Breville Juicer

 After 9 years the Jack LaLane juicer of mine finally broke down. When the parsely flew out the back without any juice at all and in almost the same condition as when I put it through the shoot I know it was time.

I just love love love my new Breville!!!! I wanted one that is easy to clean up and had a big shoot, so I can do less prep work.
It cleans up so much faster and I like having the dial on the side, so I can slow it down for juicing greens or softer produce and speed it up for harder produce.

Some Bed Bath and Beyond stores just started carrying this nicer model, which is where I got mine so I could apply the 20% off coupon and I also got the floor model for another 10% off.

Chocolate Protein Shake with Happy Powder

I make this chocolate protein shake and add Maca Powder aka happy powder. It has a strong taste but it is great for balancing hormones.  Good if you have pms, menopausal symptoms, or need energy and a better mood.  

Crazy that I used to be allergic to whey and I took it out of my diet for three years and did some good things to heal my gut like bone broth, etc and now I've added it back in and have no problem at all. 

Adding flaxseed to my shake is a key ingredient to stay full longer and is good for your skin since it pulls water to the surface and helps wrinkles and we all know the benefits of omega 3's.  

Homemade Coffee Creamer

 I like to make my own coffee creamer with:

• 1 cup coconut milk (fm Trader Joe's)
• 1 Tbsp cacao powder 
• sprinkle vanilla
• three drops sweet leaf stevia
• small sprinkle pink salt

I heat it up on medium high and whisk it until it steams a little then I simmer on low for a few minutes.

Healthy First Birthday Cake

 Can't believe Jedi is already one now!  He is a blast with cruising around, clapping, and giving kisses.  I made him a cake that wasn't going to give me a heart attack seeing him eat it.  It's super easy and completely healthy, so good for him he got to eat cake all week.

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup organic no sugar applesauce
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 cups oat flour (I just took the Trader Joe's gluten free oat and put them in the vitamix (with the dry blades) and made my own flour) 
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

How To:

• Coat two 9'' pans with coconut oil or butter then sprinkle with oat flour 
• In a medium bowl mash bananas with a fork 
• Stir in applesauce & vanilla with the bananas
• In a large bowl mix = oat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg 
• Add the banana mixture to the oat flour mixture & mix
• Pour batter into both pans and back at 400 degrees for 20 min
• Cool the cake then cut into whatever shape you want (we used a cup and just cut out small circles and stacked them up) 

the sugar free dairy free frosting recipe was a nightmare and ended up throwing away my first batch that turned out brown and tasted bad :( Oh well.  I then resorted to a much easier one I just made up.

not sure the amounts since I just threw it together.

Frosting

• Large scoop of Greek Yogurt
• Some cream cheese (needed to add to give it some more firmness to stick and stay) 
• squirt of agave
• dash of vanilla 

Mix with mixer and frost away.  

 Daniel, Jedi, & Me 

  he liked it :) 

Me & Jedi 

Jedi loves his Aunt Jamie 

Easy Whole Food Snack

 If you are looking for more whole food snacks I like to make grilled chicken to just grab and go or to throw on my salads.  It makes getting some protein in and staying full longer much easier by making some during the week to last me a few days.  I love the Costco organic no salt seasoning (I use it on just about everything).

Cooked in coconut oil gives it a really good flavor

 If you are trying to lose weight, keeping your blood sugar stable is key. So adding some protein with your apple can help tremendously to stay satisfied and to lose weight.

I recommend buying hormone antibiotic free and the healthiest meat you can find. It's amazing how much better it tastes and remember you can't get health from sick animals.  

 Jedi is 11 months now and love skateboarding with his dad.

 He screams with excitement all the way down the street.

 Easter was so much fun seeing him do his first Easter egg hunt.

 He just loves his dad and pretty much loves everything.

Fishing with Jedi.

Coco Libre

 I started adding my coconut water to my protein shakes and it tastes great plus I get all the added benefits.  It sweetens it just enough without excess sugar from juice.  It can be expensive, so I stock up when it is on sale.

Flying to see my family with baby Jedidiah :)
Air travel can cause puffiness and water retention, so I like to drink coconut water prior to my flight as well as on the flight.
If your airport has a Coffee Bean, they normally sell coconut water there.  I have also seen it sold in other airport shops as well.

Why?

• Potassium in the coconut water flushes out excess water, so it helps with the puffiness from air travel
• Maintains balance in the body and increase metabolism
• Balm for the stomach - good for acidity and heartburn 
• electrolites, vitamins, minerals, chlorides
• Alkalizes body
• antibacterial & antiviral (another reason why I down this prior to and on my flight)

I also drink this post-workout for quicker recovery 

It is also the perfect drink to pack for a day at the beach to stay hydrated.  

Activated C

It seems like everyone is getting sick!
I DO NOT recommend wasting your money taking a vitamin C supplement that is isolated vitamin C.

However, I highly recommend taking New Chapter Organics Activated C Food Complex.  It works well because it is food based and has great things like tumeric, spinach, elderberry, shitake mushroom, ginger, etc in it.

If you workout, I recommend taking this because it can reduce the exercise-induced oxidative damage and also enhance the health-promoting effects of  exercise.

Feel Amazing Breakfast

 One of my favorite things for breakfast is sauted kale with eggs.
I use coconut oil in the pan, tear up some green kale, add in some chopped garlic, pink salt, and crushed red pepper.

 

I remove the kale. I like to heat it on high so it gets a little crispy like chips. Then I cook the eggs and leave the yokes runny. 

I like to use soy free eggs. The garlic pretty much kills anything bad in your body, the coconut oil is pretty much a do every thing miracle food, the red pepper is good for anti-inflammatory, weight loss, antioxidants, and immunity by improving the function of your immune system, eggs with runny yokes for selenium to keep my thyroid good, and protein in the am in a must for sure.

Wild Salmon for Less & Hiking with Baby Backpack

Hate to admit it, but have to share it with you because it's fast, easy, filling, and inexpensive.

  My new go to and have on hand for times I don't want to make something or need something quick, so trying to spend less on my grocery  bill is this Wild Alaskan Salmon from Trader Joe's mixed with TJ mayonnaise that is made with minimal ingredients like Apple cider vinegar & eggs. 

 I wish it didn't have canola oil, which is horrible for you and the tin can from the salmon is not the best either, but it is so yummy and keeps me full for hours. It's also nice to have for an easy snack, lunch, or dinner paired up with a salad for sure.  

Oh just make sure it says no skin or bones.  

If you have a little one, we LOVE this back pack.
 We got it from a friend and it is perfect for hiking, traveling, and Jedi loves being in there.  We get stopped all the time from people asking us where we got it, so I thought I would post it for all your new moms with little ones. It is a Kelty Junction 2.0 and it also has lots of space for things in the backpack and is a great size unlike some of those really big ones they sell.

http://www.littlegreenduckling.com/Kelty-Junction-2.0-Child-Carrier/A/B005XIRIZY.htm#.UO3ZCBzOQcM

Juicing made Easier

I tried putting my juice straight from the juicer to the freezer and it was amazing.
I've tried juicing for three days at a time and filling the jars to the top to keep from oxidizing as much, but this tasted WAY more fresh.

Tips:

• Use Glass jars 
• Make sure you leave room for expansion 
• Try a small amount of each one to test if it tastes good after being frozen. I guess some vegetables and fruits don't taste as good after being frozen. Might have to experiment here cause I'm not sure which ones yet.
• Let it sit out for a few hours to defrost or slowly defrost in frig.  
• I also have 12 oz mason jars, which are my favorite size instead of this jumbo one. Less space taken up in the freezer and still room for expansion.  I freeze about 8oz servings.  

I've done carrot, collard greens, celery, cucumber and it was good.

I also did grapefruit and it was good.

I froze grapefruit, orange, blueberry, blackberry, strawberry and ate it out of the mason jar with a spoon like sorbet and it was AMAZING.