Crafty In The Kitchen

In spirit of the A&M and Alabama game, this morning for breakfast I made a maroon out smoothie! Who said you can't eat healthy on game day?! The ingredients were orange juice, frozen blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries with a hint of celery and kale. If you ever want to make a maroon smoothie, try different combinations of red and purple berries.

Additionally, after eating out several times this week for lunch and dinner, I have been craving fresh, home made meals. Eating out in College Station is a little more limited in raw, vegan, and vegetarian choices than Dallas is. Being here makes me terribly miss my favorite restaurant in Dallas, Be Raw. Therefore, for dinner tonight, to celebrate the Aggies putting up a good fight against Alabama, I made an inspired Be Raw dish.

The inspiration came from one of my favorite Be Raw dishes - the California pizza, which has cashew cheese, basil pesto, sweet onions, tomatoes, pineapple pico de gallo, topped with avocado slices. Using what I had on hand, I made pizza slices of my own using organic whole grain crackers, mashed avocado, and mango pico de gallo! I wish I had a dehydrator to make my own crackers, but the organic whole grain crackers were still delicious! Additionally, when I find time, I want to experiment making my own cashew cheese and pesto using my Vitamix! In the meantime, check out this yummy recipe I crafted! 

The Scrumptious Ingredients:

-Whole Grain crackers (or any crackers of choice)

-Mashed Avocado spread (try different mix in's like fresh garlic!)

-Mango Pico De Gallo (tomato, mango, cilantro, sweet onions, red onions)

Mango Pico De Gallo
and Avocado Spread on
Whole Grain Crackers

To top of my amazing meal, I enjoyed some fresh figs for dessert! Figs, the fruit used to make fresh jam and jelly, are super sweet and juicy. My grandma has a bountiful fig tree in her backyard and spoils us with fresh Fig jam. It's truly a treat! If you open a fig just right, it greets you with love in the shape of a heart. The true love it gives your body is its countless benefits, including potassium, calcium, fiber, and much more. Indulge in some sweetness :)

Fig Heart

On a final note, I wanted to share a William Shakespeare quote that I love:

"Our bodies are our gardens - our wills are our gardeners." 

Just as a garden has to be tended to and cared for, our bodies need the same, loving treatment. Find the will to eat healthy foods and your body will flourish! 

Cheers to fresh foods!

Yoga Week 1 Reflection

When do we ever take time to listen to our bodies?

 

We live in an age where we eat mindlessly, sit mindlessly watching TV, and run through our busy days mindlessly. By the time we lie down to sleep at night, our minds start whirling with thoughts because it has been shut off all day.

 

When we eat mindlessly, we often ignore the healthy foods our body is actually craving. In the mood for something sweet? Your body is trying to tell you to eat fruit, not candy. In the mood for something salty? Your body is trying to tell you to eat veggies, not chips. Recently, I have taken an active endeavor to listen more to the energy my body needs, which is why I have been reflecting on my food intake. Food = Energy.

 

Furthermore, when we sit mindlessly watching TV, browsing the internet, or playing on some technological gadget, we ignore our body’s needs to be active, to go outside, to walk, to bike, to do yoga.

 

 

Yes, yoga is key. Yoga is the ultimate practice of listening to the body. In my first Fall yoga class, I took the time to listen to my body during our initial meditation and final Shavasana. During our initial meditation, I had to concentrate on my 3-part breath starting from my stomach. It was very challenging because I often go through my days with shallow, quick breaths due to my busy, hectic schedule. Furthermore, because I am usually hunched over studying or listening to a lecturer, I noticed it was challenging to hold my back straight for long as my spine tired easily.

 

 

Continually, when I participate in yoga classes, I am reminded that I want to set a goal to meditate for 10 minutes every day either in the morning or in the evening. Hopefully, I can accomplish this goal by the end of my Fall yoga class!

 

 

At the end of our yoga practice, in Shavasana, I noticed the muscles my body had engaged during the practice and the amazing relaxing feeling of letting my body fall limp and recharge. Yoga, health, and happiness are closely interlinked, which is why I look forward to my Fall yoga class in benefitting my mind, body, and spirit! 

 

 

 

 

Simply Smoothies

Smoothies are fast, delicious, and nutritious! So, when I am on the run to school, there is nothing better than a Vitamix smoothie! Two of my favorite smoothies that I made this week were the Almond, Banana, Chocolate, Oat Smoothie and the Berry Lemony Green Smoothie. First, I tried a new spin on my normal Chocolate, Almond Butter, Banana smoothie by throwing in some oats and flaxseed. Everyone loves oatmeal in the morning! Second, for my Berry Lemony Green Smoothie, instead of using orange juice (because I ran out!), I tossed in half of lemon with the seeds removed but the skin on! The Vitamix could handle it. As my friend said this week, as expensive and powerful as the Vitamix is, "It should be able to blend your shoes!" Of course, I wouldn't recommend trying that at home. But, definitely, enjoy the following smoothie recipes at home :)


Almond Banana Chocolate Oat Smoothie
- 1 tbsp. almond butter
- 2 bananas (preferably frozen)
- 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup raw oats
- 1 tbsp. flaxseed
- 1 cup water with ice






PB Banana Chocolate Oat Smoothie

 

 

 

Berry Lemony Green Smoothie

-1/2 lemon (cut out seeds)

-2 stalks celery chopped

-1 leaf of kale

-1 cup water with ice

-1 cup frozen berries

-1 cup almond butter

-1 tbsp. hemp seeds

Ingredients!

 



 

 

 

 



Enjoying my smoothie outside in the sunshine was the perfect setting to drink up nature's abundant supply of fruits and veggies!

 

Cheers!

Bowls of Green

Breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner... all of these are good for greens. Throw greens in your smoothies & juices, have a snazzy salad, or slice up some green goodness for a snack. Pick your favorite and incorporate more greens into your diet, as requested by Mother Nature and myself :)

Snack Time!
This week I discovered a fabulously tasting green combination to snack on... wait for it... cucumbers and kiwis! Kiwis are so sweet and refreshing. To add some veggies in, mix your sliced kiwi with sliced cucumber for a totally refreshing snack! A touch of carrots for some carotenoids and you are set! Check out this bowl of sweet treats :)

Kiwi, Cucumber, & Carrot

Salad Time!
I love spinach salads. Spinach tends to go great with anything, fruit, veggies, seeds, etc. A simple but elegant salad I chowed down on this week was a spinach salad with fresh broccoli, raw pumpkin seeds, raw pistachios, and some balsamic vinegar! Some sliced kiwis, sliced nectarine, orange slivers, or baked sweet potato cubes would have been another great topping to add to this salad! Try it out and let me know! The vitamin C, largely in the broccoli and any added fruit of choice, helps you absorb the iron from the spinach, broccoli, and pumpkin seeds :)

Spinach Salad with Raw Broccoli, Raw Pumpkin Seeds,
Raw Pistachios, and Balsamic Vinegar!

It almost looks like a professional restaurant salad, but trust me I made it right at home in 5 minutes! Make your table feel beautiful by serving more beautiful fruits and veggies! Instead of trying to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, bring the rainbow to your table :)

Cheers to nature's beauty!