Breakfast berry green shake

This is my breakfast most mornings!!

1-2 cups of organic baby spinach (put in blender first!)
1 cup frozen organic blueberries (you can use whatever organic frozen fruit you want here - I enjoy pineapple and mango.  I would not recommend raspberries or strawberry because the seeds will get stuck in your teeth)
1 cup coconut milk (or any non-dairy milk)
1 cup coconut water
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons plant based protein powder - I use Raw Meal, found at Whole Foods or other health food store, because it is GF, dairy free, soy free, raw, vegan

Blend until smooth!  Be sure to put the spinach in first.  You can use any fresh organic greens you like - I've tried kale, mixed green, baby romaine but I seem to always have spinach available.  You can also use all coconut milk or all coconut water, I like the combination.  And yes, you need to put a whole tablespoon of coconut oil in - I use more - it's SO good for you!!  ENJOY!!!!

Everyone needs a good night's sleep...here are a few ideas (that I am going to try!) and maybe will help you too

It seems that every morning I wake up exhausted, drag myself out of bed and into the shower.  Slowly I get ready, eat breakfast and pour myself into my car.  Then run around all day, searching for coffee or green tea, to energize myself.  I arrive home in the evening, exhausted and hungry, I try to work out, give it a half hearted attempt, shower, make dinner, do some work, and get a second wind around 9pm, which takes me until 11pm or so to wind down, which of course sets me up for failure when my alarm sounds sweetly around 6:30am...and it happens all over again...I need to break the cycle.  I am willing to try just about anything to break this horrible cycle...

Sleep, or good sleep is counted in REMs, not sheep.  You first enter a light sleep, then a deep sleep and then a dreaming or REM sleep.  The cycle lasts about 90 minutes and repeats itself four to six times throughout the night.

1) Skip the snooze button.  Experts state that while it is tempting to try and squeeze every last second out of your sleep time, it takes a lot of energy to try and fall back into a deep sleep, that you do not recharge what you expend.

2) Work out first thing in the morning. It gives you a shot of energy and decreases levels of stress hormones making it easier for you to wind down and fall asleep.  People who worked out for 30 minutes at 7am significantly improved their sleep that night resulting in 75% more time in deep sleep vs. a workout at 1pm or 7pm.

3) Take a breathing break mid-day.  It allows your brain to relax and process information which would otherwise keep you awake at night.  Otherwise, when you lie down at night, it is like a fast-moving car slamming on the brakes and everything in the back seat flying to the front.

4) Stop intake of caffeine around 1pm.  It takes about 4-7 hours for caffeine to leave your system. And not just coffee, watch out for soda, tea, and chocolate.  A cup of coffee has 95mg of caffeine, coffee ice cream has 48mg, one can of diet coke has 47mg, tea has 40mg and dark chocolate has 25mg of caffeine.

5) Around 3pm, take a quick, fast walk, get some sunshine.  It allows your normal hormone pattern to reset itself.  This is essential if you are not able to get your workout in first thing in the morning.

6) Eat dinner around 7pm.  It takes 2 hours to fully digest a meal, 3 hours for a larger meal.  Eating close to bedtime makes it difficult to for the body to wind down.

7) An hour before bed have a protein-carb snack.  It aides the body to produce melatonin and serotonin.  (I hope that beer & almonds count!)

8) A half hour before bed, start winding down.  This allows our bodies to transition from fast pace day to sleep mode.  You can wash your face, brush your teeth, dim the lights, turn off the tv and computer, meditate, read, or some other soothing action to send a signal to your brain to prepare for sleep.

9) Get into bed, breathe deeply and stretch.  Take a few deep breathes and lightly stretch (30 seconds or so), reach for your toes, or another light stretch.  Up to 20 minutes to fall asleep is normal.  If you fall asleep immediately that means that you are sleep deprived.

Shepard's pie without the Shepard

A new version of Farmer's pie, so perfect for a cool evening and it hits the spot - I just had three bowls!  Super tasty and very healthy.  It is a vegan alternative to Shepard's pie.  It may seem like a lot of ingredients but use whatever you have available and substitute as you like, that makes it more fun!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 large organic potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped (I like a lot of garlic, I actually used about 20 cloves)
2 carrots, chopped (I used one cup of organic baby carrots)
1 onion, chopped
3 cups of organic vegetable or mushroom broth
2 cups of portobello mushrooms, chopped
1 1/2 cup of frozen organic peas
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon rosemary (I added more as I had some fresh available that needed to be used up)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional (use less if you like less spice)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons low-sodium, organic, gluten free tamari (or soy sauce, eliminate if you have a soy allergy)
1 teaspoon gaur gum (it's a very effective gluten free thickener with 8 times the thickening ability of cornstarch, you may use 2 tablespoons of corn starch) mixed with 1/3 cup of cold water
paprika

Method:
In a large pot or Dutch oven boil potatoes until tender.  Drain and use the same pot for the next portion, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Sauté the garlic, onion, and mushrooms for a few minutes. Add 1/4 cup of broth and cook for about 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are softened.  Add the peas, oregano, rosemary, cayenne and pepper and stir.  Add the remaining broth, tamari, and thickener and stir.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer until all the vegetables are soft and the sauce is thickened.  (The recipe says to pour into a 9 inch pie dish but I kept it in the Dutch oven)

Mash the potatoes (I added a little coconut milk that I had left over) and spread them out on top of the vegetable mixture (this was the most difficult part as the potatoes want to clump together and not spread well).  Broil for a few minutes until the potato crust is golden brown and sprinkle with paprika (I added some additional cayenne as well).  Serve immediately!  And ENJOY!!

Writing this makes me want to have a fourth bowl!!

Quinoa with Sweet Potato & Mushrooms

Quinoa is an amazing food.  It is considered a grain but is a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and swiss chard.  It is the only non-meat food that supplies a complete protein  This means that  it includes all nine essential amino acids and therefore it is a great choice for vegans, vegetarians, and all of us meat eaters that like to have other options.  It is also very rich in magnesium, folate, and phosphorus. AND it's gluten free!!!

You can find this amazing grain at most grocery and health food stores. Be sure to rinse the grain off before you cook it since it is a seed and it has a naturally occurring resin much of which is removed from the processing method but it could cause the quinoa to have a bitter taste. 

Ingredients:
1 cup of Quinoa
2 cups water
1 medium sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup of mushrooms, chopped

Cooked quinoa in the background.

1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, diced
2 leaves of swiss chard
2 tablespoons of sesame oil, you can also use olive or another oil you desire
1/2 cup white wine
red pepper flakes, optional, to taste
1 teaspoon sea salt (to aid the boiling process)
1 teaspoon smoked sea salt, optional

Cook quinoa as per instructions on the box.  Ideally you cook 1 cup of quinoa in 2 cups of water or chicken broth for more flavor.  Rinse the quinoa and add to the water.  (I add a pinch of sea salt to the water to speed up the boiling).  Bring the water and quinoa to a boil and cook for about 15-20 minutes.  When the quinoa is finished, there will be little white curls and the grain will be translucent.  

Swiss chard

In a saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms, onion and garlic.  Sauté for about 5 minutes.  Add the sweet potato, half the white wine, red pepper, smoked salt and stir.  Cover the sauté pan, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.  Chop the swiss chard leaves, after removing the stems and ribs (they are bitter).  Add the rest of the wine, turn the heat back up to medium and add the swiss chard.  Cook until the leaves become dark green and are soft, about 5-7 minutes.

Spoon vegetable mixture over the quinoa and ENJOY!!

Top 30 healthiest foods!!!!!!!

Time to get your greens on!  Top 13 items are green foods.  I will be researching recipes that include these items for future blog posts.  Stay tuned and be healthy!!