So, how was your Mother's Day? Mine was busy but fantastic! Of course, I woke up to the prerequisite breakfast in bed but then got surprise with not one but two arrangements of flowers and a new digital camera, which I have been dying for!!!

Had my favorite breakfast.

Then, I went for a nice 7 mile run in the park. The weather was bright and sunny and just what Mother's Day is supposed to be!

The rest of the day, I would have like to have said, was spent getting massages and lounging around but that was definitely not to be! My daughter had lacrosse practice and my son a game away in New Jersey so he and I tagged teamed. What ended up happening was that I ended up spending the day with the two people (well, three to be exact if you include the hubbie) who are responsible for being a mother. Isn't that what Mother's Day is all about?

After the boys got back from lacrosse, they took me to my favorite restaurant, Pure, where we sat on the gorgeous, romantic patio. I didn't take pictures of the evening because I promised myself and my family that I would not work or blog on Mother's Day and it was so nice having a day off!

Here is a pic, though, of the favorite dessert, Pure Food and Wine's Peppermint Sundae that I single-handedly devoured. Usually, my daughter and I fight over the spoons but this time she let me have it all to myself-yum! Before, you feel sorry for her, she ordered the trio of chocolate desserts (ice cream cone, chocolate covered ice cream on a stick and chocolate ice cream sandwich!)

What did you do on Mother's Day?

Did you do something special or take your own mother somewhere special?

Brazil Nut Butter

For those of you who have been following my blog, you might notice that I have been totally obsessed with brazil nuts as of late! A few days ago, I made my Veggie Beauty Burgers, which contain brazil nuts as a base.

I am typically an almond butter girl all the way, but just yesterday I don't know what posessed me to buy a $32 jar of Rejuvenative Foods Brazil Nut Butter but buy I did!

Sometimes I think our bodies tell us when we need something in our diets- and, mine, certainly has been talking loudly! Not only are brazil nuts high in iron, zinc, magnesium, but they are also an excellent source of selenium, which is a powerful antioxidant that protects us against aging by improving cell quality and elasticity, stimulating our immune system and can even helping fight off heart disease and some forms of cancer. Brazil nuts have 2500 times as much selenium as any other nut!

Another bonus is that brazil nuts do not contain phytoestrogens like almonds. For most of us, we need not worry about this but for cancer patients or those at risk who have been told to avoid them, brazil nut butter may be a better option.

So, how did the two stand up?
I decided to do a face-off! On the way to drop off C at school, I stopped by Dean & Deluca and got one of their mixed berry bran muffins. NO, I am sure it was not vegan and probably has a bit of sugar... but, who cares, its been a long week. So, I had both the brazil nut and almond butter with it.  have to admit, I still do prefer my nutty almond butter but the brazil nut butter was still very good. It tasted much more mild and almost a bit more fatty/oily more like coconut butter. Overall, both were very good!

I can see where the brazil nut butter would be great in dips and salad dressings and I am excited to begin experimenting with it this week!

I also recieved a bag of gorgeous brazil nuts from High Vibe in my last order and I am also planning on using my Green Star Juicer and making my own!

This week has been busy! My daughter's book fair, my son's Middle School Chorus performance, my daughter's Invention Convention (she invented glasses with windshield wipers), her class PJ party (yes, she is going in pj's) and a boy-girl Carnival Party for my son tonight (which, I am chaperoning) whew- am looking forward to a quiet weekend!!!

Here is her poster for it. She was so proud of it and the glasses themselves turned out cute (didn't photograph well so didn't include them)

My Mother's Day gift to myself this weekend will be no blogging! Just simple time with family.

After being well-fueled with a muffin and almond/brazil nut butters, I am off on my 7 mile run in the gorgeous New York City sunshine (finally!!!)

Creamy Chocolate Banana Green Smoothie and the Braces Come Off!

Today is a day to celebrate! My older son, Oliver, is getting his braces off today! Yipee!!! I was so excited I decided to take before and after shots.

Before

After

I also decided to make my creamy, dreamy Chocolate Banana Green Smoothie for us all this morning to celebrate. Nothing like starting your day with something healthy and dessert-worthy delicious!

Chocolate Banana Green Smoothie
3 cups almond milk
3 handfuls of raw spinach (I used a little over a 1/2 of the box)
2 frozen bananas (if you don't have them frozen then just used bananas and a few ice cubes!)
3 scoops Sun Warrior Chocolate Protein Powder

Blend in your blender until smooth and enjoy!

This smoothy has a whopping 17 grams of protein per serving, tons of iron, calcium, potassium, antioxidants and live-enzymes, and is an amazing way to start your day!

Sadly to say, and I am even embarrased to admit it but my daughter...gasp.... hates fruit. I means hates the smell, consistency, everything about it. So, for her, instead of bananas, I opted for ice cubes and a bit of coconut butter! My daughter calls this her "salad in a glass" and, no matter what they eat during their day, I know that they have left the house powered up for their day!

We were running a bit late this morning so placed them in these nifty to-go cups we got at Starbucks, and

we all left the house happy and fueled for our days!

Gluten-free, Raw Vegan Mixed Berry Pancakes

I never thought that I would say this but I am...drum roll please...getting tired of cereal!!! I tend to go in my ruts about foods that I eat everyday and boy was I in a cereal rut for a while. So, today I decided to make my Gluten-free, Raw, Vegan Mixed Berry Pancakes. Don't be fooled- the pancakes were a satisfying size but the blueberries were monsterous so this pic doesn't do them justice!

They are so easy and simple to make as well as nutritious! Here is a picture of the ingredients and the recipe:

Gluten-free, Raw Vegan Mixed Berry Pancakes
2 cups almond meal (I used the leftover pulp from my homemade almond milk)
1 cups grated veggies (I used the leftover pulp from my juice which was carrots, celery, romaine, and cucumber)
1 avocado
1 cup ground flax seeds (to bind)
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup agave nectar (could use maple syrup or raw honey as well)
1/2 cup coconut butter
Frozen blueberries, rasberries and strawberries
Maple Syrup to add on top!!!

Mix all of the above aside from the berries in a food processor until smooth. Place a few handfuls of berries in and run again to mix through but not to grind up too much. Blend in more berries by hand and make into pancake patties on your dehydrator sheet. Decorate with more berries on top.

Here is what they look like at this stage:

Depending on how thick and big you made them, they will take approximately 8-12 hours to dehydrate fully. Check on them after 4 hours and turn over as needed. This time I made mine so fat and juicy that they took 14 so every batch will vary.

When they are done, serve with maple syrup- yum!!!!

These last for approximately 3 days and you can also freeze them for later.

What happens if you dont have a dehydrator?
Don't despair!!! When you are making the dough, you will just want to make sure that you add less almond milk and have it almost be a thick, cookie like consistency that you literally shape into pancake shapes and cook on the stovetop. My smaller crew like it this way!!!

Today is my daughter, Caroline's, Book Fair and it is poooouuuuring down rain in New York City! I am both working it and, of course, walking her through so will indoors at school all day long. What a perfect day to do this. Right now this is her favorite book!

What was your favorite book as a child?


What are your children reading and loving???


Reading is one of my favorite things to do!  Do you love to read?

Veggie Beauty Burger

Yesterday was a sunny and glorious day and I thought that the weather had truly turned warmer for good. But, the good luck was not to be! Today it is cold and damp and, after sitting on a lacrosse field for 2 hours, I wanted to prepare something warm and comforting for dinner tonight- brrrrr! Since I had alot of vegetables left over from the past week that were almost past their prime and a lot of pulp from my juicer (yes, I save the pulp!), I decided to make these delicious beauty burgers!
Veggie Beauty Burgers
1 cup ground flax seeds
1 cup brazil nuts (you can use walnuts or pecans if you don't have brazil nuts)
1-2 cups veggie pulp (you can use 2-3 stalks diced celery, 1/2 diced cucumber, 6 small carrots, a few handfuls of diced lettuce such as romaine, spinach and/or kale if you don't have pulp)
1/2 large tomato (I only had cherry tomatos so I threw in 5 of them)
1/2 large red pepper
4 tbsp dulse
1-2 cloves of garlic (diced)
1-2 stalks of broccoli
Juice from 1 lemon
4 tbsp nama soyu (or soy sauce)
Dash of sea salt
2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp tarragon
Oh, and I also threw in the Crunchy Sprouts that I made a few days ago!

Put all of the above ingredients in a food processor and process until relatively smooth. Shape into patties and place either in your dehydrator (if you are going raw) for approximately 4-6 hours turning over half-way, or cook on the stove top. If you are going to be cooking your burgers then wrap in seran wrap and let burgers set in refrigerator approximately 1-2 hours before you are cooking them.

When they are done, place them on a sprouted bread such as the ooey gooey Manna Bread, the grainy Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Buns, a healthy collard green or your favorite bread. I slathered the Raw Cheddar Cheese on them from the Kale Chips I made a few days ago but Vegenaise would be great too!
And, don't forget the sliced tomato and lettuce to give it some crunch!

So, why do I call these my Beauty Burgers?
Well, they are bursting with live enzymes, antioxidants and nutrients that help us have healthy skin, radiant hair and beautiful nails as well as fight against that nasty aging!
 
Did you know?

 
Brazil nuts are an excellent source of selenium and, in fact, have 2500 times as much as any other nut! Selenium is a powerful antioxidant that protects us against aging by helping with cell qualtiy and elasticity, stimulates our immune system and can even help fight off heart disease and some forms of cancer. Brazil nuts are also high in iron, zinc, magnesium.
 

 
Cucumbers are very high in silicon, which is essential for building and maintaining strong nails, bones, teeth and promoting hair growth. Cucumbers are also a good source of vitamin A, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, vitamin K, B- vitamins, folic acid and potassium! Cucumbers also help us hydrate our bodies therefore our skin!

 

Flax seeds are high in Omega 3's and fiber. Omega 3's have been known to hydrate and strenghten nails, skin and hair. Omega 3's also can help fight depression. But, when you are looking and feeling better, who is going to need that?
 
 

Red Peppers & Tomatoes are high in Vitamins A, C, K and the anitoxidant lycopene. Consuming foods high in the these antioxidants  have been proven to protect against free radical damage associated with aging as well as sun exposure.

 
Broccoli is high in vitamin C, which protects skin against free radical damage and aging, as well as vitamin A, E, iron and fiber.
 

 
Dulse is high in calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, iodine, chlorophyll, B-12, enzymes and fiber and is one of nature’s richest sources of proteins, having up to 48% of plant-based protein. Due to its high iodine and other nutritients, dules helps cells regenerate and repair.

The burger was delicious and look (almost) like the real thing- and definitely tasted better!!!

Kale Avocado Salad with Tahini Dressing

Are you sick of hearing about kale yet? Yesterday I made Cheesy Kale Chips based upon my favorite New York Naturals kale chips and they were so easy to make and turned out mouthwateringly delcious! I gorged on the kale chips yesterday and want a bit of variety.

So, today I made this Kale, Avocado Salad with Tahini Dressing and topped it with the homemade sprouts that I made a few days ago.

So, here are the ingredients I used:

Kale Avocado Salad with Tahini Dressing
4-6 stalks kale
Any other veggies you want- I used radishes, pea sprouts, and sliced cucumbers
1-2 tbspTahini
Olive oil
Avocado
Lemon
Salt
Optional- sprouts or nuts such as walnuts

Slice up your kale into 1/8 inch bite size pieces and place in bowl. Slice half of the avocado on top and mush mixture in the bowl (preferably with hands) to soften kale. Then, healthily drizzle tahini and olive oil on top and add a dash of sea salt. Mix well then top with slices of the other half of the avocado, sprouts and/or nuts.

Cheesy Kale Chips

After yesterdays rant about how milk does not help our kids grow, my post today is a bit lighter!

Locinato kale was back in stock at the grocery store today and looked so fresh and vibrant so I bought a bunch to use for my salads, in my green juices juices and to make kale chips this week!

Tiring of paying $9 per box for my favorite New York Naturals Cheesy Kale Chips, I decided to take matters into my own hands and try to make them. It was so incredibly easy I can't believe I haven't done it before!!!

I based my recipe off the box of New York Naturals and just tweeked it a bit. Here is how I did it:

Cheesy Kale Chips

1 head locinato kale
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup tahini
1/2 red pepper
6-8 tablespoons Raw Parma (or nutritional yeast)
Juice of 1 lemon
Dash of sea salt
Optional: cayenne pepper if you like spicy (I didn't use it in mine!)
Water

Combine all of the ingredients (aside, of course, for the kale) into a food processor and run until smooth. Add water very slowly until reaches desired consistency. Here is what mine looked like!

The great thing about this cheese is that if you have any leftover you can use it on sandwiches, raw burgers or even as a dressing or topping for salads or veggies!

In a bowl, chopped the kale into 1/4 inch slices and put in a bowl with cheesy mixture.

Flatten on a sheet and place in your dehydrator for approximately 12 hours (I did it overnight) until crispy. Depending on how goopy you make your chips, it make take a shorter or longer amount of time. If you do not have a dehydratordo not despair...you can place the chips in your oven at 175 degrees with the door open for a hour or so (checking frequently of course.)

Here is what they should look like in the morning!

Caroline and I had these today as a side dish with our lunches and they were so delicious and just as good (or better!) than the store bought ones! Later in the week I am going to try to replicate their New York Natural's Bombay Ranch Kale Chips!