Party rockin' in the hous...er...kitchen tonight. Sometimes I get so excited about delicious, healthy food that I could fist pump about it. “Yea boyeee, I love kale, ence, ence, ence.” I saw my good friend from home, Meghan, last week and she gave me the best gift of all time that sums up my fist pumping for food craze. See below.

Doesn't get any better than that, huh? It's the perfect combination of my three loves: juicing, hitting the dance floor (even though my moves have seriously deteriorated thanks to my hip - much less booty shaking and more focus on arm movements) and neon. This shirt came at a perfect time because I guarantee we could all use a little juice in our lives after a long July 4^th week. I know I can.

I spent my holiday weekend/week down in Ocean City with Eric and a few friends. We had SO much FUN.

We went on our friend's boat all day and stopped at a few of my favorite beach bars for a couple casuals.

When we got back we kept it pretty healthy on the grill with an assortment of veggies. Nothing is better than a summer cookout.

My friend Andrew made me my favorite raw chocolate balls, per my demand if he wanted to stay at my house. Hehe.

We went to Dewey Beach for the night to a beach bar with a live band. SO fun.

My hair continued to grow as the night went on. That is the one and only negative about beach bars. (Eric loves to point out my frizz – i.e. when we saw a commercial for “de-frizzing serum” the other day he gave me a “should you get that?" look.)

My brother likes to point out the frizz, too...

At the end of the night the boys paid for the girls to take a bike taxi back to the house so they didn't have to hear us complain about our feet hurting in our heels. We giggled the whole way there.

The next day, we enjoyed crabs and bud light limes in my backyard. I wish bud light limes had the same effect as water because I could drink them every day, all day long.

Claire asked me to be her bridesmaid. A few tears were shared :-D. Colb asked Eric to be a groomsman. A few shots were shared. No matter how we celebrated, We.Cannot.Wait.

Eric and I went on the rides at the Ocean City boardwalk and seriously had the time of our lives. I was almost peeing my pants from laughing so hard – I was also sweating bullets from all the action and the extreme heat so you can only imagine how big my hair was...so sorry, no pics from that night. And I have to say, it made us feel old as hell because we both felt SO sick afterwards.

Eric learned to drive the pontoon boat by himself! The only hiccups he ran into were turning the boat on and parking the boat in our dock. Other than that he was a natural. 

We went to a cook out at Eric's boss' place in Hoboken for the actual 4^th of July and I made a really healthy fruit platter...with marshmallow fluff, cream cheese and almond milk (I told you it was healthy). And the fluff is red, white, and blue so I had to use it if I wanted to be patriotic! I may or may not have dipped my spoon into the jar once or twice.

Cute little fruit platter, right?

We had such an amazing view of the fireworks. For anyone who has never seen the NYC fireworks, you have to add it to your bucket list. They are gorgeous. My manz took this pic...Notice the Empire State Building and the orange moon in the background. 

Great week all around and I finished it by finally getting my permit after taking the Driver's Ed course! It was me and a bunch of 18 year olds who were talking about where they were going to college in the Fall. That was fun. And of course the teacher asked me if I had a license before (I guess he thought I looked older than 18? weird) so I had to explain my story. That wasn't embarrassing at all. Neither was walking up to this sign...

It's crazy to think that the last time I saw “Learner Permit” on my ID, I was 15! That was 12 years ago. God I'm so old and way too old to have a permit. Next adventure...Road Test. Stay tuned.

Okay back to the importance of this entire post...JUICING.

No people, not V8 or any other canned, frozen or bottled juices. Most of these juices are processed which means their nutrients are depleted, so they fall short when it comes to revitalizing the bod. The #1 reason to juice: it provides an excellent way for us to absorb vitamins and minerals which is even superior to eating whole veggies, because juicing releases these nutrients in a highly absorbable form. 

More benefits of juicing from Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Life:

- Juice, which is rich in antioxidants, cleanses the body of stored wastes and toxins that interfere with the proper functioning of cells and organs.

- This garden-in-a-glass offers an abundance of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytonutrients and antioxidants – a cornucopia of nutrients that increase the mirco-electric potential of the cells. This improves the body’s use of oxygen so the muscles and both the muscles and brain are energized.

- A healthy, vibrant internal environment is a key to optimum health. This means our cells, organs, and systems are able to do the jobs they are designed to do.

- Vegetables and fruit are very alkaline, which helps to balance a diet that is often quite acidic for most Americans.

- Raw juices are also replete with biophotons – those light rays of energy plants get from the sun. When we pasteurize juice (all commercial juices are pasteurized even the ones in store refrigerators) those beautiful rays of energy are destroyed.

- Sleep improves. Energy kicks up a notch, and mood improves. The mind becomes more alert and creative, while disorganizing brain fog fades away because all the nutrients in fresh juice help the mind and body revive.

Read more here: http://crazysexylife.com/2011/the-benefits-of-juicing/

My Daily Go-To Green Juice is:

Large handful of organic spinach

4 organic kale leaves

2 organic celery stalks

1 organic cucumber

1 organic green apple (green apples have less sugar than red apples)

1 organic lemon (peeled)

You can really use any green that looks the best at the market. I also love playing with swiss chard, collard greens, and mustard greens.

I love how all the veggies and fruits look together...(fist pumping). I was making two juices so the portions are doubled. 

First add the leafy greens to the juicer and push them through with the cucumber or celery – it helps get the most nutrients from the leafy greens.

Then add your apple and lemon and it's as simple as that.

A few tips:

1. Buy a juicer if you don't have one. They are an investment but so worth it! Especially knowing how expensive they are at a store. I bought this puppy the other day...8 ounces for 8 bucks. Ridic!


Two juicers that I always recommend to people:


This is the one I have. It works great and I loooove it. http://www.brevilleusa.com/beverages/juicers/die-cast-juice-fountain-elite.html


My roommate has this one so I have used it a few times in our apt and it works just as well as mine and it's cheaper.


http://www.brevilleusa.com/beverages/juicers/juice-fountain-plus-je98xl.html

2. Wash your veggies the night before and simply wrap in a damp paper towel and store in a plastic grocery bag to save time. It's always best to drink your juice immediately after you make it. The longer it sits, the more it oxidizes and loses nutrients. 
 

3. If you need more reasons to start juicing, watch my friend Joe Cross' documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly   Dead. It's amazing and one of the most inspiring film you will ever see.

So lettuce turnip the beet and get your juicin' on!