. I just didnt feel hungry, hopefully my stomach has shrunk a little bit.

I could definitely replace a meal or two and feel satsified. Thats what I have really learned this week. I think also from now on my portion sizes will be smaller which can only help.

I did a BMI calculator yesterday and for me to be normal weight I still need another 10 kilos off. I think thats going to take some time but thats my challenge.

What a start to the new year though, I never thought I could go seven days without hot meals but here I am one week later and full of energy.

Day 6 of Juicing Recipes

Shane — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:47:58 +0000

I have only had three of my juices today and I am actually full so not sure I am going to have the rest.

I took a 6km walk today around Årstaviken. Very nice, amazing to see the water all frozen over. I did ask some of the guys who were fishing how thick the ice was and they said 20cms wow!

So Day 6 of the juicing diet included:

Tigersmoothie

1 orange
1/2 lime
1 papaya
1 passion fruit

But I couldnt find passion fruit so I had the berry juice and smoothie from the first day.

Yellow Submarine

Didnt like the look of this juice but the taste suprised me. It was delicious.

4 celery stalks
fennel
1 slice of pineapple.

Read what I mean…it was nice though!

Melonfrossa Juice
300g melon
2 1/2 dl of strawberries and raspberries.

Yum!

Ok so thats all I have had today is 7.45pm so I will stick with water tonight.

The rest of the juices for those who are curious are:

Blodgivaren

8-10 grapes
1 big beetroot
4 plums

Sounds nice as well!

Green Energybomb

2 carrots
green pepper (half)
50 g spinach
1/2 onion
2 celery stalks
1/2 cucumber
2 tomatoes

Wow thats an action packed juice if ever I saw one. Not sure I would even sleep after that!

Day 6 of Juicing!

Shane — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 08:37:54 +0000

Hi all

Day 5 was the day I nearly left the Juicing track!

I got up full of energy, ran, did a load of chores then it was time for the Bandy match with the boys. For some reason as soon a I got to the ground I felt a bit hungry. Mentally hungry not physically you understand. I am starting to learn the difference.

I just really wanted a hot dog, but I resisted! The main thing was I did not want any alcohol, even when a free hot glögg was being passed around! After the game in the bar I drank one of my home made juices. I am lucky that my mates read the blog so they know the score. I even gave them a taste of my juice to try and they liked it..or they were being polite.

It was one of the nicer ones, apple, pineapple and lime. Luckily it wasnt that awful grapefruit, celery and fennel juice yuck!

I got home made a juice but my mind was still intent on wasting five days of effort. I really wanted a Chinese. Now thats wierd, a curry I could understand but a Chinese? Yeah I like Chinese food but find its better to go to the Thai places in Sweden as the Chineses aren’t so good.

I crashed guys but luckily the only thing I caved into was a bag of nuts, somewhat healthier than crispy duck and beef chow mein.

I didnt post my recipes yesterday guys I am sorry. I just didnt want to focus on the juicing yesterday. Hope you understand.

Nonetheless I hopped on the scales and I had lost a further 0.4 kgs from the day before. Thats motivated me no end. For those of you who are interested my weight has dropped around 2.5kgs in five days by juicing. Again let me re-iterate weight loss on juicing is great but not the main purpose. I want to feel good and clean up ready for an action packed 2010. I have a lot to do!

So its Day 6, its a Sunday, the end of the juice only diet will soon be at an end. I have learnt a lot about myself this week and looking forward to hitting the next phase of my juice inspired new life.

Juicing Detox Day 5

Shane — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:48:31 +0000

So its Day 5 of my Juicing detox. How is it going?

First of all there is something psychological about hitting Day 5, the end of the juice only diet is in sight, not long now. Other than Day 1 I have not really missed hot food but Friday nights I normally indulge. I usually cook up something nice. In fact this week has taught me how much I do in fact cook and how long it takes.

I slept like a baby again, was in bed around 11pm, unheard of on a Friday night and woke up at 8am.

I have not run all week because of my calf injury but felt I should put myself through a fitness test.

I got up and out, it was almost tropical at minus 2, didnt have to wear so many layers and only one pair of gloves! I had hoped with the juicing diet this would be a great run but it wasnt. I huffed and puffed through my 6kms, took me around 40 minutes as well.

Now in fairness I have not run since last Sunday which may have had an impact. Also the snow has melted into a powdery form, a bit like sand, so my lower body had to work hard to cross that and yeah maybe the diet as well. I am not following Jason Vales Seven Pounds in Seven Days so maybe his juicing programme is better for runners as I know a lot of runners use it. I will be switching to one of his programmes on Tuesday after my 7 day detox.

I am learning fast that Juicing is not a diet, its a way of life. Despite a crap run, I feel good, healthy and alert. Even though I had a heavy week work wise I was able to get through it on my juices. I know its all in the mind.

My juice this morning was appalling! Red Pepper, Tomatoes, celery, lemon, cucumber all juiced and then blended with a banana and a chilli. In fairness it was supposed to be an avocado not a banana but I felt I needed a banana after the run!

Today I am going to the Bandy match so I will take a juice before I go and take a juice with me. So when the boys are on the beer I will be on the beetroot

Juicing Recipes Day 4 of my Juicing Diet

Shane — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:05:37 +0000

Day 4 on the juicing diet feels good! Again sleeping like a baby and not feeling any physical desire for solids only mental ones!

So here are todays Juices!

Blackberry Smoothie

2 1/2 dl Blackberries
3 dl freshly extracted grape juice
3 tablespoon of natural yoghurts
load of ice
I added my wheatgrass and spirulina powder.

Bloody lovely, one of the juices where you wonder if its really healthy as it tastes so good!

Mango Slush

1 big apple
1/4 cucumber
1/2 mango

Very very nice juice!

Röda Raketen

1 big carrot
2 apples
125g red cabbage

I was dreading this one but it wasnt too bad. Not one I would rush to make again but action packed with goodness.

På Spåret

150g Sweet Potatoes
2 small oranges
1 big carrot

I was worried about this one as well but it was delicious! I would make this again even if I wasnt following a diet. I know the Juice Master Jason Vale says spuds dont juice so well but the slight taste of the sweet potato really made this one.

Mother Earth

1/2 grapefruit
4 celery stalks
1/2 knob of fennel

Bloody disgusting, vile but does a lot of good so I necked it, yuck! In fairness this is the first juice on the diet that made me grimace!