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May 09 2012
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Health

How To Make The Best Breakfast Smoothie

You probably don’t know this about me, but I’m the daughter of THE BEST smoothie maker in the world. While I’m not as good as my mom, I did want to share with you my breakfast smoothie recipe. It’s so good your kids will want to lick the blender, and so healthy you’ll feel good all morning.

What you’ll need:

  • 1/2 cup milk (I use Publix’s GreenWise Organic Fat-Free Milk)
  • 1/2 cup  juice (I use pomegranate)
  • 1/2 cup frozen fruit (I use raspberries)
  • Scoop of Whey protein (I use vanilla flavored, but my mom uses cake batter flavored) – note: this ingredient makes the smoothie’s texture better and adds a flavor base. If I have nothing of athletic value to do all day, I still add half a scoop to make it taste better. 
  • Scoop of Green Superfood
  • 1 Tbsp chia gel (recipe below) or flax-seed

What you do: Put it all in your blender and blend.

How to make Chia Gel: In a Tupperware container combine 1 cup juice (I just use my pomegranate) and 2 Tbsp chia seeds. Close lid and let sit for 15 minutes. Shake the container before using. It will last in the fridge for a week.

Why is chia gel important? Chia seeds are a nutritionally dense food. They contain antioxidants, vitamin Bs, minerals and your omega 3 fatty acids. They also digest slowly, so your blood sugar is stabilized. This means that you wont crash at 10am. Unless you were out all night, then chia seeds can’t help you. You’re supposed to make the chia seeds into a gel so we can digest it better. It also helps hydrate you if you’re working out a lot, and makes you feel fuller.

“But I’m running late!”

Cool. I’m always running late, so I created this quick “smoothie” recipe.

Take a tall travel mug and fill half way with your juice (if you use orange juice, this ends up tasting like an Orange Julius). Then add a half scoop protein and a full scoop Green Superfood. Fill the rest of the mug up with your milk. Mix as you run out the door and/or search desperately for your keys.

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Apr 25 2012
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Health

Siesta

The yawn from my cubicle mate 5 minutes ago marks the half way point between the work week. If my calculations are correct, it’s probobly time for a nap. Here’s the statistics:

Source

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Apr 10 2012
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Health

The Best Advice I Ever Got

Today I realized I live by some invisible scripts in my head left there by good advice givers. Thought I’d share in case you need some wisdom.

1. You’re not eating enough vegetables/drinking enough water. This is kind of a 2 parter. My friend Graham believes every fad diet was designed to trick you into eating more veggies. As far as water goes, my friend Stephen got me on a habit I would never want to break – drinking 2 glasses of water before bed. He also drinks a gallon of water a day, which I think is the best possible thing you can do to feel better.

2. Nothing good happens after midnight. This is something my uncle taught me long before I dictated my own bedtime. Sure, there’s nights where you stay up all night chatting with friends, or when you finally complete that huge project you’ve been working on; but usually after midnight is when there’s a crying girl in the corner, and you’ve decided to start a conga line. If I’m up at midnight, I always try to at least analyze the situation.

3. Step away. Yes, this applies to a fight, but more often I use it for projects. My ability to get work done increases significantly when (counter-intuitively) I make myself go outside for 10 minutes of fresh air.

4. Everything worth having is hard to get. You wont lose weight by buying a pill; randomly blanketing the city with uniform resumes wont get you a job; going to yoga once a week isn’t going to get you a flat stomach; and if you want a nice/funny/smart partner, you have to be nice/funny/smart. And don’t let screwing up one day ruin your entire plan. Get back to it the next day.

5. The Briefcase Technique. Really most of what Ramit Sethi says that I’ve tried has worked. The Briefcase Technique though actually made a client high-five me not once, but twice.

6. Surround yourself with passionate people. This is what I like to call the whiteboard effect. You know in those cool think tank companies when they have those huge whiteboards full of scribbled ideas? If when I’m talking to you my brain turns into one of those boards, I’m better off with you around me.

7. Don’t give up because you think you’re bad. For more information on what I mean see this.

8. Say “I feel” in a fight.The natural reaction is to point fingers in a fight , but that always escalates it. Someone once gave me this bit of advice and it stuck. The other fight-right advice I’ve received is to stick to the topic at hand (“Well last year…” arguments never play out), and to never (EVER) say or do anything that would ruin the relationship forever. I knew a guy once whose girlfriend got so mad at him for something or other and threw his dead mother’s old bible into the pool. Although it’s an extreme, I always think about that moment when I’m in a fight. It reminds me to stay classy.

9. Even when you have pains, you don’t have to be one. This is from my favorite poet, Maya Angelou.

10. Don’t eat the roast beef from Arby’s. Just. Don’t. Do. It.

Do you have any advice that’s stuck with you?

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Mar 20 2012
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Fun, Health

Sweetapolita Cakes

I am currently deeply in love with the website Sweetapolita. Check out these awesome cakes:

Click here for recipe

Click here for recipe

GF note: To make gluten-free make sure you replace the all-purpose flour with a gf one. You can get mixes at a store, but I get the best results when I just make my own:

Like your dessert with a little liquor? I can’t wait for an occasion to try these babies out:

Click here for recipe

GF note: All of Three Olives flavored vodkas are gluten-free. For cake mix, I use Bob’s.

Enjoy!

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Jan 13 2012
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Health

Red Cabbage

I’ve been eating a lot of red cabbage this week, which I have to admit has been a struggle. First I tried putting it in a coleslaw, but I had to plug my nose, and I gagged the whole way through it. I’ve been putting it in salads, which is ok if I have a very big salad with lots of other flavors. Sautéed in a stir fry with green curry it’s good, but when it’s cooked you don’t get the body cleansing effects. At one point I even mixed it with quinoa and extra hot salsa. Whatever works. Why am I so adamant about incorporating red cabbage into my diet?

1. Great Skin: It’s a great source of Vitamin C which helps with anti-oxidation and delayed the aging process. The outer leaves have lots of Vitamin E, which makes your skin glow. As an added bonus, the Vitamin A in it asks like a natural moisturizer.

2. Boosts Immunity: Red cabbage has tons of Vitamin E, which helps immunity building and the metabolic processes. If you have an autoimmune deficiency like me, you need all the help you can get producing healthy antibodies.

3. Cleanses the Body: Red cabbage contains large quantities of sulfur, and other minerals that work as cleansing agents for the digestive system, but like I said, you don’t get the full benefit when you cook it. It has a long-lasting effect because it has a ton of glucosinolates, which are an “indirect antioxidant. They trigger your body to send out it’s own natural detoxification enzymes. This can last for days.

4. No To Cancer: There have been 36 different anti-cancer chemicals found in this veggie. Since it has such a high content of anthocyanins, it’s world-class at cancer prevention. Also, in red cabbage you’ll find indoles that may reduce the risk of breast cancer by changing estrogen metabolism.

5. Strong Bones and Teeth: Tons of calcium. No osteoporosis!

6. Reduces Alzheimer Risk: This has been a big concern for me since it runs in my family. The main cause of Alzheimer’s is a building up of certain plaques in the brain. A study was done with eating red cabbage where it noticeably reduced the formation of the plaques. If you eat red cabbage (instead of other kinds) you get a high dose of anthocyanins, which protect against dementia.

Of course, I had to write this over lunch to both keep my mind off the cabbage mixed in my salad, and to remind me why I’m eating it in the first place.

Source: Green Parenthood, Live Strong

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Jan 09 2012
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Health

Cure For The Winter Blahs

I know that in living in Florida (and spending my weekend on the boat soaking in vitamin D) I really shouldn’t be experiencing any winter blues, and it’s true I don’t as much as I did in Minnesota. But, with the holidays, I ate anything and everything, and rarely exercised. This has taken a profound toll on my energy, health and tightness of my skinny jeans. This is why I’ve put together a fool proof plan for getting rid of the winter blahs:

Rules:

  • Stick to the immunity-boosting, healthy, around 1,500 calorie a day meal plan I created with the help of Clean Eating Magazine
  • Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water a day
  • Drink a mug of green tea every morning
  • Running today and Sunday
  • Yoga on Tuesday and Thursday
  • Quickie circuit training Wednesday and Friday (100 jumping jacks, 20 crunches, 20 squats, 10 push ups, 25 chair dips, 60 second wall sit, 60 second plank)

What I’m eating today:

-Breakfast: Mango Smoothie (with flaxseed, tofu, orange juice and organic milk)

-Lunch: Chicken Sandwich (piece Udi’s GF bread, chicken breast, goat cheese, arugala, mustard), sliced red bell pepper, mustard dip (mustard, greek yogurt, dash of onion powder and garlic salt)

-Snack: Banana and rice cakes with almond butter

-Dinner: Sirloin meatloaf, green beans and roasted potatoes

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