Valdizzy Ready + Q&A
Morning friends! Hope you’re having a great day. Hope you enjoy the last week of Bridal Bootcamp 🙂
Vies and I are all packed up for Valdizzy.
Vies is going to her favorite kennel until after Thanksgiving (since I’ll be gone two more times until then!) and I’m going to the dentist and having early b-day celebration with the girls <3
B-fast was fast and furious, since I’m gonna load up the car and peace out early.
A gluten-free English muffin with two egg whites, arugula, mustard + Dante cheese (I’m obsessed)
If any San Fran bloggy wants to trade me macaroons for cheese replenishment, hit me up 🙂
The plan was to hit up the gym before leaving, but there’s going to be a lot of running around today- as soon as I get to Valdizzy, I have to get dog food for Viesser, drop her off at Jeni’s, get my teeth scraped and prodded, take Vies to the vet, then to the kennel, then back to Jeni’s. Whew! I may throw in a 20 minute TurboFire sesh at Jeni’s but we shall see 😉
Hope you have a wonderful day and I’ll see ya from V-town 🙂
xoxo,
Gina
Q & A: Here are a few questions I’ve received lately:
1. What’s the difference between juices and smoothies? Can you make a juice in a blender?
The difference between juices and smoothies is that juices are made in a juicer, smoothies are made in a blender. So whenever I have juice in the morning, I use the Jack Lalanne juicer (which I bought from Heaby over a year ago)- I love it! We used a Breville model at culinary school and I recommend that one as well.
Juices provide all of the water, nutrients and enzymes of the fruit/veggies that you juice, minus all of the fiber, which makes them easier to digest. If you were to make a smoothie with the same veggies, it would end up being like a gazpacho or blended salad. Still delicious, but different 🙂
Which one is better/ more important??
The thing is, they’re totally different beasts. Juice is great for a morning pick-me-up in lieu of coffee, while I love making a smoothie for snack or lunch. I think if you have to choose between investing in a juicer or blender, I say go for the blender. The Vita-mix changed my life forever- I use it at least once everyday. I even brought it with us on our honeymoon!
For my favorite juice combos, check out *this post*, for tips on making a meal out of your smoothie, here’s a *post for that* + reader-submitted smoothie recipes
2. Why aren’t you down with food combining? What is it anyway?
Food combining is the notion that it takes a different amount of time to break down and digest different types of food. Fruit takes 30 minutes to digest from start to finish, whereas a starch, nut or flesh-based meal (meat, eggs, fish) can take 3-4 hours. The idea is that you eat similar foods together (starch with starch, flesh with flesh, nut/dried fruit with nut/dried fruit) -fresh vegetables combine with everything- so that your food can digest more easily and your body’s energy can more efficiently be used for other processes, since it isn’t trying to break down poor food combos.
I think our bodies are intelligent machines and can, um, take the trash out on their own without us having to worry about the food combinations. And honestly, I think it’s a little boring 😉 I like cheese with starch, nuts with starch (almond butter + bread are SUPPOSED to go together!), etc. I tried the food combo thing for a little while last year, and realized it wasn’t for me. That’s not to say it doesn’t work for other people, especially those with digestion probs.
For a helpful post on food combining, check out *this one* by my friend Gena
See ya laterrrrrr 🙂
40 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Oh Viesa has such a sweet face! I wish we could take her 🙁
I hear you on the food combining — I’ve read a little about it and I just don’t know if I’d have the time/patience to eat that way. If I knew it would make a huge difference in how I feel, then I would try it. But I feel pretty good as is!
Wow sounds like a super busy day! And thanks for mentioning food combining because I’d heard of it but wasn’t really sure what it was all about. Have a safe trip! 🙂
Ahhh I’m also obsessed with Cowgirl Creamery! They actually have a store in DC, too, which is a few blocks from my apartment. Love!
I’d be TOTALLY down to send you some Dante cheese (or whatever kind you want!) in exchange for your famous macaroons! Let me know
Have a fun trip to Valdizzy! Great Q & A’s
Love the Q&A! 🙂 Have a safe trip!
At this juncture in my life I cannot IMAGINE eating peanut butter with no bread… it’s so… DELICIOUS. 🙂
Love the Viesy face. Such a pretty baby.
Have a great time for your bday! Party it up, yo!
I agree- we should just eat whatever combinations our bodies want! If I’m craving all carbs.. im going to eat all carbs!
Interesting Q&As!
i hope viesa has a good time in the kennel! i would die if i had to leave my baby that long 🙂
I tried food combining too, and as it did leave me to feeling good, I also felt really deprived. I juiced in the morning, ate fruit, moved to veggies, no more nut butter with banana (which is a sin), no more eggs with oatmeal, etc etc. I was missing my favorite meal of the day (breakfast) and stressing over it all. So then I just stopped and I’m doing my own thing which I know works for me now. Not to say anything is bad with juicing, because I love it and still have juices often,and I think a LOT of people can heal themselves by flooding their body with alkaline foods and pure nutrients through juice. I’m just not down with food combining anymore, and if I want my almond butter on toast I’m going to have it damnit! Safe trip back to Vtown
Whenever I read about food combining, my head starts to hurt!! Too complicated for me!
I love my juicer and my blender…but the juicer is definitely a little more labor-intensive to use and clean!
I 100% agree with you on the Vita-Mix. We always take ours whenever we will be away from our house overnight. My Vita-Mix is well traveled. 😉
As for food combining, I was intrigued by it, but it just wasn’t practical for me. I kept finding that my meals had to be planned ahead of time (I always plan dinner, but not breakfast and lunch) and it just didn’t work. I also hated that you couldn’t have fruit with anything else. I eat super “clean” and that works the best for me. Have a great trip!
Thanks for the info on food combining, Gina! Sounds interesting, but not very tasty or easy to eat that way. Although I don’t have any sort of digestive issues so it may be a solution for peeps with GI issues. Thanks for sharing. Have a great busy day!
I’ve never heard of that food pairing combo. That would drive me crazy if I tried to eat like that.
Oh no! I totally though Vies was the other dog..not that they both aren’t cute, but I’m in love with Vies…she looks a lot like my female dog (Shephard / Sharpei mix). Do you really think she needs to be an only dog? I’d take her otherwise!
And I live near SF and will do a cheese / ‘roon exchange =)
I agree that if you have to choice between a blender or a juicer–blender is the way to go! I love my Vitamix!! 🙂
Have a safe trip Gina! I have a Waring Pro juicer and I love it. Besides cleaning up after it.
I want a Vitamix so much but the price tag scares me away. It’s so expensive!
I was wondering what all that food-combining was about! I agree that it might be a little two intense and I think it would make me feel deprived, for sure. I like to take special note of any foods that make me feel amazing and eat those. For example, I almost always eat peanut butter on whole wheat toast with banana and honey before a long run or running race. It always sounds delicious to me and have enough nutrition to make me feel energetic and not weighed down. Its much easier for me to focus on things I can have, than those I can’t. Thanks for filling us in!
Safe travels! Yummy meal too.
Long live the Vita Mix,hehe.
🙂
Good info on food combining! I also tried this last year and felt like my digestion got a little better, but it might have just been a mental thing because I knew I was food combining. Honestly, it was more trouble than it was worth.
Have a super day!
I like when you post about things that many readers are asking. Kinda fun to see what inquiring minds want to know 😉
I agree with you on food combining G. And I’m just going to leave it at that 🙂
blender > juicer !!
Hey Gina! Just popping in to pay you a few compliments! I really admire your fearless and positive attitude that you bring to everything in your life, whether it be difficult, sad or challenging. You seem to have such a great energy about your daily activities, tasks and exercise and this honestly inspires me to be more productive and active in my life! You have made me think about being being physically fit in a totally different way! Now I am more active and think of it as fun and I can tell how much better it makes me feel. Keep it up! You are doing a good job.
wow thank you so much! <3 thank you for reading, too 🙂
Re: food combining, I find it actually makes a small difference in my digestion, but I don’t have bad digestive problems at the moment so I don’t need to live by it religiously at all. I find it makes a different especially in with meat but less with nuts or other plant based proteins. Cheers!
happy early birthday!!
and thanks for the Q&A – great info
I love how down to earth you are when talking about this!
Have a safe trip to Valdizzy!!
Food combining has always interested me…I think it could be true to an extent, but I certainly wouldn’t obsess over it either! Certain foods just naturally don’t go as well together 🙂
Ohhh… I needed new smoothies ideas today. Thank you! 🙂
And I agree on the food combining. Some things were just meant to be eaten together.
You are an amazing fur mom!
Just wanted to wish you a Happy Veteran’s Day! Military wives play a huge role in protecting this country!
thank you <3
Have a safe trip!!!! happy veterans Day!!!
I totally agree with going with a blender over a juicer, if one can only get one or the other.
I have a Vita (and a blendtec) and use and love the Vita like it’s my first born and BFF, daily 🙂
My juicer is a Breville and b/c of the cleanup issues (I dunno but it takes me forever to get all the pulp unstuck from the blades/teeth whereas the Vita is seriously 2 seconds) I dont juice as much. Plus the Vita can be used for a zillion things but a juicer is pretty much…just a juicer.
That post on Gena’s site about food combining was one of the best and easiest breakdowns about food combining I’ve ever read and I remember reading it when she first wrote it and also trying to be more mindful of food combining but realized inherent as a GF vegan, I already naturally combine “properly” much of the time and if I don’t, I dont stress out or really notice much difference…for me personally. But everyone’s different.
Have a great and safe trip!!
🙂
Thanks for the great into on the juicer! I got one for $80 from Target that was great for my college-student budget. I haven’t had a problem with it at all.
A blender is totally the way to go! I only got my Vita-Mix this year, but I can’t believe I went so long without one!!
I totally understand where you’re coming from on the food combining. Personally, it works really well for me and I stick to the rules as much as possible. But it’s definitely not for everyone! And, I’m not terribly strict about it at all times– if I am really craving almond butter on toast, or cheese on my pasta, I will have it every now and then! In general, though, food combining has seriously improved my diet, lifestyle and digestion, so I’m a big fan! 😀
I’ll trade! I love me some Cowgirl Creamery and should be hitting them up soon anyway! Let me know. 🙂
I don’t know much about food combining, but I agree that I think our bodies evolved to be smart enough to handle whatever we eat. Plus it seems like it requires way too much thought! 😛
Random question- by the way, loved everything you noted on as sometimes I get curious about those subjects, too! I’m wanting to buy Sun Warrior protein powder, I’ve heard quite a buzz about it in the blog world. First it was Jay Robb’s now it’s Sun Warrior 🙂 Do you know an inexpensive, affordable place to buy it online? It’s quite pricey, but I want it! 🙂
Thanks 🙂
wait until i have an opensky promo- we should do one in nov. it’s usually 35 with the promo instead of 47. i think you’ll love sun warrior- i’ve tried so many different types and sw is my fave