Well everyone!  It has been more than a month since I posted last!  ACK!  My apologies!  We have had a very crazy and challenging month in my family and I am happy to see it moving on along into a new phase!

I hope you are all well! Spring has yielded some delicious fruits and veggies here in Texas and we have been enjoying them every single day; eating them as is or coming up with a new way to enjoy them! (Lots of recipe creation going on!) 

Tomorrow we are visiting a lovely blueberry farm to pick some delicious blueberries!  I'll be with 3 kids under 5 so that will be FUN!

I will write more this week as I have created some yummy new recipes to share.  Until then, I must go as I am working on a project for Raw Bloom, a "cook" book, and I have a deadline to keep!

Take care and please write in with any questions!

In Peace,
Kirsten

I find this to be very important; especially when you want to make healthy changes in what you eat!  Changes that will last for a lifetime:

It is the idea of adding-in.  Not taking certain foods away each day, but adding healthy choices into your daily food intake will help you stay positive and know you are doing you body good! 

When we focus on what we can not or do not have there can be a feeling of deprevation.  When we feel deprived then there is  a high chance of binging on poor quality foods and then feeling down on ourselves for not being successful with our diets!

 When we focus on putting yummy, healthy foods into our bodies, we focus on what we did that was good for us and less on what we did or did not do that was not so good for us!

Start by adding-in a green smoothie  or the Ultimate Green Machine each morning.  BEGIN your day with it!  When it is the first thing (after water with lemon, of course) you give your body as nourishment, then this is what your body wil want for the rest of the day; you will be less likely to want to eat junk later in the day!  Your body will say "Hey! Gimme some more of that green stuff...you know, the stuff that made me feel so good this morning!"

If you begin your day with a bagel and cream cheese and think to yourself "I'll drink the smoothie for lunch" you will be more likely to go out for a sub sandwich with chips and soda. 

Believe me.
 
More people write in to me with this issue!  I have spoken/ emailed hundreds of people that have lived this scenario! 

By simply adding-in your green smoothie first thing in the morning, you can give yourself props for doing your body good!  Your body will thank you.  And I promise it will bleed over into the next meal or snack...and into the next as well until you are eating more and more of the good stuff that really keeps you light, energized and in a good place physically, mentally and spiritually!

So, add-in my friends!  Add-in!
In peace,
Kirsten

When the same old thing just doesn't seem to be working like it used to, perhaps it is time to make a change.

I have my daily yoga practice and although I change it up I have been feeling out-of-whack or not quite right for some time.  (Something wasn't flowing within myself and I felt there were areas that were stagnating.  Things began to grow within the stagnation that I didn't necessarily want to grow!)

My yoga teachers are in N.M. and I really miss the sessions I had with them. The newness they would help bring to my practice was a gift and although I can bring freshness and life to my practice as well, it really helps to have a great teacher. 

I have found a very special teacher here in the Dallas area; Ricky Tran. He does not teach kundalini yoga, the style of yoga I am familiar with.  Studying with him has kindled a light within. With this light, I am better able to sense a deep understanding that is inside of me. With this light, I am better able to see the path on which I step; gently, lovingly and full of devotion.

This new yogic experience is as profound as that of my initial kundalini yoga class which lit a path that has forever tranformed my life for the better.

I am grateful for my experiences every day. I am grateful for the  teachers I have had.  As I learn through my experiences and as I grow through those travels, I am better able to live wholly and help light a world that can be called many things; cruel, dark, scary, evil.

In darkness there is fear; for fear is bred from ignorance. Holding the breath, one fears what might be right in front of one's face or behind one's back, lurking.

In light, there is breath and with breath comes life; forever seeking to exist, to grow. When strong, life will adapt and exist even in tumultuous times.  Life will find a way.

When I feel stagnant.  When I feel fearful or nervous, I must be strong and find a way.  Change happens and so I, in turn, must change.  Adapt.  This can happen on levels both subtle and gross and everywhere in between. 

It is my hope to always have a teacher.

If you would like to check out Ricky Tran, Go here:
www.rickytranyoga.com

Kombucha!  Now, now...do not fear.  If you have heard of kombucha before and were afraid, let's try again!  Kombucha is an ancient way of fermenting tea to create a lovely home for beneficial bacteria.  This beneficial bacteria is wonderful for repleneshing good flora in the intestines. 

Making kombucha is easy and you do not need many supplies to get going today.  You'll need a large pot for boiling 12 c. water.  A large glass (food grade) container for fermenting.  A kitchen towel, strainer, tea bags, organic sugar....hmmm what else?  Ah hah!  1 bottle of plain raw kombucha.  Use any brand you like.

The initial step is to grow your SCOBY (a.k.a. mushroom, which it is not)  SCOBY: Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. (Once again, do not fear!)

Boil your water for 10 minutes to purify it and kill off anything you don't want or need in the water.  Add 1 cup organic sugar and boil 5 minutes more. Then add 6 black tea baghs, preferably organic and boil for 3-5 minutes.  Remove the bags, cover the pot and let sit overnight or until the tea reaches room temperature.

The next morning, pour you new sweet tea into the food grade glass container and then pour over that the whole bottle of raw kombucha.  Cover this with cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel and place the whole thing in a relatively cool to warm dark space.  I keep mine in a cabinet above the stove in the kitchen.  Anywhere between 10 days and 3 weeks, you'll have some stuff growing on top of the tea, this is your SCOBY.  As long as there is no mold (just like bread mold..hairy and soft) you are good to go.  taste your kombucha along the way, maybe every 10 days or so. Check for flavor!  It will smell a bit like sweet vinegar.  Once your SCOBY is about 1/4" thinck, you can strain the kombucha into individual bottles, old kombucha bottles that you have saved or ball jars, etc.  Put the lid on well and let them sit on the counter for 4 days or so, then refrigerate.  The second fermentation happens in the little bottles (this can also be done in one big bottle if you like).  The second fermentation will create a more effervescent feel/ taste to your kombucha tea. 

Done.  Yum.  If you want to add some flavoring to the kombucha, do so when you rack the tea into the smaller bottles before letting it sit for the second fermentation.  Add strawberry puree, organic grape juice, crystalized ginger minced up well, etc.  Try new things!  This is YUM and has been used in many cultures to help keep the insides healthy, give a nice energetic boost, satiate the appetite a bit and to strengthen the immune system.
It is also a great replacement for soda.  If you are addicted to sodas, start drinking this.  (Not 12 a day, though.  All things in moderation!  Start with 8 oz.-12 oz. a day and then work your way down to 4-6 oz.  You don't need much of this powerful beverage!)

I hope this was helpful and enjoy!  If you have any questions, email me!

In Peace,
Kirsten

You do not have to eat an all raw diet to benefit from these amazing foods.  Everyone is different! We live in different environments, are active in different ways and have different needs. 
The best advice I can give is listen to your body and your doctor if you have one and experiment!  Try new things.  One thing is for sure; Most people agree that eating more fruits and vegetables is a good idea. 
And if I were to make one suggestion and one suggestion only as to what to change in the average american diet it would be; Drink your green smoothie every morning as your first meal! 
There are countless varioations on the green smoothie theme; just use some fruit and some leafy greens. 

Mix up your greens daily as each type of fruit and veggie contains different nutrients and vitamins, etc.  Change it up!  Use a leafyn inknown leafy green once a week.  If you peruse the produce and see some lovely green leaves, try it next! Try kale; green, lacinato or purple; chard, spinach, arugula, dandelion greens, parsley or cilantro.  Use bananas, apples, pears, pineapple, peaches, any berry you like, etc.  Explore. 

Another good rule of thumb is to keep it simple.  One or two fruits and one or two leafy greens.  Add some flax seeds or chia seeds for additional nutrients; fats and oils.  Smoothies are a wonderful way to wake up you body and feel light, hydrated and energized until lunch time.  Simply by changing your morning meal, you will change your life for the better. 

Hmm.  Are you a cereal person?  Do you eat lots of processed flakes and clusters found in a box?  Move away from those processed foods and into a more natural cereal by making your own;  It is easy! 
The recipe below is what I made last night for breakfast this morning.  (And it made enough to keep us eating it daily for a while!)  These ingredients are what we had in the house but you can use just about any nut, fruit or seed you like!  Just be sure to dry it long enough that everything gets dry and doesn't retain any moisture.  That way it'll keep well! 

yum yummy gRAWnola
Makes about 6 cups grawnola

FOR GRANOLA
1 c. pumpkin seeds
1 c. black or tan sesame seeds
1 c. walnuts or pecans
1 c. shredded or flaked coconut
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. dried tart cherries
2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
FOR PASTE
6 Medjool Dates, pitted
juice of 2 oranges
1/4 c. honey, maple syrup or agave nectar
1 Tblsp. Cinnamon

Now, soak your seeds and/or nuts for 20 minutes or so then rinse and drain.
Mix all the granola ingredients together. 
Blend all the PASTE ingredients together and then pour onto the granola.  Mix well.  Dehydrate at 104 until dry.  You can smooth it out before dehydrating and then cut into bars or just dry and then break into pieces.  Eat it as is or pour your favorite nutmilk over it and eat it that way.  We had this for breakfast this morning and it ROCKED!

Dehydrate it completey and then store it in an airtight container.  Will keep for a month or so as long as it is dried out well.

If you do not have a dehydrator, then dry it out in your oven on the lowest temp. possible until completely dry.

Here is to your health!
In peace,
Kirsten

Photo courtesy of www. flickr.com/photos/coastranger/371063317/
At the turn of the 20th century, Edward Bernay, Sigmund Freud's nephew, a public-relations pioneer, used his uncle's theories of people's unconscious, psychological motivations and applied them to the newly developed field of public relations. 

At the time, a new food product was introduced to the American public; bacon.  At the turn of the 20th century, most people ate a light breakfast of coffee, juice and toast or a roll of some sort.  The introduction of bacon coupled with eggs as advertised as the new breakfast food did not go over well with the public.  A long history of eating light in the morning held strong. The Beech-Nuttagum Packing Company saw great financial losses due to bacon not selling well.  They needed help! What to do?  Who could they hire to save them?

Enter Edward Bernay.  Using his uncles ideas, he went out and asked a medical doctor some questions about food and energy.  The questions were simple and looked a bit like this:

1. Does the human body expend energy in the night during sleep?
2. Does the human body need energy during the day to complete day-to-day tasks, labor, etc.?
2. Would it make sense to eat a hearty breakfast as opposed to a light breakfast in order to provide the body with energy?

These simple sounding questions made it seem that a heartier breakfast would benefit the American public more than a light one.  Edward Bernay asked that doctor if he would be willing to write to 5,000 doctors asking if they agreed with his opinions.  4,500 doctors agreed.  This information went out to the public via the newspapers, that 4,500 doctors agreed a hearty breakfast would provide the energy needed to sustain activity.  In the article it was mentioned that bacon and eggs be a part of that hearty breakfast.  Bacon sales went up, saving the Beech-Nuttagum Packing Company from it's financial woes due to the poorly introduced product; bacon. 

Very interesting.  Although food can provide energy, it also takes energy to digest food.  So the question of when to eat a large meal is a good one!

Many advocates of a light breakfast find that allowing the body to remain in the "fasting" stage from the nights rest  well into the late morning or lunch-time allows the mind to use more energy for thought processes rather than bodily processes such as digestion.  For myself, I find this to be very true.  When I eat a cooked breakfast, for example steel-cut oats with dates and pecans, tea, and juice, I feel tired and a bit bloated after eating. 

The combination of the oats, fruit, nuts and fruit juice fills my belly with conflicting enzymatic needs for digestion.  Acidic enzymes and alkaline enzymes come into play and slow each other down as they are both present in the gut.  This diluted concoction in my belly slows down so much the the fruit begins to ferment in the belly and creating a slower elimination time.  All the fermenting brings about gasses that cause me to feel bloated and uncomfortable. (So this also brings into the picture the idea of food combining.  We'll go into that a little later.  Do not fear, it is easy-peasy :)

On the other hand, when I wake up, hydrate with water and lemon juice, then wait until I actually begin to feel hungry, then have a green smoothie or other smoothie. I can go all morning with high energy and stable mood. The blending in the high speed blender breaks down the fruit and green, leafy veggies on a cellular level even BEFORE entering my mouth; My body has an extrememly easy job of taking out the necessary nutrients to fuel my bodily functions while using the left over energy for other things! (like yoga, office work, higher math!!! :)

Try it out in the next few days.  Eat a large breakfast one day and see how you function and feel until lunch. Then on the next day, eat a blended green smoothie and see what happens until lunch.  Guaronteed you will be more action-oriented and stable in mood.

In Peace (and in drinking your greens),
Kirsten

photo courtesy of www.queenofkaos.com

Yummy, detoxifying salad!

3 Cucumbers
6 small cloves garlic or 3 large
crushed red pepper
1-2 Tblsp. hempseed oil
Celtic sea salt
fresh juice squeezed from 1 lemon (to taste)

Wash, scrub and peel the cucumber.  Use a vegetable peeler or spiralizer to turn the cucumber into long thin strips.  GO all the way to the seeds, then use the seeds for something else. (put in your next smoothie!)  Mince or crush the garlic.  Toss the cucumber strips with the garlic, pepper, oil and salt. Really do it up!  Sing a happy song while preparing and then serve right away.  If you let it sit, the salt will create a water-logged salad, so eat it right away or add the salt when you are ready to consume.

This simple salad is awesome.  Spice amounts can be adjusted to suit your taste!
Enjoy and in Peace,
Kirsten

I have been eating more skin nourishing foods trying to help my skin heal from a rash that was exacerbated by a topical medication I used.  One of the yummy things I made was this amazingly tasty, skin toning smoothie! 

Flesh and water from 1 young thai coconut
1 c. Almond Milk
1/2 small avocado
1 packet Acai
1 orange, peeled
1 banana

Blend and drink.  Awesome-ly good! 

Thai coconut water is full of potassium which facilitates cleansing of the cells.  It's electrolyte content is very similar to human blood and has been used for blood transfusions!  Very easily asimilated into our bodies, this hydrates you better than anything else. 
Almond milk adds thickness and creaminess!
Avocadoes have raw beautifying fat that is perfect for our bodies!    Full of minerals and fiber.
Acai  It is chock-full of Omega Fatty Acids that plump and nourish the skin as well as antioxidents.
Banana adds some sweetness!

Although I woke up the next morning and still have my rash :), I feel great!  Here's to trying new food!

In Peace,
Kirsten

A couple of really smart snacks packed in your bag for the day will help keep the junk food out of your thoughts and out of your mouth!
So?  What are some smart snacks?  Not only are they healthy, satisfying and tasty, they should be a-plenty!  I mean you should have choices.  You never know what is going to strike your fancy when it comes to snack treats so it is advisable to have options with you at all times!  This may sound extreme or time consuming in preparation, or heavy for the carrying around; it isn't any of these.  It is fun and satisfying knowing that you have what you will want later in the day and will not have to resort to heavy, greasy, or refined sugary foods.

You may need salty, crunchy, moist (like cake), sweet, etc.  Here are some good ideas;

1. The old stand-by; cut-up veggies.  This may sound boring now, but add an amazing dip and you have gourmet.  Guaronteed, pasers-by will stare at it and want some. (Only the bold will all out ASK for a taste! Most will just ask questions: "Is that dip?  What kind is it?  Did you make it?  What does it taste like?")

2. Flax crackers.  These are awesome.  You can buy them in a health food store or make them yourself.  I recommend making them. The home made ones are far superior than the store bought. (Certainly no offense intended to those sold in stores. I am very grateful for their presence on the market,  I just like mine better:)

3.  Smoothie.  Always good to have one around.  I drink one in the morning and am sure to pack one with me when I will be out of the house for more than a few hours.

4.  Olives.  I love olives.  They are a wonderful snack to carry around; you only need a few and they satisfy the salt craving that may arise!

5. Easy Pecan Pie.  For when you want something rich, sweet, chewy, and out of this world.  When you spy a co-worker chowing down on a ding-dong and you start thinking along the same lines----make your pie!

6.  Some travel friendly fruit. Apples, clemetines, grapes, whatever you may have on hand.  Grab one!

These are just some ideas.  But, if you had each of these, then you would most likely have something that sounded great that you could definitely call a "smart snack"!

Tomorrow, when you go out for the day, take along a few smart snacks and call it good!

In Peace,
Kirsten