ek – Escape Karma

First of all , let me say this just because I added on my morning ritual doesn’t mean I follow blindly this trend or that I claim that the juice is a miraculous one and has the ability to heal chronic diseases .Fruits and vegetables have been added on my diet for many years now but it was around 2 or 3 years ago that I tried celery on my smoothies beside the common use , soups ,salads and etc . But this is a different one , we are talking about plain , fresh 100% celery juice (to be honest I add a few drops of lemon sometimes ) .

But how did it turned to be a huge nutritional trend ? Celery juice gain popularity through Anthony’s William book Celery Juice :The most powerful medicine of our time healing ,who’s not a doctor or a nutritionist , but many celebrities , thousands of people in the US and around the globe and as well Gwyneth Paltrow ( featuring Anthony on her website Goop )swear by it . I am not here to mislead and especially when concerning to medical issues neither I am the kind of the person who follows the herd . I only wish to share my own experience and the to do steps in case you are willing to give it a try too .

I won’t insist on nutritional information and composition of the vegetable but I have to mention some of the benefits that provide . Have you ever noticed that celery looks alike human bones ?

Actually beside the appearance, they have another thing in common – they contain 23% sodium, just like our bones . Celery is a great source of silicon which helps with the structure of our bones to keep them strong and healthy. Furthermore celery has an alkalizing effect ,with minerals like magnesium, iron, and sodium, celery can have a neutralizing effect on acidic foods and helps to balance our PH . Also its anti-inflammatory effect is ideal to use celery juice for detoxifying our liver and heal our gut .

Lastly celery contains a particular compound called coumarins which promotes the activity of white blood cells and assists the vascular system. This helps the blood flow, reduces blood pressure and purifies the bloodstream .The sodium in celery also maintains the fluidity of the blood and lymph fluids, preventing them from becoming too thick. For more information you can check thoroughly on medical and nutritional website , books and researches .

Before we continue to the making process allow me to share my personal experience and the reason I added on my morning ritual . Have been suffering from abdominal bloating effect , my stomach ,even if I follow a healthy diet, isn’t working right plus I have some symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome . That means that the past few years in the morning time the first think I do is to drink something like warm water with lemon and turmeric or do a juice cleanse program in order to aid digestion and for 30 minutes after that I don’t eat or drink something else . Alongside I do studies to be a sommelier and also I ‘ve got a certification in spirits , part of the training is the tasting although you don’t have to drink all of them (!!!) but I like wine so sometimes I feel the need to detoxifying my liver cause generally my diet is quite balanced .

What I’ve noticed so far are the following :

My digestion works better not all but most of the days that I drink the juice
My skin looks a lot better and clean , especially the eye area (puffiness and dark circles )
My energy levels are getting higher and the effect of fatigue is lower than ever ( to mention also the interval of 30 minutes that I have to wait before breakfast I reclaim it and go for running )

Recipe

1 head of celery, stalks separated

Rinse the celery ,chop the stalks and run it through a juicer.
Drink immediately.
Alternatively, you can chop the celery and blend it in a high-speed blender until smooth. Strain and drink immediately.
Then wait from 15 to 30 minutes until you have breakfast or coffee .

That was all for this time . I don’t recommend Celery juice as a remedy for chronic diseases but after all its hydrating and vegetables are rich on nutritional value . If you have already tried it feel free to share your story otherwise if you are willing to share your feedback anytime .

Eleni Kadigkou Xx

Photographer : Panagiotis Kadigkos

“A woman’s guess is much more accurate than a man’s certainty ” ,
Rudyard Kipling

My response to the question of the title is the era we are going through ; but I am fortunate to have the opportunity to transform ,through the photo shootings we provide with my collaborator , cousin and photographer , into characters of all times .

We are on the firsts days of the general Lockdown , happened on the November , in our country Greece and we have just reunite with my collaborator . Starting discussing about what we should shoot next and he proposed to depict a classical painting . Then the idea pop-uped in my brain , did a quick research and a Lavinia’s Fontana painting caught my attention .

Portrait of a Lady of the Court with a Dog ,1590 Lavinia Fontana ,Private Collection

Her pale face and her red hair resembling to mine were the crucial element in order to end up with this choice , but her posture and sight were flaunted dominance and certainty of a woman living around the 16th century , so I wanted to empower women of all the eras .

The idea immediately adjusted to our project and soon we were addressing the clothes , the hair and the whole scenery .

Photo credits Panagiotis Kadigkos

The painting responds to the art movement of mannerism ,also known as a Late Renaissance ,a style which emerged in the later years of High Renaissance , around the 1520 till the end of the 16th century in Italy .Notable names to be mentioned ,except Lavinia Fontana ,are El Greco and Giuseppe Arcimboldo .The colour pallet of the artwork is much brighter than our final result , firstly because of the light and the scenery that was available that time and secondly our version is according to our aesthetics .

Nevertheless , the painting was the trigger point for accomplishing this shooting and pay homage to women of the past ,of the present and the future .Something similar did the Museo del Prado the past October , in the context of the celebration of its Bicentenary , presented an exhibition called “A Tale of Two Women Painters: Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana” honouring the female artists of the second half of 16th century .Lavinia is considered to be the first professional female artist while Sofonisba was born to an aristocratic family and she never received fee for her services .

To sum it , up we gave a twist on a late renaissance painting ,but what I would like you to keep is that women were never the fairer sex . Women are strong by their nature , they have opinion ,they are political , sentimental ,creative ,innovators ; you can distinguish it by their imposing presence and their sight , by the way they think and act .

Eleni Kadigkou Xx

Photographer : Panagiotis Kadigkos

Model : Eleni Kadigkou

Featuring Shirt : Rococo

Tag: ek

celery juice , have you tried this nutriotinal trend yet ?

Recipe

in which era do you prefer to have lived ?