*New* Choco-Berry Green smoothie recipe

Tonight, I tried a new green smoothie! Here's what is in it:

- Spinach
- Parsley
- Cilantro
- Berry blend
- Raw cacao powder
- Organic orange juice
- Organic coconut milk
- Water

This is a really nice, fresh blend of flavors. I put a lot of parsley in, because
I love the taste! :)
* The garnish is some fresh Genovese Basil from my herb garden

Magic Green Juice

So, today is day 2 for my juice extracting. Feeling great, and so happy I picked up
some fresh organic parsley and cilantro today to make this recipe!
This is what I made using:

- 3 apples
- 3 celery stalks
- Spinach
- Parsley
- Kale
- Cilantro
- Green superfood spirulina powder

First, put the apples and celery through the juicer (awesome blend even on it's own)
then add that with all the other green guys in the blender. Blend for at least a minute, so that
the spinach and kale really get chopped up well.  The taste of this juice is amazing, and
provides an instant boost of energy. Added a little lemon heart garnish for good measure!
I cannot say enough about green juice, it's the best thing to have every single day! :)

Juice Fast Day 1

 Hey guys! So, I'm on my first day of the juice fast. It was really quick and
easy to set up the juicer. I've started out with a combo of apples and celery.
I used 3 organic apples, and about 8 stalks of celery to get 2 large glasses of juice.
It tastes amazing!! I did feel a little boost of energy after 2 glasses of the juice.
It takes less than a minute to make. I love it!! I can tell already that I'm hooked.

Even though I expect there will be some upcoming challenges with the whole
not eating thing, I'm committed. My goal is to complete 5 days of juice fasting.
I'm going to blog everyday, and see how I feel as I go. Being well aware of the
health benefits makes it all worth it. I highly recommend this to everyone.
Next recipe: pineapple/ mango & ginger blend  :)

Hamilton Beach Juicer

Tonight, I finally picked up the new juicer. Super excited. Got the last one
@ London Drugs. It was $89.99, and in all my research, is the best of the inexpensive juice
extractors. The Beville's are like $350..... I don't know about you guys but that's certainly not
in my budget!

The Hamilton Beach Juice Extractor looks awesome. You can put in whole foods (like an apple)
so you don't have to waste time pre-cutting.and it's supposed to provide more juice than other brands.
The motor looks good @ 800 watts, pretty powerful. It can be washed in the dishwasher so that's a bonus! Comes with recipes, has a 5 year warranty, and won an award for best buy juicer.
So... having said that, time to put it to the test!!

Starting Day 1 of my juice fast tomorrow :)
Here's some recipes I'd like to try:
- Carrot/Apple/ Celery/ Ginger juice
- Mango/Banana/Kale juice
- Watermelon/ Parsley juice

I'll post some pics of my recipes for sure!! Super excited. Ever since the "fat, sick & nearly dead" movie, I've really been wanting to try a juice fast.  I'm hoping to do 5 days starting Tomorrow!!! :)  Will let you guys know how each day goes. I know the first couple days are the hardest, but so worth it. Great for recharging the whole body, providing energy, weight loss and detoxification.  The fibre from the fruit/ veggies goes into your body's cells in seconds!! That has got to be good  :)
Who wants to join me??

Triphala Powder

Found my latest discovery @ bulk barn of all places!! haha.
This is the first time I've ever even heard of this stuff. Basically,
it is a rejuvenating ayurvedic tonic that can be taken daily for gentle
detoxing. The more I learn about Ayurveda, the more I want to know!!

This is an organic blend of 3 fruits (hence the Tri in triphala). The fruits
are Amla, Haritaki & Bibhitaki.  I know, right?! Sounds crazy.

This specific combo is one of the most important herbal tonics in Ayurveda
for the purpose of whole body balancing and cleansing.

1 tsp to be taken daily. I insist it be mixed well with a strong juice flavor or
in a smoothie. There is quite a bitter taste with this potion!! haha

The health benefits are always worth it! Let me know if anyone tries this.
It was $10 for a 200 g bag, which is great since it's only a tsp per day.
Great deal for something organic, kosher & gluten free!  :)

Green SuperFood

Pretty impressive stuff! Amazing Grass Green SuperFood. This is the best
stuff to add into a green smoothie. I think it was about $30 @ Superstore
in the health supplement aisle. *Over 80% organic ingredients. This is what's in it:

- Green food (wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa, spirulina, spinach, broccoli, chlorella)
- Fruit/ veggies ( acai, maca, carrot, beet, raspberry, rose hips, pineapple, goji berries, green
tea, acerola cherry)
- Fibre blend ( flax seed powder, apple pectin fibre)
- Digestive enzymes/ Active pre & probiotic blend

Add 1 scoop to juice or a smoothie in the morning. Really quick & easy, considering how much is in there!  Helps a lot in getting those 8- 10 servings of  fruit/ veggies daily

Garden Veggie Soup

Made a new soup tonight. Quick and easy to make

 Garden Veggie Soup
- crushed tomatoes/ juice
- chopped carrots
- chopped celery
- avocado
- sprout blend
- turmeric

*I love this served cold. For heating, simmer on low in order to retain more of the nutrients

Breakfast Smoothie

This is what I made for breakfast today:

CHOCOLATE POWER SMOOTHIE
- Kale
- Banana
- Strawberries
- Raw cacao beans or powder
- 1 scoop chocolate vega
- Orange Juice
- Hemp seeds & milk

Blend everything well (so that the hemp seeds get chopped up good). Garnish
with cilantro. Drink first thing in the morning, and throughout the day :)

* I didn't have any pineapple on hand today, but if you add that as well, this
tastes just like a banana split blizzard haha! Enjoy

Spring Salad

Today, there was a nice selection of inexpensive, organic produce @ Save on Foods Londonderry! Here is the salad I made based on what I got:

SPRING SALAD
- Kale 
- Dandelion Greens
- Cilantro
- Celery
- Carrots
- Strawberries

DRESSING
- Organic Lemon Juice
- Hemp Seeds & Oil
- Apple Cider Vinegar

This is a really nice salad for spring!

GT"S Organic Raw Kombucha

    Tonight I'm drinking the new Kombucha I got from Superstore. Really love this stuff!
It's a living food ( basically a tea that has been cultured for 30 days). It's been around for
thousands of years!!

     It's naturally effervescent, so make sure you don't shake the bottle before drinking lol!
It tastes amazing, like a nice organic sparkling wine. Here are just some of the healing benefits
of drinking Kombucha:

*Probiotics – healthy bacteria
*Alkalize the body – balances internal pH
*Detoxify the liver – happy liver = happy mood
*Increase metabolism – rev your internal engine
*Improve digestion – keep your system moving
*Rebuild connective tissue – helps with arthritis, gout, asthma, rheumatism
*Cancer prevention
*Alleviate constipation
*Boost energy – helps with chronic fatigue
*Reduce blood pressure
*Relieve headaches & migraines
*Reduce kidney stones
*High in antioxidants – destroy free-radicals that cause cancer
*High in polyphenols
*Improve eyesight
*Heal excema – can be applied topically to soften the skin
*Prevent artheriosclerosis
*Speed healing of ulcers – kills h.pylori on contact
*Help clear up candida & yeast infections
*Aid healthy cell regeneration
*Reduce gray hair
*Lower glucose levels – prevents spiking from eating
    

  It just blows me away how amazing this stuff is!  :)

Salad of the Day

Hey guys! Check out my latest recipe:

 BROCCOLI LOVE
*Using all organic veggies*
I don't like putting exact amounts. Put as little or as much of everything
you'd like based on what you have on hand  :)

Broccoli
Cucumber
Bean Sprouts
Red Onion
Hemp Seeds
Lemon
Omega 3 Oil

Chop the broccoli, cucumber, and onion. Mix into bowl, adding bean sprouts
and hemp seeds (the more the better) on top. Squeeze juice from 1 organic lemon,
and garnish with slices. Add Hemp oil or Omega 3 fish oil (that's what I used today)
as a dressing.  Enjoy!!!

Xbox fitness!

       My usual fitness regimen is primarily yoga and pilates, but I decided to try something new for a cardio workout tonight. Zumba Fitness Rush for Xbox is actually pretty fun. I know a lot of ladies that go to Zumba classes. This is the next best thing. You can customize how long each routine is, which is nice.

      Um.. I'd like to look like this girl please. Lol. I think it might take a while. I wasn't expecting much, but all in all, I'd give 4.5 out of 5 for this. The dances are quite challenging! The music is good, and there's lots of different instuctors and locations. It's nice that there are various levels of difficulty for newbies like me!

Organic Tomato Gazpacho

This is what I made for supper tonight! Kyah loved it  :)
All the ingredients are organic. Really makes a difference in the flavor and health content.

Tomatoes
Quinoa
Barley
Radish Sprouts
Turmeric
Fresh ground pepper

Simmer 1 cup of quinoa & barley together (just long enough to sprout the quinoa) in 2 cups of water.
Crush up tomatoes in the blender. You can make it a thick or creamy texture.
Mix everything together (no heating! haha you want all the living enzymes and nutrients/ lycopene etc)
Garnish with radish (or alfalfa) sprouts. Sprouts are the ultimate living green food. Eat em everyday!
Sprinkle with lots of turmeric (super good for heart health) and fresh ground pepper. I find you don't need much pepper, because the radish sprouts are a little spicy.

Gazpacho (cold soup) may sound crazy or what not to some people, but when you think about how cooking zaps out the nutrients, it's really worth it!

AeroGarden Love

   Finally got the AeroGarden!! It's an indoor growing system (not the illegal kind haha!)
Gives you options for what you want to grow ( tomatoes/ salad/ herbs/ flowers or strawberries).

    You can get it @ Canadian Tire. The seed pods are sold seperate, so you can customize.
It's really easy to set up (about 10 mins).  My favorite thing is: it works on an internal watering system,
and automatic lighting ( will turn on for 12 hours a day). So, if you're like me and tend to kill more plants than grow them, this is the way to go!

    It's a really nice option, and will save money in the long run. It's quite pricy to buy organic herbs and veggies, and non organic is just too toxic with chemicals and totally mineral deficient. An outdoor organic garden is by far the best thing to have, but this is something anyone could have in their home.  I'm starting out with a herb garden. I'll take more pics once my herbs start to grow bigger!  :)

Revitalized Connection

     It's been a while since my last blog post recipe. I've made some intense discoveries lately, like the magic power of wheatgrass juice, and juice fasting in general. I've seen videos of people who were sick, overweight, hopeless, depressed, and tired become youthful, vibrant, slim, and regain a clean bill of health. (to the shock and awe of doctors, who have nothing to do with the cures).

     Lasting health is available to us. We need to reconnect and believe in our own power to make this happen. The information is out there. Google Max Gerson. This beautiful man discovered not only the cure for cancer but all diseases almost 100 years ago, using specific juicing and other natural methods to rid of diseases ( over a few weeks or months) in patients that had been previously told by doctors that they were going to die.

                                                                    Dr. Max Gerson

      Today, his daughter Charlotte Gerson (who just turned 90 years old this month, by the way!) carries on the Gerson therapy in Mexico.  In the USA, it is illegal to administer or prescribe Gerson therapy to diseased patients. (Only drugs and chemo, that end up killing far too many unnecessarily every single day). I wish more people knew about how Charlotte and the Gerson therapy is saving lives.

     People can be healed through juice fasting and natural methods!! When someone is not feeling well (for whatever reason), they must look at their diet and exercise habits. It is inspiring when you see a transformation in a person. Everyone should watch the movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". Eye opening, for sure. Amazing weight loss and health transformations, and lives saved!! I cannot say enough about movies like this. Others include "The Beautiful Truth" and "Food Matters".

     Disease, allergies, imbalances and ultimately death have all been proven to be linked to consuming a diet consisting of: meat, salt, sugar, msg, dairy, and processed foods. The SAD (standard american diet). Salt and sugar are heavily toxic drugs. Don't buy into the sexy marketing ads and commercials for fast food/ chemicals. Remember, it's only about money to the food industry. They lie too, by leaving out ingredients on labels, and false marketing claims that make you think you're getting something healthy when you aren't.

      Other silent killers? Pharmaceutical drugs, dental amalgams, fluoridated water and many other chemicals that are in products we use/ consume every single day. Chemical/ pharmaceutical companies run the American Medical Association and the FDA. Again, it's only about money. People believe the FDA is protecting them, and that is really not true.  Again, natural remedies are frowned upon by doctors because they cure diseases, and there is no money in that. There have been many careers (and lives, trust me) on the line or worse from those who have taken a stand ( the doctors who have healed with natural therapies, and/ or refused to administer certain medical procedures/drugs/ surgery which they know cause harm.)

     We need to stop looking to doctors and pharmaceutical drugs. Take any drug commercial, and look at the list of possible side effects they give. Scary!! Throw away all your pain killers, sleeping pills, allergy tablets, everything!

      What we need is this:
      -  Veggie/ fruit juices (highly detoxifying and nutrient rich) *Get a juicer and/ or blender
     
      -  Super foods: Bee products/ Algaes/ Cacao beans/ Berries (acai, goji)

      -  Raw (fresh) foods (life force and enzymes are killed in cooked foods)

      -  Detoxifying (all the nutrition is insufficient when there are toxins) 

      -  Water intake

      -  Taking vitamins (almost everyone is vitamin D deficient, but there are many
other vitamins that are also needed.) Try Vega (plant based wholefood supplement). 
Brendanbrazier.com (triathlete)  This guy is a genius! Best breakfast you could ever have.

   The body is designed to heal Itself. The great news is we have the means to educate ourselves about this. Look at how life has changed in the last 100 years. We live in a time of incredible growth and change. We need to especially think about the future, starting now, living a vegan lifestyle is the best thing we can all do to contribute in making more green choices, and leaving a smaller carbon footprint.

      Supporting/buying local, organic produce is so important. I recommend The Organic Box (local, customized organic produced delivered right to your door), or going to the farmer's market. Grow your own garden with nutrient rich soil (not the deficient soil that non organice food comes from). People become nutrient deficient from eating food grown in nutrient deficient soil. That means all the food at the grocery store and restaurants. (Unless it's organic)

      It is in our best interest to become empowered with knowledge on the elements that make up a healthy lifestyle. Everything is connected. We are made of light and energy, we can change. It is Never too late. There is no better time than now to achieve better results in health, taking responsibility for the environment, and making the world a better place. We have the power!

      Everything starts from within. When we eat healthy, drink water, maintain fitness levels, we feel better, faster, stronger...! This along with breathing ( most people are only using 20% lung capacity), yoga, meditation and visualization, can and will help us achieve everything we want out of life.

      We need to believe in ourselves more.  Some people are unaware of the healthy alternative choices they should ultimately be making. There are also a lot of people that hear about a path of health (vegan diet, flexibility, strength, success etc) and say "I couldn't do that.." or whatever excuse they can come up with. I have no sympathy! Everything is a choice. We need to stop being our worst critics, and realize our true selves live in the potential of being. Meaning, what we can envision for ourselves already exists, if we think and focus on the possible and positive. Thoughts are things. You can only be positive or negative in the universe (there is no in between!)
   
       All too often, people are misinformed on what a healthy diet includes.  They become accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle, and believe pharmaceutical drugs and surgery will save them. Not good! We can all live to be over 100 years old with the proper diet and attitude! That gets me excited  :) It's time that the truth about natural healing, and even more so, prevention of illnesses, becomes mainstream. People deserve to know the truth!

       My new ebook "Revitalized Connection" is about my own personal journey of health discoveries, juicing, recipes, yoga and meditation. My greatest wish  is to inspire anyone who wants to recover from an illness, lose weight, or get into shape and prevent diseases reach and exceed their goals. People generally aren't concerned with prevention. This needs to change. Everyone can do it! Health is everything. Material posessions are nothing. We are everything we need. As Lady Gaga would say " 'cause you can't buy a house in heaven".  I love that!

       I want to invite everyone that wants to make change for the better, to join me in this. I'm juice fasting, growing wheatgrass, and delving deeper into yoga and meditation more than ever. I'll be making some videos for recipes and workouts!

:) Peace, love and health, my friends. Be unstoppable! Lindsay