Took the plunge - Masticating Juicer!

After these weeks of going out several times a week, endless celebrations, now being a few kg heavier, felt it was time for another one of my crazy detox obsessions. Yes, I am changing the theme of the last several blogs from exercise to my next fave topic, nutrition!

The seed was planted by a patient a couple of weeks before I left for my USA trip, he is super fit and healthy and of course this provided endless discussions on health themes... which inevitably, juicing comes up (yes, I admit, it is popular and trendy!). He mentioned a "slow" juicer, and it sounded interesting enough, What made me pay attention was that it was a lot better for you because it preserves the nutrients and enzymes because it literally "presses" the ingredients and not have it smash through a blade. But granted at the time, I commented, "bah! Sounds nice, but I have enough kitchen gadgets considering I'm not a cook nor have any interest in cooking." To which we laughed and that was that conversation and the last I thought of it.

Until I met up with my good family friend in Chicago, Jelena. She is a macrobiotic and is a super super nutrition expert. She really takes care of herself, and really does look fab, no wrinkles and beautiful skin. So I was super happy that it worked to visit her at her Cafe during my short week in Chicago. Somehow we got to talking about juicers, and the next thing I know, my mouth is dropping as I'm listening to her talking about the benefits of this "cold-pressed slow masticating" juicer (it can go by all of these names). I almost gasped out loud when it seemed like these last couple of years since I discovered juicing were going to waste because the blade of the Centrifugal juicer (the one that most people have) emits heat but this heat releases the oxygen in the ingredients and kills a lot of the enzymes. WHAT?!?!! Now the seed was deep into my brain because got totally obsessed. Next thing I know, HOURS (really not kidding), HOURS later, and this includes youtube videos, internet searching, reading on all these juicing websites, hemming and hawing "is this worth it?" I decided to get one. Eek! The one thing anyone will tell you is that these things are EXXXXXXXPPPPEENNNSIIIIIVVEEE!!!! Literally, almost 3x more expensive than a regular juicer. BUT, this wasn't a spontaneous spur-of-the moment decision, it was a few weeks process AND, as mentioned above, HOURS of research. It's hard to hold back on health things, you know?

According to Jelena, and actually many online resources, the best brands are Huron and Omega. Huron originated S. Korea and pioneered this whole concept of "slow" or "cold"-pressed juicing. And then supposedly Omega, after seeing the success, "copied" it, made their own little changes, and somehow now it seems to be more popular than the Huron. Anyhoo, Jelena said they are more or less the same and recommended them equally. Well, after spending HOURS just researching about the benefits of the cold-pressed juicer, next up was HOURS of figuring out which brand to get. How overwhelming! It's not just the brand, it's the different versions, the generations, you name it. Well, the decision came more out of logistics, Omega isn't really available here in Dubai! Versus Huron has a supplier here AND they are sold on this Dubai online website. So once I chose the Huron, then it took more HOURS to decide on which model. In the end, if you are investing sooo much, might as well go for gold, right? So I ended up going with the Huron 700, 2nd generation:

Comes with this little book

AND here they make us feel better in describing WHY you put so much money into this thing :-) 

Now, although I like talking about this stuff and you would think the opposite, I am really no juicing expert or fanatic. Why it works for me is because "drinking" veggies, especially ones you would not eat by itself, it a LOT easier and smoother. It's so nice first thing in the morning, really gives me a zap and energy for the day. I feel as if I am getting heaps of nutrients (or so I thought) without having to eat stuff you don't necessarily like and wouldn't eat on its own. Although with my old centrifugal one (that's what it's called if it has a blade and you can pretty much put anything through it, whole apples, beetroot, anything, and it will liquidify it) I would put in all sorts of stuff, you can nullify the taste by putting in lemon and/or ginger (I would do both). And then it doesn't really taste like anything! 

Anyhoo, I have ONLY used it once, but here are my impressions so far and the pro's and con's:

1. Set-up: Probably a bit more time-consuming with the Huron because there are more parts, and the parts seem to be more specific and sensitive (or maybe I'm just more paranoid because it cost so much?). Everything really needs to "sit" properly before using. 

2. Preparation: The Huron is more time consuming because the hole is a lot smaller and all the instructions say to feed it slowly AND to cut anything hard (celery, apples, cucumber) into small pieces and likewise with anything leafy... so that takes more time as with the Centrifugal one you just wash it and throw everything in.

3. Noise: The Huron is MUCH quieter than the Centrifugal one, which is very LOUD. Funny enough, you can actually hear it squeezing the items, much more soothing (you can just "hear" the enzymes and nutrients being preserved, ha ha) than the grinding noise of items being bladed through the Centrifugal one. That one is just plain LOUD. 

4. Pulp/juice content: This was probably the biggest difference i noticed, the leftover pulp on the Huron was very very DRY.... and not so much! Hardly took up a 1/3 of the container versus the centrifugal when it is busting with that leftover pulp. Also, the juice content definitely seems more with the Huron because you can close the cap and let it circulate, than open it and it pours into the container, felt I got the same juice using 1/2 the amount of veggies. BIG PLUS!

5. Clean-up: Ahh... the clean-up. Well, again, first time so still learning, what most people said is the biggest plus is that on the Huron you can close the cap and run water through it when you are finished juicing, and it almost self-cleans ("almost"). Well, I already started dismantling it and then realized I forgot to do that, and just hand washed it. I guess the Huron has more parts so maybe takes a wee bit longer, but I think once i do the water thing, that should help and it would be more a less a rinse than a scrub like I do with the centrifugal one. 

Also, the Huron is good because it provides a little cleaning rack to let some of the parts dry. I thought that is nice!

6. Taste; The Huron has two strainers, which is a big plus. One is for more "fine" meaning liquid juice, and the other if you want more pulp. I started with the "fine" strainer, which really is liquidity and almost exactly like the Centrifugal juice. I actually like pulp, just "feels" healthier, so will the other strainer thing. But it's great to have both options. I just had a sip of it, and to be honest, used more or less the same ingredients I normally do and was really expecting a lot more of a stronger taste, but it tasted fairly similar to me. Hmmm! 

7. The "separation" of the juice: I probably wouldn't think about this if I didn't watch 203482038 videos and read all these articles about it, but if you notice, the color in the juice above is uniform, which is what you want and is GOOD. The centrifugal juicer, after less than a minute (if that) you see the liquid separate, like darker at the bottom, etc. Which is NOT so good because it shows the variability of the enzymes and nutrients, like it doesn't "settle" properly. For example, I do what you are NOT supposed to do, and that is NOT drink the juice right away... I usually like to drink it the next couple of days. Gasp! I know, I know... can't do anything right, huh? :-) But all these juicing fanatics really commented on how with the Centrifugal juicer that is particularly NOT good, and I do see a lot of separation, BUT with the Huron, or the slow-pressed juicers, it is actually OKAY to drink it the next day or so because it preserves 35% more nutrients and enzymes and you can "see" that with just the uniformity of the liquid. Of course ideally it should be drunken right after making it. Ideally! 

8. Looks: Hehe, I do have to admit, comparing the two, the Huron is much more compact and has a nice design. My old centrifugal one (which yes, I am still going to keep!) looks so chunky and old now. Haha.

Soo.... these are my initial observations. I definitely need some time to play and experiment some more!

Birthday Fun!

I turned a very odd number this year, and ... basically it is nothing special. I actually wasn't even going to celebrate it that much, but that of course changed when I made my plans to be home for my birthday. As in my previous post, had quite a week of celebrations! Maybe it was my big mouth that every time someone asked me about my trip, and this is even before I left, I said how happy I was to go home and it happened to be my bday when I would be home... which eventually lead to some invites. So here it is almost a month after my birthday, and am still doing birthday celebrations! Ha! Diet out the window and overall not happy with my new tummy, but hey, am enjoying it and actually, not feeling too guilty!!

So... here are some of my celebrations:

My co-workers surprised me (shhh, I kinda knew :-)) at work:

Surprise!!!

I have these SUPER nice Serbian patients I'm treating, started with the wife and then ended up with the husband. They literally live across the street from where I work, so it wasn't too difficult to cross over and have my fave Serbian dishes: Gibanitza and palacinke! Yummmmmmmyyyyyy! They asked me what I wanted for my bday meal, and no doubt it was that!

Then a Polish friend was super kind and made an exception to her "only at Christmas time" rule of making peroigi! She had invited me over during that time and I think every time I saw her I mentioned how they were the best peroigi I've ever had, and I guess being annoying pays off because the next think she tells me is AFTER my marathon, she will make them to celebrate that and my birthday. Her hubby was probably more happy than I was. The wait was soooo worth it!! She also made me a super gluten free cake, which I forgot to take a pic of, but was equally delicious!

Also had a delicious Turkish breakfast that a dear patient of mine made offered to make me. We are friends now, and actually also became friends with patients referred to me! We had a lovely breakfast which turned into lunch we were yapping so much. Which, speaking of, it's something that I should have paid more attention to when I was younger, is reading of the coffee cup. Never too late to, I guess! I think my dad learned from my grandma (??), but he is quite good at it and people are always asking him to "read" their future. Well, my patient is fairly good too! After "reading" the cups of my friends, I decided to give it a go.... I don't drink coffee and we all know how strong Turkish coffee is, so it was a bit of an effort to drink. I'll keep quiet for now, but if anything she said comes true, will let it be known!! But we had so much fun, the Philipina friend now wants to make breakfast which means I may be next with an American breakfast, eek! (but might be easy. Pancakes? Lol).

Burek! No offense to they way us Serbs make Burek, but this was amazing and not as oily and greasy as ours can be sometimes (again, no offense!)

Yes, it was a bit of an effort to drink!

Had a post-running season get together with my "wee" hours running group. Yes, these are crazy people like me that woke up at 4 something in the morning to be on the road running at around 5am'ish. They were sweet to have a little toast for me.

So yes, feeling the love!! :-) And I have to admit, makes me realize one of the best parts of Dubai is the diversity. Of course all of these things involved eating, but went from Serbian dish to Turkish to Polish to everything in between. Love that I have friends from all over the world :-)

New Hampshire/Vermont/Chicago & Bday fun!

Wow, even I didn't realize that I was in 4 different states in a period of just over 2 weeks (including Boston, Massachusetts)! No wonder I am still recovering and need a vacation from a vacation!!


New Hampshire:
I feel I can still count this although it was technically a "transit" stop on the way from Boston to Vermont. My sister-in-law family lives "there," actually, don't even know where we were exactly, ha ha, because I was sleeping in the back seat while they were driving, and when I woke up, we were at this beautiful house in this small quaint neighborhood where it seemed "everyone knows your name," (had to quote the Cheers sitcom because was just in Boston (although just passed a branch of it, never made it there :-()). It ended up being a super lovely short trip, hung out with her mom, the beautiful and super outgoing Karen (Noelle's mom), and then her mom, the active yet fun Florence (98 years old!!!) and then Karen's hubby Grant. They were so cute because were so excited about my Boston run and weekend there, so nice to have that support! It was a beautiful sunny day and we took a little walk and the "town" consisted of a block of small mom-and-pop shops, including a little house with a mini farm that had literally fresh-from-the-sheep goat cheese! Then Karen and Grant made us a fab healthy salmon lunch, but then of course had to have some dessert :-) Then off we went that night to drive to Essex, Vermont, where my brother lives. Again, crashed the whole way!

Vermont:
If anyone has been to Vermont, most will comment on how quaint it is... and then comment something about the weather being fairly cold and miserable much of the year. Although a State I wouldn't live in (no offense to it, more so because I guess I am more of a city girl than I thought)! But it sure is beautiful, especially in the summer and fall when the weather is nice and the trees change colors, absolutely stunning. Anyhoo, spring time is a bit nippy and dull (meaning grass is grey and trees still leafless). Soo.... what would one want to do on a cold rainy day (s), especially after a marathon? NOTHING! NOOOOTTTTTHHHHHHHHHIIIIINNNNNNNGGG!!! IT WAS THE BEST!!! While G&N were working I literally SAT ON THE COUCH and snacked (no bons bons though!), watched TV, messaged a few peeps, called a few people and pretty much only got off the couch to go to the toilet and/or get water. IT WAS THE BEST!!! Really, how often in life do we have those days? Besides New Years day 2014, I don't EVER recall a day like that. Yes, of course, there have been relaxing days, but there have ALWAYS been "stuff" to do. Here I literally did nothing and loved every second of it. People know how active I am and this may come as a surprise, but I can be quite lazy!!! But finally when G and Noelle came home from work, they did drag me off the couch to go to Burlington, where we had a super nice dinner.

After the 2nd lazy day, George got home a bit early from work and a bit reluctant at first, I got my butt off the couch and we ended up having a lovely afternoon in the countryside. We did a little nice walk in this park (BTW, can I this is on Thursday, 2 days after the marathon, and surprisingly my legs felt totally fine??? Really! Darn it, maybe could have pushed harder??), and then we went to some cute little Vermont stores for their famous diary products, one of which included a cheese and then a chocolate factory. Mind you, I have not had cheese nor diary nor too much chocolate ("too much," I won't lie!) in months. And if anyone knows me, I love my cheese and when I saw this whole store just for cheese with about 20 different samples of different kinds of cheese, all that deprivation came back and I did NOT hold back and no joke, tried every single one... on top of some other cheese products. That topped with some chocolate samples next door, oh boy, I won't go into details, but my stomach was NOT happy. Thank gawd it was my brother because that car ride home was not one of the roses, ha ha ha ha ha. All and all, it was super relaxing and bonded with my bro, so that was really nice and special. We all had a nice dinner at home, I got back on the couch, and that was it! My Vermont time so quick, but also well well WELL needed!!!

Below are glam pics we took while on a drive...

Sooo much cheeeessssseeeeeeeeee :-) 

Then it was off to...

CHICAGO!!!! SWEET HOME CHICAGO!!
Ahhh... Home! Nothing like it! By this time I was already "Americanized" and because I got an earlier flight, I ended up taking the "L" train for good times sake and surprised my parents with my early arrival. That day was reserved for them, so besides a quick jaunt to hot bikram yoga, we relaxed and spent quality time at their fab apartment.

Then embarked a whirlwind week! And I am happy to say I really felt I got it all in! Of course I can't see everyone in a measly 7 days, but got in all my priority peeps and the ones that live out of state (or in state but were busy), I made phone calls. Soo.... I checked off:

-Oak Park x 2!

Haha, this is cheating a bit. When I first came home, before the marathon, when I was home for the day, traffic was bad and I made my dad take River Road to pass through Oak Park! So here I am in front of the old house and the Tesla in the pic too :-) (and literally, this is after 18 hours of travel so I look tired and awful!)

Spent a full day there and went to my fave Erik's Deli for my fave beef barley soup, got a massage by my friends wife (AWESOME):

Here is her and her hubby Brian (my OP friend) in front of her studio.

I also visited and entered my old house (sniff sniff, actually looks nice and didn't have the same nostalgia and sentiment as I did the last time, gasp!), went to my old hang out Panera Bread with my good friend, did a wee bit of shopping, saw my fave fam friends the Petani's,

and then my super awesome friend hosted a little party for me and then most of my OP friends came to that! Soooooooooo soooooooooooooooooooooo awesome and nice!!!! Then went back later in the week to meet with my old running group friends and then some OP friends again. Soooooooo nice being back there, really loved it!

And on another trip, more OPP (Oak Park People);

The sign is Happy Birthday Al, as it was her birthday that day!!

-The CITY! Chicago is really a fab city, there is no other and being there made me realize that all the more. Just love the people, the architecture, the vibe, and best of all the skyline! So when it came to decide venue to meet up with my best college friends, I hands down picked John Hancock's 95th floor. We had a dusk reservation and got best view of sunset and then night. It was soo awesome being with my college buddies and although I have been away, it was just like old times, lots of laughs and good fun.

Me and Daddio before my night out (he also had a different night out!)

Besides that, had a few times walking through the city, Michigan Avenue, State Street, and the city is so alive and I just love how it is a walking city, everyone out and about (it helped that although cool, it was nice and sunny out!). There was even the NHL (football) "Draft  Town" going on, and that was super fun to walk around and was just sooo Chicago!!! So I am glad I had time to wander around and explore the city, definitely will be back there!

-Chicago/Chicagoland area!
Below are the phatty views of my parents apartment, so beautiful!

Awesome enough, my good friends moved to the South Loop and they have a FAB view of the city, super awesome catching up with them!

I funny enough got my old old car from my mom, Toyota Camry, to be my means of transport around town. However, met up with my friend that I sold my beloved Geo Prizm too, so got to have a little spin in that. Although still running, it does seem to be on its last leg and my friend said he might have to let it go (gasp), so I'm glad I got to see it... really don't think it will survive another couple of years until I get home!

But the good 'ol Toyota is running strong and made it out to the burbs, Mt. Prospect and even Oak Brooke for more meet-ups. Also made it up North to Wriggleville area and a cool neighborhood even north of that that I met up with my old roommies (darn it, forgot where exactly I was, took the "L" there again). Chicago again is soo awesome for the many neighborhoods!

Also of course made sure to see our dear family friends, our "kumovi," which was really nice. Angie's daugther was played doctor, so cute!

Also visited my dear childhood friend Jelena,

 and my good friend Beth, who just had twin babies!

And even had "time" to visit my old college, Loyola!!

Bday!!
Lucky enough with timing, my bday happened to be during my time there, and our dear family friend, bless her, Jana who unfortunately was ill YET made this fab breakfast, was a beautiful way to start the day.

Then had a nice lunch with my good friend Char,

And then back home to go out to Greektown for dinner! Yes, that was my meal of choice... was trying to think of foods that aren't as present in Dubai. It was as always delicious and yet again, overate. As you see, most of these meet-ups involved eating and boy, my previously shrunken and thin stomach has quickly expanded to take it all. And I didn't hold back! Am going to pay for it later, but hey-ho, enjoyed indulging!!

Soo... there you have it! Looked forward to this USA trip for months, actually, as soon as I knew I got into Boston or even qualified, and am sooooooooooo sooooo sooooooooooo sooooooooo happy that not only did everything go so smoothly (marathon and all and just all the logistics) but that I got to spend quality time with family and friends, good friends. Friends that I've known forever and that "know me." It sounds odd, but being an expat is very different. You have friends, and I am so grateful to have great friends here in Dubai, but there is nothing like friends you've known for 10-20 years. I felt I picked up where I left off and never felt awkward or uncomfortable, something I didn't know if I would feel. And after being "home" and then going to my new "home".... I felt fairly neutral. Of course had some tears saying by to the parents (darn it, why is it NOT any easier?), but didn't feel dreadfully sad leaving nor anxiously excited to get back. Just felt... neutral! Expat life I really do feel like you lead 2 different lives. People at home don't understand your life here and then people here don't understand your life there. So what to do except live your life! Again, if anything this trip made me realize how lucky I am just to have 2 different worlds where people care for me. When I came back soo many people were sooo happy and excited for me (for the marathon), it was really touching.

Well, a couple of days of post travel blues, and now off to get back to some sort of routine!! :-)