My daughter came home from school today visibly tired. Long, hot, exhausting day at kindergarten … you know that look? Red faced, dragging of the feet, look of ‘I want to plop down in front of the tv and never get up again’. After rattling off some snack options, we came up with the idea of a juice. Her favorite? Grapefruit juice. Straight up.
After her juice, she perked right up. Almost like a plant that looks dry and once it receives a good watering, its droopy leaves stretch and straighten. Not only did she receive a healthy dose of Vitamin C, she also loaded up in the mineral department. Calcium, folic acid, phosphorus and potassium. Nutritive phytonutrients include liminoids, flavanoids, lycopene and glucaretes, which help to fight cancer and various diseases. Sounds like a great pick me up! Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in flavor combinations, but don’t forget the simplicity of a freshly-squeezed citrus juice.
Many of you asked for the juice recipe that I made on the WFAA segment. I call it HEALING POWER JUICE. And it was true what I said about it … within 5 minutes of drinking one of these, there is a definite feeling of wellness that follows! Because it’s in a juice form (as opposed to smoothie), it can feed your cells immediately without the need of a lengthy digestion process. Improved energy, mood booster, and I should throw in here appetite suppressant because after drinking this, you won’t be craving anything. It’s very green tasting and can be an acquired taste for some. The key to drinking something that may not appear palatable is to think about how nutrient dense it is, how GOOD it is for you! Mind over matter. This feeds your cells, feeds the basic building blocks of your body. It gives your body TOOLS to heal and energize and feel well.
These types of vegetable-heavy juices taste better cold, in my opinion, so try using chilled produce. If you don’t want to drink this all on your own, pour another glass for a friend, clink the glasses together, say “CHEERS!” and down that baby! Your body will be so grateful.
HEALING POWER JUICE (from the WFAA segment, May 2012)
To say THANKS for all the new visitors to my blog, ‘likes’ on facebook and supportive messages you’ve all sent, I made a PDF you can download that has two pages of juice and smoothie (and a couple extras) recipes that are our family favorites. CLICK HERE to download.
Hi Clairessa,
I am so excited that I saw your segment on my friend’s FB wall (The Dahl’s). You are my inspiration. I just got home (literally just now) from finding out I have MS. I have suspected it for a few weeks (ya know…MRI, Leisions) and finally the spinal tap confirmed it. I had already been inspired by the movie Forks over Knives. I knew I needed to eat a plant base diet to give my body the best chance to stay healthy. Then, I see you and you are doing exactly what I want to do with a drug-free apporach with MS and all! I now stalk you on Pinterest and read your blog daily (no worries it is a friendly stalk You are just the inspiration I needed. Thanks for sharing your story and I look forward to learning from you. With Love, Steph
admin -May 18, 2012 - 11:37 am
Stephanie, you are welcome to email me and chat. I’m happy to talk with you on the phone, too. I know how devastating that diagnosis can be. I’m so sorry. There really is a lot of hope out there in getting your body back in a healing state through diet and other means. Take care and I hope to hear from you, if you are up to chatting.
colleen bays -May 19, 2012 - 9:23 am
Clairissa, after reading the recipe here for the healing power juice i remembered the basics(not the amounts) for the juice combo you did on GMT(good morning texas) it was slightly different from this one. It’s basic ingredients were: kale,beets,spinach leaves,grapefruit,and lemon. I was wondering if this combo is also used for m.s. or is it for something else. I am interested in finding the one that helps m.s., if you use more than one to help i wish to use them. ty for all you do.
admin -May 19, 2012 - 11:21 am
Colleen, when they mentioned those items on the newscast, I believe they were talking about what I grow in my garden (kale, spinach, beets…). The one I made on the show was the recipe above. There is no specific recipe that I believe to be just for MS…but anytime you make fresh vegetable juice, they are all very cleansing and healing. Leafy greens, beets and ginger are great additions to any juice to make it even more potent. I often add kale and spinach, but for my garden, it is out of season so I used my chard leaves instead. Thanks for your comment!
I am so humbled and grateful for the overwhelming response after the segment aired on WFAA news here in Dallas-Fort Worth. My heart is full with all of the outpouring of support, emails and messages. I am hoping to personally respond to each one of you, so please be patient as I sift through them allYou are all very important to me and I’m so grateful that my story can provide some hope. And there is SO MUCH hope! Diet can heal and cure disease and I’d love to continue blogging about how to go about that in this little corner of the web. Thank you for joining me on this journey and I’d love to help you along with yours.
A shout out to Shelly Slater and WFAA News for providing the tremendous opportunity to tell my story of diet healing disease and to LifeTime Fitness (my gym) for being the ones to share my story with the media.
Hi Clairissa. I ran into your mom the other day and she was telling me about your garden and your success in improving your health. she gave me your Website and I have enjoyed reading it. I love that you have found success! I am jealous of your garden. Keep up the good work.
Robin
Armando P Ybarra -May 15, 2012 - 10:02 am
Hi Clairissa:
I was watching TV and so your segment, i congratulate you for your decision because all the medications in the world come from
plants even the synthetic ones.
GOD our father created a garden with plants, trees, vegetables, fruits and seeds than he created us
humans so that we eat from them, our bodies recover nutrients from plants, the chlorophyll from greens purifies our blood, fruits provide fibers and so on, the only reason doctors don’t approve of this methods its because they don’t make money if people finds out that by eating plants, fruits and veggies people will be healthier that’s why they want to make you change your mind. BIG CONCRATS continue and don’t listen to DOCTORS you will get well it will take time but don’t quit,
the seventh day Adventist church has a movie they show about this type of health heeling and the food we are to eat is in the Holy Bible too, well good luck and GOD bless you i will keep you in my prayers.
colleen -May 15, 2012 - 10:25 am
I’m so glad I saw you during a GMT this morning;I don’t usually watch on a daily basis, so I believe God made a point of having me watch it today. I was diagnosed in 2002 with m.s. and also have epilepsy. At the beginning of my diagnoses, my neurologist wanted to get me started on a m.s. medication and the only one at the time without seizure side effects was copaxone. I began injections (daily) and within a few months was having several side effects. On the advice of my primary doc. I told my neurologist and she had me stop for a month, then start again at half the dose. within a week all side effects were back. So, not even a year into diagnosis I went drug free. I take vitamins, use alot of herbs in my cooking. Drink lots of water, no soda. But, I haven’t tried gluten free. I’ve still had m.s. problems..though minor. Thank you for putting this info. on your blog. If you could, I’d love to get your recipe for the juice you’re making. I’ll be checking your blog daily. This is just what I’ve been needing, someone going through the same thing I am. <3 God bless you
Michelle -May 15, 2012 - 1:30 pm
Clarissa, Your story is inspiring! I am from East Texas and have MS. I currently take gilenya and have good days but haven’t been my old self since my diagnosis in Jan 2009. Perhaps this is something my husband and I should consider for ourselves! I’m so glad our neighbor told us about your story on the news – and I’m so thankful the news aired your story!!!
Yvette -May 15, 2012 - 2:34 pm
Clarrisa, your story struck a chord with me !!! I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis last year, which is also an autoimmune disease. My rheumatologist has been trying to get me to take the TOXIC RA drugs for the past year, but I’ve been controlling it with my diet as well !!! My inflammation numbers were sky-high when I was diagnosed last year & with my diet, my inflammation numbers are in normal range… My doctor cannot explain it but still doesn’t believe it’s my diet & is still trying to force me to take the drugs due to orevent future damage to my joints/organs. You & I should definately talk since we have so much in common
Laura Le -May 16, 2012 - 10:30 pm
Your wfaa story is wonderful! I am so impressed with your beautiful garden. I hope you can come and teach our patients how to grow their own. You are an inspiration:)
Just had my six-month MRI scan done to check the progress of the multiple sclerosis. Progress — not in the sense of progression of disease, but instead my progression of healing. It’s all about semantics, people. Attitude goes a long way in the natural healing process.
No results yet as I need to meet with the neurologist and have her interpret the loveliness of my brain and cervical spine. However, I wanted to jot down something interesting that happened today. In the MRI I am given a contrast dye via my veins so they can see if any new lesions ‘glow’. You nearly have to sign your life away prior to being given this dye as it can cause all sorts of problems if someone had kidney issues. Anyway…….. the technicians always recommend greatly increasing your intake of fluids following the dyes to aid your kidneys in flushing it out.
As I walk out of the facility, they show me a stash of cookies and sodas that are free for the taking to all of their patients. Soda and cookies! Sounds like an excellent FLUSH to me! Not. Ok, in the interest of full disclosure, there was also water available. But let me just say that it seems when one is trying to heal from (or prevent) disease, they are set up to fail at every turn. Who can turn down a FREE cookie and FREE soda? Those types of things are everywhere. Ingrained in our culture. We are programmed to feel entitled to the sugar high. After all, I did just spend two hours with my body wedged in a very claustrophobic-inducing tube. I deserve a cookie, right?
My point is to not make anyone feel guilty for having a cookie and soda. Falling off the wagon is to be human. A rare treat is ok. My point is that, when it comes to your health, keeping your eye on the big picture is so important. Essential, even. It’s so empowering to be able to walk by those things and not feel tempted and not want any part of it because you want to give your body a fighting chance! Just walk away. Be confident enough to say no thank you even though everyone else in the room is doing it, even expecting you to. Our culture may be setting us up for failure, but we are stronger than that. We demand health.
Sadly, even worse than adults being set up for failure are our children. I remember signing up my son for kindergarten and upon walking in the school, the first thing he was handed was a lollipop. He gathered three more along with a bag of chips by the time we left the school. Need I remind you of class parties, holidays, birthday parties, soccer (or other sports) after-game snacks? When my son went to his cub scouts pack meeting, the theme was on health. As well-intentioned as it was, the snack for the event was dum dum lollipops, fastened together to resemble a dumbbell (i.e. an actual REAL item that helps one build muscle as opposed to this symbol of one that causes insulin resistance and inflammation.) The irony was not lost on me.
How can we be expected to teach our CHILDREN about real health when we say the words and then hand them sugar? Back to my MRI example…how can the health providers expect to help their patients when they say please flush this unnatural substance from your body, but before you go, here’s a cookie and soda. Wake up! Take your head out of the sand and recognize the need to be educated about HOW to succeed with food. How to succeed with healing our bodies and digging ourselves as a country out of this death trap. Teach your children and don’t be afraid to be different while doing it. You will be setting them up for success!
Be healthy, friends!
xox.
p.s. Here was my FLUSH. A nutrient-rich, fresh juice of rainbow chard, beets, lemon and grapefruit.
That is so true. Junk food is everywhere and made to seem completely harmless and a normal part of life. We are just beginning to see it around us with a four and two year old and it is SO HARD to say “no.” Especially when your own family is the main culprit! They know we don’t drink soda and try to limit sugar – why is it so fun to give treats to kids? Give them a hug or read them a book instead! We are far from perfect, but I’m trying to teach my girls that too much sugar is not good for their bodies. Chess understands a little, but they still want it, especially when everyone else has it. Okay, enough rambling. Thanks for educating us!
oh so so true. And I am not as stalwart as you at declining cookies, but it is so true. Everytime I have a baby (2 times now!) I am amazed at the food they give me while I recover there in the hospital. I was given fried chicken and mac and cheese right after I had olivia. I hadn’t eaten fried chicken since I was in middle school but I was so hungry I downed it anyhow. Anyway, my class went well the other day at church, though I really wished some more people had shown up… namely my friends who I KNOW eat very poorly, and feed their children poorly (because they own lots of mcdonalds franchises). It was great though, because the people that did come left talking about buying blenders to make smoothies, and eating oatmeal for breakfast, and lots of other great things! I only wish you had been there to REALLY teach those ladies! You are an inspiration to all on what heathy eating can be, and how it can change your life.
Jeff -May 14, 2012 - 7:17 pm
The video depicting your courageous battle of multiple sclerosis is inspiring. I am the father of a daughter with M.S. and I think your story and blog is awesome. Thanks!!!!
Jon -May 15, 2012 - 7:29 am
Congratulations!
Yes you are what you eat.
My wife was diagnosed with MS in 2007. After trying Betaseron for the first few months and having bad injection site reactions, she moved on to IVIG infusions. After 4 years of infusions and about $500,000 dollars later she was starting to show signs of kidney failure. The infusions were so had on her, I did some research to see if there were any better options. I came across some information about Low Dose Naltrexone. http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/ She has been taking LDN for a little over 4 months now, and for about $1.00 a day she has her life back!! You may not need this but please check it out.
We are working on the diet change, we have been eating whole organic foods for over a year now.
Well said! I had a similar situation at the hospital when my baby had RSV. The nurses were practically begging me to have soda so that I can stay “hydrated” to nurse my sick baby. I just kept asking for water and that never seemed good enough for them!
My husband is always commenting how there are so many overweight dietary technicians and nurses. It seems so contradictory!
Thank you for your wise words! I will be sure to keep checking in from time to time!
New favorite gluten-free lunchbox item: Brown rice tortilla wraps! We filled it with leftover guac from the previous night’s dinner, some nitrate-free honey ham, spinach, red onion and mustard.
Other things my daughter loves in her tortilla wrap: salad with italian dressing, julienned veggies & hummus, and homemade chicken salad (using vegenaise instead of mayo)
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Strawberries! We are picking so many strawberries right now. 100% organic and delish! Interesting note is that I’m find the potted strawberries are bigger than my raised-box strawberries.
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All-purpose cleaner. We’ve been using this homemade all-purpose cleaner for about 6 months now and have never looked back. We save citrus peels from juicing and put them in a glass mason jar. Fill the jar with half distilled white vinegar and half water. Let the jar sit for about a week (or two) and it is ready to go! If you don’t want to wait, you can accomplish the same idea by using sweet orange or lemon essential oil in the water/vinegar mixture. Sunburst essential oil blend is my favorite and we use it in homemade laundry detergent, too.
Use it to clean your kitchen counters, bathrooms, even glass. Great stuff!
I use a funnel to add the infused vinegar/water cleaner to a cheap spray bottle we purchased at Target. I always have a couple jars “marinating” under the sink, ready to refill my spray bottle. Add a microfiber towel to your arsenal and you are one mean cleaning machine!
seriously jealous of those strawberries. ESP. since organic strawberries are out of this world expensive!!! And those wraps look delish too! I actually did the orange peel vinegar thing last month and I love it too!!! It works wonderfully, and smells slightly better than the straight vinegar smell:) haha.
Week TWO of my daughter’s gluten/dairy-free journey. It is mind-blowing how much improvement we are seeing with her allergies. Absolutely no post nasal drip, coughing, hives, itching, sinus issues, breathing issues. She is feeling fantastic and she knows it. She is willing to sacrifice her old food favorites so she can continue feeling great. One favorite I’m trying to duplicate for her is our beloved Chick-fil-A. There is a location just around the corner from our house and it used to be all too easy hopping in there for a MSG chicken and fries fix.
I was inspired by this post from the amazing blog: 100 Days of Real Food. Sheepishly, I admit to being one of those parents who justified Chick-fil-A as being one of the ‘healthier’ fast food restaurants. Part of me knew there were likely chemical ingredients in the chicken breading, but oh how easy it was to turn a blind eye all in the name of chicken deliciousness. In the end, MSG can make anything deliciousness, all while killing your brain, no less. So, then I saw her recipe for a homemade Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich. Just minor problems with the recipe for our particular family. First, I’m notoriously bad at planning ahead and so the marinating 4 hours ahead of time was out of the question. Second, we are a gluten-free family so the two flours used were out. Here are my tweaks to her fabulous recipe!
In a bowl, combine and stir flours, sugar, baking soda, 1 tsp paprika, dry mustard and set aside
In another bowl, whisk egg and almond milk together
Dredge one piece of chicken at a time in egg bath, ensuring each side is wet and dredge in flour mixture coating each side
Place each flour coated chicken piece in a greased 9X13 glass baking dish (we grease our pans with coconut oil)
Spray each piece liberally with grapeseed or coconut oil, covering both sides
Place baking dish in oven
After 12 mins, turn each piece of chicken over mid way through baking
After about 25 mins – 30 mins, chicken should be completely cooked and crispy
Take out of the oven and let rest at least 5 mins
Makes 5-6 servings. To make it a true Chick-fil-A experience, we made these baked herb fries and a side of fruit. You are welcome to add GF buns and turn it into a sandwich, but we preferred just the patty to dip in a healthy version of BBQ sauce and left it at that.
*Notes on this recipe: I used sorghum flour (also known as MILO) because it’s the closest gluten free flour to taste like wheat. It is high in protein, light tan in color and generally works well in baking. We buy ours through Azure Standard, as well as the tapioca flour. I like using the organic chicken thighs (particularly from Costco) because they are the most affordable per pound organic, grass-fed chicken I can find anywhere. The thighs are more tender, imo, and much more flavorful. For the oil spray, I like the Spectrum brand grapeseed or coconut oil spray. I get ours at Sprouts.
Unless you are craving some mononitrates, anhydrous dextrose, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, propylene glycol, dextrose, corn starch, and artificial flavors…..well, how about these chewy chocolate vegan date brownies for dessert? It certainly made our faux, albeit HEALTHY, Chick-fil-A experience complete. YUM! A gluten/dairy/refined sugar free favorite of ours.
Welcome to Kissacooper! I'm a happily married north Texas mother of 3, treating multiple sclerosis drug-free. Every day is an adventure when navigating a healthy lifestyle. Here is where I document that process. Need advice on frugal and healthy living? The blog will be teeming with interesting tidbits. Have a health concern and would like to treat it au naturale? The Kissacooper Apothecary is here to serve you! Recipes? We're eating gluten-free and plant-strong in our house. It's my life, my passion, and I'm thrilled to share it with you!
You are just the inspiration I needed. Thanks for sharing your story and I look forward to learning from you. With Love, Steph
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