Christmas Fruit

We were assigned to bring some fruit to a Christmas party and you know those neat fancy fruit trees?

I wanted to make one of those, but it failed because I didn't have enough fruit!

Being that the one grocery store in our area never has a good selection and worse since it's winter the pickings were slim, oh so very slim.

I have these cute little mini cookie cutters and so I used them for the pineapple and made this fun fruit salad.

It was worth the $6 I paid for the 1lb of strawberries, I guess :)

"A Jar of Pumpkin & Pecan Pie"

 If you love pumpkin then you'll love this smoothie from mywholefoodlife...

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 frozen banana

handful of Pecans

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup water & ice

Blend!

I roasted suger pie pumpkins and it's so so good!

"Baked Goods"

I like to think of these dishes as the "real baked goods."

All you gotta do is throw some fruit and veggies onto a baking sheet and put it in the oven.

Make your own dipping sauce.

And most importantly BE CREATIVE!

Top dish is papayas topped w/ a slice of banana, beets, and radishes. The sauce is frozen peas, fresh mint, ginger, chia seeds, soaked and peeled almonds, and water.

Bottom dish steamed hard squash, papaya, banana, starfruit, and turnips. Sprinkled with grated nutmeg and crushed cardamon. 

I'm working with a wonderful friend I have met who is a very creative and an amazing cook! She is opening up my right brain and getting my creative juices flowing. She baked all these and shared all her good ideas!

I'm really focusing on food and how it makes me feel....I'm listening to my body. For the last 10 years I've been on a serious health journey because through health challenges and c-sections and raising kids it's been a bit crazy. I've tried this and tried that...vegan, raw food, juicing, candida diets, alkalizing-diets, whole foods, gluten-free, etc. I did see great improvements in my health, but at the same time I still wasn't feeling great in other ways. But as I've included more, actually a lot, of cooked veggies in my diet, I have felt a world of difference and have slowly, but surely been feeling better! I'm so thankful for all the good people who have helped me along my journey!

Fast & Easy Morning Smoothies

 These morning smoothies are really fast and easy! They are filled with lots of protein, good healthy fats, greens, and some fruit. Above it a mix of 1/2 avocado, some organic strawberry papaya (locally Hawaii grown...wow so good!), a few frozen organic mango chunks, chilled organic coconut cream (from the top of a coconut milk can), 3 leaves of fresh dino kale, almond milk, chilled water, and hemp seeds. Haha, my oldest said to his siblings..."Come look at this gross smoothie mom made!" But, I thought it was so good!

 This is before I added all the kale. Avocado, organic boiled egg, apple banana, mango chunks, coconut milk fat, fermented beet&ginger Kavass drink (where it gets the purple color), almond milk, cold/chilled water, and hemp seeds. 

Then after i added all the kale...

Not as pretty, but all that K Vitamin friendliness in the Kale packs it with so much nutrients!
This might be like all the juices I make, you'll probably have to chug it down. What I like most about these smoothies is that they keep me full for a lot longer until my next snack or meal.

L'A'RABAR Fruit and Nut Bar

If you are looking for a very healthy energy bar try these Larabar's, super yummy, ingredients are minimal, and made of only wholefoods! I've been eating these for a few years and really like them.

"The LARABAR is truly brilliant in concept; each bar is made with “whole food” ingredients such as nuts and dried fruit and seasoned perfectly with spices. No need to add globs of oil and syrup. Instead, LARABAR is concentrated vegan “whole foods” nutrition in its purest form.

Each LARABAR flavor contains no more than eight ingredients. Pure and simple, just as nature intended. For example, the ingredients in the “Apple Pie” LARABAR include: dates, almonds unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. That’s it!" (http://cleancuisineandmore.com/larabar/)

My favorites are...Key Lime Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, Lemon Bar, Peanut Butter Cookie!

A variety pack of 18 bars (Apple Pie, Peanut Butter Cookie, & Cherry Pie) at Costco costs about $16. Also, found at local health food stores.

"The Queen of Greens"

I used my sister's nice new Breville Juice Fountain. I thought it was cool to see all the different layers of pulp...carrots, kale, oranges, lemon, and more carrots.

The last time I went to the Zoo (a ways back) was when I first I realized the extremely good health benefits of Kale or "The Queen of Greens." I noticed animal after animal eating it. Since then I eat kale frequently either in juice, salads, or soups. Here are some Top 10 Health Benefits of Eating Kale (click the link to go to the website or it read below)...

"1. Kale is low in calorie, high in fiber and has zero fat. One cup of kale has only 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber and 0 grams of fat. It is great for aiding in digestion and elimination with its great fiber content. It’s also filled with so many nutrients, vitamins, folate and magnesium as well as those listed below.

2. Kale is high in iron. Per calorie, kale has more iron than beef. Iron is essential for good health, such as the formation of hemoglobin and enzymes, transporting oxygen to various parts of the body, cell growth, proper liver function and more.

3. Kale is high in Vitamin K. Eating a diet high in Vitamin K can help protect against various cancers. It is also necessary for a wide variety of bodily functions including normal bone health and the prevention of blood clotting. Also increased levels of vitamin K can help people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

4. Kale is filled with powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants, such as carotenoids and flavonoids help protect against various cancers.

5. Kale is a great anti-inflammatory food. One cup of kale is filled with 10% of the RDA of omega-3 fatty acids, which help, fight against arthritis, asthma and autoimmune disorders.

6. Kale is great for cardiovascular support. Eating more kale can help lower cholesterol levels.

7. Kale is high in Vitamin A.Vitamin A is great for your vision, your skin as well as helping to prevent lung and oral cavity cancers.

8. Kale is high in Vitamin C. This is very helpful for your immune system, your metabolism and your hydration.

9. Kale is high in calcium. Per calorie, kale has more calcium than milk, which aids in preventing bone loss, preventing osteoporosis and maintaining a healthy metabolism. Vitamin C is also helpful to maintain cartilage and joint flexibility

10. Kale is a great detox food. Kale is filled with fiber and sulfur, both great for detoxifying your body and keeping your liver healthy."

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!

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!

Juice w/ Celery

I know this is a really bad photo, but the juice was really good. Oranges, ginger, and organic carrots, beet, apple, & celery. 

 The the minerals, vitamins, & oils of celery give many health benefits. We know celery has sodium, but it is organic, therefore our bodies will do things like retain it, lower the levels of calcium loss and blood pressure, etc. Unlike, table salt that is inorganic and causes body to lose calcium and higher blood pressure, etc. Check out 'The Incredible Powers of Celery' here.

According to the article Other Benefits of Celery Juice are:

-Caner Fighting

-Lowers Cholesterol

-Aids in Digestion

-Diuretic

-Anti-Inflammatory

-Lower Blood Pressure

-Insomnia

-Weight Loss

-Elimination and Prevention of Stones

Green Machine

Spinach, Chard, Kale, Carrots, Celery, Apple, & Cucumber

Red/Orange Juice

Organic carrots, oranges, organic beet, organic ginger, cucumber, & lemon.

Juice With Fresh Garden Greens

Organic carrots, oranges, organic apple, half a lemon, organic cucumber, and fresh kale from Agong's garden!

"3 Colors" Juice

These three photos are all the same cup of juice, but before adding everything in and then taking the picture, I split it all up so you could see how much the color changes according to the fruit or veggie put in. This cup has organic carrots, organic green apple, organic cabbage, oranges, lemon, & lime.

Then I threw in about a 1/4 of a beet...love the color beets give!

Can't go without adding a bunch of leafy greens! They just don't make the bright vibrant colors of other fruits and veggies.

This Mornings Juice

 I took this with my phone, so the coloring a little bit off, it's just really bright. Organic carrots, oranges, organic green apple, organic beet, cucumber...

Then I added a bunch of organic spring mix salad greens in the blender. I like taking before and after photos because the greens always turn it a brown color. I love the bright vibrant juice colors, but the greens is where the most nutrients are!

Orange Smoothie

Fresh squeezed orange juice, organic baby carrots, banana, orange, organic cabbage, organic spinach, organic raw coconut flour, & ice. I threw it all in the Vita-mix and...

Haha, it came out more green than orange, but still super good. I added coconut flour for a protein boost. I called it an orange smoothie because there are a lot of orange ingredients and the pic below is the sample cup of this exact same recipe at Costco when they were doing demos of the Vita-mix.

I guess I added more spinach and cabbage than they did. If you are looking for a great blender I would recommend the Vita-mix, they are rated the #1 blender of 2012. We got ours about 5 years ago at Costco. It's a super good deal at Costco.

Blended Juice

 Organic Carrots, organic beet (with stems), organic celery, organic parsley, organic kale, red apple, orange, lemon, ginger. 

I juiced everything except the beet greens, kale, and parsley. I blended those into my juice using my blender. I do that so I'm getting all the goodness from the leafy greens.

"Spicy Juice" With Ginger & Cabbage

Organic Kale, Organic Beet w/stem&leaf, Organic Cabbage (just a tiny bit), lemon, Oranges, Organic Red Apple, Organic Carrots, Celery, Organic Spinach, and Organic Ginger Root!

*Ginger always gives it a nice kick and the cabbage gives it a nice spiciness, that stings your throat a little. :)

"Let Food Be Thy Medicine"

 It's truly truly amazing of the abundance of nutrients veggies and fruits have to offer our bodies! Hippocrates was right on when he said, "Let food be thy medicine." I couldn't agree more! In today's society it's sad to me that we aren't taught MORE about good health from eating the RIGHT foods our bodies NEED to stay truly healthy and strong to avoid suffering from awful diseases, sicknesses, and cancers. From the ages of 19-21yrs. I suffered severely from not eating the right foods. I was really really sick, in a lot of pain everyday, and I couldn't figure out why and neither could my medical doctors. I went from this specialist to that specialist doing this procedure and that operation and prescribing lots of pills,which most of the time I never took. Then finally I stopped seeing medical doctors and started seeing holistic/naturopathic doctors and everything was fixed through strictly eating the right foods. I am so grateful for everything I've learned!