The chill of November hasn't dampened our love of fresh, raw juice. Recipes are being tested, and this is one of our new favorites. The colors of the pineapple, lemon, lime, apples, kale, and parsley, provide visual stimulation during preparation, and the aromas are enticing as I anticipate a delicious, healthy drink.

This recipe is a great way to get a little kale into the diet without being overpowered by it's strong flavor. Pineapple is loaded with digestive enzymes; apples, lemons, and limes are cleansers and are great for the liver; parsley is good for the eyes; and kale brings an abundance of minerals that are so good for building a strong body.

This juice is well balanced so that no single flavor dominates. Enjoy!

Ingredients: Serves 2
1 cup pure water
1/4 to 1/3 pineapple, depending on size (about 2 cups of one inch cubes)
1 lemon
1 lime
2 apples
2 leaves kale
1 large handful parsley

Directions:
We use a Vitamix, so directions are for this method of juicing.
Rinse all fruits and veggies. Remove any bad spots. Give a final rinse with pure water.
Cut rind off pineapple, lemon, and lime. Chop and put into Vitamix.
Chop apples, kale, and parsley. Add to Vitamix.
Add water.
Blend on highest setting for 30-60 seconds. Strain using a nut milk bag.
Serve and savor all the goodness.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful tradition in this country, a time to be together with openness and acceptance. To me, these are aspects inherent in the practice of gratitude. This quality can be so easy to forgot or lose sight of, which can happen in the blink of an eye. A reaction to something I see, or a comment someone makes, can suddenly bring a shift in my attitude which pulls me away from my heart center.

As I contemplated on what to write about gratitude, images came to mind: Seen from above, an enormous waterfall cascaded over the edge of a gigantic precipice. The water was in a constant state of flow, changing states from being the river it once was to being set free to fall through space. It simply gave itself to the greater whole where it would one day join with the ocean.

Gratitude and grace help me to stay in a state of giving, whether it's thankfulness for the food on the table, or a kiss from our grandchild. His free expression of love, like a waterfall of joy, tumbles into our world and finds its home.

I imagined gratitude spherically, like the sun in all its glory, a metaphor for the heart expanding, radiating through countless realms. In the center of this love, where giving and receiving (to give more) became one continuous flow, the waterfall, the sun, and the kiss merged into something greater and became gateways of possibilities to touch the core and essence of life itself.