76 Pound Weight Loss Before and After Photos On My New "About Page"

Well there you go! Proof of my plant powered success and remarkable changes! This new 'before and after' photo starts off the The Queen''s Table reworked "About" page! This type of photo really gets people's attention, so I hope it is inspirational to those who need to get well. My plant-powered 76 pound weight loss makes a difference in my photos, and my life! What you cannot see is what happened inside of my body and in every cell! The weight loss occurred as a bonus to all the sickness and disease that I have reversed. This manifested simply by transitioning to an organic whole foods lifestyle and by removing toxic GMO filled processed foods from my life. I hope now more people begin to understand the power of real whole foods! They allow the body to heal itself! Green smoothies, and green juices are my delicious daily prevention. Eating a rainbow of goodness at every meal is exciting and filled with tasty delights!

Feels funny to say, "Read all about me!" Although we know every blog needs an 'about' page to let the readers know who is behind the articles. So if you want to know the story behind this snazzy gal's photo go to the new "About" page above! Feeling happy to be sure! I invite you to join us on this amazing food exploration. Learn what you can do for yourself, and your family, to improve your well being. All in all, I hope you use those pages at the top! Please send anyone to The Queen's Table blog who you feel might benefit from this life enhancing information. 

In addition, I have started redesigning each of the pages above the blog. After two years I feel the blog needs a face lift. I hope you like the tweaks I have made in the overall design too. In the beginning of this food blog venture I was just throwing the 'new to me' information up on each page. It was not organized as well as it could be. Actually the birth of this entire blog was a reaction to the attention I was getting at my husband's gigs. Many friends and fans wanted to know "what I was doing" to look so vibrant and quickly change my appearance. Basically I got tired of constantly going over my health food spiel, and I did not want to turn off folks with my story. So for those sincere and ready to make changes in themselves, I felt a blog would put it all in one easy reference place. In that way I could then send these 'inquiring minds' to my website, instead of talking about myself so much. Once people educate themselves about organic foods, processed foods, our food system, the medical system, Big Pharma and Big Ag, I figured they will 'get' what needs to be done in their lives too. Really I cannot help sharing my plant powered secrets, since healthy feels so good! I want everyone to enjoy their own victory dance! 

I just released a new version of the "Get Started" page organized into an FAQ! That page has taken nearly a month alone! Very excited about that helpful more effective and better organized information! Be sure to read the long list of my medical ailments that I improved upon, or got rid of fairly quickly, on my new "About page." There is a bit more personal information about me this time as well. At the end of the post I also included a 'testimonial' about how this blog could inspire others to make the changes needed in their food lifestyle. (So those of you who talked about sending me your testimonials, please do that now, and I will add them to the page.) Enough about me... go rock a green juice or smoothie, and shine on you crazy diamonds!

Epic Pumpkin Bowl FAIL! Plus A Cauldron Of Vegan Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

Fall is officially here! The food blogs are filled with a deluge of frothy pumpkin latte recipes, a side of pumpkin muffins, and a beautiful photo of stacked pumpkin spiced cookies. So pretty, and I can smell it all now... yes, it's smelly good! Although back at the bat cave we were summoning a misty mellow Halloween evening when we experienced... "Attack of the Killer Pumpkin!" Bad pumpkin! Bad pumpkin! It happened during my first fall season while learning about whole foods. Excitedly I attempted to create a pair of those very cool carved pumpkin bowls in which to serve up my pumpkin black bean soup. Things did not go well in the Painting Queen's kitchen on that dark and gloomy evening, it was ...(cue the voice of Vincent Price) ...my EPIC FAIL! Let's enjoy the holiday madness shall we.... !?!!@!%&!

I carved the first little pumpkin's top off in a flash! No problem-o! Carving jack-o-lantern pumpkins for outside home decor like most people, I figured this second little pumpkin was no biggie to tackle either. My thick sharp knife went securely into the second pumpkin, and immediately was stuck! I pulled... I yanked. No response from the knife. Was this the sword in the stone, or what? Hmmm.

I am not messing around with this little orange terror! I got a hammer! Don't under estimate the Queen!

In order to get the knife to move I had to slam a hammer against the handle. Took 47 minutes to open!

Inside of this pumpkin looked like ewwww! Something was not right. The skin of the pumpkin was like a hard crust. You can see how thick and gnarly it looks. Not very appetizing huh? Then it hit me, duh! I had me a regular decor pumpkin. Not a pumpkin pie pumpkin! Oh Geez! Hubby, please run out to the store! Soup is on the stove, and my cauldron is bubbling! One rock pumpkin headed to wicked front step duty!

Compare how the decor pumpkin looks very much like the pie pumpkin from the outside. The difference is in the meat and the much thinner skin on the pumpkin pie pumpkin. Should only take minutes to slice off the top. You can see how much cleaner the cut looks too! Yes, sweet hubby went out and got us a proper pie pumpkin, for our individual Halloween soup bowls. The new pumpkin was tiny although it worked in a pinch. Don't forget to eat the insides of your semi-edible bowl while you enjoy the soup! 

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

4 stalks chopped Celery 

2 chopped Onions

3 chopped Carrots 

1 - 2 cloves of minced garlic

4 - 6 Organic red french fingerling potatoes cut into chunks

1 box of organic vegetable broth

1 bottle spring water

1 can organic pumpkin (not pie mix)

1 can organic black beans rinsed

3/4 cup organic frozen corn

1 tsp Garam masala

1 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Rosemary 

1/2 tsp Thyme

Optional
2 or more organic pie pumpkins (Sugar pie, Cinderella) for bowls and chunks
1 - 2 cups of organic chopped pie pumpkin

Start with chopping and gathering your organic ingredients. Prepare a mirepoix in your stock pot of celery, onion, and celery. Sweat veggies, turn, and add spices. Add the broth and the rest of your ingredients. Bring to boil then simmer soup on low for a few hours. Adjust for your spice preferences. If you are making pumpkin bowls for serving: Purchase pie pumpkins! Yikes! Be sure they are the correct kind! Should only take about 15 minutes or so to carve and scoop a small pumpkin. If you need a hammer... it's not fer' eating!

Simply cut the top off to use as a lid, and scrape out the inside seed and fiber area. You can sprinkle the inside with some nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice. Wet the stem of lid and cover with foil. Place pumpkins and lids on cookie sheet or roasting pan in 400 degree oven for 20 - 35 minutes till tender. Time will depend on size of your pumpkin. Place carefully on serving dish and ladle in your finished soup. You can cover bowl with handy dandy matching stemmed lid to keep warm till serving time. Don't forget to scrape out the pumpkin meat from the pumpkin as you eat! Yum! Bonus food fun!

Well that was quite a 'food horror story' my sweet little pumpkins, and that seasonal Fall soup is really smelling good in the castle tonight! Yo Vincent! Get over here, it's time to feast!

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Banana Ice Cream: A Simple Healthier One Ingredient Dessert Alternative

Doesn't that look scrumptious?!!! We still get to have sundaes while eating healthy! How cool is that? As cool as these bananas baby!  One ingredient ice cream! No dairy! No fat! No mystery chemicals! No added sugar. Natural sweetness is better. Just use frozen banana and your choice of toppings for your ice cream sundae! Perhaps you will add fresh fruit, berries, nuts, organic chocolate sauce, honey, maple syrup, or balsamic reduction glaze for your toppings. You make the call. The once a week banana sundae treat Rocks!

Most of us have bananas around for our green smoothies anyway. So when the bananas start going too dark and soft it's time to slice and dice. Be sure to peel the banana first! I confess the first time I did this last year I actually left the peel on! You cannot get it off when it is frozen! Too funny! Such a dork!

Get in the habit of having frozen banana slices ready to put in your smoothies, or to make ice cream anytime! When bananas start to get over ripe they are at their sweetest. That is the perfect time to add them to your banana bag in the freezer. The next day your bananas are ready to use. When organic bananas go on special at the store take advantage, and stock up for your freezer supply! Since bananas have a thick peel you could buy conventional to save money. They are #35 on the EWG pesticides produce list. We prefer to buy organic and avoid the nastiness of the chemical companies.

Conventional strawberries are number two (#2) on the dirty dozen list. We topped our dessert with organic blueberries. Did you know that domestic conventional blueberries (#13) have more pesticides than imported conventional blueberries (#22)? I recommend that you buy organic and avoid the dozens of pesticides each fruit has anyway. The truth is yukky.

Back to our dreamy ice cream sundae... We just grab some of those frozen banana chunks and go for it! You can also let the frozen banana pieces sit a few minutes and then mash with a fork and stir into a chunky creamy consistency. Other people like to blend their frozen bananas into a soft serve ice cream. I am lazy and do not want to be cleaning up a blender, when I can immediately be eating a sundae! Cravings are like that! So you do what turns you on! Dripping organic chocolate sauce still works for me! Yeah! Plus walnuts! Got to have me some crunchy walnuts. Who doesn't like a sundae you can feel great about?!!! Enjoy the decadence!

De Nigris Organic Balsamic Glaze

We love finding a 'new' yummy to enjoy. That can even happen with the processed food items we choose to use in our healthier life. When we come upon something we can integrate, and still feel good about eating, that is a happy day in the neighborhood! This has transpired with De Nigris Organic Balsamic Glaze. Twist my finger to tell you about this one! The last time I went to the food market they were sold out, so this time I bought two bottles! It's that good! Hmmm On second thought... maybe I shouldn't share this product review with the world...

You may recall my recent blog post about making your own balsamic reduction glaze at home. Wow! What a tasty treat that scrumptious drippy sauce is on your foods! The variety of uses is wonderful! Salads, desserts, salmon, sweet potato fries, and veggies! Darn near anything tastes better with a few drips of balsamic vinegar reduction! Plus you can get all fancy by swirling cool designs on your plates and across the food. Chefs use balsamic reduction glaze all the time in restaurants to make food taste amazing, and look cool. The sweet and sour combo works on the taste buds, and the squeeze bottle creates the art. I love balsamic vinegar just by itself, so making a sweet thick version is crazy good! You do not need very much of the glaze to flavor your food. So it's not too much sugar intake if you control your drizzle. The nutritional info on the Glaze bottle is as follows: A serving size is one tablespoon. Sugars 10g, sodium 10 mg, carbs 11g, Fat 0, and calories 45. Without over doing it, I think we can enjoy this taste sensation on occasion.

Apparently it seems there are many chefs who don't make their own glaze at all, but instead purchase it from the De Nigis company which makes many different flavored vinegar glazes. Only one of them is organic, and that is the one we bought from our natural foods co-op. If you find making your own balsamic reduction glaze takes too long, then this store bought Glaze is a quick fix alternative. Same thick delicious syrupy flavor. This Glaze product will be a staple in our refrigerator. Out of salad dressing? Just grab the bottle of glaze! It takes less glaze to flavor the salad anyway! Makes everything melt in your mouth!

The De Nigris company is from Italy and has been making vinegars since 1889. They are quite proud of the quality of their product, as well as the heritage of their business. 

If you see this Organic DeNigris Balsamic Vinegar Glaze in your market, pay the extra dollars, it's worth the money! You will find so many uses for this glaze. I think this one is a winner! 

Acai Berry Super Green Smoothie For Your Good Health My Sweet Super Friends

Super smoothie? Oh yes! Of that have no doubt! Acai berries are a great antioxidant source, as are all the colorful blue, purple, and red berries. Add to that the super powers of the the following greens: kale, dandelion, pea sprouts, and alfalfa sprouts! Throw down some chia, hemp, golden flax powder, and un-hulled sesame seeds, to add more super-food goodies to your morning smoothie! I am not fooling around when I use the word "super-foods" in my smoothie recipes. Too many bloggers bandy that word "super" around on those sugar-laden dessert-looking smoothies with nary a green leaf in sight. No, I don't use that word lightly, cause' just about everything in this baby will rock your inner world! Oh yeah then there is the magic of electrolyte filled coconut water. Plus I also add turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, vitamin D drops, and dha/epa drops! You know I mean bizznazz my super friendzzz!

We always add some type of berry, such as blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, and sometimes black berries, into our morning smoothies. These help to fight off the free radicals in our cells. So while I was in the organic freezer section of our market this week looking to refill my selection of organic berries, I found a new berry product to add to our rotation...acai. Actually it is the puree of Acai and Guarana. Although I was not aware of what Guanana was when I purchased the product. Apparently it is a form of caffeine that some people like to use for energy. It is supposed to be less than 0.5% of the acai frozen puree so it is not present in a high amount. Personally I avoid caffeine and would prefer that my food market offered the caffeine free version of this product. 

I intend to write to the store and put in a request for them to carry the Sambazon 'plain unsweetened acai smoothie packs,' in the future. Live and learn and try new things! In researching the Sambazon company they seem to have a wonderful attitude towards organic, fair trade, and doing the right things in business within the Brazilian rain-forest community. You can read about founders Ryan and Jeremy Black on the Sambazon website, get product info, as well as recipes. You may also wish to view a large info-graphic about their sustainable practices, and check out the blog. Now to my acai smoothie recipe!

Acai Berry Super Green Smoothie

1 cup coconut water

1-2 tsp chia

2 TBS fresh ground golden flax powder

2 TBS hemp seeds

1 tsp unhulled sesame seeds

small handfull pea sprouts

small bunch alfalfa sprouts

small bunch dandelion leaves

3 dinosaur kale leaves

1 banana peeled

1 kiwi unpeeled

1 frozen acai berry smoothie pack

Optional

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

 1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

For me:

1 Vitamin D drop added to smoothie serving glass.

Dr. Fuhrman's epa/dha drops added to smoothie serving glass.

Wash produce. Most ingredients are organic; be sure to peel anything that is not. Add each item to the blender in the order listed. Blendo-rama and pour! Taste your sensation! Oh that is sooooo delicious!

This Acai super green smoothie was so creamy and tasty that I wanted more! Mmmm Indulge in something super healthy, and super yummy in the morning! You will probably have super powers, you super-natural being! Oh yeah, we be feeling it! Be happy! Be healthy! Be peace! So says the Queen!