"Eat Your Weedies" Artlicle in Oprah Magazine: Guess what? These powerhouses are in JOOS!

I was very excited to see in the June edition of Oprah Magazine (p. 97) the article entitled "Eat Your Weedies." Finally, the truth about our little powerhouses growing right before our eys in our front lawns is finally revealed! In fact, the article says, some of these wile greens "are so nutritious, they can make spinach look like iceburg lettuce."

Why am I happy to see this? As people who JOOS know, we've been adding these wild greens to your JOOS, from chicory, to dandelion greens to even purslane.

JOOS is committed to deliver to you the most nutrient rich, fresh juice that changes with the seasons. This is why many people who drink JOOS experience reduced allergy symptoms, colds and flu.

JOOS is admittedly an acquired taste for people who have highly acidic diets, which to me is sad because it shows how much they've grown away from what we're intended to eat.

The good news is that, after a couple days on JOOS, most people adjust and actually start liking the taste, because their bodies are craving the nutrients.

So, if you live within the 495 Belt, give us a call and try a JOOS!

Simple Ways to Reduce Obesity. If you're a parent, you're going to want to read this!

Why is childhood obesity pandemic? Here's one of the simple answers:

Are you aware that annual US per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) grew from 0 pounds in 1967 to 53 lbs in 2008, according to the USDA?

What is HFCS? A highly refined clear liquid derived from corn starch. When HFCS is ingested, it goes straight to the liver and turns into fat. Unlike other carbohydrates, HFCS does not cause the pancreas to produce insulin, which acts as a hunger quenching signal to the brain. As a result, we don't feel satiated when we consume foods that contain HFCS.

Studies are finally showing the dangers of HFCS! A group of researchers from Princeton found that rats that consumed high fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those that ingested basic table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

Why is HFCS so popular among food manufacturers? Because it prolongs shelf life at a relatively low cost.

How can you reduce HFCS from yours and your childrens' diet?

1. Eliminate almost all the sweetened drinks - Drink JOOS and water instead:
If you think you're quenching your or your children's thirst by giving them soda, Gatorade or any of these sweetened drinks, you're really feeding them poison - and
dehydrating them in the process.

2. Home cook as much as possible: Many restaurants tend to use HFCS.

3. Make certain you read all labels when you shop. Incidentally, if there is an ingredient you are unable to pronounce, don't buy the food. Ingredients should be easy to read like: wheat, corn, egg, etc. Why are you buying foods that contain chemicals that do NOT assimilate in the body?

I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Teaching Our Children "Strong" vs. "Weak" Foods: A Lesson By Pinocchio

I often tell my children the story of Pinocchio who, as we all know, was lured to Pleasure Island by taunts of boys saying "Come with us. We know a wonderful place filled with giant cakes, pretty candies..."

As we know, those "giant cakes, pretty candies" were just a facade and, behind it, was a gruesomely ugly land where bad boys turned into donkeys.

The boys who taunted Pinocchio are today's food companies who are convincing us, the consumer, and our children, that the sugar coated, processed foods they're selling to us are good for us and our families and will even help us to lose weight.

Of course I don't want to make food an issue with my children because we know where that can lead, but I do want them to understand the difference between "strong" and "weak" foods. I believe it is fundamental to give them this base of a healthy relationship to food at an early age so that they'll keep coming back to it in later years.

I also know how extremely important it is for us, as their parents, to act as role models to them. That includes showing them that once in awhile, it's OK to eat a "weak" food, but that over all, we eat "strong" foods so that we can do well in school, in sports and in friendships.

As their parents, think about how much processed foods you're eating. Why is it OK for you to eat these "weak" foods? What can you be eating instead?

The Times are Changing - Americans are Turning to Health - JOOS in the Herald!

Little by little we're realizing that all these sugar coated, processed foods are making us fat and sick. "They" meaning food and diet companies, who have come to be known as the establishment, have been tricking us for years to think that if we eat their fortified, low calorie, low carb, low fat foods, we would lose weight and be healthy. America is waking up to the fact that they're wrong!

Many of us thing that losing weight will make us look good and feel better, but that's just the band aid, which is why we inevitably gain back the weight.

First, we have to get to the root of WHY we have allowed ourselves to gain weight.

The JOOS Cleanse addresses this. We focus on your health first and, as you become healthier, you naturally lose weight.

The article just published in the Herald (link below) about JOOS is an indication of how we're learning to take back our health.

http://bostonherald.com/entertainment/health/nutrition/view.bg?articleid=1255480

What do you think? Do you agree?

The Importance of Alkalinity - Oxygenating your cells - Get it in JOOS!

With four active children, a thriving business and some other personal issues, the stress can undeniably build up, which throws off my system in various ways, including UTIs and stomach aches.

By almost anyone's account, I have a healthy diet. Approximately 70% of my diet is composed of fruits and vegetables and approximately 90% is whole grains. Yet, I still feel the effects of the "acid buildups" from the rigors of everyday life.

If this is what happens to me with a healthy diet, there's no wonder that disease is so prevalent in our society with so many of us consuming a diet composed of acid forming, processed and refined foods, large portions of animal protein, wheat and dairy. Scary!

We Americans are under more stress than almost any other nation. We are also a nation of pandemic disease.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

This is why I founded JOOS? To help people alkalize - or oxygenate - their systems so that they build up their immune systems and help prevent free radicals from running rampage.

Join us on a JOOS Cleanse! This is the biggest gift you could give to yourself and your family!

Oprah and Women Food and G-d - The JOOS Cleanse can help you break the diet cycle!

I listened yesterday to Oprah's interview with Geneen Roth, who wrote the must read book, Women, Food and G-d. There are seven basic principles in the book that I'm not going to review right now because the MOST important part is, as Oprah and Geneen say (and I 100% agree), you are not going to follow these principles until you get to the root of why you're overeating.

Geneen Roth's premise is that "The way you eat is inseparable from your core beliefs about being alive...When you begin to understand what prompts you to use food as a way to numb or distract yourself, the process takes you deeper into realms of spirit and to the bright center of your own life."

I counseled a woman who "told" me she wanted to lose weight, but I could tell from our first meeting that, consciously or not, she really didn't want to lose weight. She went on multiple diets to prove that she was doing everything she could to lose weight, but nothing worked because, in her mind, she was destined to be overweight. She was undergoing a lot of pain and suffering, but each time I tried to pull it out, she retreated and said, "my pain is not nearly as bad as other people's."

Gallant? I don't know. To me, it's irrelevant if her pain is worse or better. The bottom line is that she needs to resolve that pain - let herself FEEL THE PAIN - if she is going to move forward with her life on a road to happiness. Many people do not want to go there.

Plain and simply, she is self-medicating through food to numb the pain so no matter what diet she goes on, it won't work and she'll continue to feel the pattern of feeling like a failure.

Food for thought.

Why Oprah Says She'll Never Diet Again! Here's JOOS can help you live healthy and lose weight permanently.

Oprah's elevator weight loss story is typical of many of us Americans. Do you know that we're the only country in the world who experiences these big up and down swings in weight? You probably know by now that we are also the most obese nation in the world.

DIETS DO NOT WORK!!!!

Many people have asked us why we have not offered a three day intense cleanse. Many cleanses are offered in this 3 to 5 day format, which are growing in popularity, but I have some deep reservations about them.

While JOOS may consider doing a quick start cleanse to help ease you into the JOOS Cleanse, our goal is to educate people how to live healthy and lose weight permanently. This is a process, which requires patience.

JOOS is here to support you! Our cleanse is designed to kick start this process and put you on the road to permanent health and weight loss.

The More We Cram into your Life, the Emptier we Feel

Like everything I can think of in life, it comes down to balance. If we don't fill our lives up enough, we feel lonely and depressed. If we cram too much into our lives, we feel empty, overwhelmed and depleted.

I'm guilty of the latter. I jam pack my life to fulfill some need. Admittedly, this is an addiction.

It's ironic that we gravitate to what we need to work on most. For me, I founded the JOOS Cleanse, which has the main goal of feeling mindful - to FEEL what is most nourishing for ourselves in what we eat, think and do. For example, are we overdoing exercise? Do we socialize with people who deplete us of energy? Do we rush around, late for almost everything, the way I do, and feel horribly about it?

The point is not to beat ourselves up about it; but to recognize that this is our journey. Personally, I know I'm a lot calmer now than I was six years ago when I was coming out of an incredibly unavoidably hostile divorce. I know I'm going to be an even more mindful person two years from now because I'm committed to this journey.

I encourage you to take the first steps towards becoming mindful, whether it be in the way you eat or another addictive pattern you want to break, through doing the JOOS Cleanse. We will support you along the way.

To Your Health!

Weight Loss is a Process and the JOOS Cleanse is an intelligent way to kick start healthy eating habits!

Our Russian babysitter gained approximately 25 pounds from when she came to the US approximately a year ago until she starting living with us about six months ago. She said she filled herself on ice cream and the SAD Diet - Standard American Diet. That would do it.

She started a cleanse within a couple weeks of moving in with us and lost perhaps 3 to 5 pounds. Many Americans would be discouraged with that, but she continued drinking 1 JOOS per day, consuming at least 90% of her diet consisting of whole foods and barely eating dinner at night, if at all. Each week she got on the scale she lost 1/2 to 1 pound. Sometimes not even that much. Still, she persisted.

In April, she did her second JOOS Cleanse and lost another 8 lbs. She looks absolutely gorgeous and she is so happy! She goes throughout the day giggling, which is contagious.

Not to be hard on Americans, but I wish more of us would adopt her attitude. She never said to me, "I can't do this." She never complained that it's coming off too slowly. She didn't give up and she didn't look for an alternative diet.

She knew that this was going to be a process and she accepted it, without attitude.

We, as Americans, are accustomed to quick fixes. We starve ourselves, then binge, because we didn't pace ourselves. We go on so many diets that don't work. We're often impatient or just give up.

You can lose weight. We can help you realize your goal, but we adopt a different philosophy than most weight loss companies: We believe that first you must focus on your health and, with it, naturally you will lose the weight.

It may take two or three JOOS Cleanses before you realize your goals. If you find a program in which you lose your weight over night, there's a very high chance that you're going to gain it overnight.

We have a staff of Lifestyle Counselors who would love to support you through this process. We would love to work with you!

To Your Health,
Lauri

Pace Yourself for Sustainability

We all know that if we start a race too quickly, it is highly likely that we end up burning out by the end of the race.

This is exactly what happens on many cleanses or weight loss programs that involve starvation and/or deprivation and why these types of programs do NOT work - we starve or deprive ourselves and inevitably we end up binging.

Our JOOS Cleanse is designed to teach you to pace yourself and develop healthy eating habits for the rest of your life. This is a process and, if you're truly committed to it, you can reach your lifestyle goals, whatever they may be.

We'd love to support you through this. Please call us and we'd be happy to discuss the program with you.

Let the JOOS Cleanse help you clean your life of chaos

Sasha is feeling so much better in the mornings. When I worked from home, the house was in chaos. Notice how I wrote house instead of home? The children woke up irritable. It was nearly impossible to establish a routine. Life in the mornings, shall I say, was not very pleasant.

Now that I'm working out of the house, we have a home. The children wake up happy and energetic. They arrive early to school. Life is, over all, so much more satisfying.

When our lives fall into chaos, we do almost everything scattered from making hapharzard decisions, over scheduling ourselves, mixing up priorities, and eating poorly.

The goal of the JOOS Cleanse is to bring your life in sync so that you become balanced and in control. Every day we are revamping our program so that we can improve our service to you.

People come up to me daily and ask how I do it with four children and a thriving business. I wouldn't be able to without JOOS!

The Power of JOOS!

This morning our entire JOOSing team was not in the best spirits. Some of the team had spent the entire day yesterday schlepping produce from one town that didn't have a water contamination issue, washing the produce there, and then returning it to Belmont. We had purchased gallons of bottled water admittedly at a considerable expense and, frankly, it wasn't the most fun we've ever had straining the JOOS, washing with bottled water, etc.

There is a reason why I'm writing this. Michael, our Director of JOOS Operations, who had to manage all this, was understandably in a grumpy mood at 3:00 am when he arrived at the commissary. One of his responsibilities is to sample every single batch of JOOS. Today it seemed to me that he was over-pouring his samples. By 5:30 am, he was down right giddy, almost drunk, from drinking so much JOOS. He had all of us laughing so hard with his jokes and wise-cracks. I said, "did you ever think that consuming the healthiest beverage/food had the power to change your mood?"

I've had this same experience several times. In fact, I look forward to Mondays when I haven't JOOSed for the weekend. That's how acutely I can feel when I haven't been sufficiently nourished.

So, please join us in the power of JOOS and let me know if you have any questions.

To Your Health!
Lauri

You Can Eat Healthy on a Trip and Still Enjoy it!

Many of you ask how to maintain the "JOOS Cleanse" eating lifestyle - or just plain eating healthy - while traveling. So many of us feel like we fall apart when we go on vacation. Fun while we indulge and then we feel miserable when we return.

Like everything in life, we need to strike a balance. Going away and eating healthy is not incongruous. In fact, it is very doable. Just be realistic about it. And remember: this is NOT about being perfect because what is perfection anyway - an illusion!

Here's a sample vacation eating plan (which, by the way, can be applied to every day life):

Breakfast
Have a big bowl of oatmeal and load it with fruit. If you eat a big enough breakfast, you will not feel so much temptation to consume a big lunch and dinner.

Lunch
If you are in a warm climate, have a huge salad of greens and a protein - no bigger than the size of your fist, like a piece of fish. Avoid the heavy meat. Make certain you use a light dressing like a vinegrette or olive oil with balsamic vinegar.

If your breakfast and lunch are big enough, you will not have temptation to eat a big dinner or snack during the day.

Dinner:
If you want to order a cocktail, do! Even have a glass of wine with dinner.
Have a protein - again no bigger than the size of your fist - with lots of veggies and perhaps a small portion of a starch, like rice, 1/2 a sweet potato or 1/2 baked potato without the butter, sour cream, etc. If there is a big dessert buffet, take a bite sized piece of a few of the desserts or have 1/2 of one of them. Remember, if you feel deprived, you will binge - so better to have a small amount of something you are craving than to gorge later.

I have to go back to my French woman example. Often they eat a small piece of steak with no more than a fist sized portion of french fries, veggies and a glass of wine f dinner. They do NOT graze in between meals. They watch their portion size. They enjoy their food.

Unlike the French, we feel so constrained in what we eat that it is inevitable that we binge, particularly when we go on vacation.

Establishing healthy eating patterns is a process so take small steps. The next time you go out to dinner or on vacation, start with watching your portion sizes.

Also, you know I have to add that eating an alkaline diet of at least 70% will help you diminish the cravings. What's the best way to do this? Drink fresh, organic JOOS!