Peach & Blueberry {5th of July} Shortcake!

I’m a day late on the 4th of July picnic food post, but last night was hurricane weather- not peach and blueberry shortcake weather. Today was a little re-do with clear skies, sunshine and fresh peaches for dessert!

• 2 cups flour
• 6 Tbs coconut oil
• 3 Tbs baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup milk of choice
• about 1 Tbs butter

Preheat oven to 450. Mix dry all ingredients together, until it forms a soft dough. Spread into greased 8×8″ pan and add bits of butter around the top. (Not totally necessary, but makes for a golden crust). Put the pan into the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes. Let cool before topping with fruits.

• 1 to 2 ripe peaches
• handful of blueberries
• 1 tsp vanilla

Cut up peaches how you like, put into a bowl with blueberries and mix around with vanilla.

Once cool, top the shortbread with yogurt (I used sheep’s milk yogurt mixed with a dash of vanilla) and fruit mixture. Best served on a warm, sunny, summer day, after a dip in the ocean!

Super Spirulina Smoothie

Spirulina, the luscious dark green super algae fills this smoothie with beta carotene (antioxidant protection, anti-cancerous properties) Anti Aging power- with a high nutrient value of iron (the most common mineral deficiency- essential to build strong bodies) and magnesium (helps our bodies combat stress). For every 1- grams of spirulina, 70% of your daily requirements for iron, vitamin A, B complex, D and K. Spirulina also aids the body in absorbing other nutritients ( such as the hemp hearts, spinach and bee pollen in this super smoothie!)

Spirulina is the highest known source of vitamin B-12 (essential for healthy nerves and tissues).

This smoothie is packed with nutrients, but also Protein! Spirulina carries 60% of its weight in protein! It also stimulates beneficial probiotics in your gut, to promote a healthy digestive system!

Have I convinced you to try it yet?

• 1 large handful of spinach
• 1 banana
• 1/4 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or any milk you like!)
• 1 Tbs hemp hearts
• 1 Tbs bee pollen
• 1 Tbs spirulina

Blend all ingredients, Top with anything you like! Enjoy!

Quinoa Almond Pancakes

A few weeks ago when I suggested making pancakes for breakfast, my man informed me that they were not his favorite. (Too doughy, and not filling enough, to be correct). For a foodie gal like myself, this came as a shock, but I’m always up for a challenge.

First up to my challenge, was QUINOA! A complete protein (containing all 9 essential amino acids), filled with fiber (happy digestive tracts, lowers cholesterol), iron (keeping our red blood cells pumping oxygen to our cells and muscles), magnesium (promoting healthy blood sugar, and helping relax blood vessels= less headaches) and manganese, an antioxidant helping to fight our gorgeous skin and bodies from the free-radicals of our daily lives.

Quinoa came as the perfect ingredient! Making these my new go-to pancakes- filling, and not too doughy, for everyones liking!

• 1/3 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk (I used almond)
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• coconut oil or ghee for cooking

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.

Beat eggs together, and add the milk and yogurt.

In a cast iron pan, heat up a small pat of oil or ghee over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup into pan, repeat with however many fit into your pan, cook until bubbles form on top- flip and cook until golden.

This recipe makes about a dozen pancakes.

 

Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie

Its springtime which means daffodils have been picked {and are in vases on every surface of my house} and mint is peeking up from the winter! In honor of the mint thats about to take over the lawns, this minty, cacao smoothie!

Mint helps upset stomachs, and contains little amounts of antioxidants, vitamin A, fiber and iron. Mixed with a handful of iron-rich spinach, banana, protein-packed hemp seeds, creamy and oh-so-delicious coconut butter and magnesium filled cacao nibs, and you’ve got yourself a beautiful, springtime dessert–ahem, breakfast. 

 

• Handful of sprinach
• 1 banana
• small bunch of mint
• 2 Tbs hemp seeds
• 3 Tbs cacao nibs
• 2 cups almond milk
• 2 Tbs coconut better
• dates (optional)

Blend up in a high powered blender, enjoy in the sunshine!

 

Spring Vegetable Sushi

A gorgeous day and a craving for sesame oil & nori left me no choice but to make sushi. Don’t you love it when you have the right ingredients in the house to make exactly what you’re craving?! Perfection.

Seaweed is something I love and need to eat more of. Nori, wakame, kombu, dulse- these luscious mineral rich sea dwellers are filled with protein, B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, iron, iodine, and have anti-inflammatory properties to sooth your insides while radiating your outsides! Healing properties of seaweed include everything from cancer, to lowering cholesterol, detoxifying the body from heavy metals and weight loss.

Sushi is usually made with NORI- which is fairly mild, and punches an extra radiant skin punch, as its filled with all the Omega-3’s, and anti-inflammatory compounds.

I filled mine with sushi rice (use package directions), asparagus, avocado, radishes, roasted red peppers and cucumber and dipped them in Braggs liquid aminos. Perfect spring picnic! Enjoy!

Curry

I don’t know how I’ve gone the past few years without putting a curry recipe up here. I make curry at least once a week, usually when I have a bunch of veggies ready to be used, since its good with pretty much anything! Curry is also one of those dishes that tastes better the next day- hence the reason we take it to lunch so often!

I’m always down for a bowl full of veggies, but especially covered in coconut milk, curry powder & turmeric.

Curcumin, the main, health-boosting ingredient in turmeric that is responsible for its gorgeous golden color, has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and healing properties. It helps protect your liver form toxins, lowers cholesterol, is a natural pain-killer, and even helps soothe an upset tummy by aiding digestion!

Turmeric is also an antiseptic, meaning it speeds up the healing of wounds, both on the inside and out! This golden root has also been used in Chinese medicine for centuries as a natural anti-depressant: How could you be sad with this beaming ray of sunshine in your presence!?

My recipe for curry is very basic, and very delicious: Feel free to use anything you have laying around, my ingredients are always optional~

• 1 head of broccoli or cauliflower (or both!)
• 1/2 fennel bulb
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 zucchini
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 yellow onion
• a few cloves garlic
• handful of spinach
• 1/2 cup lentils
• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• salt & pepper to taste

Chop all the veggies how you like them, and saute onion, garlic, bell pepper in a large pot until softened. Add chopped sweet potato, fennel, zucchini, carrots and broccoli. Pour 1 cup of water into the pan, cover and let sit until bubbling. Turn down heat, add coconut milk, spices and lentils, cover and let sit over low heat for about half an hour. Once lentils are ready, add in handful of spinach until wilted and and enjoy with a yummy yogurt dill sauce, or on top of quinoa! *This makes a lot, so enjoy some the next day as leftovers!

Banana Granola

I wish you could smell this banana granola from my kitchen right now. The oven opened and the smell of fresh banana bread poured out. Delicious, comfort-food-turned into a nutrition-packed granola!

This granola uses lots of nuts and seeds, but the one highlighted today is Pumpkin seeds! Pumpkin seeds pack quite a nutritious punch:
They’re high in iron (blood building & energy boosting), magnesium (a natural relaxant), tryptophan (serotonin-producing, sleep-enhancing), protein (plant based & easily digestible), Pumpkin seeds also have high levels of omega 3 oils, anti-inflammatory properties and fiber! Not only for Halloween, pumpkin seeds can be used all year-round!

• 2 cups oats
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• sprinkle of chia seeds (optional)
• 4 Tbs. coconut oil
• 4 Tbs. maple syrup, or honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• sea salt
• 2 ripe, mashed bananas

Heat oven to 400. Combine nuts, oats and seeds in a large bowl. Heat coconut oil until liquid, and mix in separate bowl with maple syrup and vanilla. Add liquid mixture to dry, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and add mashed bananas. Pour into baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown and smelling comforting. Let cool, and enjoy!

Ghee

Ghee, the healthy, golden, wonder-fat is my favorite thing to come out of my kitchen for a while.

I’ve toyed with vegan and raw diets the past few years, never actually sticking to one that felt “right”, until I started learning about Ayruvedic diets. I’m much more in tune with the whole foods diet, rich in vegetables, fruits, grains and good fats. In our world, we are taught to associate fats with weight gain. In truth, sugar is the culprit of weight gain and the low-fat diets out there are usually filled with a decrease in fat, but a boost in sugar.

There are so many good fats to love! Avocado, coconut oil, olive oils, and my new favorite, ghee. Ghee is purified butter, most commonly used in India. Ghee is a monosaturated fat (mostly saturated), that is rich in vitamins A, D, E, K and omega-3 fatty acids. In Ayruvedic texts, it is said the easiest way to remove toxins from our bodies tissues (heavy metals, pesticides, pollution) is with good fats.

While here in the Western world, we have a complicated love/hate relationship with butter (resulting in margarine and unfortunate faux butter alternatives), in ancient Ayruvedic principles, ghee has been used to nourish our bodies gut health, cleanse toxins, boost our immune systems, lower cholesterol and promote healthy living and vitality.

Did you know that 80% of our immune systems are located in our gut! No wonder what we eat has a correlation to our healthy insides! Ghee helps balance and nourish the immune cells in your gut by minimizing stomach acid while repairing the gut’s lining. Ghee, being made of only good fat, helps in the production of digestive enzymes (less chance of indigestion).

Ghee is made by simmering butter (preferably unsalted, organic), until the milk solids separate from the beautiful golden liquid (the good fat). Once the milk solids are strained out, the ghee becomes a great fat for cooking because it has a higher smoke point. (Heating oils beyond their smoke points results in toxicity).

Another wonderful property about ghee is that once the milk solids are removed, the casein from the milk is also removed, meaning that people with dairy sensitivities can often tolerate it.

Ghee can be found in your local grocery store, or made at home! Making it at home ensures that your house will smell amazing for a few hours!

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. unsalted organic butter
• 1 clean, airtight glass container
• cheesecloth

Directions:

Place one pound of unsalted organic butter in a deep stainless steel pot over a medium heat (stay close by to avoid burning!) Have a sieve lined with the cheesecloth and the clean glass container ready.

In a couple of minutes, the butter will come to a boil. Let it continue to boil over a medium-low heat. Your kitchen will start to smell incredible. A foam will appear on top of the ghee, which is the milk solids separating. You can stir with a wooden spoon, or not.

In 7-10 minutes, the ghee will be beautifully golden and brown (milk) solids will be forming at the bottom of the pan. At this time, the ghee is ready!

Immediately remove the ghee from the heat and pour it through the cheesecloth into the glass container. Allow it to cool and harden. It’ll stay liquid for a while. Use for baking, steaming, on toast, or roasted veggies to boost your gut health and immunity! Enjoy!

26!

After a month in Guatemala (away from my vitamix and my juicer), and a birthday looming, I decided a cleanse would be a good way to restart my new year. A week of juices later, I’m 26 today and feeling great!

I woke up each morning with a big, fresh juice! And since it is still March and pretty chilly for an all-juice-cleanse- I made a big, green, power smoothie for lunch, and either a juice or a salad for dinner. With cleansing, its really important (I think), to listen to your body and what its craving. Sometimes I would only want a juice for dinner, but after an evening yoga class, I felt like I really needed a salad. Drinking enough water is also really important! Add some chia seeds for an added boost!

Juicing gives our digestive systems a break from their 24-hour a day jobs. Cleansing is a way to give our bodies the break they deserve while keeping ourselves energized and nutritionally balanced. By consuming fresh veggie & fruit juices that are loaded with nutrients (and alkalizing minerals) you’re giving your body a chance to convert lots of energy from digestion to cleansing.

Cleanses are used not only to detoxify the body, but to increase energy, increase mental clarity, balance your pH (=radiant skin, hair, complexion!) and promote better sleep patterns. 

My favorite juice recipe from this week was:

• 1/2 a cucumber
• half a lemon
• 1 green apple
• slice of ginger
• pinch of cayenne

Cheers!

Chocolate Goddess Cups

I spent the month of February feeling like a total goddess, surrounded by so many beautiful, inspiring women. Today, for International Womens Day (and the fact that I’ll never turn down a reason to make chocolate) this post is to honor the goddess in all of us, with none other than raw chocolate cups with an amazing caramel sauce!

For the chocolate sauce, I used “love grade” chocolate I brought home from Guatemala- pure, intense cacao bliss. Cacao powder will work the same!

• 1/4 cup cacao
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 4 Tbs cacao butter (optional, but oh so yummy)
• 4 Tbs sweetener (maple syrup, brown rice syrup, honey)

**Touted as “The Healthiest Sweetener,” I tried Brown rice syrup in these, which worked great! Its a neutral flavor and low on the glycemic index- meaning you won’t get any sugar crash effects.

For the caramel sauce, I blended

• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 3 Tbs coconut oil
• Small handful of soaked dates (about 6-8)
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Melt the coconut oil and cacao butter over a double broiler until liquid. Mix in cacao, sweetener and salt until combined and delicious. Pour half the mixture into molds and place in the freezer to harden for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, blend up the caramel sauce (and try not to eat it all by the spoonful!) Once the chocolate is hardened, spoon caramel sauce on top and cover with remaining chocolate sauce. Place in the fridge or the freezer to fully harden. Pop out of molds (They’re a little messy because of the caramel) and enjoy! 

Cheers to all the gorgeous gals out there. May we be empowering, supporting and inspiring to each other.