Fabulous Weather / Happy New Year!!!

what an amazing day!!! i spent all day outside with the boys and it was fabulous!! i'm a nature girl and i feel my best when i get outside in the sun with the fresh air and earth around me.


i love the "new year" time. it is a time to think about everything i'm grateful for. it is a time to "let go" or address any unsettled issues or feelings that i may have. it is a time to set intentions and make goals for myself. i take this time to think about what i truly want to accomplish in the next year, month, week, day etc. for me blogging and journaling help me think these things through on a daily basis. each night i write down significant happenings of the day, thoughts, feeling etc and make a plan and set intentions for the next day. this is key in keeping me balanced and organized.
what i thrived on today:
woke at 4am to practice yoga
water and probiotic
drank kombucha while making buckwheat pancakes for the kids- they love them!!!
made green juice and organized house
drank green juice with supplements
drank green juice while ran errands with kids
snack break for kids of lara bar and apple
drank pau d'arco tea with warm water on the way to the park
bike riding and playing at the park- mason is working on riding his bike with no help and he is doing great.
afternoon food: kelp noodles and arame slightly warmed on top of the stove with some olive oil and himalayan salt, chunks of avocado, alfalfa sprouts, tahini and nutritional yeast. this has been a favorite meal of mine lately!! its easy to digest and very satisfying. my body is craving the fat from the avocado, tahini and olive oil.
after cleaning up we ventured to another park to play soccer and run around.
kombucha tea

Happy New Year!!! namaste!!!

kelly

Holiday Bliss

mason and owen waiting to open presents christmas morning:

we had a white christmas in williamsburg va!!!



Part of what i love about the holidays is doing different things. we all have our "daily rituals" and daily schedules that we often follow to get the things done that we have to get done or want to get done- all while being present and mindful of course. for me the "different things" included sleeping past 4 am, mason, owen and i sharing a bed while staying with my in-laws, relaxing with the family and friends over a warm cup of tea, not working on the computer every night (which is why i have not blogged lately), not scheduling my daily activities precisely everyday-just going with the flow. i of course did not do these things everyday because i crave my typical daily rituals but i love to do them occasionally. i appreciate my life and lifestyle even more after being away for a few days!!! i challenge everyone to occasionally take the time and just let the day happen. take this time to reassess your own daily rituals.
owen and i relaxing in williamsburg at my sister-in-law's house:

the last few weeks have been filled with holiday giving and receiving, family, friends, giving thanks and being grateful and creating family traditions. now that i have 2 little boys i want to create traditions that are amazing and fun for everyone: listening to holiday music, getting the tree and decorating it together, making and eating warm cozy meals for family and friends, having gatherings with the most important people in my life and doing winter activities such as playing in the snow, sledding, ice skating, skiing and more... as you know i love activity!!

my goal with my boys is to introduce them to as much as i can in life so they can make their own choices on what they love and are passionate about. i want them to live a passionate life and be healthy, well and happy!! the latest thing i introduced mason to is ice skating. it was sooo much fun. we made it around 3 times with lots of falls to his buttocks but he was smiling the whole time.

yesterday is an example of a not-so-typical wednesday. i took mason to see the 11am "tangled" which i loved and then went for lunch. we went for pizza- one of his favorite meals. yes- he is a normal 4 year old who loves pizza and mac and cheese. the key for me in feeling ok allowing him to eat food like this is to make sure all ingredients are from fabulous sources. you can eat a pizza made with real tomatoes and cheese or you can eat a pizza made from processed stuff. Next, we came home picked up owen and went to the park to run around and play some soccer. it was fabulous!! it was a day all about the kids and i love that!!

work has been fabulous too. i just got done coaching a group of 25 people in a 5 day cleanse. starting in the new year we will be doing a 10 day cleanse together. many people put off cleansing till after the holidays but i say it helps even more to do one during the holidays to stay in control and on track. plus this provides you with the energy to keep up with the holiday activities. please contact me if you are interested in doing a 5, 10 or longer detox. i do a variety of different types of detox programs because each person often requires something slightly different. types of cleansing programs range from: all juices, juices and smoothies, all raw, raw till dinner and more- there is one for everyone!!

for me to stay balanced over the holiday there are certain things that i never don't do. these include my green juice, my daily yoga practice, my daily detox rituals such as skin brushing and tongue scraping, eating 95% raw with my occasional bowl of quinoa mash, proper food combining and timing, living my yoga, breathing through life and being present. sometimes with the holidays life can become a little foggy. take a step back, assess what is truly important, breathe, set an intention and move forward. life is worth breathing through so take it slow and be present.

i'm also still in the process of decorating and organizing my house and making my house a home. it is truly getting there and i love it. my surroundings totally effect how i feel. for me having clean open spaces is important- i hate clutter and can't focus if i'm in a room with clutter. decluttering your home and space is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

so life has been packed lately and i love it. now its time for the new year and i have many amazing things going happening. life is fabulous!!!

more pics:
mason's holiday program was sooo fun to watch.

owen's new stuffed doggie:

mason and owen helping me make my green juice:


namaste, kelly

My Daily Rituals

Here is what i thrived on the last two days:

Wednesday- Yesterday was a work day for me so i ate very simple. When i eat simple i have the energy to put towards my work and life. In the morning i prepared all my food for the day: green juice, grapes and a huge amount of green smoothie with loads of goodies in it.

woke at 4ish
water with lemon and probiotic
red rooibos tea- wanted something warm!! it has been sooo cold here!!

GT kombucha tea while working with clients

Yoga class at Yoga Fusion- the heat in the studio felt fabulous!!
Green Juice with supplements- I still find it amazing that i crave my green juice everyday!! it nourishes my mind and body.

Here are the supplements i took today:

Sipped on more green juice while working with clients
Snacked on grapes while driving to pick up mason from school

Back to the studio to see clients
Huge green smoothie (approximately 55 ounces) that i sipped on from 4:30ish to 7:30ish. my green smoothie today included: raspberries, mango, banana, spinach, chard, kale, water, sun warrior vanilla protein powder, green pure synergy powder. It was soo yummy!!


worked late (till 7)

Today was also a work day but i was craving some warm cozy food. It is just sooo cold outside that i needed something warm, dense and chewable. so i indulged in my "fall/winter" splurge of quinoa.

Woke at 4ish
made my green juice
drank warm water with lemon and took probiotic
GT kombucha tea while working with clients
Yoga class at Yoga Fusion- again loved the heat!!!
Green juice with supplements
Sipped on green juice while working with clients
Home to indulge in my favorite cozy fall/winter meal of: quinoa, baked sweet potatoes, chunks of avocado, cilantro, peas, sea salt and lots of nutritional yeast. i had my nanny prepare this so it was ready for me when i stopped at home. i ate it slowly while doing some work at the computer. this of course is not ideal but sometimes i need to get things done while the boys are busy- owen was sleeping plus the nanny was still here and mason was at school. then it was off to pick up mason at school and venture to home depot for some house stuff!!

time for bed!! namaste, kelly

Be Thankful for your Health

Wow does it feel good to have my health back!! there is not much that gets me down but whatever my family and i had got us all down!! i'm back and feeling fabulous. i'm soooo grateful for my health now!! i have the ability to make healthy choices everyday. my choice to wake up early and connect with and move my body with my yoga. and wow does it feel good now. my choice to make my daily green juice which provides me a fabulous base of nutrients every morning. here are some pics of mason and owen helping me make our daily green juice:


tonight's dinner was very messy but soooo fabulous:

arame and sea spaghetti
baby arugala blend
tomatoes
dressing: tahini, orange juice, lemon juice, garlic, nutritional yeast and sea salt
i whisked the dressing together, poured it over the sea veggies and mixed in the baby arugala and tomatoes. i ate a few bites just like that and then i wrapped it in a nori sheet and dipped it in additional sauce with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast. we loved it!!! i've been loving lots of wraps lately: spinach wraps, nori wraps and collard wraps are my favorites.

this weekend was a fabulous holiday preparation weekend. we decorated our tree, i shopped for the boys, wrapped lots of presents and sent out my holiday cards. i'm totally in the holiday mood!!! saturday night we lit a fire and just cuddled up together as one big happy family- while eating the most amazing raw chocolate almond ice cream!!! a fire, ice cream and family- it was a perfect night. i have the holiday music on all the time now!! here is mason decorating the tree:

here is owen enjoying every bite of his blueberry almond butter smoothie:


Take some time to appreciate your health. you have the ability to make healthy choices with each choice you make during the day: what you will eat for breakfast, if you are going to exercise, how you are going to react to the situations you are faced with each day and so much more. You are in charge of your health and life- so take charge!!

namaste, kelly

The Flu got us!!!

ok- so my whole family had the flu. NOT FUN!!!! But we are recovering. When you are healing from the flu, or most illnesses, you need to eat very light to allow most of your energy to go towards healing the body. I'm juicing and blending most of my meals for easier digestion. Juicing is providing me with loads of nutrients to help my body heal. Blending fruit, smoothies and soups will help me get some calories, fiber and nutrients while being easy on my digestive system. here is a medicinal soup i blended the other day. the measurements are approximate because i of course was not measuring.

2 cups water
1 large tbsp chick pea miso
1 tsp tumeric
1 large clove garlic
pinch of grated ginger
handful shitake mushrooms
handful maitake mushrooms
2 tbsps dulse flakes

Blend it all up, place it in a pot on the stove and warm lightly.
Swirl around your mouth before swallowing for optimal digestion.
This can also be used as a base for other soups. you can add chopped up veggies, zucchini noodles, kelp noodles and more.... I kept mine very simple!!!

Namaste, kelly

Thanksgiving / New Raw Food Prep and Corporate Wellness Series

Happy belated Thanksgiving!!!

Thanksgiving was relaxing and fabulous. here are some yummy pics!!

Spinach Flax Wraps: I love these!! they are dense and filling and make me feel like i'm eating a real wrap!! i placed a large scoop of kale coleslaw in the center of each, sprinkled with nutritional yeast, wrapped them up and enjoyed every bite. they are sooo easy to make too!!!


my sister-in-law ashley, her new baby Luke, owen and I went for a wonderful walk thanksgiving afternoon. Owen napped in the stroller after our walk.

My nutrient-dense green / veggie salad loaded with greens, sprouts, red peppers, cucumbers, onion, tomatoes, celery and more. With a simple dressing of orange juice, lemon juice and crushed garlic.

My kale coleslaw:

Joe and I before the feast!!

Nothing like roasting some marshmellows on thanksgiving!!! this is mason and his cousin mathew enjoying the, "nothing nutritious about it" marshmellows- pure sugar!!! and they loved every bite!!


Check out my website for details on my "2011 Raw Living Foods Preparation 9-part Series" and my "6-part Corporate Wellness Series". Call or email me with any questions. The 9-part Raw Living Foods Preparation Series is great for all levels and will give you specific recipes and techniques to easily incorporate raw living foods into your daily diet. Make living well a priority in 2011!!!

Also, keep an eye on the "Sweet Green" blog. I was interviewed last tuesday by a Sweet Green intern to be featured as a "Sweet Person" of Bethesda. I'll let you know when they post the feature.

Namaste, Kelly

7-day Green Smoothie Challenge

We just launched a 7-day Green Smoothie Challenge at Balance Studio in Bethesda, MD (this is the studio where i see many of my patients and clients). Balance Studio is doing a "10-week pilates challenge" and they are now 5 weeks into the challenge. At this point the participants have the exercise part down and now they can kick up their nutrition with my 7-day Green Smoothie Challenge!!
If you are participating in the 7-day Green Smoothie Challenge i want you to jump right in and EXPERIMENT. Get the whole family involved. You need to buy the ingredients on the list and start with the recipes that i have given you as a base. next, experiment with different blends to find ones that you love. One key to eating well for a lifetime is to find healthy foods, snacks, meals and drinks that you love and crave in a good way. i honestly crave my green juice everyday. i rarely go a day without my green juice and if i do go a day without it i don't have the same amount of energy. i make green smoothies for my boys everyday and i drink green smoothies approximately 5 days per week. my husband makes green smoothies 3-5 days per week and he loves them. he will often do his for dinner when he gets home late at night. this is not ideal because of the high sugar from the fruit but its still fabulous to get all those nutrients in at some point during the day
i received a few comments today and emails asking about the difference between green juices and green smoothies:
Green juice:

Green smoothie:

the difference between green "juices" and green "smoothies" is that juices have no fiber and are just filled with loads of nutrients. the fiber has been strained out. this is beneficial because when juices are drank first thing in the morning before anything else the nutrients are easily assimilated into the blood and the nutrients go right to your cells. also, because the fiber is taken out you can have huge amounts of greens in one glass resulting in more nutrients into your body compared to if the fiber was in it in which case there is no way you could take in all those greens. for instance in one 32 ounce glass of juice you may have a whole head of kale, a head of romaine, a box of broccoli sprouts, a bunch of cilantro, 2-3 apples, 2 handfuls spinach, 1/2 cucumber, 3 stalks celery etc. Green "smoothies" are filled with both nutrients and fiber. we need fiber for optimal functioning of the digestive system. i also love green smoothies because that is where i throw in all my superfoods (more on this in another blog post). i will often do greens, fruit, water, ground flax seed, green powders, sun warrior protein powder, acai powder, camu camu etc... i have loads of superfoods and i vary between them dependent upon what i'm in need of that day. if i need more protein i'll use sun warrior protein or spirulina. if i need a hormone balancer i will use maca. if i need more omega 3s i may use ground flax seed or chia seeds. The bottom line is its beneficial to drink both green juices and green smoothies. green juices are either made in a juicer or they can be made in a blender if you blend the ingredients and then use a "nut milk" bag to strain the fiber out. green smoothies are always made in a blender. if you get into making green juices and smoothies i suggest you purchase good equipment. there are two high-powered blenders that are fabulous- the Vita-Mix blender and the K-tec. for juices i love the green star juicer but for sake of time most days i use my vita-mix blender and then strain out the fiber with my nut milk bag. this method does lose some nutrients due to the oxidation of the blending compared to less oxidation if you use the green star juicer. but i know i'm still getting loads of nutrients and it works with my lifestyle right now.

the key with this 7-day Green Smoothie Challenge is to have fun with it. if you, your family, business or school are interested in doing a Green Smoothie Challenge let me know and i'm happy to pass along the challenge recipes, grocery list and tips.

happy greens!!!

namaste, kelly

What a Day!!!

It was an action-packed day here at the Bradley household. Started my day with my 4am yoga wake-up call. i've been focusing on a lot of hip openers lately and i can feel it is helping to balance the whole body. when the body is balanced it works more efficiently. this is what we want. we want the body to work efficiently to preserve energy for living. and i needed the energy today!!!


mason woke around 6am and owen woke shortly afterwards. i knew today was going to be a "not-so-good" eating day for mason due to a cookie playdate and b-day party so i wanted to pack him with goodness in the morning: lots of fresh fruit and a nut milk strawberry smoothie. We did an early morning art project- we had a b-day party today so we wrapped his present and hand-made a b-day card.

i blended two cantaloupes and drank one myself and gave the rest to owen and mason. they love the blended fruit too.


i worked with a client this morning who is transitioning to a raw living foods lifestyle- check out the amazing goodies we made together:
Zucchini and Carrot pasta

Cilantro Basil Pesto

Brazil Nut "Parm Cheese" (brazil nuts, garlic, sea salt)

I coated the pasta with the cilantro basil pesto, sprinkled it with the brazil nut sprinkle and added a few slices of avocado. YUMMY!!!

Nacho Cheese Kale Chips

Sweet Cinnamon Sprouted and Dehydrated Walnuts

Green Juice

Nutrient-Dense Greenies: pulp leftover from juice, sprouted ground flax seeds, carrots, dulse, kelp, nutritional yeast and sea salt

Next it was home for a playdate where we made "turkey cookies." mason saw this on a commercial and wanted to do it. this included all the good stuff: sugar cookies, icing, food dye to color the icing, chocolate chips and sprinkles. everything i DON'T want him to eat. however, it looked like a fun project and i like doing these creative things with him and his friends. so of course i made it a little healthier- organic sugar cookie dough, gluten-free organic icing, dyes from real food such as the red was from beets, vegan chocolate chips and real sugar sprinkles. the best you can do in these situations is get real food products (no artificial colors or fake foods). here are the results:

it does not really look like a turkey but we tried!!!!

after the playdate i made myself a green fruit smoothie with sun warrior protein powder to fuel me the rest of the day. i took this with me on the way to our next event- a b-day party at the "rockville sports center." it was moon-bounce heaven. mason ran off all the sugar he ate with the sugar cookies!!! then the goodies came out: doritos, cake, punch etc. again everything i DON'T want him to eat. my thought with these situations is that what they eat 90% of the time is most important and what they eat the other 10% i should not stress about. i don't want to make food a huge "issue". the point of kid's b-day parties is for the kids to learn the art of giving, socialization, to move the body and most importantly to just have fun with their friends. i know that tomorrow i will cleanse him with eating very clean- green smoothies, loads of fruits and veggies, healthy meals, water etc.


i love days like today. action-packed but i was present throughout. having a busy schedule is ok- as long as you are present and truly enjoying the moments.

namaste, kelly

Blended Fruit

What a beautiful day today!! it was a fabulous yoga day. woke at 4am and did an early morning yoga practice and some body rolling too. Then i went to the 8:30am class at yoga fusion in bethesda. the class was a wonderful intense flow that made me feel connected and powerful. i'm cleansing this weekend and when i cleanse my whole body, mind and spirit feel connected. when i'm cleansing i love drinking blended fruits. yesterday i blended 2 whole cantaloupes and drank them throughout the morning (see pic above). Today, i blended 2 personal watermelons. they are soooo fresh and yummy. The kids love these drinks too. Try this with any melon- papaya and honeydew are great too. Cantaloupe is my favorite. be sure when you are drinking any blended beverage that you swirl the drink around your mouth before swallowing to allow the enzymes to help digest it. You can also add a few leaves of any greens to blended melon to make a green smoothie.

Namaste, Kelly

Decadent Warm Cacao or Carob Drink

I may have posted this last winter but i just received an email asking for a substitute for kids and adults for the typical hot chocolate. i was reminded of my favorite warm cozy healthy hot cacao or carob treat.

Drink this amazingly creamy treat on a cold dark night when you just need a sweet chocolate fix. You will not only feel satisfied but you will have provided your body with an abundance of nutrients!!! ENJOY!!!!

Ingredients:
1 cup almond milk
1 or 2 teaspoon raw almond butter (makes it creamy)
honey or agave nectar to taste (about a teaspoon)
1 tbsp raw carob or cacao powder
1 thin slice of fresh ginger, chopped (optional)
1 pinch of cinnamon
1 pinch of grated nutmeg
1 dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until frothy. Place in pot on stove and warm lightly.

Drink is slowly and mindfully!!!

I actually have a quiet house to myself in the middle of the afternoon. Mason is at school and owen is napping. i'm sitting here drinking a warm tea doing the work i love. It's another blissful day!!

namaste, kelly