During the colder months, I find myself reaching for one cup of coffee too many. It’s my little afternoon pick me up. But sometimes you just need to hit the reset button and reach for something more cleansing & just as energizing. The onset of fall/winter weather also signifies the beginning of “flu season”, AKA my least favorite time of the year. And you must know, I am a happy & busy mom to a 2 & a 4 year-old; so germs run wild & free (and rampant) in our house. My adorable little minions are germ vectors & the common cold & flu carrousel in our house is all but a fun ride. Sleep becomes a commodity once again & my husband suffers from the all-too common “man cold”. A man cold can be defined as a condition where a male subject becomes “impaired” by a cold virus. Sound familiar?

But there’s good news folks- what you eat, makes a huge difference in your overall health & immune fighting capabilities. Trust me, this comes from someone who used to be sick all the time. Especially because I had to take steroids to help me with my mobility back when my autoimmune disease was also running wild & free in my body. I was prone to so many infections, it wasn’t even funny. And the more antibiotics I used to get prescribed for chest and throat infections, the more often I seemed to get them. I’ve only had a cold twice this year. Yes, twice in 10 months. Pretty good in my books. 🙂

Natural & sugar free juices & smoothies are the best way to put a bunch of good things into your body in a small glass. If you don’t have a juicer- don’t be dissuaded from trying. This post will show you how to make delicious juice in your blender, and it’s really easy! This juice has amazing sweetness from honey crisp apples + organic heirloom carrots, a nice little kick from the ginger, and wonderful color & antioxidant super power from raw beets. I found the prettiest beets at my local farmers market last month. I am always in awe of the difference fresh & local produce brings. The beets were incredibly sweet & are packed with nutrients. One of the best things about beets is their cleansing effect; they clean your blood & give your liver & kidneys a boost. I like to think of them as a “reset button”.

Once you’re done blending the juice, you may chose to separate the pulp from the juice when pouring onto your glass, but I always eat the pulp as it has a ton of fiber and it helps keeps you fuller, longer.