This post is a continuation from Feb 1st. -- so to bring yourself up to speed just scroll down to that date.


If you work a typical 8-10 hour day (not including a hefty commute) you probably don't have much time to do something for yourself, or at least you don't think you do. Remember from my earlier post -- the most important thing in life is to stay healthy and part of that is to focus on staying grounded throughout your day?


Are you sitting behind a computer screen at work? maybe sitting in a cubicle? Time can get away from you when you are on the computer...I know it happens to me all the time, but I am working on taking a break every hour for 10 minutes. If you sit for hours and don't walk around periodically, it affects your health.  You don't have to walk all the time, instead do some yoga stretches at your desk.


If the weather is nice spend time outside during lunch. Maybe spend 5 minutes meditating or read something inspiring.


When you get home make yourself a green smoothie...it doesn't have to be anything fancy... my favorite easy-to-make smoothie is:

1 banana
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 spring water
handful parsley
handful kale

blend and drink up


put your feet up and relax for at least 30 minutes...or what I call decompressing from work.

Now you have the energy to do what you normally do in the evening. Before bedtime...turn off the television and read (nothing scarey or dramatic) and then when its time to turn out the lights, imagine yourself sleeping peacefully.


Namaste!   Inge

I started buying coconut water and organic soy milk from my neighborhood 99 cent store ( I am sooo happy they exist and sell these, regular markets charge sometimes 3 times as much for same brand) And by the way I buy WestSoy soy milk bec...ause it does not contain carageen...if you don't know whats bad about carageen, Google it. Anyway, to save more money I freeze the coconut water and soymilk (in seperate) freezer trays and use the cubes in smoothies. I usually add 3 cubes coconut water and 4 cubes soy milk. I throw them in after I add everything else and let them melt -- then I blend them together. Yum!


I make a smoothie everyday...here's the recipe for the one I'm drinking right now.

3 cubes frozen coconut water

4 cubes frozen soy milk (organic)

1/2 cup parsley

1/2 banana

2 large carrots (juiced)

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup spring water

teaspoon ground flax seed ( I use Bob's Red Mill) I don't have a grinder right now.

 

 

Throw these into a blender

Allow the frozen cubes to melt; it takes about 15 minutes and then blend mixture

Enjoy!

 

 

xo   Inge

 

 

 

 

 

Do you live near a Dollar Store or 99 cent store that sells food? Check the shelves and even the frresh produce section because they are selling more and more organic and healthy choices. I found organic plain soymilk from WestSoy and Parro...t coconut water. The other day they had orangic lettuce and arugala in a package. I made myself a green smoothie with 1/3 rd of the can of coconut water and I poured the rest in an ice tray to use later.

In case you are wondering what else I added to smoothie:

1 banana, 1/2 cup kale, 1/2 cup parsley, 1/2 cup spring water and 1/3 can coconut water. Yum!

 

 

xo     Inge

I helped out at the Ostomy booth at the UCI healthfair last weekend and met this terrific woman who runs Home Care Assistance. Its for people (mostly seniors) who need extra help with daily things like cooking, groooming, running errands and plain old companionship. There lots of these type of agencies in Orange County but what makes this one different is that client care manager, Sandy Rasque, focuses on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and eating. Her staff provides healthy meals that includes fresh vegetables, fruits and even smoothies.


Have you ever stayed in the hospital and been offered Ensure to  either gain weight or keep the weight on? I have when I was getting chemo/radiation treatment. Anyone who has been through this knows that eating is a real problem. Everything tastes awful, so doctors suggest Ensure. Now don't get me wrong they mean well. Ensure has protein and calories but mostly from sugar, and studies show that cancer loves sugar. Why give it what it wants? And in my case, the Ensure was way too sweet.

 So when I was in the hospital my family brought me smoothies from Jamba Juice. Yes, they have sugar too but at least it is somewhat healthier than Ensure.

When I got home we bought a juicer and a blender so we could make our own fresh green smoothies. Before long I was throwing everything in but the kitchen sink. My smoothies must have contained at least 600 calories, all from fresh fruits and veggies, along with soy milk andd yogurt.

Well, Sandy figured this out and wanted her seniors to have a healtheir alternative. Her motto is "Changing the way the world ages". She teaches her staff how to cook healthy meals, including how to make delicious, healthy smoothies (with real fruit and veggies) and serve them to their clients. They also will shop for the food that they will be serving.

This is one of the books sitting on her table at the health fair.

I was so impressed with Sandy's fresh approach to caregiving that I wanted to tell others about her and her agency. I briefly worked for another home care agency a few years ago and what a disappointment that was. It was clear to me that they were all about their 'bottom line', not the clients or their employees for that matter. They paid low wages, expected their employees to drive sometimes 30 + miles to an assignment and only stay 3 hours. Seniors ate (in my opinion) substandard meals. The food was usually processed, fast food, purchased by the senior or family member and prepared by the caregiver. There was no suggestion to eat healthier by anyone. The caregivers I met didn't look too healthy themselves either.


I know of group homes that run the same way, maybe even worse when it comes to healthy meals. I used to work in an adult day program and my clients used to tell me what they ate at home. I also saw the junk food they brought to the program. Nothing healthy in those lunch boxes. How can one expect to have a healthy mind when its fed junk?


Recent studies show that the majority of people with autism have intestinal problems and the correlation is processed food containing GMOs. (You didn't think I was going to talk about health without bringing up the health problems caused by GMOs, did you?)


I think feeding seniors, the mentally ill andd even us, healthy fresh foods will give us a better chance of living a longer healthy life. What fun is it to live longer but to do so being sick? I know thats not for me.

I am hopeful that Sandy's approach to senior care will catch on with other agencies and hospitals for that matter. Everyday more and more health care providers are understanding the connection between good health and eating healthy food. I see new patients all the time in the cancer center who tell me their doctor tells them "no sugar" and thats a step in the right direction.


Sandy was making and giving out samples of one her smoothie recipes at the fair and I thought I would share it with you:


Blueberry Banana Smoothie:


1 ripe banana
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup nonfat yogurt
3/4 cup lowfat milk or almond milk
1/2 cup crushed ice


Throw in blender, puree and serve!




xo     Inge

 

How to Make a Fabulous Green Smoothie without Really Trying

I made myself a delicious smoothie today.  I threw together one banana, can of coconut water (I found coconut juice in the 99cents store...forget about paying 2.99 anymore), a handful of organic frozen raspberries, and 1/2 cup broccoli stems chopped. Yum!.

I drove to Los Angeles yesterday to have lunch with James. He flew in from the Bay Area for work.

We were supposed to go to a vegan restaurant but I let him off the hook and we went to an organic restaurant instead. I ordered the *Happy Vegan* salad but it looked and tasted more like birdseed with cranberries and lots of lettuce.

There was a green smoothie/juice truck that we stopped at on the way to his hotel. I got an Orange Cream...it was delicious!  Here is their link  http://opensourceorganics.com/menu-smoothies/

I plan to try some of their recipes at home....

James works for Capitol, so we got to go to the roof and take pictures.

I had a great time with my son...I always do. Spending the day in LA was like taking a mini vacation.

eat your fruits & veggies!   xo Inge

I made one of my fabulous antioxidant green smoothies today. I added juiced carrots and celery to fresh organic spinach, organic frozen blackberries & raspberries, a banana, spring water and a splash of vanilla soy milk. I bought the frozen berries at Costco. They just got them in and they were $8.50 each for a 3 lb. bag. That's an excellent price because Sprouts is selling their organic fruit for $3.99 a 12 oz. bag. Forget about Whole Foods; I was in there the other day and their prices are outrageous; they seem to cater to the very wealthy these days. I won't go back there anytime soon.

Do you know that raw carrots contain beta-carotene, a strong antioxidant that can prevent cancer?  If you can buy the carrots with the greens attached; they are rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. The raw celery juice is packed with lots of nutritious goodies as well, like vitamins B1, B2, B6 and C, potassium, iron, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and essential amino acids.  Don't throw away those  celery leaves they are high in vitamin A.

Add these greens to the spinach, which is high in iron and you have one delicious, super anti-oxidant drink!

Have a great day and don't forget to eat your fruits & veggies!
xo  Inge

I made a smoothie today using a juiced apple, a couple carrots, some celery that was getting rubbery and threw them in a blender with frozen mango, a splash of soy milk, some orange juice, and spring water. It was delicious and reminds me of a creamsicle.

Eat your fruits & veggies!   xo  Inge

I was looking for a non-dairy beverage to add to my smoothie today and I found Silk among the almond drinks on the shelf. Their label claimed to be part of the non-gmo project, so when I got home I looked it up. Sure enough Silk is on the list as certified by the non-gmo project to be in fact gmo free. Well slap my face and call me happy! I can buy Silk again!

http://www.nongmoproject.org/take-action/search-participating-products/search/?brandId=389

Making Smoothies for Better Health

http://www.naturalnews.com/035427_green_smoothies_recipes_health.html

I made myself a smoothie this morning. I juiced a peeled cucumber, organic celery, and organic carrots with the greens attached (someone told me the greens contain lots of nutrients), and threw them in a blender with frozen mixed berries, banana, kale, splash of orange juice and spring water...yes, it takes a little more time to juice the veggies and then add to blender, but I'm worth it! ...and I do this when I have extra time. When I am pressed for time I still make my smoothie though.

It's chilly and rainy outside...a good day to just relax, watch movies and make my version of a veggie stew. This is not vegan because butter is one of the ingredients in this Trader Joe's veggie mix. I plan to copy the ingredient list and make it homemade with vegan butter. I like to use Nature Balance soy butter.  This particlar meal was easy to prepare. I stir-fried organic potatoes for about 5 minutes in my wok (I LOVE my wok and use it all the time! If you don't have one...get one..they cook your food so much faster and the food tastes better)   When the potatoes look brown add the veggies, lower flame (if you have a gas stove) or just lower heat, cover wok and simmer until veggies are almost soft but still crunchy...turn off stove and leave covered for about 5 more minutes. The idea is to let it continue to cook from the steam.

I also made a smoothie...you know I did! I make one everyday! Today I threw in kale, broccoli stems, mixed berries, banana, a sliver of ginger (it's cold outside and I need some heat for my tummy) and orange juice.

Hope you are having a relaxing Sunday. and eat your fruits & veggies!   xo Inge

I made a healthy green smoothie today.  I know it looks red because of the berries, but I figure adding the broccoli stems, carrots and celery make it green. Here's what I put in it... A cup of frozen mixed berries, 3 organic celery stalks, 3 organic carrots, 1/2 cup broccoli stems, 1 small banana, 1 cup orange juice.

 I cut up the carrots and celery and juiced them.

 I was able to get 5 ounces of juice from the carrots & celery

 I added the juice, berries, banana, broccoli stems and orange juice to the blender.

 All set to drink!

The total time it took to make this smoothie was about 15 minutes and that includes clean up. I like to make it after breakfast and drink it throughout the day. Just with this drink alone I got my daily requirement of veggies. I plan to eat organic chips with fresh avocado and homemade picco de gallo for lunch...raisons for a snack and ...well, I haven't decided on dinner yet!  :D

eat your fruits & veggies!    xo    Inge



We are going to Bezerkley today...it will be an all day trip, so I am packing some food and a smoothie to take along. This is what I put in my smoothie today: 1 cup organic spinach, 1/2 cup frozen berries, 1 cup orange juice, splash of soy milk. Yum! I also made a peanut butter sandwich and I am taking my raisins, and of course lots of bottled water.


eat your fruits & veggies!   xo  inge

I made a fabulous, delicious green smoothie today: Here's what I put in it:
1 cup Kale
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
3 stalks juiced celery
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

eat your fruits and veggies!   xo    Inge

So I was @ Mother's Market today getting signatures for the "label gmos" inititative nd while I was there I decided to look for a non-gmo, vegan sour cream and I found one! It's made by WayFare. I'm b ack in business! Baked potato with faux sour cream, huge fabulous salad and steamed broccoli!

I almost forgot...I made a green smoothie to take to the market this morning and I added kale, chopped wheatgrass ( I couldn't juice that bugger so I chopped it up), frozen pineapple, orange juice, and water. It turned out quite good, but it did have a hint of "freshly cut lawn" after taste. It was also a bit thicker than I wanted, but all the same it was good and nutritious!

I juiced some carrots, celery, cucumber and apples today, and I wondered if I can use this pulp for smoothies or something else. So I googled it and I found a website that lists all the things veggie/fruit pulp can be used in. Sweeeeet!!!

http://www.all-about-juicing.com/juicer-pulp-recipes.html

OC Family also has a recipe that i haven't tried yet, but sounds yummy... Chocolate hemp cookies:

3 cups walnuts or coconut flour
1 cup hemp seeds
1/2 cup raw cacao
1/3 cup agave nectar or raw honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. greens powder

In a food processer with the s-blade attached, process all ingredients, except the sweetener, until well combined. Add the sweetener while processing until a dough ball forms. Scoop out the dough 1 tblsp. at a time, and roll into hemp seeds. Place in small paper cups. It will last a week unlees you eat them all first!

I was looking through OC Family magazine today and found an article about kids and a vegan diet. It states that a plant based diet is a nutritious/ healthy way to feed kids. Here is a copy of the quick reference guide : Vegan sources of nutrition:

Protein: Toddlers ages 2-5 need 16 grams a day; options include: quinoa (1 cup=5grams); buckwheat (1cup=5grams); hemp seeds (2tsps=14grams); walnuts... (1oz.=4grams); spinach or othere dark greens (1cup=5grams)

Iron: broccoli,brown rice, millet, figs, greens

Calcium: broccoli, brown rice, yams, beans, sesame

Essential fatty acids: flax seeds (in oil or seed form), walnuts, hemp seeds, olives, avocado, coconut