My number one New Year’s resolution is to find harmony in my life between my responsibilities in life and my self care. This is something that I have been learning about for ten years and the truth is I am still learning how to find that perfect balance between the things I need to do and the things I want to do.

When I was younger I didn’t pay much attention to the needs of my body. At one point I had my day scheduled from 6am to 11pm at night with absolutely no down time. Yes, I got a lot accomplished but it wasn’t sustainable. At 22 I had completely burnt myself out and was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There were many other factors at play such as poor diet, stress, and suppressed grief but I know that a major part in getting sick was packing my schedule so tight, that there was no room to just breathe and relax.

Now days I no longer have Chronic Fatigue but I still struggle with finding balance between work, play, relationships, household responsibilities, and nurturing my well being. In today’s world I know that I am not alone in this struggle.

I have been exploring how this year can be different and I have come up with three tips I’d like to share with you.

Tips For Finding Balance in Your Life

Tip #1 Alternate Between Structured and Unstructured Activities

I find that alternating structured activities such as work and household responsibilities with non structured or more spontaneous activities such as walking on the beach, meditating, yoga . . .helps energize me through out the day and keeps me balanced.

According to Tony Schwartz from the New York Times,

“THE pioneering sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman gave the name “basic rest activity cycle” to the 90-minute period at night during which we move through the five stages of sleep. A decade later, he reported that we experience a parallel 90-minute cycle in our waking lives.

At night, we move from light to deep sleep and back out. During the day, we oscillate every 90 minutes from higher to lower alertness. In effect, our bodies are asking us for a break every 90 minutes. But we override the signals with coffee, sugar and our stress hormones.”

I find that taking a break from structured activities to non structured activities every ninety minutes helps combat fatigue. So for example, I have been playing with the idea of working for ninety minutes and then taking a 15 minute break where I dance, read for pleasure, take a walk outside, do a quick meditation, or drink a green juice in the sun. You may only have the luxury of taking a nice stretch at your desk, or smelling an invigorating essential oil for a few seconds at work, but whatever you can do to recharge quickly can still help.

Tip#2 Schedule in “Me” Time

Just as we have a work schedule and appointment schedule it is really important to schedule in self care. Self care means to me anything that increases our sense of well being and reduces stress such as yoga, massage, meditation, dance, being out in nature,listening to music . . .(etc.) For each person it is going to be different.

You may be so busy that they only have 5 minutes to yourself. In that case I say make sure to use those 5 minutes to get into the deepest state of relaxation that you can through meditation or some other relaxation technique. If you have a corporate job and the only time you have to yourself is lunch, drink a quick smoothie for lunch and hire a masseuse for a 30 minute rub down.

Why is it so important to schedule “me time” even if you feel like you have absolutely no time to yourself? Because I can tell you from experience as a previous Chronic Fatigue sufferer that burning the candle at both ends is unsustainable and you will eventually burn out! Do all you can to find a way to nurture yourself before you are forced to stop due to stress induced illness.

Tip#3 Pay Attention to Your Bodies’ Rhythms

Pay attention to your bodies’ energy fluctuations. You can do this by observing how you feel at certain times of the day. After paying attention for a few days I noticed how alert I am in the mornings and then I noticed that from 2-4 is when I feel a little tired. My energy picks back up again and then I have focused energy until about 9 at night. I used to force myself to work through my afternoon slump but I was never happy with the work produced so now I schedule easier tasks or take a break during that time.  For you, it might be different but paying attention to your peaks and lulls can help you find the most harmonious and productive schedule for you.

So what do you think of my tips? Do you have some tips for living a balanced life? Please share in the comments section.

♥,

C

This week I am visiting beautiful Sunny Southern California and I thought I’d share my favorite travel tips for eating healthy while traveling. Even if you are taking a short day trip, it always pays to be prepared!

Tip#1 Bring Your Kitchen With You!

• Travel with a small cutting board, utensils, napkins and paper plates. A package of compostable forks, knives, and spoons can be really helpful to cut into fruits and vegetables on the go. You can also travel with a sprout bag to soak nuts and seeds and small personal blender called the Tribest Personal Blender (available in 220V also) to make smoothies. (I once soaked some sunflower seeds overnight in a sprout bag and made them into a pate in a Tribest Personal Blender on a cruise!) If you are driving, traveling with a plug-in cooler is also great.

Tip#2 Bring a Few Essentials!

• Pack some unopened non perishable food items into your bag. (These days, it is best to pack them into your checked bag and make sure to declare them because each county is different in what they will or will not allow into their country.)

Here is a list of food items I like to pack:

• Raw Tahini and Almond Butter (unopened jars) because you can dip vegetables into them and use them as dressings just by adding some orange juice.

• Dulse Flakes and Nori Sheets (unopened packages) are beneficial as Dulse can be used as a salt substitute. For example, you can make a lettuce wrap with avocado, torn Dulse, and chopped tomatoes. Nori sheets can also be used as a wrapper, just cut up some vegetables such as cucumber and carrot, spread on some tahini, and you have an easy wrap.

• All Prepared Raw Food Snacks such as raw food energy bars, cookies, and crackers for that little extra boost of energy on the go.

• Green Powder because you can mix it with juice or water and if you are traveling in the United States there are juice bars/smoothie bars everywhere where you can ask them to make you an all fruit smoothie. You can then add your green powder to make an instant green smoothie!

• Liquid Stevia because you can use it to sweeten some mineral water (as a substitute for soda) or use it to sweeten some tea.

• Italian Herbs and Sea Salt because when dining out all you have to do is ask for a lemon wedge and you have an instant salad dressing!

Tip#3 Research, Research, Research!

• Before going anywhere, research whether they have a natural foods grocery store or a farmer’s market and then make sure this is your first stop off the plane to stock up on healthy food. You can also research to see if the area has any juice bars and vegetarian or vegetarian friendly restaurants where you can dine out.

• Sometimes the local food culture will have a vegetarian specialty for example, in Spain you can order gazpacho (a raw tomato soup), in Fiji you have the young coconut meat and water widely available, in Italy fresh squeezed orange juice is widely available . . .(etc.) (If you are traveling to a third world country, it is also a good idea to research what foods are safe to eat!)

Tip#4 Stock Up!

• When you locate that health food store or farmer’s market stock up on healthy food that you can store in your hotel room. Hopefully, your hotel room will have a refrigerator, but if not, it might be worth it to travel with a small cooler because most hotel rooms have an ice machine.

• Some of my favorite healthy foods to stock up on when traveling are: fruits that will last a few days such as melons, oranges, bananas, apples, and avocados; dried snacks such as dried fruits and nuts; and plenty of liquids to stay hydrated in dry hotel rooms such as water and coconut water.

• Also, at most U.S. grocery stores you can always find raw guacamole and salsa. All you have to do is add a scoop of salsa and guacamole into a romaine lettuce leaf or you can enjoy it with some baby carrots or other cut up vegetables such as celery or zucchini.

Tip#5 Learn Some Lingo!

• If you are going to a country where they don’t speak English, and you are going to eat out, make sure to learn a few phrases so you know what to ask for. And this goes for any restaurant, they will usually make something special for you, especially if you tell them you have dietary restrictions and food allergies. For example, when I’m out to a Mexican restaurant with friends or my husband I ask the waitress to bring me a plate of lettuce, chopped raw vegetables, salsa, and guacamole. I mix it all together to make a delicious salad. Sometimes you just have to get creative!

I hope you enjoyed these tips! Although I am definitely more flexible while traveling than I am at home, I still manage to eat pretty healthy so that I can feel great and enjoy my travels!

Make sure to add any of your tips to eating healthy while traveling below in the comments section.

Bon Voyage!

♥,
C

P.S. These are some bonus tips not related to healthy eating but they have really helped me a lot this trip: You might consider investing in a portable humidifier (it will make those dry hotel rooms bearable), a portable white noise maker or ear plugs and an eye mask so you can sleep under any circumstances. Really helped out last night when our hotel room was situated right next to a busy stairwell and crowded pool with kids playing! We slept like babies.

It’s a simple and fresh raw dessert recipe that can be modified to use any type of fruit you like!

Peach Cobbler

2 ½  cups peaches, sliced (or other fruit)

5-6 medjool dates, pitted

1 cup raw coconut flakes

½ cup almonds

1 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp raw honey

3 Tbsp coconut oil

Slice and pit peaches and set aside.  Place dates, coconut, almonds and a pinch Himalayan salt into a food processor and mix until combined and sticky.  Set aside.  Blend only ½ cup of peaches with vanilla, honey, and coconut oil in the blender until smooth.  Layer all components in a glass dish or in individual serving cups.

Please let me know if you try this recipe and what fruit you use. I’ve also tried it with mixed berried (strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries) and it worked great!

For more of Julia’s recipes you can go here: www.divianaalchemy.com

♥,
C

P.S.  There are still a few more days to get the ground breaking e-book, What do Raw Fooders Eat? Click here for more info!

One of the things that has intrigued me about human psychology, is how often times we might know what the right thing to do is, but sometimes we do the opposite. For example, how many of us know that refined sugar is bad for us, fried foods, alcohol, or smoking cigarettes; but we still continue to consume them day after day?

Well you might say, people are addicted to substances such as junk food or nicotine and they can’t help it. I would agree with you, especially in cases of severe addiction, but what about the things we don’t do that are good for us such as exercise, meditation, rest . . .(etc.) It can’t be that we are addicted to not exercising or not meditating, right?

You might say, most people don’t have enough information on the benefits of exercising or eating healthy to make an informed decision.  And this might actually be true in some situations, but I have seen too many people go to the raw food expos and the potlucks year after year and I know they have, if anything, an overload of information on the benefits of eating healthfully. Yet, I see them year after year struggle with making healthy choices and positive changes in their lives. Why is this?

And I’m not immune oh no (I wish), I know I should get to bed earlier and exercise more, and not overeat . . .I know the benefits, so why is so hard for me to do the things I know are good for me?

For me personally, I know it is because I don’t make these things a priority. If I made them a priority I would put more energy into making them happen. For example, I recently made it a point to watch a sunset everyday, so I made the extra effort to set an alarm on my phone to remind me. It has worked beautifully and I haven’t missed a sunset since I set the alarm.

This leads me to an observation about human nature. We are easily programmable. This can be a good thing if we are programming ourselves. Like I mentioned earlier, setting an alarm to remind me to watch the sunset everyday has worked like a charm. Setting a routine of preparing healthy food everyday has become a habit I don’t even think about anymore, it has become so ingrained into my life and personality it doesn’t even occur to me to eat junk food . . . but it wasn’t always like that.

Over ten years ago I ate whatever I wanted, which was a combination of Spanish and American Cuisine, and my Mom’s idea of what a healthy diet should look like (think grape nuts cereal, 1% skim milk, chicken with no skin, and a lot of broccoli beef stir frys). I just ate what I was accustomed to eating growing up in my family. I never questioned it, and why would I? Everyone else around me was eating what I was eating and doing fine. Except for, I wasn’t doing fine. I was overweight and had Asthma, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Depression . . .

Like I said earlier, humans are easily programmable and this is good if we are programming ourselves, but not always beneficial if we allow society, our families, and our peers to influence all our choices. Many of us are making decisions about our diet and health on auto-pilot without questioning if there is a better way.

It’s like we are trains on a one way track. Do you know how much effort it takes to turn a train around? Quite a bit. Well it’s the same with humans. It takes a lot of effort to change diet and lifestyle habits and most of us will cruise on that one way track until a major event forces us to change direction. We need an impetus big enough to cause us to shut off the auto-pilot and wake up!

For some people, the impetus might be an illness or when someone close to them gets ill. For others, it might be a traumatic event that causes them to realize life is short. It might be that they don’t want to be a burden on their kids or they want to be around for their grand kids. We all have our reasons that inspire us take better care of ourselves!

I’ve observed that most of the time it isn’t just information that shakes up our world. I’ve never had someone write me and tell me that an article or a recipe that I’ve written inspired them to change their diet. It is always 100% of the time “my story” that touched them.

It’s usually something deeply personal that inspires us. Reading a story or meeting someone who has overcame the same obstacles we are going through can sometimes give us enough hope and enough push for us to prioritize getting healthy and reprogram ourselves.

I hope that you are able to take the time to think about the reasons that inspire you to take better care of yourself and if you need some extra inspiration from the stories of actual people that have changed their eating habits for the better I recommend the e-book “What do Raw Fooders Eat?” available again for this week only.

As I mentioned above, putting a face on the “nutritional facts” can be very powerful. And that is what I feel Nomi Shannon has done with her groundbreaking e-book “What Do Raw Fooders Eat?”. Not only do you get the daily recipes from 48 raw foodists, but most importantly, you get their stories. What inspired them to change? And what are the benefits they received from making the extra effort to eat healthfully?  This e-book might just be the little boost you need to turn your “train” around:)

Click here to learn more: http://rawgourmet.com/cmd.php?af=1286243 *affiliate link

“What do Raw Fooders Eat?” e-book is available again for this week only Aug 16-23^rd (with the 400 dollars worth of bonuses!) due to the many e-mails that were received that expressed disappointment for missing out on the offer. If you were disappointed, I do hope you can take advantage of this offer the 2^nd time around!

Click here to learn more: http://rawgourmet.com/cmd.php?af=1286243 *affiliate link

♥,
C

P.S. What is your reason to take better care of yourself? Please comment in the comments section below.

Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Vegan Raw Diets

Brenda Davis RD and Vesanto Melina MS RD

Nutrition geeks rejoice! This book is chock full of nutritional information about the raw food diet. If you’ve ever asked (or been asked) how to get enough protein?, where to get B12, iron, and calcium?, what raw foods are unsafe to eat?, and can you really get all the nutrients you need from the raw food diet? This book answers all those questions and more! It also includes 50 raw food recipes that contain all the nutritional information about the recipe including calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate content and a complete vitamin and mineral nutritional analysis.

My favorite recipes from the book are: Sprouted Quinoa Tabouli, Thai Spring Rolls with Spicy Pecan Sauce, and Mango Pie with Coconut Crust. After reading this book, you will have a greater understanding of the nutritional needs on a raw food diet and you will be better equipped to answer any questions from family and friends. Yay!

Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People

By Jennifer Cornbleet

The Zen of raw food preparation! This is one of my favorite raw food recipe books because of ease of preparation and the availability of the ingredients in all the recipes. Even though the recipes in this book are simple, they do not sacrifice on taste one bit!

My favorite recipes are the Cream of Zucchini Soup, Ranch Dressing, Mediterranean Kale, and Key Lime Mousse. If you are new to raw foods and want to get started right away this book is for you. No fancy equipment required!

Here is a video of the Mediterranean Kale Recipe by the author of Raw Food Made Easy, Jennifer Cornbleet

Click here if you can’t see the video above

*A side note, in both books some of the recipes call for Tamari or Nama Shoyu and I prefer to substitute those two ingredients with  Organic Chickpea Miso or Sea Salt. Also, I usually substitute some of the sweetener called for in a recipe such as honey or maple syrup with stevia to cut out some of the sugar. But you see, that is the cool thing about recipes, they can give you a foundation and then you can make them your own!

What do you think? Did I get it right? What’s your favorite raw food recipe book?

♥,
C

*Disclaimer – This article is very general and is not meant to be a substitute for advice from your healthcare professional for your particular situation. Please consult a healthcare professional before changing your exercise or diet routine.

1. The “Only If” Attitude – Usually it’s about money and sounds something like this: If only I had enough money to go that wonderful out of state healing retreat, buy organic produce, see practitioner/healer X . . . Or sometimes it’s about circumstances: If only my family/partner ate more healthfully, if only I lived in a warmer climate, if only I didn’t have to work . . .

Now these reasons may be very valid reasons but they can also trick us into thinking that we need to postpone our healing or our health until everything is “just right” and this simply is just not true. A little mantra I like to say to myself is:

Healing Starts Now, Healing Starts From Within (deep breath)

No matter what our circumstances, we can start the healing process by taking a few minutes to go inward to connect with the healing power within through meditation and visualization.

We can also choose to do our best with our circumstances and the things we do have control of, such as getting enough sleep, getting out in the fresh air, exercise, focusing on positive feelings and thoughts of love gratitude and joy while releasing negative emotions and thoughts, nurturing and pampering ourselves . . .and many of these things are for free!

And even on a low budget there are ways to create an affordable healing routine. For example, you might not have money for a gym membership, Tai Chi, or Qigong class, but what about a video you could watch everyday? You may not be able to afford seeing practitioner X, but what about asking for a payment plan, a trade, or if they could refer you to someone more affordable. Maybe you cannot afford to be on a 100% raw food diet, but what about a 50% raw diet, or another therapeutic diet that is more affordable such as the Macrobiotic diet. . .(etc.)

2. The “I Am Only My Physical Body” Attitude – We are multifaceted beings that each have 4 major bodies: the physical body, spiritual body, emotional body, and mental body. Most people focus only on the physical aspect of healing and ignore the rest. An example of this, would be eating a healthy diet and taking all the right supplements, but not doing anything to reduce the amount of stress in their lives!

Here are some examples of different things you can do to address healing on multiple levels:

Taking care of the physical body includes: improving your diet, starting an exercise program, getting a massage, having a nice living area, going to bed earlier . . .

Taking care of your spiritual body includes: meditation, prayer, qigong, tai chi, energy healing, some types of yoga . . .

Taking care of your emotional body includes: positive friendships and intimate relationships, pampering yourself and doing things that bring you joy, expressing and voicing feelings as they come up, releasing negative emotions through different exercises or therapies, focusing on and cultivating positive emotions through affirmations and gratitude lists . . .

Taking care of your mental body includes: learning something new, reading a new book, being involved in a project that you find exciting and fulfilling, using affirmations and gratitude lists to keep your mind focused on the positive . . .

3. The “I’ve Tried it All” Attitude – The “I’ve tried it all” (and nothing worked) attitude is the most self sabotaging attitude because it denotes an attitude of hopeless and resignation. What I’ve found is that most people’s definition of trying it all, includes trying a lot of different things for a short period of time.

Healing can take time. Changing your diet for a few weeks does not count. Going to see an acupuncturist for a month does not count. I’m not saying every healing modality you choose to pursue is going to work for you, but it’s important to really give it some time before you make your decision. Of course, this time period needs to be figured out between you and a health professional, but I would guess that most alternative therapies take at least 3 months, 6 months, or even a year to really see a difference.

Most people are still looking for the “magic pill” that will instantly heal them overnight and, yes, some medicines can do this in emergency situations, but when healing a chronic condition it usually takes a comprehensive holistic approach that requires commitment, dedication, effort, and time!

So my advice, don’t give up! And if all else fails remember:

Healing Starts Now, Healing Starts From Within (deep breath)

Comments are welcome below

♥,
C

P.S. Just a heads up that the What do Raw Fooder’s Eat, E-book special with the 400 dollars worth in bonuses is no longer going to be available after July 26th. Check out what people are saying about it here:

http://rawglow.com/blog/2011/07/15/what-do-raw-fooders-eat/

I was very lucky to be part of this ground breaking new e-book where I, along with 48 other high raw fooders, had to keep a meticulous food journal for an entire week! It was super fun writing down everything that I ate during the week and it was an amazing opportunity to share this information with others, as I often get asked what I eat!

Here is little video I made explaining the e-book, What do Raw Fooders Eat?

If you can’t see the video above you can watch it here:

http://youtu.be/RhDpL73A1rY

Here is my affiliate link if you would like more info about this exciting project! (is no longer going to be available after Aug. 23rd, 2011!)

http://rawgourmet.com/cmd.php?af=1286243

Here is what people are saying about the e-book What do Raw Fooders Eat?

I have to tell you that I bought your book immediately upon it’s release. Sweetie, you’ve outdone yourself and that’s saying a lot as The Raw Gourmet is still my favorite raw food uncook book.

Way to go! I wish you all the best luck with this amazing work of art you’ve put together. – Mary M

I want to thank you profusely for sending me this e-mail for it seems like a live fooder’s dream come true; ie real experiential stories of those who have succeeded in the live food lifestyle. I ordered it immediately on seeing the e-mail, and so I’m one of the first 300 getting the bonuses. I feel I now have everything I could possibly need to really live an optimal live food lifestyle. As you see, I’m already sharing this e-mail, and this info., with my friends and students. - Barry from Boston

I just ordered and downloaded your new book plus the bonuses…thank you for this generous offer. There are some books that I have wanted for quite some time I’m very much looking forward to kicking back and indulging.

Although I just briefly ran through a few of the highlights of what raw fooders eat. I have my favorites already. I was very impressed with David Kaplan. His story brought tears of joy to my eyes. I also enjoyed, and have always been impressed with Jinjee, The Garden Diet as well as Will Tuttle. Very interesting people and sincere to say the least - Wanda

I am writing to say THANK YOU for the special offer to purchase your e-book today and for the bonus books that came along with it! I was informed of the offer through the Living Light International newsletter and I am over joyed at all of the information you have provided for me today. I am amazed because it came at the perfect moment – I am morbidly obese and am on a journey to health through changing my lifestyle and incorporating more whole foods – and eliminating all meat, dairy and animal products from my diet. I am humbled and feel that this opportunity is more confirmation that I am on the right path to health and wellness. – Heather W

The e-book What do Raw Fooders Eat? is no longer going to be available after Aug. 23rd, 2011. Make sure to take advantage of this unique offer. Click my affiliate link below to learn more about What do Raw Fooders Eat?:

http://rawgourmet.com/cmd.php?af=1286243

Some of you may have already written your new year’s resolutions or perhaps you have been thinking about them. I would like to give you a different perspective on new year’s resolutions and perhaps encourage you to reevaluate the resolutions that you have made. Are they really what you want this year?

I’m asking you to sit with yourself in a quiet place and get in touch with your inner heart. I’m not talking about the heart organ, but a deep place in your being where some say connects you to the infinite and beyond. It is a sacred place to be entered in with great respect and gentleness.

From that place: if you were to ask your heart, right now, what it wants for 2011 what would it say?

What seed is in your heart that longs to bloom?

In our business we sometimes forget to really listen to what our body and soul is telling us. Most of the time, we create our resolutions from a place of ego. Our goals are reflections of what we think we should be like or look like or what we should have achieved. Should Should Should. . . We measure ourselves by outside standards; we compare ourselves to others and secretly compete with them in our minds. How authentic are our goals and how much happiness and fulfillment can they really bring?

For example, many people would like to lose weight this year. Their goal might be to lose x number of pounds by the end of the year. But if they were to ask their heart what it wants, it might say it wants unconditional love and self acceptance. Now loosing weight might very well be a side affect of cultivating feelings of self worth, but loosing x number of pounds is no guarantee that you will feel better about yourself and more self confident. The true goal of any goal is almost always joy and peace, and your heart will lead the way if you listen.

Another resolution might be to make more money this year, but if you asked your heart what it wanted, it might say that it wants an acknowledgment and unshakable faith in the abundance of the universe. The truth is, you could have millions but still live in fear and uncertainty that it could all be taken away at any moment. Which attitude do you think would attract more abundance: rock solid faith in the ability of the universe to provide for all living things, or fear, scarcity, and attachment?

Another goal on your list might be to “go raw”, but if you asked your heart what it wanted it might say that it wants you to slow down and listen to your body and make conscious food choices guided by the deep respect and reverence you have for yourself. This attitude might lead to some raw foods eventually, but can see how much more pleasant the journey could be?

Are you starting to see the difference?

An external ego based goal imposes a structure that you must conform to, an authentic heart based goal allows for growth and expansion based on fundamental universal truths.

Heart based goals feed and nourish your soul. Ego based goals feed your outer image, yet do not promise fulfillment. Heart based goals promise you satisfaction beyond your wildest dreams. After all, your heart will be where your treasure is and vice versa.

What might your heart want to tell you today? Do you have the courage to listen?

May you have the courage to follow the deep calling of your heart!

Happy 2011

♥,
C

*Above is a picture of some mineral vegetable broth I made with the left over juice pulp of celery, carrot, and beet juice. It was a beautiful red orange color that I then sprinkled with dulse flakes.

Last November I wrote a post about how to stay warm on the raw food diet and in the post I explained how I make mineral vegetable broth full of essential nutrients and electrolytes. The original post elicited a positive response and a few questions from readers, so now that the weather is cooling down a bit I decided to make a short video about how I make the (now famous!) mineral vegetable broth.

Click here if you can’t see the vegetable broth video above.

I’ve experimented with making mineral broths many different ways and I’ve found that they turn out the best when I make sure the broth has sweet, spicy, and salty elements.

Choose 3 or more from each category:

Sweet Elements

*Carrots
Beets
Sweet potatoes
Tomatoes
Bell peppers
Apples (without core)
Potatoes
Winter  or Summer squash

Spicy Elements

*Onions
Leeks
Ginger
Garlic
Scallions
Spicy Peppers (use sparingly)
Bay leaves
Thyme
Oregano
Rosemary

Salty Elements

*Kombu Seaweed
*Celery
Shitake Mushrooms
Miso Paste (optional)
Chard
Parsley
Cilantro
Kale
Collards
(any greens will do with the exception of dandelion greens which can make the broth too bitter)

You can also add any culinary or medicinal herb as well!

*Essential

Directions:

Rough chop the vegetables and put them in a large pot of water. Add a few sprigs of herbs, a few bay leaves, and at least 2-5 good sized pieces of seaweed. Kombu and Wakame work best, but any seaweed will do. Let the pot come to a boil and then simmer on low for at least 3 hours. You can then strain the broth and add a sprinkle of salt if desired. For a really clear broth you can use a sprout bag to strain it after it has cooled. Sip the warm broth like tea or use it as a base to make cooked vegetable soups and grain dishes. You can also freeze the broth to defrost for later.

Hope you enjoyed this recipe and stay warm!

♥,
C

I commonly get asked how to make green smoothie recipes that don’t taste, well, green. I can sometimes sense the fear in their voices, as if they are afraid to make a mistake and create a green mushy concoction that tastes like tar!

Okay so maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but there is definitely a little trepidation when it comes to taking the green smoothie plunge! I take a no holds barred anything goes approach to making green smoothie recipes, but there are a few basic guidelines I abide by to make sure that my husband will drink his every morning (i.e. it has to taste good!). To learn my green smoothie basics, so that you can take a tasty walk on the wild (greens) side, watch the video below and let me know what you think:

Click here if you can’t see the green smoothie recipes video above.

If you want to delve a little deeper into the art of green smoothie making consider checking out Cecilia’s Green Smoothie Challenge Recipe Ebook.

Have a Great Day!

♥,
C