Happiness In A Bottle...

Yes, this coconut water is just that! A good friend and I love this coconut water! When she first gave me a sip I was like, whoa, they have to add some kind of sweetener. If you have ever had coconut water straight from the coconut like in Hawaii or Mexico, it's definitely not sweet, good, but not sweet. However, these coconuts are grown in Thailand and the coconuts over there are naturally sweeter. So, I'm good with that!

I find these little drinks at Sprouts $2 a bottle, sometimes on sale for around a $1.50. You can also find them online at Amazon. They sell the big 16.2 oz can in a pack of 12 for $26.99. You have two choices with or without pulp. I love the pulp, but these bottle come without it. Super refreshing!

Check out my cousins, Angela Huang, article about Coconuts: An amazing superfood. "Coconut water is nature’s perfect isotonic drink. Sterile and having the same electrolytic balance as we have in our blood, it’s been called the “fluid of life” and was even used to give emergency plasma transfusions to wounded soldiers during World War II. Best consumed from fresh young coconuts, coconut water is low in calories (being 95% water), yet high in electrolytes, ascorbic acid, B vitamins, and amino acids. Moreover, it aids in the function of the gall bladder, kidney, liver and thyroid." 

Taco Bell Veggie Cantina Burrito

If i eat fast food it's one of two things veggie burrito or salad. Taco Bell has an awesome new burrito the Veggie Catina Burrito, also comes with chicken or beef. It's made with fresh avocados in a pico de gallo, also has no cheese. It's super good!I also go to Del Taco or Taco Time and get their veggie burritos with no cheese or sour cream. Other awesome burritos places are Mountain West Burrito (I like their advertisement..."we don't own a can opener." Also, El Gallo Giro super good Mexican Grill, they have the best freshly made guacamole. Check out Taco Bell's website to see a much better picture, list of the ingredients, and the recipes...

 

http://www.cantinabell.com/#burrito

http://www.cantinabell.com/#ingredients

http://www.cantinabell.com/#recipes

Kneader's Large Green Avacado Salad

I love love this salad! It's super easy to make at home, but sometimes when I'm out an about, I enjoy this! The raspberry walnut vinaigrette dressing is really yummy! We had these the other night for an alkaline dinner. My husband and I have talked for a while about doing more things to alkaline our bodies, especially before we go to bed. In the last while I've noticed depending on what I eat for dinner (more acidic foods) I will wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to sleep because my tummy is upset and still digesting food. It's almost always healthy food that I've prepared from scratch, but my body is really sensitive. Over the weeks I've found that as I've eaten foods that are alkaline I do much better at night. Just the other night I went to this awesome health seminar about eating an alkaline diet. Check out his summary video here...https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dbcEYT4oP7w.

Tomato Coconut Basil Soup

A friend gave them this recipe from another friend and it's super easy and best part is my kids loved it with some noodles! Her friend's recipe...

Tomato Basil Soup  

"This one minute soup is a healthy alternative to a Martha Stewart classic that bursts with such flavor, you'll want to cheer!"

-1 quart Classico Spaghetti Sauce
-2 (13 oz) cans coconut cream
-1 Tablespoon dried basil

*Classico brand is sold in packs of 3 at Costco. Or your choice of sauce. Sugar-free is better.

*Coconut cream is sold at Good Earth and probably other health food stores. 

*Try part coconut milk w/ any other milk...rice, soy, almond, or diary.

*Along with the basil I put in more spices.

Here it is with the added organic noodles...

Orange Spinach Smoothie

First, juice the oranges...

Then put handful of carrots, a little bit of cabbage, spinach, 1/2 an orange with peel off, banana, and ice. The more ice you add it'll turn into a sorbet.

I had one of these at a Vita-mix demo at Costco, expcet theirs came out nice, lovely, and orange. I prefer more greens...

The beat part for my kids is that we get to freeze the leftovers in Popsicle holders!

Titan Peeler & Butternut Squash

I love cooking with butternut squash. Without my Titan peeler that my sister gave to me a few Christmas' ago I would not like cooking with butternut. The outer covering of most winter squash is tough tough tough! This peeler is amazing and I get it peeled quickly and then chop it up into cubes. Lifesaver! You can find this peeler also comes with an awesome julienne peeler at Bed, Bath, & Beyond for $15, but pay less with your 20% off coupon. They usually have a Titan demo video playing, you'll be memorized! Or find the video on YouTube I think. I'll get back to you on the right place to find it. 

Mesquite Veggie Breakfast Burritos

I made these for breakfast this morning and they were good! I had leftover chopped up veggies from the pizza toppings, so I came up with this. Veggies: Onions, olives, red & green bell peppers, and zucchini, awe should have added fresh avacados. I cooked them and then added organic eggs and a mesquite seasoning I have from Costco. Serve with raw tortillas heated up in the pan!

I also added salsa. Sorry for the unfocused pics I was too hungry to mess with the aperture and light settings.

Homemade Superhero Pizza's!

For our little superhero's birthday party we made homemade superhero pizza! Recipe I use below. We usually make pizza's with half no cheese and the other half very little cheese. these ones we loaded it on to get better color. The kids loved them! The Batman pizza was the only veggie, ha, with olives only.

Basic Pizza Dough

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)

2 1/2 tablespoons applesauce

1 tablespoon agave

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

3 cups organic white flour

*I use applesauce in place of oil, agave in place of honey or sugar, sea salt instead of table salt, and organic flour instead of regular white flour.

1.  Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl, cover, and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.   (Add a teaspoon or less of sugar if you'd like, sugar make the yeast more lively.)

2.  Mix the applesauce, agave, sea salt, and yeast mixture in a large mixing bowl.  If using a food processor, add 1 cup of flour at a time, up to 3 cups, mixing well after each addition.  You may have to stir in the third cup of flour by hand, depending on your machine.  Or mix in all 3 cups of flour by hand with a wooden spoon.

If the dough seems too wet, mix in more flour, 1/4 cup at a time until the dough is soft.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead in more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough is moderately stiff and somewhat firm to the touch, about 6 minutes. (I've noticed that making the dough with applesauce in place of oil makes the dough more flaky, but nonetheless always turns out fine and tastes great. If it's too flaky add a little more applesauce next time.) 

3.  Lightly grease pizza pan with oil and roll into shape desired or breadsticks etc.  Let rise a couple of minutes before putting toppings on. (Letting it rise always makes the applesauce dough easier to roll out.)

For bread sticks:  roll into sticks and brush with butter and garlic salt.  Let rise for about 15 minutes and then bake at 425 for 10 minutes, brushing with more butter/garlic halfway through.

  It's a soft but not sticky dough.  It's really fast and easy!

Here is the adult's pizza...

 My slice with avocados, yum. A friend puts fresh ripe avocados on her pizza. So glad I picked that up!

Yoga and Yogurtland

A girlfriend and I love going to Yoga and sometimes out for a treat to Yogurtland! Yum! This Grapefruit Guava Sorbet with my toppings of lychee, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, mangoes, boba pearls, and sweetened coconut is so so good! There are so many awesome yogurt flavors, but I'm down to one because it's the only diary-free option. Perfect treat after a good workout! Thanks Meredith!

Cherry Coconut Smothie

My husband made this incredibly yummy smoothie...organic frozen cherries, frozen pineapple, frozen blackberries, organic (dairy/soy free) coconut ice cream, and some water. We froze the rest into popsicles for the kids!

Documentaries

• HUNGRY FOR CHANGE  (Excellent information about food/diet and really making a change in your lifestyle!)

• FARMAGEDDON ( It's good to know there are safe/healthy farms out there, but so sad to see a lot of them raided and taken down by US government agencies.)

• VEGUCATED (Most Americans would NEVER dream of being vegan or even know what it means to be vegan. It's good to know, especially for the animals sake!)

•  KING CORN (You really are what you eat! Corn, especially GMO corn, is pretty much in all processed foods sold at the grocery store...high fructose corn syrup....bad stuff! GMO Corn is NOT GOOD for livestock or humans.)

• AMERICAN THE BEAUTIFUL 2 (Too many Americans go about unhealthy diets to change the way they look. It's all about healthy eating and consistent exercising...that is the best way for your body to work properly, look good, and feel better!)

• FORKS OVER KNIVES THE EXTENDED INTERVIEWS (You first have to watch Forks Over Knives. Lots of good info that was cut out of the documentary.)

I watched all of these documentaries on Netflix. I still have a bunch that I want to watch in my instant que. Some of these documentaries are great and keep your attention. And some of them seem weird and take a bit to get into, but are still very informative. :)

Chicken Salad w/ Beans, Rice, and Pico

Last night we had some friends over and made some awesome burritos. This afternoon I made a salad with the leftovers. Last night I made Mexican Rice, fresh pico, and our friends brought marinaded chicken and Cafe Rio Dressing. We pan cooked raw tortilla's and then wrapped everything up! It was so so good! For the pico, I put in...tomatoes, onions, cilantro, jalapeno, black beans, avocados, and salt. All it was missing was the lime, but everything was super good!

Juice With Parsley...

Organic carrots, apples, ginger, beet w/ stem & leaves, kale, parsley, and oranges.

Check out this WHFoods: Parsely link. I'll Give some highlights from their website...

• Parsley contains two types of unusual components that provide unique health benefits...volatile oil components (help prevent tumor formation) and flavonoids (Rich Anti-oxidants).
• Cleanses blood supply.
• Has lots of Vitamin A & C, which are two essential nutrients to prevent many diseases.
• Good source of folic acid can lower risk of stroke and heart disease.
• Protection Against Rheumatoid Arthritis. 
• Cleanses your mouth and gives you fresh breath!  

All in all Parsely has so much chlorophyll it acts as a great detox and cleanses your whole system!

Organic Quinoa Pancakes

I got this recipe from my Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood. I blended organic quinoa in my vita-mix and then mix all the ingredients. We put a little agave for syrup and frozen cherries on top!