Green Juice!

Today’s green juice recipe is Kale-Spinach-Apple-Cucumber-Lemon!
-4 large handfuls organic spinach
-1 bunch organic kale
-1/2 organic cucumber
-1/2 organic lemon
Keep on juicing!

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Green Juice of the Day

Today’s delicious green juice recipe is Spinach-Green Apple-Pear! Juice on! 🙂
-6 large handfuls organic spinach
-2 organic green apples
-1 organic pear

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100 Calories- Vegetable Edition!

100 Calorie packs are everywhere, but have you ever wondered how many vegetables would equal the same amount? You might be surprised by how much more you could be eating if you choose these options instead.  Check out my findings below…

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*20 Baby Bella Mushrooms = 100 Calories

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*30 Baby Carrots = 100 Calories

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*4 Medium Green Peppers = 100 Calories

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* 3 1/2- 5 oz. packages of Baby Spinach = 100 Calories

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*2 Medium Onions = 100 Calories

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* 14 Brussels Sprouts = 100 Calories

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*3 Medium Summer Squash = 100 Calories

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*3- 5 oz. containers of Baby Kale = 100 Calories

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*45 Grape Tomatoes = 100 Calories

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*30 Asparagus Spears = 100 Calories

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*2 Medium Cucumbers = 100 Calories

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“FOOD”

Here’s a little sarcasm to jump start your day 🙂

SUPER Spinach Salad

This is by far my favorite spinach salad! All you need is Spinach, Mixed Greens, Grape Tomatoes, Sliced Pear, Cucumber, Dried Cranberries, and Sliced Almonds!  You don’t even need dressing with the fruit in this salad or you can toss on one of your favorites!  I could eat this salad every day and still want more! Happy Friday!  🙂

What Are YOU Snacking On?

Who said veggies won’t fill you up?? You might want to take this into consideration the next time you feel hungry…

Eat your Greens, Change your Genes.

**(Check out this article from ScienceDaily…just one more reason to drink your green juices and smoothies!)

ScienceDaily  — A long-held mantra suggests that you can’t change your family, the genes they pass on, or the effect of these genes. Now, an international team of scientists, led by researchers at McMaster and McGill universities, is attacking that belief.

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The researchers discovered the gene that is the strongest marker for heart disease can actually be modified by generous amounts of fruit and raw vegetables. The results of their study are published in the current issue of the journal PLoS Medicine.

“We know that 9p21 genetic variants increase the risk of heart disease for those that carry it,” said Dr. Jamie Engert, joint principal investigator of the study, who is a researcher in cardiovascular diseases at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and associate member in the Department of Human Genetics at McGill University. “But it was a surprise to find that a healthy diet could significantly weaken its effect.”

The research, which represents one of the largest gene-diet interaction studies ever conducted on cardiovascular disease, involved the analysis of more than 27,000 individuals from five ethnicities — European, South Asian, Chinese, Latin American and Arab — and the effect that their diets had on the effect of the 9p21 gene. The results suggest that individuals with the high risk genotype who consumed a prudent diet, composed mainly of raw vegetables, fruits and berries, had a similar risk of heart attack to those with the low risk genotype.

“We observed that the effect of a high-risk genotype can be mitigated by consuming a diet high in fruits and vegetables,” said Sonia Anand, joint principal investigator of the study, and a researcher at the Population Health Research Institute and a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University. “Our results support the public health recommendation to consume more than five servings of fruits or vegetables as a way to promote good health.”

“Our research suggests there may be an important interplay between genes and diet in cardiovascular disease,” says the study’s lead author Dr. Ron Do, who conducted this research as part of his PhD at McGill and is now based at the Center for Human Genetics Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Future research is necessary to understand the mechanism of this interaction, which will shed light on the underlying metabolic processes that the 9p21 gene is involved in.”

GO RAW CHALLENGE

It’s official! I have completed the 31 day- GO RAW challenge (eating only raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds) and I loved it! I’m not gonna lie, there were a few times that I would have killed for a bowl of hot soup but I stayed strong and did not let my temptations get the best of me! I would definitely recommend that everyone at least try to be conscious of your food choices and make an effort to eat raw every chance you get! While I would love to say that I am going to be 100% raw for the rest of my life, I must be realistic and say that from now on I will, without a doubt, eat raw as much as possible (80% raw sounds good right?)!  The raw food challenge made me appreciate the things that GOD created for us! This experience made me reach outside of my comfort zone and try new fruits and veggies! I now have a greater appreciation for the distinct flavors and varieties of plants that are readily available for us to consume! It’s amazing how quick your taste buds can change to crave fruits and vegetables instead of chocolate and sweets! I now feel lighter, have a greater sense of clarity, improved digestion, more energy, and a whole new appreciation for foods in their raw forms! Eating living, RAW foods just makes you feel ALIVE (makes sense right?)! I am now aware that foods DO NOT need to be cooked to taste good. To me, there’s nothing better than biting into a huge piece of juicy pineapple! Throughout the process I drank a ton of juices and smoothies, made creative salads using fruit juices as “dressing”, made vegetable noodles, snacked on a variety of fruits and vegetables, made “desserts” with things such as crushed apples and cinnamon, etc.  While most raw foodists create complicated recipes and dehydrate things for hours to come up with the raw version of our typical cooked recipes, I believe it is far better to just stick with the basics… eating the fruits and vegetables in their simple states! It’s by far less work and is much more satiating! GO RAW and feel RENEWED! Are you up for the challenge?

Samantha’s SUPERFOOD Energy Bars

Calling ALL coconut lovers! Not only are these bars packed with nutrients, they also taste like candy (they’re RAW, VEGAN, & have Green SUPERFOOD)! They also have Raw cacao, which has one of the highest amounts of antioxidants. Healthy AND taste like dessert?! Everyone must try these! 🙂

What you need: (Makes about 10-12 bars)

1/2 cup raw almonds (or you can try raw hazelnuts)

3/4 cup raw cashews

1/3 cup Flax seeds

12-15 organic Medjool dates(pitted)

1 cup organic unsweetened shredded coconut

1 T raw Cacao powder

3 T organic, unrefined Coconut oil

1 t. raw honey (optional)

1 indiv. packet of raw cacao Green Superfood powder (about 3/4 T)

First, Grind the nuts in a blender. Then, add half of the Medjool dates and the Coconut oil and blend. Next, add the rest of the ingredients and the remainder of the dates.  Blend until well mixed and it becomes nice and gooey! Once everything is sticking together well, press the batter into a small glass baking dish using your fingers. Place in refrigerator for atleast 30 min! I like to keep them in there because I think they taste better cold!  These are great for when you need to grab something and go! Hope you enjoy!!

P.S. Today is DAY 15 of GOING RAW and I feel fantastic! I def. think I can do this for longer than 31 days! I’m waiting until the end of the trial run to weigh myself but I feel lighter, have increased energy, and am just loving this whole process!