Raw Living Wellness

i have so many great things to share. raw living to me is about living simple and being present in everything i do. One aspect of living simple to me is enjoying the day to day activities of life in a new amazing way. for instance my daily ritual of preparing my green juice each morning is truly almost a meditative activity for me. i wake before all my boys, take my supplements, make my tea and then i'm ready to prepare my juice. the house is silent and its just me and the food that is going to nourish me for the day. its so soothing and it helps center me for the day. then i hear mason's little voice say, "mommy, mommy, mommy."

my friend marie, who i met in nutrition school and went to culinary school with, came to stay with me for 4 days. we are working on a manual/book for pre/post natal women and their kids in regards to nutrition and nutrient-dense recipes. it was a YUMMY few days. we created many amazing dishes and tested many recipes. it was so fabulous and fun!!! my favorite creations are our raw fermented sauerkraut and sea veggie salads wrapped in nori (picture above). i love wrapping all my salads in nori. Nori is very nutrient-dense and a great source of protein for vegans. other recipes we worked on included energy bars, nut milks, shakes, smoothies and so much more.

a simple nutrient-dense nut milk recipe that you can try is:

2 cups almond or brazil nut milk
1-2 tbsp bee pollen
1 tbsp sun warrior natural or vanilla protein powder
1 tsp mesquite
1 tsp carob

in addition to our culinary creations we also lived our raw wellness everyday. everyday we went to yoga class, did wheatgrass shots and filled our bodies with loads of green juice. i love combining my green juice with spirulina. i blend it
for just a few seconds in the vitamix and it gets a little frothy.



On to another topic: REST and RELAXATION.
Part of living my wellness includes making time for rest, relaxation and rejuvenation. i got a seaweed body wrap treatment and facial at Veria Wellness Center and it was fabulous. i was very impressed with their knowledge and professionalism. it started with a complete body exfoliation which is very important to get rid of all the dead skin and toxins. our skin is a major detox organ and we need to keep it functioning optimally. next she applied the red algae and then wrapped me in a slightly heated cover. it was such a relaxing treatment. when i'm getting massages and treatments such as this i always practice silence and deep breathing. it allows me to get the most out of the experience. while my body was wrapped in the sea weed she did my facial. all organic products were used. after removing the wrap i rinsed off and then she applied essential oils. So if you are in need of some rest, relaxation and rejuvenation i suggest you get a treatment and practice being totally present during it. you will feel rejuvenated afterwards.


Finally, i started my seasonal colonic series this week. i get mine done at a local wellness center. each season i do a series of 3 colonics. one per week for three weeks. it is amazing how clean and light i feel even though i eat so well and keep my insides functioning well. colonics are not for everyone but if you have not considered them before i suggest you do some research and consider trying one. the average person carries around 5 lbs worth of stuff in their colon which causes nutrients to not be optimally assimilated. if the colon is clean you will assimilate your nutrients and get the most benefits out of what you eat.

So i suggest everyone cleanse the body and mind with some yummy green juice, daily yoga and seasonal detoxification practices (such as body wraps and colon cleanses).

Be Well and practice your own wellness daily,

kelly

Raw Food on the Food Network

I am very happy to report that The Food Network aired a show about The Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona and how raw foods can help cure diabetes. Gabriel Cousens MD is the founder of Tree of Life and has helped thousands of people heal and become well through the use of Raw Living Food Nutrition. I consulted with him when i was trying to optimize my fertility to get pregnant. He has many fabulous books out but his latest, "There is a Cure for Diabetes" is about how you can cure diabetes using lifestyle changes including raw living food nutrition.

Green Juices and Smoothies

i love eating/drinking green juices and smoothies. i eat/drink green juices and smoothies everyday. they are an amazing way to get loads of nutrients into your body. the biggest difference between a "juice" and a "smoothie" is when you juice you strain out the fiber. fiber is beneficial in many ways including it helps to keep the colon clean, removes cholesterol, fat and toxins and therefore, helps to keep the digestive system functioning optimally. When you juice you take out the fiber and the juice is just loaded with nutrients. You can consume more juice and therefore, more nutrients. so both are beneficial and both should be done as often as possible.

many days, such as today, i do a combo of both. i load up my vitamix blender with a variety of greens, sprouts, etc. Today i did:

celery
cucumber
romaine
bok choy
kale- curly
red chard
collards
pea sprouts
broccoli sprouts
cilantro
and apple

i blended all the greens which filled the vitamix blender. i strained (using my nut milk bag) half the fiber from the greens and got a huge bowl of green juice. Next i blended my apple with what was left in the blender and then added it all together. it creates a delicious and nutritious half juice/half smoothie. then i added a few tbsps of spirulina and took my DHA supplement.

Experiment with a combination of juice and smoothies.

Live green and eat your greens!!

Be Well, kelly

Spinach Spirulina Salad

Here is a delicious and nutritious summer salad i put together tonight:

1 handful spinach
2 handfuls of arugula and baby lettuces
1 handful alfalfa sprouts
1 handful pea sprouts
1 avocado- chopped into chunks
1 red pepper- diced
5 cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp spirulina
squirt of hemp oil
juice of one lemon
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp cayenne
a few shakes of himalayan seasalt
a sprinkle of hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds

This salad was sooo nourishing to my mind and body. i ate it while having a picnic on my front lawn with owen and mason. as mason says every morning when he wakes up, "its a beautiful day"!!!!

ENJOY!!

Live each moment to its fullest, kelly

Raw Yoga

I love the combination of my raw food lifestyle and daily yoga practice. the combination of the two help me to cleanse the mind, body and spirit and take my movement practice to the next level. when i'm clean on the inside my yoga practice is sooo amazingly focused and intense. when i say intense i do not mean that i have to work so hard at it. it is actually just the opposite. i feel light, fluid and can breathe and focus easily. on the other hand if i had a heavy raw meal the night before (such as a raw salad filled with nuts, seeds, avocado and olives or a gourmet raw treat such as raw pizza) i feel that my body is still spending energy digesting these foods and can not move and function optimally. when the digestive system is empty the body and mind can focus its energy on other things such as breathing, asanas (postures), focused attention and more.
when i eat a very cleansing diet i feel connected to life and "on top of my game". i feel connected with the people around me and to nature and living life to its fullest. a cleansing diet for me includes a day filled with fruits and veggies in very digestible forms. for example i may do:

tea
blended melons
green juices
green smoothies
shots of wheatgrass and E-3 live
green soups
fresh fruit
fresh cleansing veggies such as cucumber and celery
fresh cleansing herbs such as cilantro and parsley



test out how you feel when you give your digestive system a rest compared to how you feel when you overload your digestive system. a key to feeling well and vibrant is having good digestion.

Be Present,

kelly

Daily Menu

good afternoon everyone. it is a beautiful summer day and i just returned from a fabulous day at the park with my boys. both boys are now napping and i'm sitting here listening to my classical music and writing.

i often get asked what i eat on a typical day. first of all it is always changing. i listen to my mind, body and spirit and change my daily rituals, nutrition intake etc. according to what they need. the key for me is mindfulness and planning ahead. i continue to do my wellness journal every night and that helps me assess the day and determine what i need to do (or not do)the next day.

Here is a sample of my food intake for a day. I eat everything ORGANIC!!

-Wake with the boys around 6:15ish. Mason is usually my alarm clock. Owen is a sleeper so he sleeps another hour or two.
-Take my supplements with water: probiotic, digestive enzyme (some days), pre/post natal vitamin, D3, B-12/complex. i take all whole food supplements. i take a liquid B.
-Make and drink my tea. I LOVE having my tea in the morning. i vary the teas: Green, yerbe mate, red raspberry, pau d'arco and rooibos are my regular ones. most of the time it is green and yerbe mate. i grate in fresh ginger and juice of a lemon. the daily ritual of just making my tea is so gratifying. i sip on this for the early morning.
-Yoga (9:30ish)- i do a daily yoga class at a local yoga studio. i just don't feel the same when i don't do my yoga. it centers my mind, body and spirit. this time allows me to set my intentions for the day and to become aware of the state i'm in that day.
-blended melon. lately i've been loving blended cantaloupe. i also regularly do watermelon, honeydew and papaya. they are soo yummy and delicious!!
-green juice plain or sometimes with spirulina and/or chlorella and always with my DHA supplement. i do a daily green juice and vary my greens everyday. here is what i did today: celery, cucumber, romaine, dinosaur kale, red kale, red chard, collards, cilantro (i love cilantro and it is soooo cleasing too), green leaf lettuce, beet green and apple. i make approximately 50 oz and drink it in 2 servings. i may drink half as just the juice and the other half with spirulina and or chlorella for protein, iron, CA and more!!
-out to the playground, hiking or some outdoor activity with the boys
-today i had romaine wraps with celery, variety of sea veggies (wakame, sea lettuc, kelp and more), tahini, sprinkle of himalayan sea salt. i love this wrap!! then i made an additional sea veggie salad with all the same sea veggies and just put tahini and himalayan sea salt on it, mixed it all together and ate it with a fork.
-later i may have a little raw fermented sauerkraut, avocado and nori.


i feel best when i eat light. i have the most energy and function optimally when the digestion system is working less.

i'm currently breast feeding owen and plan to for about 2 years so i have to think about both of our needs. i often add in protein smoothies made with hemp protein and almond or nut and seed milks and superfoods like bee pollen, goji berries, marine phytoplankton and more.

a sample of one of owen's little meals is a mixture of avocado, banana, udo's choice oil (fabulous blend of omega 3s, 6s and 9s with DHA) and goji juice. he eats it all up!!!

i make mason daily shakes or ice creams that include: almond milk or coconut water, fresh or organic frozen fruit, some protein (sproutein, hemp etc), some fat (avocado, nuts/seeds, udo's choice oil, hemp/flax oil etc), other superfoods (bee pollen, spirulina, chlorella, mesquite, acai, goji berries and more). he loves them- and so do i!!

Stay tuned for more blog updates on my daily menu and the fabulous foods i feed owen and mason.

ENJOY!!

Eat Smart, Move Well and Live Green

kelly

Cacao Crazy

i am not a cacao person- i go for the carob if i want a "chocolate" taste. but in my last order to natural zing they sent me two samples of righteously raw cacao bars. today after i was done eating my banana, mango and strawberry "raw ice cream" (which is really just frozen fruit blended in my vita-mix) i decided to "just try a bite of each". well- i ate both bars and enjoyed and savored every bite!!! WOW!!! i ate them while i was listening to classical music, nursing owen and while mason was napping (so it was unusually quite). it was quite peaceful and amazing. i tried the maca bar and the caramel bar. the caramel bar was the best out of the two. but i suggest these bars to anyone who needs a cacao fix. you can get these bars at www.naturalzing.com. you can also go to my website to the "store-natural zing" and connect via my site. i will not make a habit out of eating cacao because it just does not make me feel optimal. i often feel foggy and out of balance. but they were yummy to eat and great for people who love cacao!!

ENJOY!!! kelly