Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Buckwheat breakfast porridge

BUCKWHEAT BREAKFAST PORRIDGE.
Just a few health benefits of Buckwheat Groats:

Helps lower cardiovascular disease
Better blood sugar control and a lowered risk of diabetes
High phytonutrients and lignans
Good source of fiber
Agave and chia seeds.

It tastes way better than it looks! Trust me!


Ingredients
1 cup of buckwheat groats (soaked overnight)
1 tbs chia seeds
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tbs agave nectar
cinnamon to taste

Toppings
banana and pecans with maple syrup
any kind of berries
I also put Udo's oil in mine sometimes
nut butters

Monday, August 27, 2012

Lemon Beet Juice.

IMMUNE BOOSTING JUICE
One glass for this morning and a jar to take to work. 

Those almost look like kidneys to me! Maybe it's a sign since lemons help detox the kidneys!!
 I rarely get sick, but in the past couple of days, I've picked up some kind of bug. Sore throat, cough, and some chest congestion. It's more annoying than anything, and I get tired of people pointing out that my voice sounds raspy. Yep, I can hear it people. I just ran a half marathon last weekend, so I'm sure my body is just taxed a bit. Anyway, I've been increasing my fresh juice consumption with items that help boost the immune system. I got up early before work today and made this lemon and beet juice mix. It was super good! I made enough that I can have several servings throughout the day. Today's mix was perfect since I have TONS of beets to use from my garden.


INGREDIENTS

5 small apples
small bunch of kale
small bunch of parsley
1 whole lemon
3-4 small beets with greens

HEALTH BENEFITS

BEETS

Here's a pretty good website to check out about the health benefits of beet juice. This specific web site, freeze dries the juice, so that it can be consumed easily with water and little hassle. It's raw, which is great. Check out all of the health benefits that they have listed though. There are resources listed under each health benefit as well.

http://www.ageless.co.za/herb-beetroot-juice.htm

LEMONS


Lemons were also a key ingredient in my morning immune boosting juice. I LOVE lemons and use them alot during the winter months.  They are great for the immune system for several reasons. They are very rich in vitamin C (ascorbic acid) , antioxidants, and citric acid. They help boost the immune system, detox the kidneys, they are a blood purifier, help fight off infection, and great for cough and colds, to name a few of their great qualities. Check out this website for more info. http://www.budwigcenter.com/blog/the-amazing-health-benefits-of-raw-lemon-juice/

PARSLEY


Here are a few paragraphs of info on parsley that were taken from http://www.greenmuze.com/blogs/natural-notes/1098-health-benefits-of-parsley.html


Parsley is an amazing medicinal herb, is delightful to the taste and agreeable to the stomach.  It is a very versatile plant to aid the body in regaining health. The root contains calcium, B-complex vitamins, and iron, all of which nourish the glands that help regulate the uptake of calcium. It is a source of both magnesium and calcium, and especially potassium.
Parsley is high in vitamin A, beta-carotene and vitamin C.  As a wholesome organic-food it is also a good choice for bone health with vitamin K (536 mg in an average serving).
Traditionally. parsley has been used for congestion and inflammation of the kidneys and bladder, gravel, stones, and urine retention. The root and leaves are excellent for the liver and spleen. It is also one of the best reliefs for edema, helping when other remedies have failed; parsley is a very reliable diuretic remedy often ignored today. Parsley root and seeds contain ingredients that help produce a pain relieving benefit to relax stiff joints. 
Many people use parsley root tea to make stiff and unmanageable fingers work again. Pour a quart of boiling water over a cup of firmly packed fresh parsley and steep for 15 minutes.  Strain and then refrigerate.
Parsley works on the gall bladder and will remove gallstones if used properly by taking a pint of the tea daily.  Parsley is a specific for the adrenal glands, is powerfully therapeutic for the optic nerves, the brain and the sympathetic nervous system.
Parsley juice is an excellent tonic for the blood vessels, particularly the capillaries and arterioles. But remember that raw parsley juice is a most potent juice and should never be taken alone in quantities of more than one or two ounces at a time unless it is mixed into a sufficient quantity of carrot or other juices.  Parsley can help with expelling watery poisons, excess mucus, flatulence (gas), and reducing swollen or enlarged glands.
Hopefully my little fresh juice concoction will help get me up and running normally again!!

Raw Food Night!

As always, I'm a little late posting this since the last raw food night at the Green Owl Cafe in Madison was August 9th! I had to work that night, so I called and asked if they would prepare a "to go" meal for me. Since I'm a regular there, I didn't think they would object! They didn't. I stopped in on my way to work and they had it all ready for me. A great way to start out a 12 hour shift!

Soup: creamy cucumber-dill soup

Salad: watermelon and heirloom tomato with balsamic drizzle and basil

As I'm writing this blog, I can not recall ever eating the soup. Hmmmm. I know my memory isn't great, but I'm thinking I may not have gotten it. Well, it's too late now. The salad, which I didn't take a picture of was delicious! I love balsamic and basil so I knew I would like this.

Small Plate: flax crackers with raw veggie hummus

Entree: barbeque papaya steak served with veggie kabobs and sweet corn on the cob




I can't say that I was super crazy about the papaya "steak," but I ate it. Veggies and corn, well who can screw that up?!
Flax crackers are in the upper right hand corner. Hummus is in the container. It was SO good by they way. 


Dessert: seasonal berry cobbler with banana ice cream (and a mint leaf)

 This dessert was amazing! I was forced to eat the ice cream as soon as I got in my car because I didn't want it to melt. Banana ice cream is the last flavor I would probably ever order, but it was so good. And the berry cobbler, well that was just amazing!!

The next raw food night is September 13th, so try it if you get a chance!