Great immune booster — excellent for the heart! Refreshing and flavor-FULL!
V5 Juice
6 Romas or on-the-vine tomatoes
2-4 garlic cloves*
1 large cabbage leaf
1 carrot
1/2 cucumber
Juice all 5. Stir and enjoy.
*Add garlic to juicer at the beginning or middle, to be sure other veggies push it through the machine. Use more or less depending on taste preferences. Allow to sit about 3-5 minutes for maximum garlic benefits.
Fast – Easy – Fresh – Different – Veg Variety – Flavor Adventure
Baked Zucchini
1- Wash and Slice zucchini, horizontally into strips, about 1/4″ thick.
2- Spread strips onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3- Mist with a little fresh olive oil (spray) and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning blend…or a blend of fresh, chopped herbs.
4- Bake at 350 just until tender, flipping half way through. About 15-20 minutes.
5- Add a protein, beans, another veg.
Then, enjoy with family or friends!
Add some veg variety! Here are a few tips and variations:
1- Try fresh garlic
2- Invest in an oil mister bottle! Much cleaner and fresher oil than the commercial oil sprays
3- Use parchment paper for an easy clean up
4- Bake, broil or grill until just tender
5- Skip the tough, thick stems!
6- Sprinkle with just a touch of (Organic) Parmesan/Romano, IF you’re doing dairy. YUMMM!
I seriously NEVER even wanted to try Kale, let alone did I ever think it would become one of my favorite salads. Kale is waaay more than the ugly plate garnish, we tend to know. 🙂 Here’s how to make a super easy kale salad…and LOVE it!
Mediterranean Kale Salad2 bunches Dino/Tuscan Kale, “de-veined,” washed and chopped (Dino/Tuscan is a more mild variety)
(OR make it super easy: 1 bag washed, chopped. Be sure it’s really clean and fresh!)
2-3 Roma Tomatoes, or grape tomatoes, chopped
1 can Garbanzo beans, rinsed
2-4 Garlic cloves, minced (to taste, I LOVE garlic, so I use 4!)
1/3 cup Olive oil (extra virgin, cold pressed)
1/3 cup Lemon juice
Sea salt
Cayenne pepper
*Grated Parmesan
1- Prep veggies: wash, dry, chop
2- Rinse and drain beans (makes them much easier to digest) and heat.
3- Make dressing by combining garlic, olive oil and lemon juice in an 8oz jar. Shake to mix well.
4- Place kale into large salad bowl and pour on dressing. Sprinkle with sea salt and a pinch of cayenne, both to taste. Toss well, to coat all greens. Get your hands in there and squeeze it by the handfuls for a minute or 2 to soften the kale (OR…I prefer to divide kale and dressing into batches and pulse-chop in the food processor, so I don’t have to cut or squeeze it. It becomes a softer texture in smaller pieces.)
5- Portion into serving bowls and top each salad with tomatoes, warm beans and a sprinkle of Parmesan* (to soften and melt just a bit.)
Fabulous!!!
Serves 2, with a little left over for lunches
*Dairy free version – top with avocado slices. YUM!
Kale went from an almost “unknown” to practically overdone as a superfood in the past few years. However, it’s SO loaded with benefits, I think you can see why it truly will never go out of style! Check them out:
1–Gives more than 45 antioxidants to help lower inflammation throughout the body and boost the immune system
2–Protects from cancer as a primary food source of “glucosinolates,” which the body actually converts into cancer fighters, specifically against bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate cancers
3–Supports and improves detoxification pathways in the body, helping to remove toxins (environmental, products, pesticides)
4–Helps balance hormones by further supporting detox and ridding the body of harmful estrogens in both women and men
5–Lowers cholesterol – even when compared by research to cholestyramine (cholesterol lowering Rx). [Steamed kale may prove to be even more effective!]
6–Supplies lots of Vitamin K, which also reduces inflammation, supports bone strength and balances digestive health
Try some Mediterranean Kale Salad tonight…and share these tips with a friend!
I hadn’t had fries for so long, I almost forgot how yummy they were. ….and these are EVEN better!
Sweet potatoes
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Chili powder
Cayenne
Sea salt
1- Scrub and slice sweet potatoes into desired sized strips or wedges.
2- Mist/Spray lightly with olive oil and sprinkle lightly (or heavily!) with each of the spices to desired spicy-ness.
3- Bake at 450- 25-ish minutes or until tender, stirring or flipping the fries halfway through bake time.
Enjoy!
Though we’re just days away from August, it’s not too late to still meet our health goals (resolutions) for the year. Yes, I know, most of them could be long forgotten, BUT there’s still hope! With 5 months left of 2016, there’s still plenty of time to make some real progress!!
16 years ago, facing my own health crisis, I finally had to come face to face with “what really is health?!” With horrible cystic acne, miserable digestion and food sensitivities, fever and unable to work (and hardly even function!) for 3 months, extreme fatigue and a host of other symptoms, I knew health was waaay deeper than I understood or had been trained in college and professionally. Especially when doctors gave me an anti-depressant and told me to go live my life! Though I can’t share my full story here, I’ve been healed and my health restored. With it came a whole new understanding and appreciation of health, wellness and wholeness…as well as a tool chest full of gems I want to share with you to encourage and support you on your journey! …and hopefully make it just a little bit easier for you.
SO, whether it’s shed a few pounds, build some muscle, find the root issue(s) of symptoms that have bothered you for too long, “eat better,” lower your cholesterol, manage your blood sugars, or do a complete makeover… following these 12 steps can lead you into a whole new place of health! We’re so phenomenally put together that we just can’t separate out the physical, emotional and spiritual components of our lives. As we nurture our body, mind and spirit, and bring them into a place of balance, then we can experience full living and real health.
Now, let’s get back on track. We’ll start with 2 biggies that make a HUGE impact. Be looking for what you can implement to help you towards your 2016 goals. Come on! You can do it!
1- Nourish – (Even I need a review on this now and again!)
Give your bod
y the building blocks it needs for life and health. Explore nutrient-dense, delicious options that naturally eliminate lifeless, empty-calorie foods. Enjoy the beauty, benefits and endless possibilities of foods in their most natural form: lots of fresh, green leafy, colorful veggies & fruit, nuts & seeds, good oils (omega 3s & coconut oil), beans, whole grains, and lean, quality (antibiotic & hormone free) protein. Add in flavor-packed herbs and spices, loaded with extra antioxidant and healing properties. Make the investment now and enjoy good health for a lifetime! It’s easier to “maintain” health than to “regain” it.
2- Detoxify your life
Eliminate the “junk” from all areas of life. This may be food, but think just a little deeper to household products and cleaners, synthetic bath and body products, pollution, clutter, unorganized stacks of “stuff,” a job you don’t enjoy, unhealthy relationships, etc. Going just a bit further, this even includes toxic emotions you’ve held on to—fear, guilt, bitterness, unforgiveness, shame, negativity and unthankfulness. Let it go! Work through the hurt. Let it heal. You won’t miss it and you’ll be healthier! This is a step you can’t rush…and it’s often on-going!
Two simple tips, yet very profound and FULL of healing potential, as you walk through the depth of what’s loaded in just these concepts. Much more to come on each of these in the weeks and months to come.
Now, it’s your turn:
Be looking for Week 2’s Secrets!
Want some personalized accountability and support for your goals? You don’t have to do it alone!
Oh so DELICIOUS!
Spaghetti squash, baked and seeded
Ground turkey breast (white/lean), browned
Sautéed mushrooms and onions
Marinara sauce or sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
Parmesan cheese, grated*
Bake squash (and poke with a knife, like baking a potato) for about 1 hr at 350°, until tender. Slice open and “seed” (like a pumpkin). With a fork, separate out spaghetti squash “noodles.” Top with turkey, mushrooms, onions, heated tomatoes/marinara, and sprinkle with cheese. YUMMY!
*Omit for Dairy Free (DF).
Not only is water essential to life since it makes up 75% of your body, it helps keep your entire body healthy, transporting nutrients into cells and clearing toxins out, keeping your organs functioning well and you thinking clearly.
Water and hydration are also keys to maintaining a healthy weight and keeping your appetite satisfied. Many times we confuse the body’s signals, thinking we’re hungry when actually, we’re thirsty . Try drinking water first. Many even drop some weight just by hydrating and allowing toxins to be flushed out.
How much should you drink daily?? Your weight divided by 2 = ounces needed daily. Add extra to compensate for exercise, warm temperatures and when drinking coffee, tea or soda, which can cause extra fluid loss.
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Instead of the “doing without” Resolutions for 2016 (which usually are short-lived!), make this the year where “die-ting” stops and living starts. Make your focus about what your body needs to feel good physically, emotionally and spiritually. When these areas of life are in balance, you can truly enjoy and live your life to the fullest, experiencing radiant living. Get ready for 10 DO-ABLE whole-body health and nutrition tips to help you feel and look better in 2016 for your best year yet!
Choose to give your body the building blocks it needs for life and health. Focus on ADDING IN nutrient dense foods in their natural, (unprocessed) state, to help build, strengthen, energize and heal the body. As you consistently ADD IN real food, it becomes a lifestyle, easily pushing out and eliminating the lifeless, empty-calorie foods that have little-to-no value (and even deplete the body’s immune and energy systems and add on ‘fluff”). This makes “die-ting” a thing of the past! You’ll feel better (and probably younger!), drop extra weight even have more energy…in as early as 2-3 days.* You’ll get to enjoy freedom with these new, delicious and healthier options and the beauty and satisfaction that only comes from flavor-packed foods in their real state … lots of fresh, green leafy, colorful veggies & fruit, nuts & seeds, good oils (omega 3s, coconut & olive oils, avocado), beans, whole grains, and even some lean, quality (antibiotic & hormone free) protein. ADD IN herbs and spices loaded with flavor and extra antioxidant and healing properties. The possibilities are truly endless! While the cost may be a little higher up front (in planning, prepping and $$ compared to packaged food), it’s easier to “maintain” health than to “regain” it. Don’t worry…it gets easier as you find and set your new routine. Make the investment now and enjoy good health for a lifetime! Check out Innocent Indulgence on Pinterest for a few ideas.
Need some 1:1 or group coaching to get started on a plan?
Check out our Nutrition Coaching Options to help you transform your health!
image- Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos
