Start Your Week Off the Healthy way!

One day at a time.

One thing at a time.

That's the way I approach healthy living. And I've found it's the easiest way too! If you say "today, I'm going to start a diet, give up all sugar, and exercise for an hour" by tomorrow you'll give up everything and lay on the couch. Instead, try this.
Week One- give up something unhealthy; sugar, cigarettes, soda's, caffeine, all day TV- anything. What ever you do that you know you're over indulging in- cut it out, or cut it down to once a day or an hour a day.
Week two- start a little exercise program. Try walking three times for thirty minutes a day this week. You can even break it up and take little ten minute walks the length of you street three times a day. Just move!
Week three- try something new. Take a yoga class, or swim lesson, or zumba. Belly Dancing, ballet and hooping are super cool, and really fun! You forget you're exercising when you're in a tutu, or swinging a hoop on your hips!
Week Four- this is simple, with everything else that your doing, just drink more water and breathe. If you want to hydrate your body properly, take your weight and divide it by two. And that's the amount of water in oz your supposed to intake a day. That with two or three minutes of full, deep, nostril breaths a day will have you feeling amazing in no time!
Already in four little weeks you've added solid steps to your day towards becoming healthier! Keep going! Try new things all the time, but take them slow, and get plenty of rest.

Some other things you could do-
Eat a new piece of fruit everyday
Wake up earlier and walk in the silence of the day
try meditation
have a salad everyday for a week
meatless mondays
Cut out the fast food for a week
try organic!
Make all of your meals for a day using nothing pre made
This is just a few ideas for you to incorporate into your life. It's your life and body, and it's up to you to take care of it!

Green Goddess-Recipe

This recipe makes for a super tart crazy yummy smoothie. If you wanted a sweeter taste add honey or a half of a banana, I like it a bit tart.

Ingredients
1 oz Goji Berries
2 Tbs Chia Seed
6oz Frozen berries
2 BIG handfuls of spinach
1c water

I just put everything in the blender and pulsed on crush for a few. It has texture, but I'm sure if that bothers you you could blend it longer. The kids and I like it with texture. And I didn't add ice to this one either, i felt like the frozen berries were enough, but you could make this go a lot further with ice and a bit more water.

 I like to have smoothies for an after school snack, they're quick, easy, and the best way to get a lot of nutrients and vitamins into the kids and my diet! And as much as I love cookies, a smoothie will keep me full until dinnertime. So quit being scared of your fruits and veggies- throw them in the blender!

Cantaloupe and Kale?

Smoothie Time!
My lady friend and (unbeknownst to her) yoga guru Rachael told me that I should start using Kale in place of spinach in my drinks/smoothies because it would be more cooling to my fiery pitta nature. Well ding dong if she aint right! Now that I've started using Kale I feel as if it IS cooler and more soothing, and maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit, but it seems as if my skin is not quite so pinky. (Being a natural redhead, I have a pink on the verge of red complexion, Depending on how hot my body is at the time).

So today, I thought I'd share my delicious newfangled to me recipe for a Cantaloupe and Kale Smoothie!

1c Kale (washed, but i didn't even chop it)
1c Cantaloupe
a handful of Goji berries
1/4c of Chia Seeds
1/2 a banana ( for a bit more sweetness)
2c Ice

I just threw everything into the blender and pressed liquefy! It made enough ( 3c or .75L) that I drank it throughout the evening and then had the rest for breakfast.
 The main difference in the kale and the spinach is texture. The Kale tends to be pretty crunchy, or toothsome; while the spinach smooths out a lot more and becomes more 'liquidy'. But the overall flavor is usually masked by the sweetness of the fruit. Bananas and apples almost always over power so use them sparingly if you are trying for a balance of flavor.

Tricky Spinach

I'm really tying to get away completely from processed foods, and I've been cooking everyday now. But i still don't feel as if the kids are getting enough vegetables in their diet. So I sneak...everything! The answer, smoothies. The kids feel like it's a treat, frozen yummies filled with sweetness. They sometimes complain about the color-but the flavor, they like!

I looked at different recipes, but I've finally decided that I like winging it and making up my own recipes.

Some combo's I like are-
spinach(handful)
carrot juice
banana
apple juice
ice
sometimes I add ground flaxseed, chia seeds, or concentrated B complex for a little boost.

spinach
banana
mango
strawberry(theres a bag in the frozen section at the grocer, so less expensive)

spinach
blueberry
grapes
watermelon

The combo's are endless. I always add veggies and 'hide' their flavor with banana or apples. The liquid is fruit or veggie juice(I like Bolthouse farm). I don't  use any added sugars, the fruit is sweet enough. When I buy the fruits, usually I get them from the frozen food section. They're less expensive, and no added preservatives. but apples, bananas, cuties, kiwi stuff that's in season or on sale I get fresh. I make a big batch and store them in mason jars in the fridge. You can add ice later and make it all deserty and it goes further. So yum and HEALTHY!