GUEST BLOGGER - May Challenge: J is for Juicing

Meet Emily Benton!

Juicing 101 = Going Green For Your Health

Think eating your daily salad is enough to keep you healthy? In some ways, yes.  But if you really want to maximize your health potential – juicing is the way to go.  If you think juicing is a fad and for hipsters and health nuts, think again.  It’s an essential way to get daily nutrients into your body the BEST way possible, even on top of that salad and piece of fruit you have as a snack.  Essentially you are flooding your body with the concentrated nutrient dense goodness of fresh, raw, unpasteurized juice. Drinking fresh juices can increase energy levels, make your skin glow, help you lose weight and reduce cravings.

Here are my top 4 reasons to juice. 
1) You aren’t getting enough in your diet.  Even if you think you are eating well – eggs and whole grains for breakfast, a salad for lunch, protein bar for snack, and chicken and rice for dinner.  But overall, you still aren’t getting the nutritional value you need daily. When food is cooked,  some of the nutrition and vitamins drop.  Juicing fruits and vegetables will give your body the vitamins it needs in an easily absorbable way.

3 Weeks of Juicing during January! 

2) Greens = life.  Green means life.  Remember in grade school science class when you learned about plants?  That thing called chlorophyll (you mean bore-ophyll a la Billy Madison)?  Well that is essentially the thing that gives life to the plants, helps them grow, helps them heal.  This will do the same for your body!  Juicing is great for disease prevention and disease curing.  This isn’t a whacky medicinal theory, I promise.  IT WORKS!  As a natural detox, you can also drop some pounds from juicing.  In January, I juiced every morning for 31 straight days and naturally lost weight.

3) Good on the go.  I take a green juice as my breakfast in the morning. It takes 3 minutes to make and keeps you full most of the morning.  Fruits and vegetables are full of fibers and vitamins that fill your belly up to get you through the morning. If you start your day off a healthy way you will continue to put good, quality foods into your system the rest of the day!

4) Wake your body up right – having a juice be the first thing you put into your body is your best bet.  It will wake up all your systems the right way.  Green juice > coffee for your morning routine.  Over the last few years I have juiced, I have had so much more energy in the morning.  Try experimenting with 2 weeks of juicing and two weeks not juicing, see how your energy levels are.  It’s a natural way to rejuvenate and detox your body.

There are way way more benefits to juicing every day that I could write a whole novel on (oooo that’s a thought).  As a holistic health coach, I believe in the power of fruits and vegetables.  I believe they can cure and change lives.  Juicing is something everyone should incorporate into their lives.  It doesn’t have to be daily, start with 2 or 3 a week.  Experiment with fruits, vegetables, and seeds and report back! I promise you will enjoy it!

Got questions on juicing or health coaching? Email me at eb.healthcoach@gmail.com or check out emily-benton.com /nextdoorwellness.com . Don't forget to follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

GUEST BLOGGER: May Challenge: I is for International Education

 Meet Jennifer Connor

As a child – a girly-girl for that matter – I dreamed of travel to such romanticized places like New York, Paris, London and Rome. I gravitated towards movies that took me to these places, from Disney’s The Lizzie Maguire Movie to my all-time favorite, repeat sleepover movie, The Parent Trip (sorry, the Lindsay Lohan version).

What started as fantasy, ended in adventure. I studied French in middle school and high school. Then, on a whim, decided to study Italian as a freshman at Penn State. I ran with this, taking three semesters of Italian and applying to study abroad in Florence, Italy. I had no idea that a trip that was a dream come true would be so life-changing and challenging.

Florence’s city scape – a photo I took during my
Spring 2009 semester studying there.

Though, Italy – a part of “old-Europe” and a very popular study abroad destination – would suggest an easy-breezy gourmet experience, I was surprised with how much I changed when I returned. Above all, I came back having shed my judgments about the way life should be lived. Prior to jet-setting, I’ll admit as a 19-year-old suburban Philadelphian, I placed certain career paths, lifestyles and possessions above others. What I learned in the “modern,” yet Renaissance-lingering city of Florence, is that there are many, many ways to live life – and NONE are better than another.

Today, I work at the Institute of International Education (IIE) in NYC across the street from the United Nations. Currently, we are running a campaign called, “Generation Study Abroad,” or #GenerationStudyAbroad. Currently, less than 10 percent of American students study abroad. This initiative aims to double the number of American students studying abroad by partnering with U.S. universities and encouraging undergraduates to take a semester abroad.

I took this photo from the roof of our IIE building.
To the left you’ll see the UN building and to the right,
numerous Fulbright advisers from universities around the United States.

Knowing that this blog is read more by the 20-something crew than undergraduates, your role in this is to encourage younger family members to pursue a study abroad opportunity, for one, and to at least get a passport. There’s a whole world out there of differing perspectives and I am a firm believer that if we can better understand our counterparts we have a much greater chance of achieving world peace. 

Secondly, if you feel you missed out on an international experience during your undergraduate degree OR still have a bug for travel ignited by a semester abroad, I have an opportunity for you. Specifically I work on the outreach team for the storied Fulbright Program, a program funded by the U.S. State Department and established in 1946 by Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright. Fulbright introduced a bill in the United States Congress that called for the use of surplus war property from WWII to fund the “promotion of international good will through the exchange of students in the field of education, culture, and science.” Imagine that – the creation of positive, bi-national relationships steeped in intellectual exchange FUNDED by things we were using to destroy each other.

There are two opportunities for you to apply for – a year of study/research abroad OR a year teaching English abroad. I’m going to plant the seed, and let your imagination begin to run wild. Check out our website, follow us on Twitter and/or Facebook, and watch this introductory webinar introducing the new grant year.

Then, let me know if you have any questions! Via e-mail (jconnor@iie.org), Facebook or Twitter (@Journalist_Jen).

May Challenge: H is for Hog... Jog n' Hog

Some of you may remember this post from a previous blog of mine, but this may be new to some. I thought it was absolutely worth the re-post. I have only had ice cream TWICE in the last 9 months which to me is beyond impressive after re-reading this post and my old lifestyle of ice cream in a bowl every night. I would love to participate in Uncle Dave's Jog n' Hog again but i may only be able to do the Half Hogger. (wuss, I know!) If anyone is looking for the perfect way to celebrate National Ice Cream Day, this is your race! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!



July 15, 2012 

As many of you know, one of my favorite things - if not my absolute favorite thing in life besides family- is ice cream. Today is held extra special in my heart because it’s National Ice Cream Day. But I have to admit, this may be the best celebration to date.

While at work on Wednesday I saw my friends at Visit Bucks County (@VisitBucksPA) tweeted out information on the Jog N’ Hog race series taking place at Shady Brook Farms this weekend.

As I continued to read, I learned that Uncle Dave’s Ice Cream, located right on the farm, was hosting. To me what could be better than going for a run and eating ice cream. As I continued to learn, the race consists of a two mile run, you then eat a quart of ice cream, and then you run back. UMMM WHAT?!?!?!

While I thought this is quite possibly the most sickening thought, I knew I had to do it because this sounds like the most awesome thing I could ever do in my life. Hmm...so who would I sucker into doing this with me?? That was easy --- my running partner, my cousin Jackie, was an obvious yes, and I then forced my sister into doing it (she’s not a runner/never ran a race before) but she was all about it.

Being this run is based on having fun/a good time, the three of us have always called ourselves the three amigos. So to Shady Brook Farm we went as the Three Amigos. (We call ourselves this because we were OBSESSED with the comedy movie “Three Amigos” growing up, we use to watch it almost every day at our Memom’s house.)

The Jog n’ Hog series encouraged people to dress up as pigs, clearly for the race name, but we decided to go a bit off the beaten path. There were plenty of cute piglets along the race.

So at 8:30 a.m. off we went!!! With my sister and cousin beside me we tackled an event the three of us have never done together. (I actually think this is the first thing we’ve EVER all done together in our adult life.) Our sombreros were on, maracas were in hand and our bellies were empty. The occasional talk about hoping to not vomit was also brought up.

The Three Amigos

I could not be more proud of my sister who KILLED the first two miles after not training/really running. She felt great, she looked great. I was so happy to be by her side.

The first two miles were quickly over and as we approached the ice cream station we had about three guys powering their way to the finish line, killing a quart of ice cream and running two miles in nearly 25 minutes. These guys must have really trained. God bless their souls....and stomaches.

The ice cream station was a huge party. Families joined runners as they tackled the challenge of eating the entire quart of vanilla bean ice cream. Other mentally twisted individuals, like myself, brought toppings. I obviously was going to make this thing legit, no playing around. IT’S ICE CREAM PEOPLE!!!

Done and Done!!

So there we stood with several hundred ice cream eaters....some of them looking green and others enjoying themselves. After a few glamour shots with my family, I could see Missy and Jackie were hurting a little bit. Missy dented about 1/3 of her quart...Jackie I am unsure but probably around the same amount. I was pretty disappointed to see the amount of people who cheated. To me, who cares what time you finish! But at the same time I’m happy I didn’t see anyone get sick.

I, however, was in it to win it.

I don’t mess around with ice cream and I sure don’t mess around with an ice cream challenge. About five years back I completed the Friendly’s ice cream 12 scoop challenge. This was going to be a piece of cake.

A quart of ice cream with some chocolate sprinkles and chocolate sauce, and about 20 minutes later, my challenge was completed. My sister and cousin had all the faith in me that I could finish it.

The girls with Uncle Dave himself!

We left the ice cream station and were the last party there (I have a feeling the 15 minute conversation with Uncle Dave, the ice cream owner, hurt us with time a little bit, but I wanted to know the shops history!!!)

So back two miles we went....It was not much of a run but a quick stroll. I seriously had the best time of my life this morning and the ice cream fiesta in my mouth was so worth it!!! It was so nice to finally participate in a race where I was happy the entire time. With all of the races I do they are so competitive and I am too hard on myself. This race was the exact opposite.

The three amigos crossed the finish line together and it was great to see the smiles on everyone’s faces.

The best quote of the day was when a kid asked me how I trained....my response was, “I didn’t, I just showed up.” hahaha Our outfits were a hit and I’m glad I made people laugh today.

Thanks Hog n' Jog and Uncle Dave’s Ice Cream Shop....you have made my national ice cream day a memorable one!