The Secret to Yummy Smoothies and Juices

Since my embarkment on a life-of-less-processed-foods, I have found several food blogs that

a) totally make me look bad,
b) but I don't mind because they're amazing, and
c) have I ever experienced such delicious, easy-to-make food?

This is one: http://www.choosingraw.com/
This is another: http://www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com/
Here are instructions on making smoothies: http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/how-to-make-smoothies.html

You might notice that they all are based on raw, vegan food. Raw foodists do not cook their food (hence the name "raw"), although I believe there is some allowance to how much they choose to warm it. Vegan food basically means that there are no animal products. So for example, vegans choose not to eat meat or dairy. These are really basic definitions, but I thought I should clear that up for people who are confused by the many food-identities there are. :)

Well, I am not vegan, nor am I a raw foodist, but I do approve of making as much of your diet fresh produce, nuts, seeds, or what is called a plant-based diet. Remember learning how energy flows in an ecosystem? Plants convert sunlight into energy. This is the first level. The sun (how awesome is the sun? pretty darn awesome) drives the entire food chain. My not-so-secret wish is to be able to photosynthesize, but that's another story.

I started experimenting with smoothies and juices a few weeks ago. There was one major, catastrophic smoothie that I made. It had so many nutritious things in it, but it was eye-wateringly, sneeze-worthily, cringe-necessarily bitter. And I thought to myself, WHY CAN'T I DO THIS?!

It was really bad.

And so this is what I learned on my early journey into the world of smoothies and juices.

1. Look up recipes. You don't need to follow them. Just get an idea of what kinds of things taste scrumptious when you mix them together.
2. Purchase nuts and seeds. I realized that having things like hemp seeds, chia seeds, and walnuts available make it easy to add thickness or texture (and nutrients!) to a smoothie.
3. Add a little at a time. This means both how much of something you add, and what you add. The infamous bitter smoothie that I made? I also made 4 giant glasses of it. Whoops. Don't do that. You can always save some for later, but if it's not-so-scrumptious, you're not going to want to.
4. Juice or smoothie? Realize what you're getting out of both. Smoothies will have all of the benefits of the entire fruit or vegetable. Juices leave behind the fibers. If you don't eat it, you can compost what is left after juicing. 
5. Experiment! I can almost guarantee that you will not always make a delicious smoothie. That's OK! After a disastrous attempt, you may become more cautious and thoughtful about what you are combining.
6. Enjoy. What is better than making a mouth-watering concoction? Knowing that it is good for you. :) Smile!

I am proud to say that my juicing and smoothing(?) experiments have been going much more successfully. Today I found some blueberries in the fridge, so I made a smoothie out of raw milk (more on this later), blueberries, vanilla, maple syrup, and chia seeds. YUM! Yesterday I used a few carrots, an apple, some lemon, and a bit of ginger to make some juice. Come on people. If I can do it, so can you!

Seriously good stuff. Background from mi9.com

TL;DR: Smoothies, juices, smoothie, juicy, smooth, juice, smooj. :)

NTSS (a common syndrome, often misdiagnosed)

I know someone who claims she suffers from restless legs syndrome (RLS). According to the Mayo Clinic, RLS has no known causes, although there are suggestions that it may be a result of an imbalance of dopamine in the brain.

Now stay with me here. We're going back to when I was a wee gal. I was a rhythmic gymnast for several years, which meant that I got plenty of exercise. I would regularly feel a need to stretch. The only way I can describe how it feels is little blue monsters reaching through my skin and teasingly tugging at my muscles.

Maybe little green monsters. See? He's stretching and he's happy. (And "rawr" means I love you in dinosaur.) Also, not my illustration, unfortunately.

When I quit (about four years ago), I experienced this to a greater extent. Because I stopped exercising and stretching so much, I figured that it was my regular need to stretch syndrome (NTSS). In fact, I experienced NTSS last night. It was such a strong episode, that I actually started grabbing at my toes to relieve it. Finally, I made the connection to RLS. Who knew I had been misdiagnosing myself my whole life?

But wait! Doesn't exercise spark dopamine production? The very thing that RLS seems to be the result of? The Mayo Clinic suggests regular exercise and stretching. That's what I prescribed myself when I was experiencing NTSS! I have contacted WebMD to feature NTSS as a common name for RLS, but no word back yet.

In the meantime, those of you who thought you were experiencing NTSS, maybe you're really experiencing RLS! You can go stretch and exercise now, and then your little blue/green monsters may leave you alone for a day or two. Unfortunately, in order to keep them from their nasty habit of making you want to move your legs, you might want to consider daily exercise and stretches. I'm sure they will want to run around you in circles as you treat your NTSS. Go make them happy!

TL;DR: Do you have restless legs? You may be experiencing restless legs syndrome. Maybe they're restless because you haven't been moving them.

P.S. No, I haven't contacted WebMD.

P.P.S. I realize that RLS may actually be a symptom of something else that may actually be a serious problem. MY problem is that everyone has become so unaware of their bodies that they don't know when their body is telling them to go and MOVE something more than their fingers on a keyboard.

P.P.S. Happy September!