I wanted to share with you some of our eats around here the past few months!
Of course there have been smoothies!
This one was a Chocolate Peach situation with shilajit and lucuma topped with bee pollen.
Banana, peach, blueberry, lucuma, amla berry and coconut water for the little.
Frozen banana, fresh mango, aloe Vera, snow pea tendrils and chlorella with bee pollen. I am loving bee pollen this Spring!!
Another banana, mango, aloe and chlorella smoothie. So healing for the gut lining. It’s just an amazing plus that it tastes truly incredible! There were many more, but this is what has been recorded for posterity’s sake.
There were also juices. Lots of wild greens.
Pretty much all of these has some combination of chickweed, cleavers, cucumber, celery, apple and lemon.
Also, there has been food. Much more than this, too lol!
Cauliflower and jicama in a wild garlic cream sauce, spinach with coconut aminos, olive oil and lemon and some raw bread I made using psyllium husks for the first time!
That bread going into the dehydrator.
Some high raw wraps with greens, sprouts, quinoa burger and green Gaia dressing.
Green juice and raw brownies. Love.
Red bell pepper gazpacho with spirulina and bee pollen.
Kelp noodles in a cheesy sauce with black pepper and scallions. Amazing 🙂
I’ve been feeling pretty incredible recently with all the green juices and wild spring greens. Having large quantities of it daily really just changes everything! So worth it!
The other day we woke up and had a green juice. This had pineapple, cucumber, celery, and orange.
Feeling good, we took some kale chips and fruit for the road and decided to get outside. We ended up near Caddo Lake, where we hiked a bit, relaxed and end up finding tremendous patches of chickweed, cleavers and dandelion! You know we picked some!!
Chickweed patches
Cleavers!
We also saw some mushrooms, and we saw then again the next day down by the Red River! They look like oyster mushrooms, but I don’t trust that!
More green juice- this time wild!! I blended the greens with apples and lemons and then strained. Simple, effective and delicious! I made enough for two days.
Amethyst LOVES her green juice!!
We also saw sow thistle, goldenrod and a few other things on our day out, but none in such abundance or condition to pick. The sow thistle is really abundant now though around here but is best cooked, so expect a cooked wild greens post soon 😉
From my green heart to yours! xx
For me right now, working the Farmer’s Market Saturday mornings (4:30 wake up, yo!!) Friday night has become super busy work time for me followed by a “lets get as much sleep as possible” thing. Tomorrow will be the third market this week, as there was a special July 4 market yesterday. With a just turned 10 month old in tow, it is hard work! I’ve been relying on lots of liquid nutrition like smoothies and juices to power me through.
I had some noni juice for the first time! Verdict- foul by itself but pretty damn great mixed with kombucha! I will be having this the next time there is a festive occasion where I don’t want to be drinking alcohol.
I also had this quick and dirty green juice:
And this banana soft serve, pimped out with superfoods!
Even with all that goodness + the goodness that is my life, today I sort of hit an emotional and physical wall. Seeing Amethyst transform from a dependent, bald little baby into an independent little girl is so beautiful to see, but at the same time it is testing my ability to enjoy each moment and to allow myself to let go and surrender to the inevitable flow of life to the limit! Of course I want her to grow into the being she was meant to be, but I can’t help but selfishly want her to stay a baby! She is my little starseed. I felt her grow inside of me and then I released her, into the world. Each contraction that rocked my being to the core, each primal push that brought her a little closer into this dimension is forever etched into not only my memory, but my cells themselves, as I am forever changed because of it. Along with by body which opened to give her passage, my heart as well was cleaved wide open, raw and exposed. And right now, I feel it all too well. I see her, this living, breathing, laughing expression of me, of my heart, out there in the world and I know that it will never return. And so I continue to breathe deeply, wipe the tears off of my face (and hers), thank the Great Spirit for the gift of this experience, for the ability to feel such divine pain, kiss the tip of her nose and brush my face against hers. Kind of heavy, I know. But I have to be real and this is what I am going through now.
The Medicine though, is right here:
I’ve always loved these weekly love list posts on other blogs, so I thought why not do one myself?
So, what I have been loving lately-
My new-to-me diaper bag! 10 bucks secondhand and never been used. It is gorgeous and I am so glad I didnt cough up the 90 dollars for the only other diaper bag I have seen that I actually liked!
This Living Intentions raw granola. Normally I don’t like storebought raw cereals and granolas because I am always dissapointed and think what a better job I could do myself. Not so with this stuff. So far I have had the Cacao Crunch and Hemp & Greens flavors, but am looking forward to trying the others.
photo from highvibe.com
Wild green juices. At the risk of sounding redundant due to my other posts on juicing, I can’t get enough of this stuff. Here in Northwest Louisiana, cleavers and chickweed are what is abundant at the moment, at least of the things that we recognize and have a relationship with. And the juice- so easy. Blend, strain and enjoy! Oh, and add coconut water for some crazy awesome hydration 😉
Zumba- I went to my first Zumba class last night and I loved it. I felt super ridiculous pretty much the whole time, but luckily instead of staying locked into feeling self-conscious, I recognized the feelings for what they were and for an opportunity to laugh at myself a little more than I usually do and let go and smile! And I had fun! So much in fact, that I stayed for the next class too! Yay exercize that doesn’t suck!
Pine pollen! Oh the abundance at the moment! The trees here are a totally different species to those in Madrid and they are some high producers. Dan has spent far less time this year than in the past and ended up with waay more. He’s got about 3 liters of pine pollen tincturing at the moment and then a large jar of pine pollen powder. I loooove it in blueberry/nut milk smoothies. Who needs expensive protein powders when this is a far superior ancient food and free!
Oh, and this little peapod of course. She never, ever ceases to both amaze and delight me. Thank you Amethyst Joy for choosing me to be your mommy!
I have been feeling really bad physically. On one level, I have been feeling the remnants of the flu I had- just sort of low grade symptoms- headache, sore throat, tiredness, etc. And then on another level I have been feeling really unhealthy in other ways- I feel so overweight and out of shape. I also feel like I have been holding on to my baby body. I guess being pregnant and giving birth and now mothering Amethyst has meant such a significant change in my life- how I live my day-to-day, who I fundamentally am as a person, what my priorities are that I just haven’t been able to let go of this belly. But I feel like by shedding this extra weight I can return into myself a little. In the yogic tradition, a new baby and mother share an aura for 40 days after the birth of the baby. During this time, baby and mama are still connected as fundamentally as when baby was still in the womb- just that this connection is more energetic in nature. Doing this cleanse has felt a little like I am taking some power back into my body. As I am still (somewhat) breastfeeding my daughter, I decided to do a really light version of a cleanse. Juicing and smoothies all day and then one meal and a light snack.
Saturday-
Wild green kuice- cleaver, apple, chickweed, lime
Smoothie-frozen blueberries, mango, kale, coconut water, vitamineral green, sunwarrior protein powder, cashews, dates
Green juice- cucumber, apple, celery, fennel, ginger, kale stalks, lemons, limes
Smoothie- blueberry, mango, sunwarrior, avocado, dates, vitamineral green, pine pollen
Green juice- more of earlier green juice
Snack- some Hail Merry chocolate tarts- mint and almond butter flavors, shared with my Dad and hubby. Also some little chococherry energy bite things from Hawaii.
meal- cucumber, shredded carrot, celery, lettuce, quinoa, roasted potato and beet in a raw Chipotle-Sunflower Cream Sauce.
The sauce was awesome on this really hearty and filling yet light (if that totally contradictory description makes sense to anyone but me!) salad.
Chipotle-Sunflower Cream Sauce
3/4 cup hulled sunflower seeds, soaked 4 hours
juice of 2 lemon
pinch salt
2 date, soaked
1 dried chipotle pepper, soaked
1/4-1/2 c spring water, if needed
Add everything to blender and blend until smooth. Makes 1 to 1 1/2 cups dressing.
Sunday was similar foodwise-
smoothie- blueberries, Sunwarrior, dates, rainbow chard and ice
smoothie- more blubes, Sunwarrior, cashews, dates, vitamineral green and cacao powder
juice- carrot, apple, celery, beet, cilantro
snack- Bearded Bros. Maca chocolate energy bar shared with hubby while having almond milk au laits at Rhino Coffee
juice- more of above root juice
meal- kelp noodles with spinach, grated carrots, pickles and Chipotle-Sunflower Cream Sauce
Also yesterday the hubby and I went to a sound healing session. The woman used Tibetan singing bowls and a gong. This was the first thing remotely like this that we have done since moving to Shreveport. I fell asleep briefly during the session but have not been so relaxed in a reaaaaaaally long time. I think it also helped shift me into a more positive headspace as well. Dan enjoyed it as well and Amethyst was FINE with her grandparents while we were gone 🙂 Also, we were able to introduce ourselves to a few people and saw some other interesting looking people near to our age. So, it at least gave us some hope for creating a nice life for ourselves during our time in Shreveport even if it is only temporary.
Today was also similar-
Green smoothie made by hubby but had mixed frozen fruits, spinach and pine pollen
Green juice- cucumber, apple, celery, cilantro, lemon, grapefruit
Wild greens- Cleaver and chickweed, grapefruit, lemon juice makings:
meal- Blue corn tacos with black beans, daiya vegan cheese, spinach and beet greens, grated carrot, guacamole, chickweed-cilantro pesto, and tomatillo salsa. OMG so delicious were these!
Chickweed-Cilantro Pesto
1/2 cup chickweed
1/2 cup cilantro
1/4 cup pine nuts
pinch salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
splash of good olive oil
Throw everything into food processor and pulse into slightly chunky paste.
I am really, really craving some sort of juice feast/cleanse at the moment. I suppose it is simply because I feel heavy, tired, sluggish and hot all the time. Add that to the baby pressing up against my insides, impeding my digestion causing heartburn and nausea. Needless to say, I want a break from food! I know that while pregnant, juice fasting or deep cleansing of ANY type is not the best idea and after the birth, I am planning on breastfeeding for as long as possible. I have read that it is possible to do a juice feast, as long as adequate calories are consumed and essential fatty acids are added when the baby starts on other foods and is not solely breastfeeding anymore. Well, that means probably another 7-8 months from now! I would never, ever put my health or the health of my child at risk so I will be waiting until then to seriously contemplate doing a juice cleanse. In the meantime however, that won’t stop me from adding in as much green juicy love as possible!
Here I am with my big bottle of goodness!
This has a head of celery, two big cucumbers, one apple and two lemons. My dogs look well impressed, right?! At least I am excited 🙂
We turned this big bowl of cleavers:
Into this bottle of delicious green juice:
This juice was a super simple mix of wild foraged cleavers and nettles, apples and lemons. Oxygenating green lemonade!
Green Juice is an often overlooked but, in my opinion, vital part of ANY diet.
Most people need to eat WAY more greens than we actually do. At a MINIMUM, one large head of leafy green vegetables per day. It would be difficult, time-consuming and boring to sit and chew well a head of celery, two bunches of spinach, two cucumbers, and more. But you can juice these easily, and within a few minutes, have a glass of it to easily drink.
Also, with juice, the vital nutrients, minerals and enzymes are delivered quickly and effectively into our bloodstream. Our body does not have to work so hard to break down the cellulose before being soaked up by our intestinal walls. Think of it like a direct energy shot! This means great things for our body and attitude.
Green juice can be daunting for beginners, but don´t be afraid. I´ve got a few tips that have helped me tremendously.
1. Don´t be afraid to use enough vegetables.
When we first began experimenting with green juices, we were juicing a few stalks of celery, a few carrots, and a cucumber. This amount gives you enough juice for a small glass for two people. This is good, but not enough juice to really make a difference. You need to think in entire heads/bunches/bulbs.
2. Don´t be afraid of the cost.
I want to do a separate post on doing raw on a budget, but if the cost frightens you, then do the best you can.
- Check out the Dirty Dozen list to see which non-organic crops are the least contaminated: http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214
- Grow your own! Nothing beats freshly picked produce, and greens are some of the most nutritious and easiest crops to grow. You can grow dense bunches of greens in pots. If you have even the smallest of space outside- an entryway, walkway or window box could work for you. If not, pots indoors in a sunny place works too. Sunflower greens and wheatgrass are other options to green your juice grown at home.
- Shop around. Check out a CSA in your area, haunt local farmers markets, co-ops and health food stores. Don´t forget normal grocery stores too. Many major chains are really making an effort to get in more organic produce. When you see a good deal, take advantage of it and stock up.
- Forage!! Look at your backyard in a different light. One of my all-time favorite greens, dandelion, is commonly seen as a gardener´s enemy. Almost everyone knows what dandelions look like, they are extremely nutritious and actually tasty. In my area, nettle is another plant that I forage to juice. It is a great blood purifier as well. Clover, yellow dock, lambs quarter and sorrel are other common and easy to spot varieties.
3. Sweeten it up!
Green juice is a delicious, but no doubt acquired, taste. In the beginning, think about juicing in a few apples. This sweetens it a lot and goes a long way to add to your enjoyment of your green juice. Next, try citrus fruits-lemons or limes, to sweeten juice. They really do lighten the flavor and make it more palatable. Ginger is another possibility. You can use it alone or in combination with apples and citrus.
4. Make it medicinal.
Add ins like herbs, garlic, cayenne, foraged greens and superfoods really take your juice up a level!
Some of my favorite combinations at the moment are apple, chard, cilantro, cucumber, celery and lime; and cucumber, celery, apple, fennel, dandelion, parsley, ginger and lemon.
I also juice things that I have an abundance of in the fridge. If I don´t feel like I can eat 2 kilos of carrots in a week, then I juice them. If I have a lone turnip chilling out in the crisper, then I juice it!
The last bit of advice that I want to leave you with about green juice is that you DON´T need a juicer. This is a video of the fabulous Kate Magic showing you how to just that!
I hope you try it! I promise you will love it!
xx