Fresh Spring Rolls with Raw Vegan Coconut Mango Sauce

Ever since the first day of making homemade fresh spring rolls, I have been hooked! I could probably eat them every single day (I actually had them for lunch 2 weeks in a row) but I try to limit them because of the high fat peanut dip. Peanuts also don’t really agree with my stomach so I have been on the look out for a substitute that holds up to my original dipping sauce.

I have tried numerous different dips such as, sweet chili, hoisen, sweet potato, but none can compare to my peanut sauce, it is just that good.

Well on the way home from lunch one day I literally had a light bulb go off in my head! Cashews and mango! Why not pair them together in a dipping sauce for my spring rolls? The cashews will give them that nutty, salty flavor and the mangos will give it that sweet, fresh taste. My mind was set on making this when I got home for lunch, I just had to try it out and see how it held up to what I had imagined. 

So I got home threw some things in a blender and viola- a beautiful sauce has been born! 
To make it even better, I found this awesome spice at The Bulk Barn here in Moose Jaw called Coconut Thai and added it to the sauce. It complimented the flavors so well by adding a little heat and another element of sweetness. If you dont have that spice I offered some substitutions at the bottom. It might not taste the exact same as the original but it still tastes great! 
For my original post on how I make my spring rolls plus the ingredients for my amazing peanut sauce, check it out here!

Ingredients 

½ cup soaked, raw cashews

1 tbsp coconut Thai spice

1 fresh mango

1 lime, juiced

1 green onion

½ clove garlic

Or

½ cup soaked, raw cashews
1 cup frozen mango

3/4 cup raw coconut water

1 tbsp fresh cilantro 
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 green onion

½ clove garlic

1 lime, juiced
½ lemon rind 

Thanks for reading!
xoxo -N

Organize Your Juice Cleanse in 4 Easy Steps

Juice cleanse! Yup I am going there again! I had plans on doing another one after Mexico but that kind of fell by the wayside. Technically though, this IS after Mexico so I wasn’t totally lying to myself, I am just a procrastinator, no surprise there.

I had tried starting one about a month ago but I just wasn’t motivated enough and ended up just eating all of the produce I had bought for it instead of juicing it. At least it didn’t go rotten in my fridge! There is nothing I hate more than the forgotten brussle sprouts in the back corner that go rotten, I can literally see money being tossed away and a good meal being wasted.

I found the last time I did a juice cleanse it was kind of hard to get my proportions right and figure out if I had enough food in my fridge to last the rest of the cleanse. I found myself running to the grocery store more times than needed, which can be a bit of a hassle. So this time I thought I would plan out what juices I wanted to drink and make out a list of what I will need. Sounds good right? That should alleviate things a bit and make it easier to get back on the juicing train. BUT! What if I take it to the next organizational level?!
Below I have outlined four simple steps to help guide you in starting your juice cleanse, which is always the hardest part. So here are my tips and tricks to start a successful juice cleanse:

1)    Make a list Do some research and figure out which juices you would love to drink and make out a grocery list of everything you will need.  If you are doing a longer cleanse like 10 days, you can break it up into 2 grocery trips to avoid not having enough room in your fridge. I have listed below some of the juices I am drinking, which are great basic ones that are sweet and delicious.

2)    Wash your produce

This may seem like a no brainer, but it really helps you out in the long run. Fill your sink up with cold water and a cup of vinegar and throw in all of your fruit, veggies and leafy greens. Let them sit for 10 mins giving them a scrub to get off all of the dirt. Aslo you should de stem any fruit or veggies that need to be broken down (not the fruit!). Now when you go and juice its all ready to just throw in.

3)    Pre Package your meals

I don’t know about you but I buy all of my leafy greens from Super Store and they always come in these plastic containers that are a bitch to deal with. So why not use them to pre portion out all of my juices in the fridge so all I have to do is grab a container and bam! Its already washed, chopped and portioned for me to just throw in and juice away!? AND I know that I have enough produce to do my whole cleanse (or half of it) without having to go to the grocery store. Don’t forget to label which one is which, or you can leave them unlabeled and live dangerously! Ooo the possibilities!

4)    Cut down on cleaning

Take a bag – I use the thin vegetable bags you get at the grocery store - and line the container that the pulp goes into. You can then dump out the pulp and reuse the bag for the next meal and save you time cleaning it out. And always, always clean out your juicer right after you are done, if not she will be hard to clean out and you will get frustrated!

 

These are some of the juices that I am going to be drinking throughout the 10 days:

2 apples

4 stalks celery

2 big handfuls spinach

1 cucumber

1 lemon

2 pears

3 stalks kale, de stemmed

3 stalks celery

1 cucumber

1 lemon

10 oranges

2 grapefruit

12 oranges

I am already on day four and I feel great. Other than feeling a little tired during the day and having food cravings (not hunger pains) I feel pretty normal. I am trying to do 10 days but I am not putting any pressure on myself if I don't feel like finishing. I hope my tips and tricks help you out on your journey because I know they helped me!

Fruity Colada Smoothie

On Wednesday I had a not-so filling breakfast of just 3 bananas and 4 cups of spinach with coconut water, blended into a smoothie. Normally I have about 2 cups of berries in there but I was out of my favorite frozen berry blend from Super Store. I thought it wouldn’t make that much of a difference in my day, but boy was I wrong.

While at work I was helping a member and I started to get really unfocused and I had trouble remembering numbers. So I attacked my 3 oranges that I brought as a snack and felt so much better. Thankfully I had a healthy snack with me, because I don’t know what I would have done. Well, I would have probably snuck downstairs to the staff room and grabbed a bag of chips, which is a horrible idea because that isn’t good for me or my body.

So that night I was determined to have a filling breakfast and went grocery shopping after supper. I picked up lots of fruits and veggies, including some pineapple and mango. I had this idea of a pina colada inspired smoothie that day and was excited to try it. Happily, I wasn’t disappointed! The smoothie turned out divine and it is now one of my favorites, even my husband said that it was the best spinach smoothie he has ever tasted. 

As you can tell by the ingredient list it makes quite a lot, around 6-8 cups, depending on how big your pineapple is and yes you drink it all to yourself for breakfast. I know it seems like a lot but you need it, trust me. It lasted me all the way until 11:30 and I felt great, I was alert, I felt full and satisfied, which didn't happen the previous day. So if you ever are craving something tropical and are wanting a really filling breakfast this is the smoothie for you! 

Thanks for reading!
xoxo -N

After Thoughts of Juice Journey

I am done and not only did I survive, I thrived. Go me!! A slight round of applause will do... 

Something that I kept track of for these past few days was my weight. I didn't want to post it until after I was done because I wasn't sure there was going to be any change. But fortunately it did:
Day one - 131
Day two - 129
Day three - 128
Day four - 127
Hello 120's, it has been FOREVER since I saw you last. I probably lost around an inch of bloating around my stomach which resulted in a almost flat stomach, something that I have never had. I know this is something that will not last because I am now eating solid foods but I am going to try and reduce my bloating as much as possible. How? By eating mainly fruit and leafy greens, and reducing cooked foods and fats from my diet. This wont be too hard in Mexico, except for the guacamole, I love that stuff! Also by food combinations, such as only eating melons together, not mixing fruits and fats and not eating bananas and acidic fruits together. My time here at 127 might not last, but it was good to see her again!

This morning I woke up feeling good, except when I looked outside and noticed that I had to shovel myself out of my house. But health wise I felt good. For breakfast I had orange juice with coconut water, risking that stomach pain I encountered a couple days ago. But luckily it didn't because it was hard looking at all of those oranges knowing that I might not be able to eat them before I go.  For lunch I made my first 'soild' food meal, a banana, cherry and coconut water smoothie. Seriously, the best thing I have ever tasted (smoothie wise) and I was so amped to eat it for lunch it was hard not to eat it for breakfast. I did however make way too much of it, I probably only needed 2 bananas but my eyes are bigger than my stomach and  made it with 4! Yummy!



The things I learned from my juice cleanse:

1)    First and foremost, I CAN DO IT. I was so scared at the start of this, thinking that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate at work, that I would have bad stomach aches, or just not being able to handle not eating solid foods and having massive cravings (the ladies at work have been talking about OJ’s recently and I am now craving their quinoa salad). But Ashley was right, juice cleanses are easy and I can do it!

2)    My skin is so fricken soft. My skin on my face is usually really dry and I need to exfoliate everyday. But now its super soft and clear and I don’t want it to go back.

3)    To take things slowly. Before the cleanse I was over anxious for our trip and by doing this juice cleanse I really slowed down my pace, especially by going to bed early. I really focused on my health instead of the minutes until our flight left and it took my mind off of my nervousness/anxiety that I was feeling over our trip.  

4)  That I do not need to eat after my workout because drinking a liter and a half of water is sufficient enough to get me to 9:00am. That way when I get home I can eat a full meal on an empty stomach, hydrated system.

5)  That if I didn't have Ashley there to help me I wouldn't have been as successful in my cleanse. She helped me with juice combinations, when to drink, how much, ect. She was a great help and I thank her for it. 

6)  That going to bed at 9pm is wonderful because I feel so great in the mornings. Yes that could have something to do with the cleanse, but I know that it helped me get through my days.

7)  I smell. Yup I stink. The toxins that were in my body escaped through my sweat glands during my cleanse and boy could I smell them. It actually makes me feel good knowing that they are leaving my body, hopefully to never return.

8)  If I felt this good after three days then what would I feel like after 10?

9)  That I should probably do another one after Mexico too!

10) I love having a flat stomach!

Thank you to all who followed me and Ashley on this juice journey. We really appreciate all of the supportive comments and likes and if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

xoxo - N

Juice Cleanse Day 3.... What? Day 3?

...what it’s already day three? Holy that went by really fast! I actually catch myself thinking about the next couple days and what I will be juicing and I have to stop myself because tomorrow I am introducing solids back into my diet. I would really love to continue on this juice cleanse but because I am traveling I wont be able to juice, so I need to introduce solids back in to make it easier on my digestive system.

Day three is like day one and two, I have energy, I feel good, yet a little tired. I woke up this morning and felt the better than normal, still hitting my snooze button 5 times, but still really well. I was super thirsty this morning and ended up drinking over a liter of water, plus my hot lemon water. I walked on the treadmill for half an hour and danced around the gym by myself for a couple songs. So a really great start to my day! 

For breakfast I made my apple juice but instead of kale I used spinach and for lunch I made my pear-ific. I decided not to go with orange juice again because of what happened yesterday, but I think I will try it for breakfast on Saturday morning!

I slept really well last night, going to bed at 9:00 and falling asleep by 9:45, which felt great. I think the sauna helped with that, it relaxed me and helped me wind down from my day. So I planned on going for a sauna again tonight, but it was so snowy out today that indoors seemed like a better idea!

For supper I did a mango, cucumber and coconut water juice, I was not worried about this one because anything with coconut water in it will be delicious. I also drank another liter of water before I went to bed because I was feeling a little dehydrated and tired, which means its time for bed soon. By the looks of the last three days I am thinking day four should go well, but I am excited to introduce some solids back in. Ashley suggested making a juice and blending an apple into it, so maybe I will make my Green Apple juice for breakfast again and just not juice the apple. I only have two more sleeps until Mexico so the next couple days will be a whirl win of getting things together, luckily this juice diet hasn't slowed me down. 

Thanks for reading!

xoxo - N