#Mamavation Monday - All Juiced Up

How was your week?

I had a good one. I found some fun and delicious new ways to stay hydrated, found a fun new website, and got my juice on with the kids!

I know I have written about zesting up my water before. My usual favorites are mint, basil, cucumbers and any combination of citrus slices. This week since the berries are in season I discovered a love of berries in my usual water.

Usually I am not a raspberry fan, but our crop is really good this year and they only gave off a subtle flavor. I froze both my raspberries and blueberries before putting them into the pitcher. As they thawed they released some juice, flavoring the water nicely. The cucumbers were sliced with a small fondant cutter to add a little patriotic flair to our 4th of July festivities.

I have been having such a hard time remembering to drink water that I started filling up a pitcher in the morning and grabbing a glass as I walk past. I try to mix up the flavor each day, but it is always simple, fresh and natural. There is something about seeing the fruit and water that gets me excited to drink it. That is a feeling I don't usually have with a water bottle.

In other news, while browsing Pinterest I found a great site, Rabbit  Food for my Bunny Teeth, which had loads of info about veggie packed recipes as well as some fun juicing ideas. I fell in love with Catherine's site because she stresses being plant strong and even talks about how vegetarians can be unhealthy too if they just eat Oreos. I had a vegetarian friend who only drank beer and ate cheese pizza... he was not a poster boy for the label. My husband and I consider ourselves "Flexitarians" and don't stick with one mold but eat a plant based diet.

She did a classic 5 day cleanse and documented it. Though I haven't tried a complete juice fast/cleanse yet, I still had fun trying the recipes.

I ended up making  Sherbet Lemonade, Spring Best and Mean Green from her site to enjoy with the kids. Yum!! I am really looking forward to our fresh beets this Fall. The kids were impressed with the rainbow of juices we ended up with. In the end my son's Braeburn apple and carrot juice was everyone's favorite.

Have you tried juicing? What is your favorite recipe?

Now this was a great week and I want to keep the momentum going, so here is my plan for the week.
Meal Planning:
Sun. - Lamb stew with couscous en papillote
Mon. - Grilled Stuffed Burritos - from inspiredRD.
Tue. - Homemade Marinara Sauce packed with veggies over hand rolled noodles
Wed. - Protein Power Goddess Bowls
Thur. - Taco Salad
Fri. -  Breakfast - spinach/mushroom potatoes and scrambled eggs

Exercise:
I am continuing with the 2 week challenge and plan to get in my daily walks, but right now my energy has been low and I have been extra sleepy. So I will be focusing on getting sleep, eating well, keeping up with the house and garden, and reducing my stress level. With two small children that is a challenge some days.

Mamavation TV - come join us Monday night because Melissa Paris is back to talk about training with weights.

*Disclaimer This post is sponsored by Omron and hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.