Craven - Juice it! Blend it! Transform Your Health One Drink at a Time

JUICE IT!
BLEND IT! Lisa Craven is a juice devotee from New York City. She developed her passion for juicing eight years ago when, at a friends apartment in New York City, she decided she needed a wine-free night and instead tried a green juice. She never looked back. Lisa is passionate about wellbeing and keeping life in balance. Her passion is for everyone to juice and live long, healthy and balanced lives. In addition to daily juicing she has created a fabulous life filled with yoga, meditation, aff irmations and healthy people around her.

She has over fifteen years of experience in Human Resources and Talent where she has focused on keeping employees healthy and well balanced at work. She went through intense yoga teacher training, is a Life and Executive Coach and a champion for wellness in the workplace. She has found true reward in helping those who want a life filled with wellness in Sydney where she now resides. First published 2015 Exisle Publishing Pty Ltd Moonrising, Narone Creek Road, Wollombi, NSW 2325, Australia P.O. Box 60490, Titirangi, Auckland 0642, New Zealand www.exislepublishing.com Copyright 2015 in text: Lisa Craven Lisa Craven asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved.

Except for short extracts for the purpose of review, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. A CiP record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia. ISBN 978 1 921966 80 4 Design and typesetting by Tracey Gibbs Photographs by Bayleigh Vedegalo Juice styling by Rhianne Contreras Typeset in Hurme Geometric Sans Printed in China This book uses paper sourced under ISO 14001 guidelines from well-managed forests and other controlled sources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Disclaimer While this book is intended as a general information resource and all care has been taken in compiling the contents, this book does not take account of individual circumstances and is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult a qualified practitioner or therapist. For Indi, Max and Joe. For Indi, Max and Joe.

For your love, support
and belief in me.
I love you. CONTENTS I N T R O D U C T I O N WELLNESS,
BEAUTY & WISDOM A LITTLE ABOUT ME I am a woman who is passionate about wellbeing, balance, yoga and positive thinking. As much as I strive for this daily, life sometimes gets in the way and throws me a curve ball. The pressures and struggles of life happen, and I always find myself trying to get back on the path to wellness, wisdom and beauty. My journey has encouraged me to be who I am today, and has shown me that sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can pick up the pieces and get back up. Rock bottom is the place where I learned to take care of myself, to look after my health and find the balance that is the key to staying well.

About eight years ago I went through a period in my life where I felt continually sick, tired and stressed. The only way I knew how to get to work every day and maintain a fun social life was to drink too much coffee and keep going and going. I picked up take-away food, I drank loads of bubbly champagne, and I let sleep drop away as a priority. I was living in New York City the city that never ever sleeps enjoying life on the go, but my health was suffering and I didnt understand why. Eventually I found an amazing chiropractor who helped get me back on track. She made me realize that in order to feel, look and be my best I needed to understand what was really going on inside my body.

This started with my diet. Diet?, I thought Well, I eat when Im hungry, and my work, travel and social plans mean that often involves eating out or on the go. My chiro asked me to keep a food diary. My heart sank. A food diary? I came back a week later, ashamed of myself. For the first time in my life I recognized that I wasnt looking after my health; indeed, I was completely neglecting it.

After a closer look at what I was and, importantly, what I wasnt eating I knew that it was time to take control of my health before it took control of me. I just needed to learn how. I think of that New York chiro all the time. She ran blood tests and explained I had vitamin deficiencies that could be cleared up with diet. She told me I was gluten intolerant, yet without celiac disease. She explained what I needed to eat and how to incorporate food and juice into my diet to make sure I got the nutrients I needed.

She sat with me for hours on end explaining how to change my life and regain control of my health. I thought I had been looking after myself, but just giving up the bubbly wasnt going to cut it. I had to do something severe to regain my health and wellbeing, and it began with a three-week deep cleanse. This, of course, meant cutting out alcohol, dairy, meat, gluten, sugar and caffeine (the hardest for me), along with taking adequate time to rest and heal. Lots of water, lots of lemon and my kitchen was exploding in everything green. My new morning routine consisted of getting up early to breathe and stretch, followed by a full day of smoothies and some raw foods.

I consumed six liquid or raw meals, I didnt skip meals and I planned ahead. No heavy exercise, just walking and clearing my mind. I will confess that these three weeks took me on an emotional rollercoaster. As my body went through these changes my mind tried to tell me I was doing more harm than good and that champagne and bagels were the best things for me. I was angry and irritable from a lack of protein. I felt deprived of a social life, as smoothies arent exactly served at the local bar.

However, I carried on with my plan, pushing through to prove to myself I could do it. Towards the end of the cleanse I noticed changes: I felt full of life and clear-headed. I quickly became hooked on feeling good. My body and I became friends as my thoughts, habits and views on wellness changed. The dinners-on-the-go went, and checking ingredients and maintaining balance became part of my life. I thought I had become a super health nut, but it wasnt until I visited the home of a close friend that my life truly changed.

She raved about her juicer and showed me her refrigerator, which was filled with more greens than I could pronounce. She was what I would call a juice fanatic, and it is because of her that I discovered the power of juicing. Until then Id had no desire to drink that many vegetables in a day; I didnt even know what a juicer was or how it worked. The short story here is that one day I tried a green juice and never looked back. I loved it. Instead of champagne and a cheese board on a Friday evening, I started to opt for fresh homemade green juices.

Even I was surprised. How could vegetables taste so good that I craved them? How was it that I now looked at spinach with love and craved kale on Friday nights? Smoothies became a sweet obsession. They are delicious tasting, nutritious and loaded with goodness that gave me more sustained energy than a blueberry muffin or cappuccino. I was hooked on juicing my vegetables for the taste and the nutrition value, and on my new smoothies that tasted better than desserts. I was so hooked I joined a local food co-operative in Brooklyn, one of the largest food co-ops in the United States, and it gave me access to organic, locally grown fruit and vegetables. I was on a track to health, and this is where all the fun began.