Green Smoothie

Green Smoothie we have all been loving this week:

Chop up some yummy watermelon into large pieces and fill the blender with them. Add 1/2 C water, 1/2 a bag of frozen raspberries, 1/2 a bag frozen strawberries, a squeeze of lemon or lime, and a handful of romaine lettuce. Blend and pour over ice. Perfect for a hot afternoon or right after a couple hours at the park!

One addition we played with was adding Vitamineral Green powder. I used 2 T since we haven't had it in a while and I think we all need a boost after two weeks on the road. I also had some pineapple sitting in the fridge so I added that, core and all, as well. It sweetened up the smoothie when I was running low on frozen fruit.

Another great green to add to this concotion is parsley. I originally found this recipe in David Wolfe's Sunfood Diet book and his green was parsley. The mixture of the red berries, watermelon, and parsley is a huge iron boost. Awesome!

Cheers,
Mary

Chocolate Covered Dates

This post is in honor of my friend Ashley http://www.lovenaturalbirth.com/. She likes when I post simple recipes, and I know she has a hankering for croissants. Well, the chocolate covered dates are exactly what I make when I feel the desire for a doughnut or croissant, because let's face it, it happens. :) When I was pregnant with Leo, I had eaten only raw foods for over a year and felt like I wouldn't have any cravings because of my super nutrition and hydration. Eeeek. I did feel pretty good that whole first trimester, but major cravings for doughnuts kicked in somewhere around 9 weeks. I almost woke my husband in the middle of the night to ask for powdered doughnuts, the cravings were so strong! So here is a trick that I find incredibly yummy. There is just something about the mixing of the date, coconut oil, and cacao...O.M.G. My kids love these too, and they also adore dipping strawberries into the chocolate and waiting patiently for them to set in the fridge. Ha. The whole plate will be immediately gobbled up! Let me know how you enjoy the dates, or if you use the chocolate sauce for berries, ice cream, or anything else!



Ingredients:

10 Dates

Pit the dates and tear or cut them in half. Place on a plate.


Chocolate Sauce:

1/4 C Coconut Oil

Pinch Salt

3 T Cacao Powder

Tsp sweetner


Melt the coconut oil and stir in the rest of the ingredients. If you like carob or mesquite powder, you can use a mixture of carob or mesquite/cacao for a less dark chocolate taste. When the chocolate sauce is smooth, pour a little over each date half. Freeze for at least 10 minutes.

I don't have a picture of these little bites because they quickly disappear as soon as I open the freezer. Enjoy!

Well here I am again...months since my last posting! Somewhere in the days surrounding my last post I started having the strongest urge to move out of Cali. It was so strong that I would wake up some mornings confused as to why we were still in our house! I shared my feelings with my super husband and thankfully he was open to moving...a few days after I initially brought it up. :) We loved our home and neighborhood and fantastic community of friends, so the idea of up and moving away wasn't in his thoughts at all. I just could not get this urge off my mind though. A few days after really talking about things, I had the idea to move to North Carolina. We knew people here, knew people that had lived here before, and my parents had always talked so highly of it...why not? So we started researching. We found lots of websites about the hiking, nature, beauty, low cost of living/housing, great school options, mild winters, vegetarian/vegan friendly options, etc. It sounded perfect! So we moved! We left right before Thanksgiving and spent the week in Minnesota with family, then flew to NC. Once we arrived I felt like I could breathe again...like there was room to roam.



We love it here. The winter was much more than a mild southern winter, but it was pretty easy to us, originally being Midwesterners. The snow and cold really forced us to hibernate and go within. This was an experience I was very much looking forward to, not realizing how much harder it would be with kids that wanted their sun and beach back. Ha. We really bonded as a family unit while we dug in and rode out the winter-we had to figure out new indoor activities and truly look at each other and deal with whatever came up since there was no escaping by strapping the boys in the stroller and heading for the park. When spring came about I had a new appreciation for the buds on the trees and warmer winds, and literally breathed a huge sigh of relief.



Now that spring is in full swing we are meeting many more families and spending lots of time outside again. Thank goodness for our sandbox and the neighbor kids! Watching the boys dig and dig, climb, swing on tree branches, and help me garden and compost is exactly what I was hoping for with this move. They have so much more freedom to move and explore without a car whizzing by! Yes!



I will continue to blog about yummy food and our adventures when I have the chance...winter really held me in but now I feel much more ready to burst with words and ideas to share. One thing I would love to share is a technique we used to cope with outbursts, meltdowns, and the general stress of living together in a small space.

Introducing the wonderful 5 Count Breath:



Either sitting or standing, reach down into the floor/ground with your bum/feet and press in...grow a little taller through your spine. One hand is relaxed and the other you hold up as a fist. Inhale deeply, and exhale deeply. Count that as one breath and point one finger or your thumb out (great for kids learning to count!). Repeat the breathing and counting until all five fingers are released. This breathwork and focus on counting is a great tool to use to sloooow down and reconnect with your heart and/or your child. I started teaching this to Luc when he was little and he still does it on his own here and there.



The lovely Annie Buckley, an artist and yogi, taught me the trick when I took her kids yoga training. You can check out her site and awesome kids yoga card deck here:

http://anniebuckley.com/



I will be back soon with food for thought! Cheers, Mary