Ice ice baby.

I could sing Vanilla Ice all day in my car, couldn't you?

So tonight I got home from work and before I could talk myself out of it I put on my running shoes and went outside for a run. I'd say it feels like 100 degrees out but it's probably more like 85. I was sweating bullets! I'm not sure the distance I ran but I know I ran for about 40 minutes. I tried out a new area and was pleasantly surprised when I came upon a wooded area with a little lake and lots of nature to stare at while I ran. Love that.

So I finally made it back home and took an ice cold shower and when I got out, I was still sweating. Gah! After a green smoothie and collapsing in the AC, I feel much better.

This concoction had 1/2 banana, 1 scoop Sun warrior, 2 T flax, 1 t Vitamineral green, and 1 T cocoa powder.

An hour later I was ready for dinner. I mean breakfast...



I really should've made some veggies but all I wanted was cold, crunchy cereal! I mixed fiber one, pb puffins, frozen TJ berries, and almond milk. It was perfect!

I'm off to read a bit and do laundry. We might watch an old movie later if I can convince my husb..Brigadoon. Ever heard of it? Its old. Like me. :)

Hope you all have a lovely evening!

Easy peasy smoothie

How are ya? Hope you're all enjoying your weekend. Its about 90 degrees today and we just got done walking around an art festival downtown. It was fun soaking up the sun. We did not buy anything but saw quite a few really cool pieces. We saw a huge painted picture of the front of an old car. We both wanted it so bad, alas, it was $6,800. Eeek. :-/

So I wanted to show you how I make my green smoothies. Not at all hard and when you practice making them, they should only take 10-15 minutes. I like to make enough to fill my blender to the top.

So I like to start out with a juicy fruit for the base, usually pineapple or orange. Sometimes I use 1 fruit in the smoothie, sometimes I throw in 3 or 4 different ones. This time I used orange on the bottom, about 5 strawberries and half a banana.


To get things moving, put in about a cup of water or milk. I use almond milk.


Blend that well. Next I throw in a variety of other ingredients like flax, chia seeds, protein powder (I use Nutiva hemp protein), almonds or walnuts, nut butter and the list goes on. I put about a tablespoon of each in. These extra ingredients really go far in keeping you filled up for the morning or afternoon.


Finally, the spinach! I cram as many greens as I can into my blender..anywhere from 2-8 cups. Start out with 2 or 4 and as your taste buds adjust, feel free to add much more! You can use whatever greens you have on hand. Spinach does not have a strong taste whereas kale or dark leafy greens may be bitter. I try to rotate my greens to get the maximum nutrients. If you don't care for the green taste, add more banana. Its a fail safe way to really mask any green flavor.

I also add a ton of ice because I love my smoothies very cold. Let me know how you like yours! Experiment with different fruit combinations. Frozen fruit also works great.

Greens are nutritional powerhouses. We all should be consuming as many greens as we can. One major perk I noticed after increasing my greens is that my cravings went away. I used to be a slave to my cravings when I started trying to eat more healthy. Pizza, chinese food, chocolate...just to name a few! I can honestly say I very rarely 'crave' a certain food and feel like I need to have it. Sure, something may look really good but I don't crave it. We crave certain foods because our bodies are crying out for nutrients. Why do you crave pasta and bread? Your body wants carbs. Good carbs. Think fruit! Once you give your body what it really wants, natural, fresh foods loaded with nutrients and minerals, you are finally supplying your body with what it needs. And cravings will diminish.

Check out this link for more info:

http://www.cookingnook.com/health-benefits-of-spinach.html

Some of my other eats have included nanner with almond butter and some organic berry jam my lovely mom brought from Door County. One of my favorite foods when I was younger was a peanut butter and jelly. This combination always reminds me of it! Its pretty much my favorite snack!

Beautiful blackberries.

Some not so ripe watermelon but I still ate my weight in it.

On Friday my hubby and I went to Whole Foods for a couple things and of course I had to check out their amazing salad bar. They had out their famous kale salad which never seems to be their when I go. I admit, I have always been scared of kale. People seem to love it but I've been avoiding trying it. I jumped at the chance to try WF's version. I wasn't too hungry so I bought my little $.96 portion and scarfed it down. Ok, IN LOVE with KALE! Their version was simply evoo, lemon juice, kalamata olives, tomatoes, salt and pepper. I bought some organic kale and went straight home to recreate it. I am happy to say I loved my version just as much!


For those not familiar with raw kale, like I was, the trick is to massage it with olive oil for a couple minutes. I actually had a lot of fun with this massaging part. Haha.

I've seen this stuff around the blog world and decided to try it. Its vegan cheese, soy free, and only 90 calories in a 1/4 cup. It's pretty good and a nice addition to my otherwise raw salads. It strangely tastes a lot like regular cheese. How DO they do that? My digestion system thanks me for giving up real cheese... I don't see myself buying this all the time but I like trying things at least once.

So, go make yourself a kale salad and have fun massaging! :) Hope you have a great weekend and enjoy your day off Monday!

Got protein?

This morning I made another delicious green smoothie for breakfast. Same one as yesterday. Some people might look at the greenish swamp color and think "hmm, that looks pretty disgusting, must taste pretty bad too!" Not so my friend! Come over sometime, and I'll whip you up one. The fruit overpowers any veggie taste completely. Over time, tho, you might find your taste buds changing. You begin to enjoy, ok maybe not enjoy, not mind the veggie taste and find yourself using less and less fruit. Green smoothies are popping up everywhere! I have even seen them mentioned on the news. They're the best way to start incorporating more raw foods in your life. Oh, and sometime soon I'll do a post on the amazing health benefits of spinach. I know, I know, you can hardly wait, but you'll have to patient! haha.

Moving on...

A few random eats today included ripe melon.


Bananer with almond butter.


For dinner I made a giant salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, artichokes, pumpkin seeds. And radishes, oh my goodness I finally got my radish fix, haha! I made a honey mustard vinaigrette that consisted of just olive oil, mustard, honey and a little agave I think. I can't remember the exact recipe but it tasted almost exactly like a regular honey mustard dressing you'd buy in the store! It was so easy so if you want the recipe, let me know.



I also made a side of quinoa and mung beans. That's right, mung beans. Not a very attractive name but they are delicious. The nutritional stats is what sold me. A 1/4 cup has TEN grams of protein. Quinoa is also a great source of protein. Pronounced keen-wa, its actually a seed, not a grain. A 1/4 cup has five grams. Its good to know there are some great protein sources out there other than meat and cheese. I found these items at Whole Foods.


Well, I'm off to discuss LOST with the hubs. He missed it last night and just watched it now. CRAZY stuff!!!

Chick chick.

Today I made it a double green smoothie day. One for breakfast, one for dinner. What a great way to get your greens! In both of them I used papaya, pineapple, strawberries, and a banana. The one I made this morning also had added to the mix flax seeds, chia seeds, and hemp protein powder.



I gave half to my hubby. He loves my smoothies minus the ridiculous amount of spinach I then add to my half.


But Tiger sure does enjoy them.

This evening I dropped dinner off at my friend's house because she wasn't feeling the greatest. She requested cream of potato soup so I made her a very unhealthy yet tasty crockpot dish. Her and her husband moved from their town home out to the country and decided they wanted to raise a few roosters and hens for fresh eggs and to have as pets. They have about 8, in a large box in their kitchen complete with a comfortable bed of hay and lots of food! They are amazing little creatures. They decided to name every one of them after their friends. I give you this little beauty, yours truly, Kat.




Notice their little feet full of feathers? I can't remember the name of the breed but they have 3 of these that their feathers grow out from their feet. Their so beautiful! I wish I had gotten a picture of all them. This little one went to sleep in my friend's hand. She was so calm and sweet. I only spent about 15 minutes with them but in that short amount of time, their individual personalities were so plainly shown! Their frequent chirping was almost soothing after being with them. It left me sad, however, to think of the not so fortunate ones on factory farms. Did you know they love to be petted and will actually lay in your lap and fall asleep?

Green goodness

Good morning! I started this AM off with a gorgeous green smoothie. I have been trying to up my intake of greens. I notice a huge difference in my skin and energy levels. They keep me satisfied for hours! This one had pineapple, mango, frozen banana, coconut water, and a ton of spinach. If you haven't noticed, I have a pretty average blender. An Oster I think, from Costco. Its not a Vitamix, but it works really well! This was about 32 oz and I also filled another 16 oz in another bottle. I drank the 32 oz for lunch around 2 pm and it kept me satisfied until 5pm and when I got home I drank the rest that I had left in the fridge.







For dinner I was craving something savory and warm. I decided to go very LOW raw...and picked up this Thai Jasmine rice from Trader Joes. Frozen of course, because thats how I roll. I loved this rice. So did my hubby!



I sauteed some brussel sprouts, green beans, and mushrooms in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and Italian seasonings. Sometimes I hate brussel sprouts, other times I find myself craving them! I loved how GREEN this was! I love eating BRIGHT meals! These veggies turned out to be great. Oops! I almost forgot, I added lentils too.



And, finally, dessert. This is Endangered Species 75% dark chocolate with cocoa nibs. I think this is my favorite dark chocolate I have found so far!



Lately I have been experimenting going to bed later, about 12:30, and getting about 6 hours of sleep. I think my body is doing better this way and this may be what feels natural now after being high raw for quite some time. I can easily go to sleep at 9pm and sleep until 7am the next morning but I always wake up groggy and extra tired. SO, so far, I think this may be the answer to waking up feeling refreshed!

Goodnight!