It’s a funny thing

Posted: January 23, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Health, Shake | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Me, taking pictures of my smoothies.  Here’s how it typically goes down, I return from the gym, sweaty, smelly and hungry.  I wash my hands (cause gyms have germs) and get to work making my shake.  There is rarely a plan, it’s totally based on what’s on hand, what needs to get used, how hungry I really am, etc.  So I whip up my concoction, pour it in a glass and then I take a picture.  Mind you I have not yet had even a sip of my breakfast, if I did there’d be a gross residue section on the glass and, although it rarely shows, I try to take an appetizing picture.  So there I am putting the glass, here and there trying (in vain) to find a little light and I’m hungry the whole time.  Now here’s the twist, I’m not even sure the picture I am taking will be posted.  I can make a yummy smoothie but occasionally, I can make one that is seriously difficult to choke down and some days (like today) it’s a total crap shoot.  But today was a winner and here it is:

Coco chai Coco Chai

1 cup Rice Milk

2 tablespoons Chai (I used the Tazo brand – it has sugar)

1 large handful raw spinach

1 handful raw cashews

1 scoop amazing greens powder (Chocolate kids version)

1 heaping table spoon Cacao

1 tsp maca

1 scoop Vega (Vanilla Chai)

1/2 to 2/3 cup  frozen organic cherries

Blend and serve and take a picture if you want.

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She wore a raspberry beret

Posted: December 11, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Health, Shake | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Now that I’ve got us singing – let’s talk about cherries.  What?!  I couldn’t think of any songs about cherries, but the flavor of these little red beauties makes me want to break into song.  The nutrition benefits are worth a verse or two as well, something that covers how these stone fruits may help you sleep better or help you lose weight.

I played around with a bag of frozen cherries at the beginning of the summer and was so happy with every result, it seems to be the magic ingredient, it can do no wrong in my smoothies!  BUT then there was this dry spell at Whole Foods – no frozen cherries.  No biggie, there’s lots of fun with other frozen fruits to be had, like with raspberries, BUT when I saw organic cherries back in my freezer section this week I bought not one but three bags!  Cherries are also a good source of vitamin C so toss in your spinach and enjoy all the benefits.  Here is my new favorite way to enjoy them:

1 cup frozen cherries
1 cup almond milk
1 scoop vega
1 big double handful scoop romaine
1 squirt flax
1 tsp agave

Blend away and enjoy!
Other amazing variations:
-add cacao
-try walnuts
-cacao and almond butter
-spinach

Back in the saddle

Posted: November 26, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: blog referrals, Health, Shake | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Photo via the internet (my pies are not that pretty)

I’ve basically spent the past week eating and sleeping, there were no gym visits, there wasn’t much of anything going on except the aforementioned eating, oh and cooking of course.  I did eat a lot of veggies but they were usually swimming in butter, oil, and/or cheese……mmmmmm, cheese.  I also had pie, with a side of pie and whipped creams and ice creams and cookies and oh my.  Not surprisingly I looked at my husband last night and said, “I feel so sorry for myself”!

It’s true eating this way not only causes a mess with my digestive system it also totally screws with me emotionally.  My typical M.O. is to be super hard on myself and forget all the fun and community that I had in the last week and just wince at each “bad choice” I made and groan about the difficulty of getting back “on track”.  But you know what – LIFE IS TOO SHORT.  And as Kris Carr told me recently, “LIFE LOVES ME”!  What kind of recipient of life’s love would I be if I start my whole woe-is-me routine?  So this morning, I woke-up, hit the gym, went to the g-store, made my smoothie and sat down to talk to you fine folks, cause you know what?  LIFE LOVES US ALL!

This is my “Back in the Saddle” concoction:

1 cup almond milk

1 banana

1 scoop Vanilla Chai Vega

1 scoop Amazing Greens berry powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cacao

1/4 tsp espresso

2 ice cubes

Giddy up ‘lil doggies, I can already feel my little light starting to shine once again.

Isn’t it lovely, isn’t it marvelous

Posted: October 8, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: blog referrals, Health, Shake | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spent some lovely time this weekend perusing this blog, the beauty of it is by Katey Denno, a NYC celebrity Make-up artist with a yen for all things natural.  I was particularly fascinated by this posting since cold and flu season is right around the corner and I especially appreciated her disclaimer about coconut oil.  I have a few friends who are repelled by all things coconut and couldn’t agree more with Katey who says,

“Not everyone will like coconut oil. I firmly believe that if your body tells you it’s not for you by making you feel turned off by the smell, or if you feel sick to your stomach when you ingest it, perhaps try another brand, and if you get the same response, listen to your body and pick up an extra virgin, organic olive oil instead. It’s always best to listen to your body!”

THAT said, if you ARE into getting coco-nutty, I’ve been adding coconut oil to my smoothies lately and HOLY COW it’s like a whole new plane of yumminess, here’s my latest coconut dream, makes enough for 2:

 

2 cups Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk

1 cup frozen mango

1 tbs gently melted coconut oil

1 scoop Vega (Vanilla Chai)

1 sprinkle stevia (probably 1/4 tsp)

Put everything in a blender EXCEPT the coconut oil, give it a whirl, when the frozen mango seems incorporated – pour in the coconut oil while blending.  You are done.  Pour into glasses and enjoy!

I feel so CLEAN

Posted: September 17, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Health, Shake, Tips | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Week 1 into our cleanse and holy cow I feel so clean and so happy!  Like dancing on the ceiling happy…and light, I feel light.  This summer I wrote about my tendency to overindulge, especially in sweets and fats….I don’t think I was really overeating my salads if you know what I mean.  An intervention was in order, so my husband and I broke out the Clean cleanse.  We’ve done it before but this round we’re really following all the “extras” laid out in the book including daily meditation, banishing snacks whenever possible, dry brushing, and a nightly dose of olive oil to just name a few.  The basics are for 21 days we do two liquid meals, one at breakfast and one for dinner, lunch is a meal from their list of acceptable foods with the idea being as raw as possible and as organic as possible.

Changing up our food has already yielded huge benefits, we are sleeping better, my husband is so glow-y with his bright eyes – he looks 5 years younger, he says I too am sporting a youthful glow, I’ve mentioned the spike in happiness we are both experiencing – all of these things are wonderful BUT they are not my favorite part of my experience so far.

My favorite part is identifying that food and eating out had become a sort of hobby!

“Let’s grab a bite, have some coffee/tea, take the kids for an ice cream, etc., etc.”

So, during these three weeks (and I’m hoping for longer) we will get out and DO something instead of go out and EAT something.  One caveat, the “detox date”, my husband and I went out for a green juice at one of the few NEW juicing places that have opened after dropping the kids at school.  $15 bucks for two green drinks – DAMN, thank goodness it counts as breakfast.  But it was a really nice break from cleaning the juicer.

Not completely unlike traveling, this cleanse experience has changed up our daily routine, offering some awesome insights.

I should mention that neither my favorite part of the experience, nor all the benefits we are outwardly experiencing thus far are the point of our cleanse.  We are giving our bodies a break so they can clean themselves up and heal as needed……also to break my crack, I mean SUGAR addiction.  Has to be said, just in one week, I feel like the spell has been broken on that front!