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Tag: juicing

Juice Your Way Into the New Year

Posted on by Linda Baldwin

Resolutions… Goal setting… Intentions… Sometimes, these words hold too much weight at the dawn of a New Year. Let us put those aside and juice your way into the New year!

Our goal is not to lose weight or change your diet – but instead, share with you why adding juicing to your diet can lead to a happier & healthier year.

Resolution: Be Happier

It sounds so simple, but this is one resolution that we would all like to obtain! Even if everything adds up – your family dynamic is great, your work is your passion, and live somewhere with plenty of sunshine, we can still feel down more often than we would like. There is no need to punish yourself for feeling down – oftentimes, it is what is inside of you that does it. Typically, these downtimes are chemical and that means you can lift yourself back up with good-for-you food.

There was an interesting study on PBS recently that linked inflammation with depression. This means that an anti-inflammatory diet could significantly help symptoms of depression. Adding both of these two foods (or supplements) to your diet or throwing them into your daily juice or smoothie is very easy, and are very powerful, anti-inflammatory foods:

  • Turmeric (curcumin)
  • Omega-3 (fish or fish oil)

Resolution: Be Healthier

Boost energy and fight disease this year by incorporating these 5 foods into your daily life. Yes, we really do mean, daily! Upping your juice game by adding a couple of these to your daily creation can add so many benefits to your diet.

  • Lemons: Tart but delicious, they are anti-inflammatory, can inhibit cancer cell growth, increases “good” cholesterol levels, and have a good amount of vitamin C.
  • Broccoli: These little trees are anti-inflammatory and are cancer-fighting rock-stars. Plus, they are packed with Vitamin K & Vitamin C; this combination can help build healthy bones.
  • Dark Chocolate: Only a fourth ounce, enjoyed daily can reduce blood pressure and bad cholesterol. Bonus, it can improve your mood!
  • Salmon, Fish, Flax Seeds, & Walnuts: All of these hold Omega-3 fatty acids, which can help the brain work better, reduce bad cholesterol, and reduce the risk for heart disease.
  • Spinach: Just call us Popeye! Spinach is an anti-inflammatory food, cancer-fighting, and help with improving your eye health. We suggest tossing a handful in with your eggs every morning

Cooking not your thing, but still want a healthy dinner? At Intelligent Gourmet – we’ve got you covered! Stop in today, enjoy some of our fresh juices & grab a few of our favorite dishes to go, #gourmetontheGO. 

Reasons to Incorporate Fresh Juice into your Diet

Posted on by Linda Baldwin

It’s no secret that there are many reasons to incorporate fresh juice into your diet. Today, we are sharing five reasons why you should add juicing to your everyday! 

Reasons to Try Juicing for Health

Keeps you Hydrated: As part of a balanced diet, it is important to keep up with your intake of water, fruits, and vegetables. Conveniently, fruits and vegetables with higher water concentrations are found in our juice recipes because of the high amount of water they contain. Due to the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, you are getting both water and other important nutrients – this helps your body stay hydrated.

Strengthens Bones: It is important for us to consume minerals, such as calcium, in order to maintain healthy bones and teeth. One easy way to increase your calcium intake is through the foods you eat and drink. Two easy veggies that are high in calcium, and so easy to add when juicing, are kale or spinach. They are a staple to so many of our juice recipes! 

Boost Energy: While caffeine and energy drinks are great for a kick, they can cause us to crash and burn. However, when you treat yourself to a natural, long-lasting energy drink filled with fruits and vegetables, you will be giving your body the combination of nutrients it needs to keep going all day long.

Reduces Stress: Giving your body the proper nutrition it needs will allow it to regulate itself and keep your stress levels down. The more vitamins and antioxidant dense foods you consume, the more easily you will be to cope with stress. Eating certain foods, such as blueberries or leafy greens can help your diet – make it super easy and add them to your juicing routine. 

Better Sleep At Night: You are more likely to feel more relaxed at night when your body has the power it needs to get through the day. Juice can help give your body what it needs to fall asleep naturally at night. Fruits, such as pineapples, bananas, and oranges contain melatonin naturally, a hormone that helps to regulate sleep cycles.

Looking for Healthy Food Near Me? We welcome you into Intelligent Gourmet today to try some of our juice combinations. Juicing is an efficient, yet simple way to get in your helping of fruits and vegetables; in one serving of our juice, you can get multiple servings of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and phytonutrients in one serving. Often times, juicing is easier for the body to digest, compared to solid foods and makes it easier for the flow of fluid to run through your system. There are so has many benefits to juicing – stop in and see our juicing menu, we would love to help you find the perfect recipe to match just what you are looking for.

If you are looking to incorporate juicing for health into your diet, reach out or stop in Intelligent Gourmet in Tampa, FL. We have many recipes for you to try and can easily become your favorite “healthy food near me” lunch destination.

Store-Bought Juice Labels Busted!

Posted on by Linda Baldwin

Fresh real juice in Tampa, Florida

Juicing at home may be fast and easy, but it does require cleanup, leading many to cut out the work by purchasing juice from the store. One of my clients found me because she had made exactly this mistake: She bought a bottle of juice, drank it happily, and then looked at the label. That bottle of green juice contained more sugar than two regular sodas! To add insult to injury, that juice was part of a line of prepackaged cleanses. Don’t make the same mistake.

Here’s what you should know about less-than-fresh juice.

  • 100% Juice doesn’t mean much. Food companies can legally print “100% Juice” on their labels while still including additives, flavorings and preservatives (not to mention a lot of added sugar and salt).
  • Key minerals, vitamins and live enzymes are destroyed by the pasteurization process most juices go through – and if that doesn’t do it, keeping juice on the shelf for days will!
  • “Not from Concentrate” juice often still uses “flavor packs” to add flavor back in after a lengthy storage process.
  • Even in juices labeled “All Natural,” synthetic ingredients may be hidden, like Fibersol-2, Fructooligosaccharides, or Inulin. Naked Juice was sued for using “All Natural” in their label while containing all of these ingredients.

It’s okay, you don’t have to clean your juicer to reap the benefits of fresh juice (even if it does just take a few seconds to rinse after use!). We have all the fresh, low-sugar, super-food-power-packed, straight-from-the-organic-farm juice you want. We carefully compose each juice recipe to maximize health benefits and flavor – and, you’re invited to check out our labels any time. We know you’ll like what you see and love what you taste!

4 Juices to Help You Touch Your Toes Without Pain

Posted on by Linda Baldwin

juice for flexibility and inflammation reduction

I once heard a yoga instructor say “You’re only as young as your spine is flexible.” Well, that woman was a grandmother and didn’t look a day past 40! I’d say she’s onto something. While yoga and exercise, or even chasing after grandchildren, can help your muscles stay in shape, flexibility needs more than exercise: Flexibility also relies on reducing inflammation. These four juices do just that, making your daily exercise routine feel easier, and helping you to touch your toes without pain.

Beet juice is rich in nitrates, which our bodies convert to nitrites, which dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow. The result: More stamina! Your muscles need less oxygen to do the same amount of work, making exercise feel less difficult. This is definitely the juice to drink before CrossFit!

Can’t Beet the Staying Power Recipe

  • 1 beet
  • 4 stalks celery
  • 1/2′ ginger
  • 1 stalk kale
  • 1 green apple

Green juice, using kale, spinach, chard, broccoli and celery, improves flexibility through its high water content and ability to cleanse acids from the body. It’s the perfect breakfast for that early morning pilates class.

Hydrating Green Juice

  • 2 red chard leaves
  • 3 kale stalks
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1 cup broccoli
  • 1 apple or pear

Barley grass juice or powder contains the stretchy trifecta of beta carotene, iron and calcium which work together to improve flexibility and total body health. It’s a wonderful addition to your favorite juice, but on its own, it tastes a lot like…well, grass.

Turmeric juice, or powder, as an additive to any of your favorite juices, is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatories out there. Inflammation not only reduces flexibility, but has also been linked to a wide range of health problems, from arthritis to obesity. Bonus: Turmeric also acts as an anti-depressant, giving a mood boost to your day! I like to drink this for dessert to ensure sweet dreams and a good night’s rest.

Turmeric Milk Recipe

  • 2 cups almond/hemp milk
  • 2 dates pitted
  • 1 tbsp raw honey
  • 1/2 tbsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil

And yes, you can combine these four ingredients together for one incredible pre-workout drink!

Beat the Bloat with Juice!

Posted on by Linda Baldwin

Juice for bloating

No one really wants to talk about bloating – that horrible feeling of being filled with air, or retained water – but I bet you’d like to know how to stop it. Nothing is more maddening when you’ve achieved a beach-ready body than experiencing bloating, right ladies? So here’s the skinny on getting rid of bloating for good.

1. Find the source

Bloating happens when there is excess gas in your intestines, or when you’re retaining water. Sometimes these can result from hormonal shifts that are out of your control, but usually, the instigators are well within your power to stop. Diets high in salt and processed foods tend to cause water retention, since the salt dehydrates your body’s tissues (causing cells to soak up fluid like little sponges until the salt is flushed out). And, drinking too much alcohol or soft drinks can fill you up with air. Cut out processed foods and drink less, and you’ll not only beat the bloat, you’ll look and feel better too!

2. Juice it out

Lemon: When drinking water doesn’t work quite fast enough to flush out the bloating culprits, try adding lemon. It’s a natural laxative and diuretic that helps remove excess salt from your body.

Cucumber: Cucumber is another great juice for beating bloat since it already contains a lot of water and is a natural diuretic.

Dandelion greens: Dandelion is wonderful for detoxing your body and is an anti-inflammatory. So if toxins or inflammation are irritating your digestive tract, juice some greens along with your lemon and cucumber. Hey, this is starting to sound like a great recipe!

3. Exercise

Stay moving throughout the day, and excess air won’t have a chance to sit in your stomach! It’s all part of a healthy lifestyle.

You know what else is part of a healthy lifestyle? Intelligent Gourmet! When was the last time you dropped by?

The Juice is Loose! The Rising Popularity of Juicing

Posted on by Linda Baldwin

Fresh Juice, Intelligent Gourmet

For something that is essentially cold, juice is hotter than ever. Juice shops are springing up on every corner, like Starbucks in the ‘90s. A New York Times article, “The Juice-Bar Brawl” says it best:

“Half a decade ago, most people who were found guzzling and gushing about juice – not grocery store O.J., but the dense, cold-pressed stuff that is made by pulverizing mounds of ingredients like kale, beets, ginger, spinach and kohlrabi – were either zealots from the raw-food fringe or Hollywood celebrities who believed that a ‘juice cleanse’ would nudge their toned bodies even closer to radiant perfection. But along the way, more people started drinking it. And for consumers and entrepreneurs, a realization took hold: juice did not have to be part of a challenging, expensive cleanse. It could simply be lunch.”

Yes, the industry is booming. And for every boutique juice shop like ours, there are more and more conveyor-belt chains popping up like dandelions in a fresh bed of wheat-grass. We like dandelions (they’re delicious additions to salads), but we also like our ability to create a variety of juices that are high quality, constantly changing with the seasons, and customizable to what our clients need and want. We also don’t think there’s a mass-produced substitute for our years of expertise in the field of health, nutrition, and making healthy foods taste delicious.

What Sets Our Juices Apart

Our juices don’t just include fruit juice, they’re carefully balanced with natural nutrients like hemp protein, turmeric, or almond milk, to give you the foundation for mind and body balance. There are some things you can’t quite achieve with a conveyer belt.

But we are thrilled that more and more people are finding out about juices. We love them. Come in and try one of our 16oz fresh-made juices for just $12.50. Like the New York Times says, “it could simply be lunch.”

Taste the Rainbow: 5 Ways to Use Juicing Pulp

Posted on by Linda Baldwin

Juicer pulp rainbow

It pains me to throw away perfectly good food, even if it’s been shredded and largely dehydrated. So for those of you juicing at home, here are a few tips for reducing your waste – while reducing your waist. (If you’re on a cleanse, just freeze the pulp.)

Before you whisk that pulp into your next recipe, know that the moisture content varies depending on which juicer you use. Expect some trial and error as you adjust.

1. Green Juice Crust-less Quiche – You’ve seen those photos on Pinterest of mini breakfast quiches baked in muffin tins, right? Using muffin tins is a great way to plan easy breakfasts for the week. Just whisk together your eggs and greens (and goat cheese or feta if you’re inclined) for a delicious portion-controlled breakfast. Spinach, kale and chard pulp is the perfect healthy addition.
2. Soups & Stews – Saute your carrot, celery and parsley scraps along with chopped onion for a healthy base for broths, soups and stews. Literally, just add water (and vegetable broth or tomato juice if you want to kick it up a notch).
3. Pancakes – Carrot and sweet potato pulp make for bright orange and deliciously sweet pancakes and waffles.
4. Muffins – Use apple, carrot and ginger pulp for carrot-apple tea cakes.
5. Beet Carrot Cucumber Salad, with Goat Cheese and Toasted Walnuts – The name says it all. Combine your beet, carrot and cucumber pulp (removing any large pieces), make a simple vinaigrette (2Tb honey, 1 ½ Tb Dijon, 3 Tb red wine vinegar, 1 ½ Tb minced shallots, salt, pepper, olive oil), and toss with goat cheese and toasted walnuts. Great for picnics and potlucks.

What’s your favorite way to use pulp? Compost? Birdfood? Sweets?

4 Ways to Boost Your Juice

Posted on by Linda Baldwin

Heal through food

What do the Purifier, Green Protein, The Beet-nick, & Body Beautiful have in common? They are 4 of the over 30 different organic medicinal juices Intelligent Gourmet blends. If you follow me on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed more than a few posts about how we can heal ourselves through our food. I firmly believe that the solution to many of our health problems can be found in what we choose to put in our bodies.

And juicing is a powerful way to concentrate the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. Here are some of my favorite ways to Boost Your Juice.

Turmeric Root – A little goes a long way, but when you pair it with celery, Asian pear, and apple, it becomes an exotic, tasty, and very healthy treat. Turmeric has been used in India for more than 2500 years, not only for its anti-inflammatory properties, but also for its natural antiseptic and antibacterial qualities. It’s also a powerful cancer-fighter, a natural liver detoxifier and may even prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by removing amyloid plaque buildup in the brain.

Sea Beans – Looking a little like coral, sea beans (aka Salicornia/Glasswort/Pickleweed) are actually a type of succulent that grows in salt marshes and beaches. It has a high salt content, but the flavor is similar to spinach or asparagus. A variety of “sea vegetable” like seaweed, sea beans are rich in vitamin A, C, iron and calcium. I like to put them in our gazpacho juice with tomato, lime, poblano pepper, cilantro and cucumber.

Dandelion Greens & Burdock Root – For a deep detox (and to help get the wine out of my liver) I add these to some of my juices. Both have mild diuretic properties that help flush toxins out of the system.

Hemp Protein Powder – If you’re cleansing for an extended period of time, you’ll need to keep up your protein. Hemp contains all of the essential amino acids, making it one of nature’s best plant-based proteins.

We’re coming out with more and more medicinal juices every day – so let us know what you’d like to see, and we’ll juice it up for you!

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