Aside from fueling you with essential nutrients and vitamins, juice cleanses boost your immune system and improve digestion. Fiber is removed in the juicing process, so the vitamins and nutrients are absorbed more quickly through the digestive tract. Your body isn’t working hard on trying to digest all the fiber, so the energy is readily available. A one-day juice cleanse can also decrease cravings, resulting in the pleasant side effect of weight loss.

There are so many juice cleanses on the market these days, but trust me, they are not all created equal. What’s the point in juicing if your produce isn’t organic? You don’t want pesticides in your juice, they’re toxic! You’re trying to rid your body of toxins with a cleanse! Promise me you won’t juice unless it’s organic.

Here at Lean and Green Cafe in San Diego, all our produce is 100% organic. We make great tasting and easy to drink juices to deliver your body maximum benefits. Our One-Day Detox Juice Cleanse features seven juices from only organic nutrient-dense foods. Green leafy vegetables and low-sugar organic fruits are artfully blended together to create delicious health in a bottle.

Our One-day Juice Cleanse

#1 Super Green

This green juice made with spinach, cucumber, green apple and celery is packed with antioxidants and vitamins to detox your kidneys, liver, pancreas, and blood.

#2 Super Defender

Perk up your morning with a refreshing blend of Valencia oranges, carrots, and ginger. This immunity boosting juice sweeps up free radicals and keeps tissues strong and healthy.

#3 Five a Day

This juice made with spinach, apples, red beets, ginger and carrots takes your detoxification even further, cleaning your blood and renewing it with minerals.

#4 Master Detox

This alkalizing green blend features spinach, kale, celery, cucumber and lemon. Zap the toxins with lemon, a natural antiseptic. This blend will help detoxify and stimulate the antibodies.

#5 Happy Liver

This delicious drink is made with celery, ginger, green apples, red beets, carrots and lemon. Reload with vitamins, beta carotene, polyphenols, antioxidants and folates. Boost your system with anti-inflammatory benefits.

#6 Greener Cleaner

Greens are so important! This juice features cucumber, apple, kale, ginger and lemon for one last detoxifying boost, flush your system from unwanted toxins with this tasty mix.

#7 Sweet Dreams

Restore balance and promote rest with beets, lemon, honey, cayenne pepper, and filtered water. End your day with a very refreshing sweet and spicy juice. Restore a good balance in your blood system and calm your digestive system for a good night’s sleep.

All seven juices are made freshly for you, first thing in the morning. Our Organic One-Day Detox Juice Cleanse is only $55, and we can’t wait to help your body feel amazing. Order the day before you’d like to start your organic juice cleanse, and pick up at one of Lean and Green’s two San Diego locations!

7825 Fay Ave, La Jolla

858-459-5326

9868 Scranton Rd, Sorrento Valley

858-455-5326

The post Organic One-Day Detox Juice Cleanse at Lean and Green Cafe San Diego appeared first on Lean and Green Cafe.

So let’s focus on the three leaders in the industry:

Red Bull – Contains 80mgs of Caffeine per 8.46-ounce can, which is considered moderate in the energy drink industry.
Ingredients: Water, sucrose, glucose, acidifier sodium citrates, carbon dioxide, taurine (0.4%), glucuronolactone (0.24%), caffeine (0.03%), inositol, vitamins (niacin, pantothenic acid, B6, B12), flavourings, and colours (caramel, riboflavin).
Sugar content: 27 grams (per 8.46 ounces).

Monster – A whopping 160mg per 16 ounce can can.
Ingredients: (Monster Energy) Carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, citric acid, taurine, natural flavors, sodium citrate, l-carnitine, panax ginseng root extract, ascorbic acid, caffeine, sodium chloride, niacinamide, riboflavin, guarana seed extract, inositol, glucuronalactone, pyridoxine hydrochloride, cyanobalamin.
Sugar content: 54 grams (per 16 ounces).

Rockstar – Ties Monster at 160mg per 16 ounce can.
Ingredients: (Rockstar Energy Drink) Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, citric acid, taurine, natural and artificial flavors, guarana seed extract, ascorbic acid, caramel color, sodium benzoate (preservative), potassium sorbate (preservative), caffeine, niacinamide, inositol, l-carnitine, milk thistle extract, ginkgo biloba leaf extract, calcium pantothenate, siberian ginseng root extract, cyanocobalamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride.
Sugar content: 60 grams (per 16 ounces).

With many ingredients that are hard to pronounce I have to wonder what these mixtures are really doing for me. And is this the best I can do for my body?

So my search continues as I make my way out of the mart and into the healthy cafe down the street.

I land on Sambazon’s Amazon Energy. I don’t have to turn the can over to see the caffeine. It says 80mg per can in large print right on the front. And, the organic label on the can is a bonus.

So let’s take a look inside…

Ingredients – Sparkling Filtered Water, Organic Cane Syrup, Organic Acai Juice, Organic Acerola Juice (Water, Organic Acerola Concentrate), Organic Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Organic Guarana Extract, Guayaki Organic Yerba Mate Extract, Steaz Organic Green Tea Extract, Fruit and Vegetable Juice (For Color). Wow I actually know what these things are. That helps. Sugar content: 30 grams (per 12 ounce can). I had to look closely at the servings per can, not to be fooled, and came up with this number. So when my fresh green smoothie isn’t cutting it or I’m just feeling like a fizzy energy drink, I think I found one that won’t lie on my conscience (well not too much).

What are your favorite energy drinks? Are the ingredients and caffeine level important to you?

The post What’s in your energy drink? appeared first on Lean and Green Cafe.

So what are kale chips exactly?
Starting with the main ingredient… Kale is a leafy green species of cabbage with curly leaves. When baked or dehydrated, kale becomes a crispy snack. The nutritional value of baked kale, however, is far superior to the average potato chip.

Kale chips are made from the leaves of the kale plant that have been stripped from their hard stems and torn to bite-sized pieces. With low amounts of calories, fat and sodium and high amounts of vitamins and minerals, kale chips are the perfect snack to reach for next time you crave a crunchy treat.

You can make your own kale chips using a dehydrator. NEAT!!
Cheesy kale Chips

• 

1 large bunch of kale
• 
1/2 cup cashews, (soaked 2 hours)
• 
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Rinse the kale and spin dry. Remove the stems and tear into bite size pieces. Let the kale air out as much as possible before coating. Blend the ingredients for the cheesy seasoning in a blender until smooth. Transfer kale and seasoning to a large bowl and mix well using your hands to ensure the leaves are well coated. Place the kale on the dehydrator trays.  Dehydrate at 118 degrees overnight or until coating is dry. Slide onto mesh screens and dehydrate until totally crispy.

Don’t have a dehydrator?
If you are not ready to invest in a dehydrator, stop by Lean and Green Cafe and pick up a bag of delicious fresh kale chips today! We have lots of flavors to try.

Let us know what your favorite flavor is!

The post Try Kale Chips appeared first on Lean and Green Cafe.

Though what I choose in the morning usually depends on my mood, let’s talk about the pros and cons of both.

Juicing

Pros:
Pack a ton of nutrients into a small glass or delicious goodness!

Juicing can be good for people who have damaged digestive systems. This is due to the fact that removing the fibre releases all of the nutrients from those plants, without your body having to do any work.

Juices are great cleansing your body.  This is because your body will not be putting any effort towards digestion, so all that energy can be directed to ridding the body of built up waste and toxins. Juicing allows the body to focus on healing while still providing nutrients to your body that would not be present during a water fast.  Juices are also awesome for supporting the healing of a damaged gut, and a plethora of other health issues depending on the ingredients present.

Tips to getting the most out of juicing: chew your juice. Literally chew while you drink to stimulate saliva and digestion. Slow the nutrient blast but adding some form of fat to your meal. I like some form of healthy toast with almond butter to go along with my juice.

Cons: If made only with fruit, juices can be loaded with sugars.
Add a little bit of fat (like almond butter) to your meal to better digest the juice.

Blending (I’m talking about vegetable smoothies – not bananas and ice cream)

Pros:

You get all the benefits of the vegetables in their raw complete form but easier to digest. Fiber is great for your body!

Smoothies make a complete full meal. They are light enough that they won’t weigh you down but they are substantial enough that you won’t feel hungry again in 15 minutes.  You can also pack them full of ingredients that will help with your recovery after a work out.

Smoothies are also great for those who are coming off of a fast of any kind, as it will help to re-introduce your body to solid foods again in a more gradual way than jumping straight into eating would.  Smoothies will help to cleanse out your colon, because they contains the fiber that will help to “sweep” out your intestinal tract. These fibers will bind to toxins and usher them out of your system. Smoothies are also amazing for those who want to start introducing more raw foods into their diets, but don’t know how.  You can hide a number of less palatable ingredients like dark greens and super foods under the sweet taste of fruit in a smoothie.

Cons: If made with fruit, juices can be loaded with sugars.

Wonderful green smoothie (2 servings)

• 1 cup Organic Spinach
• 3/4 – 1/2 Organic avocado
• 1 half Organic peeled cucumber
• 1 teaspoon Organic spirulina
• 1/4 cup loose Organic cilantro
• 1 cup crushed ice
• 2 cups water
• Optional: juice 1/2 Organic lime
• Optional: 1/2 teaspoon skinned and chopped fresh Organic ginger

Experiment with adding your favorite veggies, ground flax hemp or chia seeds. If the smoothie is “too green” tasting for you right away try adding half an apple sans seeds.

What is your favorite veggie smoothie or juice blend recipe?

The post To juice or to blend? That is the question. appeared first on Lean and Green Cafe.

The word “organic” refers to the way farmers grow and process agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat. Farmers who grow organic produce and meat don’t use conventional methods to fertilize, control weeds or prevent livestock disease. For example, rather than using chemical weedkillers, organic farmers are supposed to conduct more sophisticated crop rotations and spread mulch or manure to keep weeds at bay.

Many times we forget that there are more benefits to organic farming then improving what we put in our bodies. I personally believe that organic food is more nutritious. Have you eaten a non organic apple or orange from the large chain grocery stores lately? The taste or lack of taste should be a clear indicator that something is off. Recently I ate an orange that comes from a local organic CSA and with a sigh of relief I now have regained hope that the amazing tang of a good orange hasn’t been lost.

So health and flavor is a great bonus, but the next reason is also greatly important…

Organic farming practices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution. That’s a pretty big statement. So it looks like eating organic may be another way you can make a difference in the world. To insure that you are getting the healthiest organic food possible always do your best to purchase your produce from local organic farms or businesses that source local organic foods.

If cost causes you to hesitate when buying organic food, here is a list for the most essential organic foods that you should allows spend the extra money on:

• Apples (more pesticides are found on apples then any other fruit or veggie)
• Cucumbers (They are the 12th most contaminated food!!)
• Strawberries (Also on the top of the list for being highly contaminated)
• Grapes (Did you know that non organic farmers can spray up to 17 different types of chemicals to keep them from decease and bugs?)
• Butter and Milk (The toxic chemicals in the grain the cows eat, transfers to the milk along with the growth hormones and antibiotics they are given)
• Spinach (Chemicals farmers use to treat spinach can cause cancer and interfere with your body’s hormone production)

Rest assured that you’ll be eating healthy local organic foods at Lean and Green Cafe. Not only are you doing something good for your body, but you can feel good about improving the world we live in by making smart decisions like supporting organic!

The post There’s more to organic than just better food appeared first on Lean and Green Cafe.