Sunshine for Breakfast

Hello blog crew! So with being out of town and then family being here from out of town, I have not been on my A game with my eats! But today was a day full of green goodness! Today I am going to focus the blog entry on juice! Some of you have recently gotten new juicers! Yippee!
I love it!

Here was my eating day: I woke up and immediately drank 16 oz of water with lemon to get things moving- this is a great daily habit to get into to break up mucous (gross word) in the body and get your bowels moving (pleasant huh)? Ain't no shame though, a healthy body should be ready to "eliminate" first thing in the morning. Your body has been working all night to get the "package" prepared, and who wants it sittin' there all day...not me!

Ok so now that some of you are probably completely embarrassed, let's move on. Next, I had 16 oz of "Sunshine for breakfast" green leaves & grasses are synthesized sunlight. Chlorophyll is energy produced by photosynthesis. (yes, I am a teacher) So just imagine, you ARE eating sunshine! Here are some juice facts that I have learned from my new Natalia Rose book (love her)

~The goal is green, but not super dark green, rather a blend of light greens and dark greens.

~The darker the green, the more bitter and medicinal they are.

~A simple 50% carrot/50% romaine is an excellent choice & great for those on a tight budget.

~It's ideal to drink your juice right away, BUT you can seal it it up, keep it cold and drink it a few hours later if needed. You can also freeze juice in Ball jars for times you need to just grab a juice and go! (I will be doing this once school starts)

~If you want to make up a big batch in the AM and drink it throughout the day, DO IT, anything is better than not juicing at all!

~Once you get into it, you will be hooked!

~Green juice cleans your blood and renews every cell it reaches!

Lunch was a big Mediterranean salad from Arnie's (sorry no picture, I was starving) and a side of steamed broccoli.

Dinner was a homemade salad with spinach, onions, tomato, purple pepper (tastes just like green bell pepper), cilantro & garlic. My dressing was a smushed up avocado with lemon juice and Stevia. I also had an omelet with onions and basil & of course I topped it with Ketchup!

After dinner treat was 2 Endangered Species mint dark chocolate squares.

Make juice, and more, and more, and more!

~A

I Scream, You Scream...

Hello everyone! It's Friday for you working folks! I have a few recipes to share with you today...but first I wanna know who likes ice cream? Better yet, what if I told you it was dairy free, super healthy, tasted awesome, and even makes a healthy breakfast?

Now we can ALL scream for ice cream!

Well here you go! This is a recipe that I got off of another blog and it's called Protein Ice Cream

The only variation I made was doing 3/4 teaspoon of Xanthum gum and not using Guar gum. However, I have read that it is much thicker when you use both gums together. I actually got my xanthum gum at Meijer and just found Guar Gum @ the health food store. Both are Bob's Red Mill Brand.

Also here is the Vegan Potato Salad recipe that my sister in-law made. Enjoy!

~A

A's Top Ten List

HELLO BLOG FRIENDS!!!! Oh how I have missed you all! I have been out of town visiting family and now I have so much to tell you! So here it goes, 10 things I have been dying to tell you!

1. I am in LOVE with Greek/Mediterranean food and just discovered it this weekend! Any good places here in Indy? Did you know a lot of these restaurants also do raw juice? I ate at an insane place called The Pita Cafe in Mo-Town! I am smiling just thinking about it! Thanks for taking me E!

2. I got new stainless steel pots and pans! The blood doctor I saw said scratched non-stick pots & pans were a big culprit of metal toxicity. Got mine @ Meijer for $100

3. Natural Born Juicers now have all compostable cups! WOO-HOO!

4. I got some new Raw Vegan Protein Powder! I'll let you know how I like it tomorrow!

5. I learned over the weekend that S'mores are the main reason I can never be 100% vegan!

Those little things are off the stizick!

6. Coconut Kiefer rocks! (got it at Nature's Market)

7. I tried Amazing Grass Berry flavour and it was DELISH!

8. I got some cacao nibs to put on top of my green smoothies and my overnight oats. They are different from what I expected, but good. Gives a nice crunch on top!

9. Michigan's Farmer's Markets are AMAZING!!! I have never seen so many cherries!

10. Indy's City Market was off the hook today! Parking lots were full! That didn't stop me though. I loaded up! Here is what I got: cucumbers, squash, eggplant, onions, PURPLE peppers, a bottle of rhubarb wine, a bouquet of beautiful flowers, and a large Ultimate Greens from Natural Born Juicers...all for $30. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself!

I'm excited to try some new recipes this week, so of course I'll share them with you! I also have a vegan potato salad recipe I want to give you that my sister-in-law made! YUMMY!

~A

Think Happy!

Hello blog friends! I hope everyone is having a great morning.

I am a big believer in the body mind connection and need a lot of work in that area! I recently downloaded an app on my itouch of positive affirmations by Louise Hay and I have been really loving it! However, the other night as I was putting Sophia to bed we read one of her new library books and little did I know that all I need to know about being happy & making myself happy, I could learn from a children's book. I wanted to share this book with you it is called Think Happy by Nancy Carlson. This book is filled with pages of colorful animal characters with recommendations on each page and it really made me smile! We are definitely getting this one for our home library and I have a feeling it will probably end up on my nightstand as a reminder to me how easy it is to stay in a positive mind frame!






















Here are a few of my favorite pages:

~Make yourself HAPPY by taking care of your body! (picture is bunny running)

~Drink lots of water because your body LOVES water! (picture is bunny drinking water
~Wave at your neighbors!
~Make yourself HAPPY by staying calm. (picture is frog doing yoga
~Have FAITH and you'll always have someone to talk to. (picture animals at church service)
~When you make yourself happy, something REALLY AMAZING will happen!Try to stay happy today and do something nice for your body and mind!

Peace, love, and happiness,

~A

Oh baby!

In honor of a special reader of my blog who just delivered 2 beautiful (I've not seen yet, but heard) 34 week babies, and all my girls @ work who had babes this year, I thought I would blog a bit about baby products. Since Sophia is 3 and I just jumped on the natural band wagon about a year ago, some of these I haven't used before.



Eating- Of course breastmilk is a wonderful choice for babies, some don't have that option and I haven't researched organic formulas yet, but I am sure there are some great ones out there. So I will start with baby food. When Sophia was eating I bought Earth's Best a lot. Also, there is a fairly new baby food line called Sprout(Farm Fresh sells this now) There are a ton more these are just a few I am familiar with. Of course you can always make your own using fresh organic produce. This is another reason I am so in LOVE with my Vita-mix. Can't wait to do this next time around! (occasionally of course, I'm not the making all of my own baby food type unfortunately)



Bottles- Avoid bottles with a 7 on the bottle (that's the scary plastic) and make sure plastic bottles are BPA (bisphenol A) free. Glass bottles are a great choice, but I am not sure if there are a lot of these on the market. (I haven't looked, obviously)



Diapers- All I'm going to say about this is there are some really cool new cloth hybrid diapers that are shaped like disposable, velcro on the sides, & convenient to use. Some you just through out a middle insert and wash the "shell" I know this doesn't always seem convenient, but I will say my friend Denise does it. If your reading this Denise what brand do you use? I would love to get your opinion on this.



Monitors- This is something I didn't learn until recently and followed this rule immediately. Place the monitor as far from the crib as possible, at least 3 feet away. Due to EMF's (electromagnetic fields) It is said that EMF's can have a negative effect on our health, both adult and child. This research is controversial in the science world, I would rather not my family be the guinea pigs so I took the advice. On a side note I also moved my alarm clock so it wasn't right next to my head on my night stand. Just something to think about!



Buy Secondhand- There are some things you Do Not want to buy secondhand, but clothes, shoes, and some toys are great things to buy at yard sales or pre-owned stores. I buy almost all of Sophia's clothes at yard sales. My friend Amy and I call each other when we find a good one with clothes the size of our kids, then we stalk them every year to see if they will have another one! No shame here in buying used, I think of it as doing my part to be a super star recycler!





Here is a picture of my girl when she was a baby, who by the way Krista she weighed more than your twins put together! Holy cow, LITERALLY!



























Peace , love, and the miracle of babies!

~A

Holy Kale!

New discovery! Kale chips! I have been using Kale in my juices (not smoothies, I've read it doesn't blend well) But today I discovered cooking Kale! It was AMAZING!

I made 2 batches because we ate the first batch before dinner!

Kale Chips

• 
  
  wash kale and rip off stems
• 
  
  Lay kale on baking sheet
• 
  
  drizzle kale with olive oil
• 
  
  sprinkle with sea salt and pepper
• 
  
  cook @ 350 for 10 minutes on each side
• 
  
  (I did 15 minutes without flipping it & they were perfectly crispy)

And this was the rest of dinner, a wrap with "fake" chicken (I only buy this when it is on sale) couscous, tomato, spinach, onion, and garlic hummus.

I thought you should all see what I have to work around in my kitchen! My kitchen is not big and he is, so I have to step over him every time I go to the fridge! So annoying, but I try to make the best of it because I know some day I will miss stepping over my big boy!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Rest & re-energize!

~A

What is your milk of choice?

Good Morning blog friends! Yesterday I didn't juice or have a smoothie and I felt lazy all day! Now, it may have just been the weather that made me feel so lazy, but I'm curious today to see how I feel after juicing since the weather is rainy yet again!

Yesterday's lunch was Butternut squash and white bean soup with Mary's Gone Crackers. I get this soup from Farm Fresh Delivery & all you have to do is heat it up. Delish!

I wanted to share this ABC pasta with all of you who have kids. It is organic, whole grain, and delicious! It only takes 5 minutes to make and it's one of Sophia's favorites! I just sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese and she gobbles it up! I get mine in my Farm Fresh Delivery bin, but I have also seen it at Whole Foods.

Dinner last night was Sandella's. I got the vegetarian quesadilla, and it was just ok. Didn't I say last time I went there I was going to stick with their salads? Their salads are wonderful!

Breakfast this morning was 1/2 cup Bear Naked granola with 1/2 cup almond milk.

For those of you who haven't tried soy milk or almond milk. Silk makes both of these milks & is my favorite brand. I also really like coconut milk made by So Delicious. These are my favorite "cow milk" alternatives. However, when I was still drinking milk I always bought Horizon brand (or any other organic brand) It is a lot more expensive, but to me it was worth it for my health.

Also, while I had the camera out I took a picture of 3 of my favorite things to put in my smoothies. I am a visual person and thought you might like to see what the packages look like. On the left is the chia seeds, in the middle is Amazing Grass wheatgrass, and to the right is my FAVE the Amazing Grass Chocolate Superfood! I got all of these at the Vitamin Shoppe in Greenwood, but again you can order them online & find them other places I'm sure.

Off to the grocery! I'll show you tomorrow any new exciting finds!

~A