Ginger Carrots

Fermented foods, they're great for your health. I spend like, LOTS of money on them and I'm totally tired of it. I started making my own. Here is the simple recipe:

Ingredients:

4 cups grated carrots, tightly packed

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

2 tablespoons sea salt

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix all ingredients and pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer to release juices.

2. Place in a quart-sized, wide mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder or meat hammer until juices cover the carrots.

3. The top of the carrots should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar.

4. Cover with cloth secured with rubber band and leave at room temperature for about 3-4 days before transferring to cold storage.

DIY Almond Milk

There's a lot of bull honkey in our food. Even in the so-called "healthy foods" at the health food store. It's not cool.  Almond milk is one of those sneaky places where companies add harmful chemicals and preservatives...and that basically takes the "health" right out of it.

No worries though, making your own almond milk is actually super simple. No one ever believes me when I say that, but I promise!  Here is my super simple, really quick recipe. Brace yourself...

DIY Almond Milk

1 cup raw, organic almonds (soaked overnight)

5 cups filtered water

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

Blend altogether and strain through cheesecloth or a nut milk bag into a large mason jar. Almond milk will keep in the fridge for 5-6 days. 

There you have it.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup organic frozen strawberries

1 cup almond or coconut milk

½ frozen banana

handful of cashews

splash of vanilla extract

3-4 ice cubes

1 square of dark chocolate

Directions:

Blend all ingredients well (except dark chocolate) in a NutriBullet, food processor or high quality blender.  Add a splash of water if you’re looking more for a shake-texture (or eliminate the ice above).  Carefully using a knife, finely chop the square of dark chocolate and sprinkle on top (optional).  This makes one large serving of homemade “soft serve” style of ice cream, or you can split it with someone to both enjoy!

Benefits of Strawberries:

Strawberries are a unique combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients. It’s why they’re great for cardiovascular support and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, improved regulation of blood sugar, with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes, and prevention of certain cancer types including breast, cervical, colon, and esophageal cancer. They’re a gorgeous seasonal superfood rich with vitamin C!   *Always buy organic strawberries.

Asparagus with Maple Tahini Dressing

Asparagus is a springtime vegetable that is versatile and delicious.  It balances insulin levels, which is one of the most important things we can do for our health. Its unique mineral profile makes it an effective natural diuretic, promoting the formation of urine in the kidneys, aiding in detoxification and cleansing. This is a quick side dish for all to enjoy this spring!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of perky thin asparagus, enough for four servings

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons sesame tahini

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Hot water, as needed

Coarse sea salt 

Directions:

Trim the bottom ends of the asparagus stalks, rinse, and lay them in a skillet. Add just enough water to keep them from scorching and cook them briefly, rotating them until they are bright green. Taste test for doneness to your liking. Rinse them quickly in cool water.

Whisk the dressing ingredients in a glass-measuring cup; add a little bit of hot water to thin. Whisk till smooth. Taste test and adjust the balance of sweet and nutty and tart.

Serve the drained asparagus on a plate with a drizzle of maple tahini dressing and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt.

Homemade Moisturizer Recipe

Just for fun the other morning upon awakening, I decided to count how many products I used during my morning routine. I was convinced it would be about 8-10 because within the past 5-years or so I’ve significantly decreased the amount of products and cosmetics I use. 

I was totally wrong. 

By the time I walked out of the bathroom and was ready for my day I had used over 16 products from my toothpaste, hair products and makeup. Even though the products I purchase these days are higher quality...they’re still not 100% healthy! I am committing to making more of an effort with my everyday products with the same enthusiasm that I do with my food. Best part, it’s WAY cheaper!!

Funfact: within the past 3 months or so of doing this I’ve lost count at how many compliments I’ve gotten regarding my glowing skin!  

I stumbled across this recipe online, ordered some beeswax pellets and made some. I’m in love. My fiancé is in love (and I didn’t even ask him to try, he willingly tried on his own!). I still can’t get over how quickly it took to throw it together. You only need a small amount each application and it absorbs fairly quickly into the skin. The smell will fade after a few minutes. It lasts a long time in the bathroom, so it doesn’t need to be refrigerated! Amazing for dry hands and feet, or even chapped lips. Got a baby with a rash? It helps their bum, too. Did I mention how affordable this moisturizer is? Please let me know if you give it a try!

Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil (or almond oil)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup beeswax pellets (I bought mine on Amazon) 
10 drops of essential oil (optional, my favorite is lemongrass)
  
Directions
1. Combine the olive oil, coconut oil and beeswax into a heat proof jug or large jar.
2. Put the jug/jar in a saucepan and fill the pan with water until it comes 3/4 of the way up the jug/jar.
3. Put it on a low heat on the stove.  Heat and stir it until it has melted (about 5-10 minutes).
4. Now empty out the hot water from the pan and replace it with cold water to the same level.  Put the jug/jar back into the pan. This helps to cool the moisturizer down quickly, as you’ll notice.
5. Add your essential oil to the jug/jar now if you are using.
6. Now to finish this quickly, use an electric whisk to quickly whip the ingredients into a moisturizer.  OR if you don’t have a whisk you can use a fork and give it a good stir.  You may have to stir this every 5 minutes until the texture is thick and creamy if not using an electric whisk.
7. Spoon into a glass jar of your choice, something that will be accessible for you to stick your fingers in to grab some moisturizer during your bathroom routine. I bought a bunch of these jars - they work great, you can split up your moisturizer so that you have a few jars on hand, and they are super cute!

Recipe from GreenThickies.com

Sweet Eggs

  Wanted a sweet breakfast after yoga this morning so I scrambled eggs in cinnamon & all spice with half an apple sliced with almond butter, walnuts & raisins. Hot H2o with turmeric, coconut oil & cayenne to assist my digestion & curb my sweet cravings for later today. 

What do you have for breakfast when you're craving something sweet??

Orange-Infused Homemade Chocolate

As many of you know from my last newsletter, I've been on a serious kick of making my own chocolate. Every batch is a new chance to try a new flavor. It's been totally delicious, even when the recipes didn't come out as great as I had hoped! A friend got me a yummy orange emulsion and just had to share my latest chocolate recipe with it with you.

Orange-Infused Homemade Chocolate

Ingredients:

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

1/2 cup cocoa powder (or cacao)

2 tablespoons smooth almond, cashew or coconut butter (I actually use sunflower seed butter and it's great for this recipe)

2 - 3 tablespoons grade B maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon orange emulsion

2 - 3 dashes of cinnamon

crushed pecans

2 dates, pitted and sliced very thin

orange zest (and/or grated ginger)

chunky sea salt

Directions: 

Mix the top ingredients well by hand and pour into the bottom of a baking sheet or bread tin. Sprinkle with crushed pecans, sliced dates, orange zest (and/or ginger) and just a bit of chunky sea salt. Place in freezer until hard. Take a knife and carefully jab into chocolate and let it break into random chunks. ENJOY!

Simple & Hearty Egg Muffins

Lammer runs out the door each morning & only grabs his yogurt for his commute up to work, then grabs something (certainly nothing that I'd ever approve of) when he gets his coffee at a gas station on the way. I explained to him how much money he's wasting each week, & on poor quality food! Breakfast should be your BEST meal so that it fuels you for the rest of your day. I made him some loaded egg muffins to grab along with his yogurt in the morning. They're portable & delicious cold!

Here is what I did, but the point is to use what you have in the house:

Preheat oven to 350. 

Saute onions and garlic in coconut oil ghee, then add shiitake mushrooms, organic Bilinski sausage and spinach. 

In another bowl, whisk about 4-5 eggs together with water, nutritional yeast, sea salt, pepper and other spices. 

Wipe the inside of an over-sized muffin tin with some of the coconut oil ghee then poured the egg mixture into each. 

Throw the veggie/sausage mix into each. 

Bake in the oven until cooked through (not wet looking). 

Let them cool after you take them out (you should be able to easily twist them right out because of the coconut oil ghee!), and wrap separately for convenience! 

I'm having mine today at the office so i'm going to top it with guacamole. YUM!