Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake

 I have this just about everyday it's my new fall favorite and it's so delicious. 

 Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake

• 1 cup Raw Whole Milk (I use Organic Pastures or nut milk- the new cashew milk is good) 
• 2 scoops Tera's Whey Vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 cup canned organic pumpkin
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 7 ice cubes
• 1/2 frozen banana

Blend and Enjoy!  

Goats Milk Yogurt

Goat milk yogurt, Chia Seeds, Berries, and Banana is a quick breakfast or snack, I that has been a nice break from my normal eggs for breakfast.

Redwood Hill Farm makes a good goats milk yogurt.  If you are sensitive to dairy, many people can handle goats milk just fine  It can be expensive so shop around at your local health food stores for the best price.  I notice it can be up to $2 higher at some stores than others. 

Balsalmic Roasted Acorn Squash

If you have never cooked with acorn squash, don't let it intimidate you its so simple. Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, cut along the grooves to make slices.
Add to pan, add grapeseed oil, balsalmic vinegar, salt and pepper and roast at 400 for about 40 min.  Flip them over after first 20 min.

 I also like to add shallots and rosemary.

 And of course I like to put everything into a nice bed of mixed greens. 

Beat Salad

Although I always think fresh is best. Let's face it beets are so messy and life gets busy, which is why I'm so thankful for the beets Costco now carries.  They are already peeled and cooked.  It's so easy to cut them up and add them to my salad and Jedi loves them.

I like to mimic the Cheesecake Factory salad with mixed greens, asparagus, walnuts, goat cheese, beets, and chicken with homemade dressing. Easy and delicious. 

Beets are high in vitamins and minerals (potassium, magnesium, fiber, iron, vitamins A,B, C, beta-carotene, folic acid).

Beets purify the blood and beets are a natural liver detoxifier.  If you know the function of the liver then you know why this is so good for our bodies. In short, the liver binds up toxins and removes them from our body. If the liver is not functioning properly to be able to do it's job toxins then build up in the body causes disease.  

Pregnant? 
Vitamin B and iron is important for new growth cells, which is another reason why like to eat beets while pregnant.

Safe Sippy 2

I highly recommend the Safe Sippy 2.  It's an easy way to keep dangerous toxins out of your kids water.  We all know the dangers of BPA, so now they make BPA free plastic, which is great, but unfortunately even the BPA free plastics still contain other hazardous chemicals that leech into our water and can disrupt our hormones.
You can buy it on Amazon or at Whole Foods.
It converts from a sippy to a straw, which makes it a cup that can last a long time to justify paying $15 for one cup.

Healthy Babies

Jedi loves to eat.  The picture shown is his typical breakfast, which is way more than I eat and I'm pregnant.

Jedi's Breakfast 
1-2 cups gluten free oatmeal
1 Banana
1/2 cup sauted kale
2 eggs
1/4 cantaloup

The worst part is he hardly even chews it. He just stuffs it in by the fist full - not joking.

I'm a huge advocate for feeding kids real food and I often get questions about how to do this, so I will share some of my top breakfast
foods I love for kids.

Breakfast Favorites
Eggs - I always try to get in some type of protein for breakfast and eggs are a good source of fat and protein as well as beneficial for brain development.  I look for eggs that are organic, free range and have dark yokes and a hard shell to crack. Some eggs are labeled as healthy, but as soon as I crack it I know it's not all its cracked up to be.  Farmer's markets seem to have the best.
Oatmeal - I like the Trader Joe's bag of gluten free oats and I put tons of cinnamon in and some coconut oil
Oatmeal Pancakes  - I like these a lot cause they are a lot less mess.  In VitaMix - 2 cups water, 2 cups oatmeal, 1-2 bananas, cinnamon, vanilla and blend. I then mix in blueberries or sliced banana and walnuts
Fruit - Bananas, berries, or cantaloup
Kale - I saute it in grass fed butter or coconut oil and mix with the eggs
Fritatta- Saute vegetables (peppers, kale or spinach, broccoli, etc) add in whisked eggs cook on stop top for a few minutes, then put in the oven for about 18 minutes, cut with pizza cutter into slices. Another one I love cause it's way less messy.
Green Smoothie- 1 cup coconut water, 2 handfuls spinach, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 cup frozen berries, 1 tablespoon Hemp Hearts (I prefer this as a snack, since it doesn't have as much protein but it's a good on the go breakfast to take with us.
Almond Butter Wrap- Ezekiel sprouted tortilla with almond butter folded in half. Also a good one for lunch and sometimes I put fresh berries in the middle for a healthy version of a pb&J.

Kids are often times sensitive to textures, so if they don't eat a hard boiled egg they may eat it scrambled. If they don't like raw veggies they may eat them cooked.  Get creative and never give up on feeding your kids real foods.

Fudge Brownies

Ingredients: 1 (15-oz) can no-salt added black beans, drained & rinsed 3 Tablespoons flaxseed  1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon water  1/3 cup melted coconut oil + more for pan 1/4 cup cocoa powder or raw cacao powder 1/8 tsp salt 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut sugar 1/2 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips 1/3 cup chopped walnuts Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Grease 8 inch pan with coconut oil.  Stir flaxseed and water together in a small bowl.  Place black beans, flaxseed mixture, coconut butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and sugar in blender (Vita-Mix or BlendTec) or food processor and blend until smooth.  Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.  Pour into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.  Cool before cutting.   I love these brownies frozen. I take them out after they are still a little under cooked (30 min), so when I freeze them they are more like fudge brownies. The fiber and healthy fat makes these brownies a very satisfying treat and so nutritious for you I'd hardly call them a dessert, if it wasn't for the coconut sugar.   The good news about baking with coconut sugar is that it adds sweetness without spiking blood sugar and has added vitamins and minerals as well. It's very similar to brown sugar.   You can also replace the flaxseed mixture with 3 eggs and the coconut oil with 1/3 cup grass fed butter.

True Food Kitchen

 I'm in LOVE with the True Food Kitchen!!!
My new favorite restaurant for sure.

 In San Diego, its at Fashion Valley Mall located near the Cheesecake Factory and Blooomingdales, but they do have other locations as well.
http://www.foxrc.com/restaurants/true-food-kitchen/

Joanne, Uncle Orville, My mom, My dad, Me & Baby (20 weeks pregnant) 

 I went with my parents who were visiting and my great uncle Orville and his girlfriend Joanne.  I always love seeing my uncle Orville.  He is 84yr old and has perfect health.  He never even ages every time I see him he looks the same.

He inspires me cause he eats healthy, exercises consistently, has fun in his life by dancing up to 3x a week, takes short power naps for 10 min daily, gardens, and can pretty much fix anything.  It's just so nice and refreshing to see people who are consistent in caring for their health and then seeing the benefits of that.

 They even grow their own fresh herbs in the front!

 True Food was created by Dr. Andrew Weil's and the menu is all about whole real food.  He focuses on "anti-inflammatory" meals.

 They make fresh juices there.

 Great quotes.

 You can actually see into the kitchen to watch them chop all the vegetables - it's great!

 I loved going with a bunch of people, so I could try a bite of all the different meals. Everything was so delicious.  You have to check it out.

Sardines

Your probably thinking eww gross about sardines, but if you like tuna they taste pretty much like tuna.
I like the have these on hand because they last forever in my pantry and when it's time to go to the grocery store or I need a quick snack they are easy.
I recommend them because they are so high in Omega 3's and very high in protein and calcium.
Look for wild caught.  The only thing is they stink, but the benefits far outweigh the smell.
I feel them to Jedi and he loves them.

Navitas Naturals - Dragon Fruit

 I was so excited to see one of my absolute favorite brands at the IDEA health & Fitness Expo. I just love Navitas Naturals!  http://navitasnaturals.com/

 I was able to sample their new products and the dragon fruit -tropical superfruit- it is delicious.

Dragon Fruit has the perfect sweetness and a good chewy texture.  It's full of Iron, Magnesium (54mg in 1oz), and a good source of fiber.

 Trying to hold the baby bump, so it looks like I'm pregnant and not that I've just gained 10 pounds!

They also came out with a coconut water powder that you just mix with water. I think it breaks down to a lot less to buy the powder than the cartons, but would need to double check.  This new powder makes it easier to travel on the airplane with as well.