Just checking in with everyone.  It’s the end of January, how are your new year’s resolutions going?

My resolution this year was to be more productive in all areas of my life and I can say that I feel like I achieved it this month. Yay!

On the downside, I feel like I got into a pattern of overeating over the holidays and I haven’t quite broken the cycle yet. One of the things I feel that got me a little bit off track was not drinking my green smoothie every morning which would fill me up and I’d find that I’d eat less during the day. So I’m back on my trusty green smoothies and in the spirit of celebrating green smoothies here is a recipe you can try that was inspired by a raw restaurant in Chicago called Cousens that has a great selection of juices and smoothies.

If you can’t see the video below click here

Carob Mango Green Smoothie

2 mangos
4 chard leaves (no stems)
water from 1 young coconut
1 tablespoon carob powder
1 teaspoon chlorella

Blend and Enjoy!

For more green smoothie recipes please see my Green Smoothie Challange E-booklet

Please do share your favorite green smoothie recipe and how your new year’s resolutions are going. I would love to hear from you!

♥,
C

A few weeks ago at my potluck group I talked about my list of top foods that I believe to be super nutrient rich. Stinging Nettles, urtica dioica, were on that list.

The reason I think they are so great is because they are rich in vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium. According to some sources they are one of the best plant sources of iron. They are 40 % protein which is considered high for a vegetable. Traditionally in folk medicine they were used to build the blood and treat anemia among other conditions. Recently they have been proven helpful to treat hay fever and osteoarthritis. (For more medicinal uses scroll down to the bottom of this post.)

Where to Get Stinging Nettles

To add stinging nettles to your diet, first you need to find them. I am lucky enough to live in Northern California where I can get them at the Marin Farmer’s Market for 6 dollars a pound. If you have a local wild edibles guided tour (please don’t eat any wild edible unless you are sure) you might be lucky to find them in shady spots, in flood plains, woodlands, along streams and river banks in Europe, Asia, North America, and Northern Africa. Or you can simply try to grow them in your own backyard. If you can’t get ahold of fresh nettles you can find dried nettles in the bulk herb section of your natural grocery store, which make a lovely tea.

Ouch!

They are called stinging nettles for a reason, they have stinging hairs which can really irritate your skin. For this reason I do not advise handling them with your bare hands. I personally use tongs, but you could use gloves as well. Some people recommend rolling them like a taco and then eating the leaves. Here is a video of David Wolfe, raw food author and speaker, showing you how to do just that.

Click here if you can’t see the video.

I personally prefer to enjoy them using the methods I describe below:

 The great thing about stinging nettles is that when you cook them, juice them, or blend them they loose their sting!

 My favorite thing is to make a nettle shake. (recipe below)

 Nettle Shake
(Thanks to Novalee for this idea)

2 cups fresh orange juice
1 cup nettles

 Blend for a minute in a high speed blender and enjoy. For a heartier drink you can add 1 banana and half an apple.

 Nettle Green Juice

You can also add nettles into your green juice. Just substitute whatever green you were going to use with nettles and run them through your juicer. I like to juice them with celery and apple.

Make Nettle Tea

Boil a pot of water and add a cup of nettles and let sit for at least 10 minutes. It makes the most beautiful emerald green tea you can imagine. Sweeten and enjoy.

Cooking Nettles

Nettles can be steamed or boiled and are probably one of the most delicious greens out there. They have a mild nutty flavor and can be substituted in any cooked recipe that calls for spinach or kale. They are so good that they can be enjoyed just steamed plain or perhaps with a touch of sea salt. I have also seen recipes where they are boiled with potatoes, leeks, and other ingredients to make a creamy blended soup.

Medicinal Uses

Nettles have been used medicinally in folk medicine for such things as: allergies, water retention, anemia, poor circulation, asthma, wound healing, as a diuretic, to build the blood, and for arthritis and rheumatism. Recently, nettles have been proven effective for treating hay fever and osteoarthritis.

*Now if you are going to use nettles medicinally I would definitely work with a professional for the correct dosage and there are some contraindications and drug interactions you might need to be aware of especially if you are pregnant, have kidney issues, diabetes, or are on blood pressure medication or other medications.

Hope you can enjoy this powerful superfood as a regular addition to your diet!

♥,
C

Sources:

Wikipedia/Stinging Nettles
Rain Tree/Nettles
Web MD/Stinging Nettles

Nettles

Ever wonder what to do you with your carrot pulp after juicing? In this video, I make an easy dehydrated raw food cookie with my food processor and a dehydrator. Don’t have a dehydrator? No problem, the batter for these cookies tastes so good you could substitute the chia seeds with a tablespoon of ground flax or pysllium and eat the cookie batter as a raw carrot cake.

If you can’t see the video below click here

No Nut Carrot Pulp Cookies

2 cups carrot pulp (a carrot apple combo is fine too)
1 cup chopped soft dates
meat from 1 young coconut
2 tablespoons Artisana brand Coconut Butter
2 tablespoons chia seeds covered in 1/4 cup water to make a chia seed gel
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
raisins for garnish (optional)

Blend all ingredients except for the chia seed gel in the food processor with s blade until well processed. Mix in the chia seed gel. Form into small cookies (top with a raisin) and dehydrate for about 20 hrs at 115 degrees. Makes about 16 small cookies.

Click here if you don’t know how to open a young coconut

Enjoy!

♥,
C

Santa was good to me this year and brought my husband and I a new juicer. I think we opened it on the 20^th, as soon as we saw it under the tree, we couldn’t wait!  We already had a centrifugal ejection model, the one that spins around and ejects pulp into a container (that we will probably end up gifting to someone who needs a juicer). It served us well for awhile, but I was always disappointed by the fact that it couldn’t juice leafy greens well and my husband didn’t like the noise or that the pulp could get messy if we juiced a lot. (It would end up on our counter if we weren’t careful!)

I had been aware that Omega (a trusted juice manufacturer) had come out with a juicer that could juice leafy greens such as wheatgrass, hard vegetables like carrots, and soft fruits as well. This was a momentous accomplishment in the juicer world. Up until the upright juicer style was introduced it seemed that most juicers fell short in one area or another. They would be great at leafy greens but perhaps it was a chore to push through carrots or apples, or carrots and apples were a breeze, but it couldn’t juice wheatgrass. I admit I was a little skeptical, but because of all the buzz in my local raw food community and because of the great things that people were saying about the Omega Vert 330, I decided to try it.

When my husband and I first used the Omega Vert 330 we juiced carrots, celery, apples, and Swiss chard. We were amazed at how easily everything was feed into the juicer, the auger just pulled the carrots through, no plunger was necessary. My husband loved how quiet it was and he really liked how the pulp was neatly ejected into the 30 ounce juice cup. He likes that he can easily separate the different pulps. This is important to us, as the carrot pulp goes into the dog’s food, but not the celery pulp for example.

What we have noticed is that we are juicing almost everyday! It just seems more fun with the Vert. Clean up isn’t bad, the screen is a little bigger than most single auger juicers, so there is some scrubbing involved, but if you run water through the Vert at the end it will minimize how much pulp is left in the screen. They also supply a special scrub brush which helps a lot.

My husband likes that the juice is a bit pulpy, I prefer to strain my juice which is easy to do. The Vert does not come with a strainer so you would need to purchase your own. We have a lot around the house for my hubbies tea addiction!

I am always looking for new products that I have fallen in love with to carry on Raw Glow and I believe that the Omega Vert Juicer makes the cut. I now proudly offer it on Raw Glow, Please click here for more info on the Vert.

Here is a video demonstration of the Vert in Action:

If you can’t see the video click here

Here’s a Juice Recipe to Start out the New Year!

If you can’t see the video click here

Happy New Year!!!!!

 ♥,
C

P.S. My 2nd favorite Christmas present was the hat I’m wearing in the video lol:)

Tools for Healing and Self Actualization
AKA: What I’ve been Reading, Watching, and Listening to Lately.

I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the things I’ve been doing. I’ve just recently adopted a Chihuahua Mix puppy from a local dog rescue and that’s occupied a lot of my time. (Hence the break from blogging for a few weeks!)

Can you say awwwwww!

I’ve also been in an inward mode of self healing and self exploration and I wanted to share to with you a few of the tools I’ve been using.

What I’ve Been Watching:

I was lucky enough to come across the film, The Living Matrix : A Film On The New Science Of Healing

If you are interested in healing, energy medicine, the mind body connection, or if you are ill and would like some inspiration I highly recommend you watch the movie, The Living Matrix. It can be purchased online or you can see if a screening is coming to a town near you.

Many cutting edge leaders in the energy medicine field are interviewed including researchers, scientists, and healers as well as a few testimonies from people who have healed themselves of ailments using some of the techniques featured in the film. To see the complete list of participants in the film please go here: http://thelivingmatrixmovie.com/participants

Some of the techniques mentioned in the movie were NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), NES , Reconnective Healing , Dream Healer , and Visualization. For a full list of resources from the movie please go here: http://thelivingmatrixmovie.com/resources

I was inspired by the movie because my passion in life has always been healing. I am in awe of the bodies ability to heal and of the spirit’s ability to transform. I believe that healing isn’t always just about the body. I believe that it first starts with the mind and emotions and illness is just the manifestation of chronic negative thoughts and stagnate emotions.  Healing can occur even if a person has no physical symptoms. Healing can be about forgiveness, letting go of grief, or changing a thought pattern. I say this because, just because you are not physically ill does not mean you can’t benefit from watching this movie or trying some of the healing modalities featured. I was so inspired that I actually have found local practitioners in my area and have tried a few of the modalities in the film including NES, Reconnective Healing, and I’m planning to go to a Dream Healer workshop in the Spring. I’ll keep you posted and write more about my experiences with these new healing modalities in the future.

What I’ve Been Reading

I came across this book at Café Gratitude called You Can Heal Your Life
Louise Hay. The beautiful illustrations caught my eye and as it turns out it’s a classic and Louise Hay is the founder of Hay House Publishing and Hay House Radio.  

In the book Louise explains how we are responsible for our own reality and that limiting beliefs are often the cause of illness, especially feelings of unworthiness and self hatred. She outlines how to change your thinking and improve your life with positive affirmations and mental exercises to foster self love and acceptance. The book has been redesigned with beautiful illustrations and it has been a pleasure to read. If you have a friend or family member into self growth, this might be a lovely a gift.

Here is my affiliate link to the book on Amazon:

 What I’ve Been Listening To:

Both my husband and I have been listening to this wonderful meditation/visualization CD: Journey Into Meditation by
Lisa Guyman. In this C.D. Lisa offers three meditations. The first is a chakra balancing waterfall meditation which is very relaxing and it is most often the one my husband and I listen to before we go to bed.  The second meditation/visualization is about accessing information from your guides and higher self, and the third meditation is about visualizing the things that you want to manifest in your life such as vibrant health and financial abundance.

Since listening to the C.D. both my husband and I noticed that we are sleeping better and more deeply and that we are generally calmer during the day. We also notice that in situations that used to frazzle us, we seem unfazed. My husband has told be things like: This is the calmest I’ve ever seen you putting on Thanksgiving, organizing a potluck . . .(etc.) We are so excited about the benefits we’ve found from meditating that we ordered a bunch of other meditation C.D.’s, but we must say that Lisa Guyman’s C.D. is our absolute favorite! Her voice is soothing, the music is not overwhelming, and the visualizations are pleasant.

Here is my affiliate link to the C.D. on Amazon:

Lisa Guyman
Journey Into Meditation

I hope you enjoyed my update and possibly find some of the tools I mentioned helpful. If you like my recommendations, please check out my recommendations page where I give my top picks for books, C.D.’s, and other useful things especially if you are gift shopping!

Don’t forget to nurture yourself this Holiday Season! We could all learn from these two R&R experts!

♥,
C