A Guacamole Recipe For Cinco de Mayo

I love that my girl Kristin Cruz volunteered me to share this recipe! :-) I think they're going to talk about it on the MomBlab Momangeles podcast on 5/2 at 10:30a Pacific, so check out Kristin and Laura Nickerson as they talk Cinco de Mayo and lots of fun stuff for families.

GUACAMOLE

I like to make my own because I think when it is fresh it just tastes better, and I also know exactly what's in it. Take a look at a lot of guacamole that you will find at the store; there will most likely be a long list of ingredients, and possibly some that you don't recognize and/or can't pronounce. Also, when you see the word "spices" in an ingredient list, that is code for "chemicals." Get the best quality ingredients you can, as fresh herbs and produce from the farmers market will make a huge difference in the taste. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3 perfectly ripe avocados
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Sea Salt (NOT table salt) to taste

My kids are little and aren't into a lot of chunky texture in their food at this point, so if we are all eating it that is all I will use and I just mix and mash up everything really well. BUT...you can also add:

1/2 of a medium sized onion, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
2 Romo tomatoes (seed and dice them)
(I usually toss the above 3 ingredients in my food processor and pulse them to chop)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (if you are sick, add an extra clove)

Add these to the avocado mix above and stir well! I serve with tortilla chips, on sandwiches, spread on a sheet of nori seaweed and rolled up like a burrito, and right out of the bowl on a spoon.

It's The Great Pumpkin (Vegan Smoothie)!

Here's a vegan PUMPKIN SMOOTHIE RECIPE from Hallelujah Acres that is so simple to make! It is really filling and really good, and as the weather gets colder the spices like ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon are especially good for you.

2 Cups Almond Milk (Here's my homemade nut milk recipe!)
2 Tbsp Ground Chia Seeds
1 Cup Organic Pumpkin Puree, Unsweetened
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1 Banana (Peel and freeze the banana in chunks to make this creamier...you might use two bananas.)
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger (I used one drop of my doTERRA CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Ginger Essential Oil.)
1/4 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
Pinch of Unrefined Sea Salt

Blend well and enjoy!

Recipe: This Nondairy Ice Cream Has TWO Ingredients!

HERE'S A SUPER-EASY NONDAIRY "ICE CREAM" RECIPE! 

With as hot as it's been, we've been eating this pretty much every day. But you can...because this is good for you. 

Take 2-3 ripe bananas, peel them, and freeze on a sheet of tin foil for at least a few hours. When you're ready to make this, put the bananas in a food processor with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract (you can also add a tablespoon or two of raw nut butter) and process with the "S" blade. Let it run for a few minutes; the mixture will get kind of crumbly before it gets that super-creamy ice cream texture. Serve immediately.

I have topped my ice cream with some of the dried fruits from NatureBox, and it is so good! My favorites are dried pineapple and dried peaches...just chop 'em up and sprinkle them on. You can also use fresh fruit, vegan chocolate chips, chopped nuts, a drizzle of honey...enjoy! :-)

P.S. If you order Naturebox snack through this page, you save 50% (!!!) on your first month.

An All-Natural Sore Throat Remedy You Can Make With Four Ingredients

You wake up and feel it: the tickly tenderness in the back of your throat. And as the day goes on, things just keep getting more tender. Here's an easy, all-natural remedy that will boost your own immune response so you can feel like yourself again!

Ingredients:
Raw Honey (don't ever give this to babies or very young children)
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (I like Bragg's)
Lemon
Water

You want the raw honey and raw apple cider vinegar for the enzymes and healing properties that they have, which are missing from the conventional brands that have been heated.

Directions:
Boil some water, and pour yourself about half a cup. You can play with the amount of the other ingredients depending on how sweet you like things, but I usually go with at least a tablespoon of vinegar, a heaping spoonful of honey, and the juice of half a lemon. Stir it well, and then sip it while it's still warm. Even the vapors from this drink are soothing! You can drink this as often as you feel you need it, and I've come to really enjoy the taste--I will make it on nights when I feel fine but just want something warm to help me settle down before bed.

Another thing you can start doing the moment your throat begins feeling funky is a warm salt water rinse. Don't use table salt, though; go for a good-quality Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt that still has all of its minerals. Dissolve a spoonful in hot water, and after it's cooled enough that it won't burn you swish it around in your mouth and gargle a few times, being careful not to swallow the liquid. When your throat is really hurting, you can do this multiple times throughout the day, and a sea salt rinse for your teeth and gums is a really great thing you can do for yourself on a daily basis.

I hope you feel better soon. To your health!

Sleep, Sesame Oil, Smoothies, and Sprouted Bread: 20 Feel-Good Tips (Part 2 of 2)

Last week, I listed ten things I encouraged my family to add in to their lives to help them feel better. I think it is always easier to make changes if we focus on what we are getting, rather than thinking about being deprived. Here's the rest of the list that I sent to my mom and sister, full of all kinds of good stuff. Enjoy!

11. Add in raw, organic, cold-pressed olive oil and coconut oil. And not only are they great with food, but you can use them on your skin as a moisturizer! Plus, most cats love coconut oil--my son lets Lily and Barkley lick a little off of his fingers.

12. Switch from peanut butter to any other kind of raw nut butter. Most peanuts have mold (not the kind you can see) on them, and can be toxic. Try switching to raw almond, cashew, or macadamia nut butter.

13. Switch to sprouted bread, like Ezekiel Bread. A quick and easy snack is to toast a slice, and then add coconut oil and a little sea salt. Yum!

14. Dry brush your skin with a stiff brush before you shower to get your lymphatic system going. Start at your ankles and brush up in the direction of your heart, and then start at your hands and brush toward your heart.

15. Eat some prunes. I don't believe this requires further explanation.

16.  Switch to unrefined sea salt  instead of regular table salt. You can also find dulse in a shaker at most grocery stores; it's a seaweed that gives food a salty flavor, and a good source of iodine.

17. Add some fresh raw garlic to food. If you're not feeling well, increase your intake. One interesting way to get some garlic into your system is to take the pit out of a medjool date, peel a garlic clove, stuff it in the date and eat.

18. Use carrot sticks, celery, or jicama instead of chips with salsa, guacamole, and hummus.

19. Wrap avocado in a piece of raw nori seaweed, add sea salt and olives and some hummus or guacamole, and then roll it up and eat it like a burrito.

20. Switch to sprouted grain pasta, or try some gluten-free pasta. I make an easy sauce for this by melting some grass-fed butter or Earth Balance butter (I get the soy-free sticks--it's a vegan butter), adding minced raw garlic, and then sprinkling with sea salt.

Here's to you feeling GREAT!

Sleep, Sesame Oil, Smoothies, and Sprouted Bread: 20 Feel-Good Tips (Part 1 of 2)

 I am so proud of my mom and my sister, who have been making lots of changes in their lives lately to get healthy! My mom even started off her exercise program with walking while pushing a cart around her local Wal-Mart for hours, which gave her a safe place to walk at night and something to hang onto while she was working on her balance. Knowing that I've done lots of research and study of nutrition over the past few years (after my son got sick at a young age), they asked me to share some tips for healthy things they can incorporate into their lives. And now, I'm sharing them with you, too! The main thing to keep in mind as you look at this list is that the focus is on adding good stuff into your diet and your life, not depriving yourself.

1. Green Smoothies. Combine bananas, mango, or berries with a little water and a few leaves of Romaine lettuce or Swiss chard (take it off the stem) in the blender. The fruit cuts the "green" taste! The less water you add, the thicker it will be.

2. Sleep 11p-7a. Or, even better, shoot for 10p-6a, as the hours before midnight are more restful. In fact, if you've got a lot to do, go to bed as early as possible and then get up super early and do your work then, rather than in the evening hours. Bonus: You'll feel like you're already ahead by the time the rest of the family wakes up!

 3. Movement. Try yoga, stretching, and walking. Even doing little things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator throughout the day or walking to see a colleague down the hall instead of sending an email really add up. I've even seen free yoga and stretching classes offered through the LA Public Library!

4. Clean water.  If you are able to get some kind of filter system for your house, faucet, or water pitcher...do it! There are so many toxins in regular tap water that this can make a huge difference for your health. And don't forget about the water you are bathing in and showering in (and breathing in) in the bathroom--a tub or shower filter is a great investment.

5. Visit farmers markets and sample the goods. You can often find some wonderful deals on produce, and it is also nice to talk to the folks who are growing the food. Many farms are not certified organic (which is expensive to do), but they don't use chemicals on their crops, opting for organic methods like ladybugs to keep away pests. And when you're eating local, the food is fresher and more nutritious. Plus, there is usually some fun, free entertainment going on!

6. Give yourself a warm Sesame Oil massage. Grab some sesame oil (look for the organic variety, since your skin is absorbing what you put on it--definitely avoid the toasted oil), pour into a small glass container that you can place in a larger container of hot water, and when it's warm rub it all over. Let it sit for a few minutes and then hop in the shower.

7. Switch to raw honey (but NEVER give this to babies or children). Raw honey has not been heated, so all of the vitamins and enzymes are still intact. I put this in my tea, spread it on bread with coconut oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, and put it in hot water with raw apple cider vinegar to help soothe a sore throat. You can also use it on a cut, as raw honey has antiseptic properties!

8. Walk barefoot on sand or grass. Kick off your shoes and stroll around (check the ground for sharp objects) and see if you don't feel better!

9. Try some raw chocolate, known as cacao (pronounced kuh-COW). Or, look for an organic chocolate bar with at least 70% cacao content. Most commercial, regular chocolate is full of sugar and chemicals, while the raw stuff has tons of antioxidants.

10. Switch to tea instead of coffee. Or better yet, give up caffeine totally! In addition to spiking your blood sugar and making your heart race and exhausting your adrenals, coffee is usually heavily sprayed with pesticides. And decaf can have even more chemicals that are added during the process to remove the caffeine, btw. To help you make the switch, you can get some loose (unsmoked) Yerba Mate tea to put in a French press, which will be stronger than a little tea bag.

Part 2 is coming next week!

What healthy swaps have you made in your life? Let me know in the comments!

Recipe: Power Green Juice

Power Green Juice 

(Juicer Version)

 Ingredients (try for organic and wash everything well):

3 fuji or gala apples, cored and with all seeds removed (seeds contain arsenic). If the apples aren't organic, peel them.

1 lemon, peeled and quartered

6 leaves “dinosaur” lacinto kale, removed from the stem and torn into small pieces

½ head romaine lettuce, removed from stem and torn into small pieces

  

(As you get used to the taste, you can always add more greens…up to a  whole head of romaine or bunch of kale. You can also try other greens, like spnach.)

Run everything through your juicer, and save the pulp that comes out. You can usually get about ½ cup extra juice by running the pulp through 2-3 more times.

(Blender Version)

Put all of the ingredients into your blender (making sure they’re all in small pieces), and blend them up well. After you’re done, position a nut milk bag (available for a few dollars at Whole Foods) over a measuring cup or bowl, and pour the mixture through so it all goes into the bag. Some juice will run out right away, and then you just squeeze the bag to get the rest, separating the liquid from the pulp.

  

Stir well after you’re done, and enjoy! You want to drink this as close to when it’s juiced as possible so you get the maximum amount of enzymes. If you’re not able to do that, place the juice in an airtight container in the fridge (but drink within a day).

I sneak small amounts of all kinds of vitamins and supplements (even powdered wheatgrass!) into my son’s juice, and the apple/lemon flavor really hides the taste. 

What's your favorite juice recipe? Email me or share in the comments!

Banana Walnut Milk Recipe (non-dairy)

--> This recipe really is easy enough for a three-year-old to make; in fact, my three-year-old came up with it! My son loves playing around in the kitchen, and after seeing me make enough smoothies and juices to feed the state of Texas for a year he decided that it was his turn. He loves bananas, and he loves milk, and since everyone in my family has recently gone dairy-free, this is a great drink to make. I like it straight, and it’s really good poured over cereal.  

 

 I am a big advocate of eating organic whenever possible, although you can get regular bananas since you will be peeling them. I am also a HUGE fan of farmers markets, which can save you a lot of money. If the farmer is actually there, talk to him/her and see what they are using on their crops; many farms practice organic means, but do not have the money to become officially certified organic. A CSA program (Community Supported Agriculture) is also a way to save money. With this, you sign up for produce every week from a local farm, which is delivered to you or you will pick up (most likely at a farmers market). You will get a nice big box of that week’s harvest!

Ingredients:

1 cup raw walnuts (or raw almonds, raw brazil nuts (WARNING—STRONG FLAVOR), or raw cashews)

2 cups purified water

Vanilla

Sea Salt

Cinnamon

Raw Honey, Agave Nectar (NEVER give honey to a child that is under a year old)

1 Banana, peeled and torn into chunks

Equipment:

Blender

Nut Milk Bag, Cheesecloth, or a strainer (for nut milks, the first two options work best to strain out chunks and give a creamy texture)

Measuring Cup or Big Bowl

Here’s how you do it:

1.     Soak the nuts in purified water (enough to cover them) for at least a few hours (preferably a day) on the counter.

2.     Drain and rinse the nuts in fresh water.

3.     Put the nuts, 2 cups of water, and banana in the blender and let it rip until everything looks smooth.

4.     Pour the blender contents into your nut milk bag (I like to do this over a big measuring cup), and squeeze out the excess liquid into the container.

5.     Rinse the blender, and then put the milk back in along with a dash of sea salt, vanilla, and cinnamon. I usually add about two tablespoons of honey or Agave Nectar, but you can do more or less depending on how sweet you like things.

6.     Blend one more time, and then enjoy! You can store the milk for two days in the fridge in an airtight container.