Search results: chia

Chia Pudding

We’ve finally figured out a healthy, easy, homemade and delicious snack – chia pudding. Have you tried it? It’s SO easy. You can add any topping of your choice. Here are some of my favorites: Read more »

With the constant change in our bodies, it is always important to yes have a routine that works for you, but also find a way to change your routine to make it something new and exciting that fits with what your body needs right now, not yesterday.

Here’s how I’ve changed my morning smoothie to fit my body NOW and you should do the same. Tune in to what you need – not crave –  at this very moment and let yourself have it.

1 cup of coconut water

1/3 cup aloe vera juice (George’s brand – which doesn’t have a taste)

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

A splash of green chlorophyll (check the sodium content it shouldn’t be high)

1 organic banana

1 handful of fresh, organic strawberries

1 organic kiwi

1 organic, pitted date

1/2 an organic mango

1 leaf of organic kale

1 handful of organic spinach

1 handful sprouted almonds

1 handful goji berries

1 heaping tablespoon hemp seeds

1 teaspoon bee pollen

1 heaping tablespoon chia seeds

1 tablespoon maca powder

1 tablespoon lucuma powder

1 tablespoon wheatgrass powder

2-3 shakes of ground turmeric spice

5 shakes of ground cinnamon spice

Wow that was a huge list – but yes, I do this every morning and man I feel great! Once you’ve got this into your routine I promise it really doesn’t take long and it tastes amazing. You’ve got your morning protein, greens and delicious taste.

Even if you don’t follow my lead and use this recipe, whatever you do use in your smoothie, see if you can add some greens into it -You won’t taste it and you’ll be getting lots of incredible nutrients.

I hope you have an awesome day.

During my IIN (Integrative Institute of Nutrition) classes we had the pleasure of meeting David Wolfe, raw food guru. The most important lesson that I learned from him is that going raw may not be the best idea for everyone – but adding raw products into your existing daily diet can’t hurt at all.

He taught us how to make a “superfood smoothie,” which uses ingredients that I usually use on a daily basis but now I’ve learned how to also add in superfoods to pump it up.

Here is the recipe:

Handful of strawberries

Handful of blueberries

Handful of blackberries

Handful of raspberries

Coconut water – enough to cover the fruit and a little extra (too much is never a bad thing) one cup-full of coconut water contains more electrolytes than most sports drinks and more potassium than a banana**

1 tbls chia seeds– Chia is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, even more so than flax seeds! Chia is rich in antioxidants, provide fiber as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc. Chia is an AMAZING superfood!

½ tbls maca powder- Has been found to enhance fertility and sexual performance in both men and women.

½ tbls cacao powder – All chocolate is made from the cacao (cocoa) bean, and cacao beans in their natural, unprocessed, unadulterated state are rich in nutrients and beneficial to health. Cacao helps dilate bloods vessels, reduce blood clotting, improve circulation, help regulate heartbeat and blood pressure, lower LDL cholesterol, and reduce the risk of stroke and heart attacks. It is a feel good food and it may reduce the risk of certain cancers.

½ tbls camu camu powder – Camu camu fruits contain more vitamin C than any other plant in the world from 30 to 60 times more than an orange. It has astringent, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, emollient and nutritional properties, and also contains important levels of beta-carotene, calcium, iron, niacin, phosphorus, riboflavin and thiamin.

1 tbls raw honey – Honey is antiseptic, antibiotic, antifungal, and antibacterial — it never spoils and is best in it’s raw, unprocessed state.

½ tbls blue green algae – A form of microalgae phytoplankton containing chlorophyll, vitamin B-12, complete protein and omega 3 fatty acids.

1 tincture of cat’s claw – Is thought to have anti-inflammatory effects and has been used for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. It has also been used for high blood pressure, HIV, diverticulitis, gastritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

1 tincture of pau’darco – An anti-inflammatory

1 tincture of fo-ti – Can lower serum cholesterol, decrease hardening of the arteries, and improve immune function.

1 tincture of reishi mushroom – Regulates and fine tunes the immune system.

A handful of almonds (if you like them!)

Feel free to add in a green veggie if you want, sometimes I add in spinach or kale depending on what I have in the fridge.

If you have any serious health problems I suggest you do some more research on these superfoods to make sure they won’t effect you in a negative way – they are powerful and wonderful if you use them properly.

It’s finally time to enjoy what Mother Nature’s given us!

Dear friends,

I’d like to let you in on a bit of a secret – it’s something that I’ve been experimenting with for about a week now.

If you’re not already aware of the fact that I really enjoy baking then let me explain: I don’t bake with just any ingredients; I bake with wholesome products and foods that are actually good for you and won’t give you the crazy rise in your blood sugar that you are probably used to.

On that note, recently, I started to realize that the baking powder I was using in my goods was full of crap! AH! That completely defeated the purpose of my no crap baked yummies – so I spent a while asking others what they use instead of the store-bought stuff or eggs and of course I went blog surfing to see if anyone else found the same issue that I did.

I didn’t like what I was reading because they made their own baking powder out of other crap instead of buying the crap filled one from the store – – SAME THING!

Finally I came across a sensible woman who suggested I try using chia seeds. I was confused as to how these seeds would make my muffins rise­. In any case, I followed her lead and took 1 tablespoon of the chia seeds that I found at Whole Foods, put them in a bowl and doused them with 3 tablespoons of water. I waited about 5-10 minutes and voila, it turned into a jelly like consistency!

I mixed this into my muffin mix and it did rise! Since I was skeptical I didn’t use the entire batch of the seeds in the mix and I probably should have – I think it would have risen more if I had used the whole thing. I can’t believe it actually worked! WOOHOO! The next challenge is to see if this will work with my breads and cookies!

Hopefully you can try this in your next batch of cookies or whatever else you may decide to bake. The baking powder from the store is really not something we should be putting into our food – try this alternative for a healthier snack!