Chlorella and more..

Even if you are not cleansing with the 7-Day Detox group you can still eat clean foods this week.  One amazing detox food that i believe we should all consume is chlorella.

Chlorella is used to detoxify the body of heavy metals that tend to reside in your body along with many other benefits.  Heavy metals in the body have been associated with cancer, dementia, and Alzheimer's Disease.  Chlorella is high in protein, can reduce inflammation, alkalize the body and can act as a pain reliever.  You can ingest chlorella in tablet or powder form, making it a great addition to smoothies or just eat the tablets alone.  Read this article to learn more about chlorella:

http://www.naturalnews.com/036086_chlorella_superfood_algae.html 

Tried another Susie Sprout Salad today that is a WINNER!!  I love that i have another ready-made food option!!

Strawberry Banana Ice Cream for the boys today:

1 bag frozen strawberries
2 frozen bananas
1/4 cup walnut pumpkin seed milk i made yesterday
dash of coconut nectar
1 scoop vanilla sun warrior protein
2 tbsps hemp seeds
Blend all ingredients in Vitamix.  


Learn more about chlorella:  check out this article!!

Cilantro Dulse Walnut Pesto

Today starts another group 7-Day Detox Program!!  Everyone has their manuals and they are planning their individualized "Daily Menus".  In the manual i discuss different levels of cleansing from consuming all juices to consuming juices in the morning, raw salads and soups in the afternoon and healthy cooked food meals for dinner.  As i always say, "Everyone can cleanse on some level.".  My personal cleanse goal during this cleanse is minimal sugars.  I will continue to eat berries and fruit in my smoothie in the morning but that is it for the sugar- not raw vegan ice cream, no gnosis cacao bars...  Basically i will do sprout/green juices, the kelly detox tonic which will be available at puree this week, power smoothies, blended soups and salads.  i love the sweet treats but when you eat clean and then you consume just a little of the sweet stuff you can easily feel how addicting they are.  When you consume sugar you want more- its a cycle.  The cleanse will break the cycle and get you back on track!!  Its the same with caffeine- when you consume it the body just wants more.  Once you cleanse you break the cycle and the body no longer craves those things.  Time to get the sugar out. 

Owen helped make the morning juice.  He loves helping.  We made a big batch of intense sprout/green juice for me and then a small batch of cucumber, spinach, kale and apple for him.  He still loves his daily green juice.  i hope he never gives it up!! 

owen loves to drink his juice with this fancy straw!!  This is a great way to encourage your kids to drink juices and smoothies.  Put them in fun cups and use fun straws!! 


my power smoothie!!  Ideally you want to fuel the body 45 minutes after a workout.  My strategy is typically to drink my green shots and green juice immediately after my workout, get home, take a shower, get ready and then make my power smoothie and consume it over 30 -60 minutes dependent upon what is going on that day.    

12 ounces sprout/green juice
1/2 cup mixed berries
1/4 cup goji berries
1 frozen banana
1 tbsp hemp seeds
1 big scoop sun warrior protein
1 tbsp dulse
1 scoop acai
and a few other superfoods.....

Saturdays i try to use up all the produce in the refrigerator to make room for the fresh stuff coming in on Sundays when i go to the market.  I has soaked walnuts ready to go, lots of cilantro and salad stuff so i decided to do a cilantro dulse walnut pesto on a large salad wrapped in  nori rolls.  Fast, simple and nutritious. 

3 cups cilantro
1 cup basil
1/3 cup hemp oil
1/3 cup walnuts
2 cloves garlic
3 tbsps lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp dulse
blend all ingredients in vitamix till smooth.

 I love Saturdays because i know i get to refill the kitchen with loads of fabulous foods!! 

Tonight i also made a batch of walnut pumpkin seed milk.  This will be for the boys for cereals, pancakes, cacao milk etc.... 

2/3 cup soaked walnuts
1 cup soaked pumpkin seeds
4 cups water
Blend all ingredients in vitamix, strain in nutmilk bag.

Have a wonderful Sunday!!  Hope to see you at the Bethesda Central Market!! 

kelly
 

Photo Shoot!!

Today was such a blast.  Christine and I did another photo shoot for my new blog/website and book.  I love photo shoots.  loads of fabulous food and lots of creative energy flowing!!  check out some of her pics from the farmer's market last sunday. 

Here are some pics i took today:

Raw "Coffee" Herbal Tonic

Avocado Bowl

Zucchini Pasta with Pesto Sauce

All recipes will be available soon either in my new book or new blog/website- Coming Soon!!

Check out the dessert treat i made for the boys and i after karate tonight:

3 spoonfuls of Pistachio Vanilla Raw Vegan Ice Cream
1 large tbsp Peanut Butter i got at farmer's market last week
sprinkle of cacao nibs
drizzle of coconut nectar

This totally reminded me of a "frozen yogurt" i used to eat in high school.  it was vanilla with peanut butter swirl.  Peanut butter is not something i plan to add to my diet all the time but i am happy i experimented with this susie sprout brand.  i would recommend it to anyone who eats peanut butter.

I have to admit that i'm totally excited to start my own 7-Day Detox tomorrow!!  Tomorrow is the pre-cleanse workshop and i will be detoxing along with all my participants.  This past week i've been experimenting with too many raw vegan treats such as ice cream, the karma kookie and even the raw vegan granola for breakfast.  i notice when i experiment with things with sugar i just crave more.  This is not just psychological but it is a chemical imbalance and cycle that goes on in the body.  I'm ready to get clean again and get the sugar out!!

Time to detox- bring on the juice and greens!!

Mason at sparring class tonight:

live every day in a creative way!!
kelly

Product Review- Kookie Karma Chocolate Chip Cookie!!

Morning power smoothie:

12 ounces green juice
5 leaves of kale
1/2 cup berries
1 scoop sun warrior protein powder
1 tbsp ground flax
1 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 scoop acai
1 tsp camu camu
1 tbsp crystal manna
1 ounce e-3 live
1 tbsp dulse

I was given a Kookie Karma Holistic Chocolate Chip Cookie today and i just need to express my fondness of it!!!  It was fantastic!!  I've tasted other raw vegan chocolate chip cookies and there is not one other one i would say i would eat again.  This one i will eat again.  The ingredients are excellent and it is very well balanced nutritionally.  The texture is very close to a real chocolate chip cookie.  plus it passed the kid test. told the boys i bought them a new cookie and they loved it.  it is a winner.  i'm picturing making chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches with some vanilla raw vegan ice cream in the middle!!

be well, kelly
   

Cilantro Pesto Salad and Delish Sprout Salad

This morning with my Power Smoothie i enjoyed a small bowl of my new favorite raw dehydrated cereal (see yesterday's post) with sun warrior protein milk (sun warrior blended with coconut water) and sliced bananas. 

Here is the sun warrior protein milk:
8 ounces coconut water (can substitute homemade nut/seed milk)
1/2 scoop vanilla sun warrior protein

I love creating delicious dishes from scratch but life does not always allow for that.  The solution is to have some already made delicious and nutritious foods at home and ready for you to quickly toss together and enjoy!!
Today, was one of those days that i was happy to have a few things on hand.   
Sunday at the market I bought Cilantro Walnut Pesto from my favorite sprout buddy. 

 I tossed together arugula, pea greens, sunflower sprouts, basil and tomatoes and mixed in the Cilantro Walnut Pesto. 

With this salad i ate a bowl of Susie Sprouts Sprout Salad.  It was a perfect combination. 

This sprout salad is loaded with easy to digest nutrients, protein and more...  I love the addition of raisins which gives it a little sweetness. 

One key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle every day is always be prepared.  Have foods that you can just toss together on hand and still create a nutrient-dense balanced meal.

eat smart, move well and live whole,

kelly

Raw Cereal and Collard Wraps with Coconut Tumeric Cilantro Sauce

 I tried a new raw dehydrated cereal today that i'm totally impressed with!!  I ate a few bites of it with my morning smoothie.  It has a great texture compared to many "raw granolas and cereals" on the market.  check it out.  Living Intentions Hemp and Greens Superfood Cereal!!  It's filled with awesome stuff: buckwheat sprouts, coconut, palm sugar, sunflower sprouts, banana, sesame seeds, hemp protein, spinach powder, spirulina, chlorella, alfalfa leaf, dandelion leaf and more..  When i crave a bowl of cereal i will totally eat this with almond milk and a few slices of banana!! 

Cereals always take me back to when i was a kid and lived on Lucky Charms!!  i would eat all the marshmellows and leave the rest.  Then drink up all the leftover sugar-filled 2% milk.  Oh how times have changed!!!  

Now to the wrap!!

I love my wraps!!  I made these collards wraps with a delicious and nutritious Coconut Tumeric Garlic Sauce.  This one i will definitely recreate often!! 

The Sauce!!!
1 cup coconut meat
1/3 cup coconut water
1 1/2 cloves garlic
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tsp coconut nectar
1 tsp turmeric
1 cup cilantro
1 tsp sea salt
dash of cayenne
Blend all ingredients in Vitamix Blender.

Collard Wraps
5 collard leaves
1 bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
3 carrots, sliced into thing strips
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cucumber, no seeds, sliced into thin strips
1 cup arugula
1 cup pea greens

De-stem collard leaf and lay flat.  In center of collard leaf place above ingredients and roll like a burrito.  I like to use a spoon to place sauce on each bite.  You can also place sauce inside wrap before rolling.

I ate three wraps for lunch today!!  Delish!!  

Get creative in the kitchen!!!

Check out my toe stretchers!!  Very important to have flexible feet!!

Be Well!!!

kelly

Sunday at the Market

Another fabulous Sunday!!  At gym by 7 for cardio, strength, yoga/stretching.  Home to make power smoothie- same recipe as yesterday!!  I love using my green juice as the base for smoothies.  It totally ups the nutrition factor!! 

Got ready for a photo shoot and shopping at bethesda central market.  we were taking pics for the new blog/website, book and more.  I love getting creative with food and photography. here are some shots of the tomatoes i took.

After returning from the market the boys and i went on a bike ride on Beach Drive.  It was such a perfect day for a bike ride.  We played at the park for a little while and then decided it was time for the pool.  I love Sundays because we don't need to plan everything we can do what we feel like doing.  So we headed home, packed up some fruit and water and off to the pool for the rest of the afternoon!  We enjoyed lots of vollyball in the water, playing chase and worked on our swimming strokes- mason is totally inspired by the olympics!!   

Ok- back to the market and the essentials i get there each week.  Some of the staples i get at the market during this season include: kale, cucumbers, zucchini and tomatoes.  I use loads of kale for smoothies and salads.  We all love raw cucumbers and are great for the kids to make cucumber boats and add nut/seed butters inside.  I make loads of zucchini pasta.  tomatoes for gazpacho, salads and sauces.  Then there is my sprout buddy who has the best sunflower sprouts, pea greens, arugula, salad mix, spinach and today i got lots of sweet basil and thai basil to test out.  I load up on all my sprouts!!!  At his stand i also get a container of his cilantro pesto and walnut pesto!!  He also sells these veggie rolls with peanut butter dipping sauce.  It's nice to have a few already prepared foods made with good ingredients.  I also got some fresh peaches- i love white peaches!!  At the susie sprout stand i got a few boxes of sprouts and her prepared sprout salad.  Today i also decided to test out her peanut butter.

After the pool it was time to enjoy many of the wonderful things i got at the market!!  first, i made a small walnut pesto salad with my sunflower and pea green sprouts- soooo fresh!!  

Next, i ate my veggie rice paper wraps with peanut dipping sauce.  These are not totally raw- they are made with white rice paper wraps (not much nutritional value but i like the texture), they have tofu inside (when i eat tofu i like to get the non-gmo organic sprouted tofu at moms) and of course the peanut sauce is most likely not made with truly raw peanuts.  But they are a great meal occasionally and i enjoy every bite!!

I never eat peanut butter but since i had the taste in my mouth i craved more.  So i decide to taste test the susie sprout peanut butter i had originally gotten for joe (he loves sprouted bagels with peanut butter and jelly sometimes).  It was delish!!  in a bowl i mixed the peanut butter, coconut nectar and a few dashes of sea salt- totally yummy!!  it made me feel like i was 10 years old again.   I debated adding cacao nibs but did not- that would be fabulous too!!

Later i was off to My Organic Market to get everything else i need for the week for the family and I. 

When i returned home i had to make a coconut lime tumeric cilantro dipping sauce that i had been planning to make today since i already thawed my coconut meat.  I made the sauce but was not in the mood to even taste test.  But it smelled soooo delicious and with the ingredients i can't imagine it will be bad!!  i can't wait to taste test tomorrow!!

I'll share final recipe tomorrow after i taste test!!! 

kelly