'Aloe Gloe' Berry Green Morning Smoothie

Draw on the power of good whole foods every morning, and get your day started in health with greens, fruits, berries, and superfoods! I recently saw some boxed Aloe Gloe organic water at a local store, and I decided to use this instead of my usual coconut water for this week's smoothies. Although aloe is widely known for its healing abilities on burns there is so much more to its helpful powers. Aloe contains more than 200 active amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants that are clinically proven to help cardiovascular and skin health. Aloe also promotes healthy digestion and immunity. 

Now is the perfect time to get our aloe on! In the past I bought aloe leaf, and cut out a small portion of the center gel to use, as you only use a few inches of straight aloe gel in juices and smoothies. I have never had much success saving that aloe leaf gel to use another day without it going bad first. So even though fresh is best, having the aloe available in this easy to use boxed form is quite handy. After trying out this aloe product the past couple of days I can say all the morning smoothies tasted great! In addition I went to the product website for 'Aloe Gloe Organic Aloe Water' and liked what I read about the company's sustainability and relationship to its farm workers. I will certainly buy this aloe water product again so I can switch it up with the coconut water, or almond milk, that I usually use, to add more variety to my smoothie rotation. Give this product a try for yourself and see what you think. Now to the smoothie recipe pictured below.

Aloe Berry Green Smoothie

8-10 oz 'aloe gloe' water

2 TBs chia seeds

2 TBs flax powder

2 TBs hemp seeds

1 TBs unhulled sesame seeds

large handful baby spinach leaves

5 dandelion leaves

1 kiwi with skin

1 banana

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup red raspberries

1 Tsp Ceylon Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

All ingredients are organic. Place everything in a high powered blender till mixed into smoothie! (About 20 - 30 seconds). Share with a friend as this makes two large smoothies. Rock that morning smoothie with as much healing power as you can! Be happy, be healthy, be peace!

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes Are A Gluten Free Decadent Delight!

Surprised to see such a sweet food on this blog? Well I wanted to show you that when you transition from processed foods to eating mostly organic whole fruits and vegetables there is still a little wiggle room on occasion. Oh my! Pancakes are one of those old style eating favorites, and if done correctly, I can still enjoy them a few times a year. I don't go crazy wishing and longing, when I know eventually I will have a plate of yummy pancakes one day. Buckwheat pancakes make that happen for me! Buckwheat is actually related to rhubarb and not wheat, so it is gluten free by nature. It is even high in protein and antioxidants! A good source of magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, manganese, calcium, and potassium, this buckwheat flour rocks! You can see that even though this breakfast looks mighty 'ooey and gooey,' there are still lots of goodies to be gotten by eating this delightful dish. Plus buckwheat is a good form of soluble fiber which is good for our glucose metabolism. Throw down some fresh fruit or berries, and we have a winner!

I choose to live my life like a Gypsy Queen in a fairy tale. I have Unicorn friends ... and a King! My King is the best in the whole wide world, and I think it is evident in the photo below that he is a sweetheart. On occasion my King pampers me and prepares my breakfast after a glorious Sunday morning slumber. So whether it be a healthy morning green smoothie, or the rare decadent treat of having buckwheat pancakes... it is fully appreciated. This is not a regular recipe post by me since this is something my husband does for me. I think most people can follow the directions on any of the brands named below.

Ben likes to make smaller pancakes... that way I can pile a few on my plate and feel totally indulgent!

We are fortunate to have real maple syrup in the refrigerator made by a family member to pour across our hot hearty blueberry buckwheat pancakes too. Nothing like the real thing! Such a delicate sweetness! You can of course top the pancake stack with more fruit, or a homemade whipped cream. We usually do not have anything beyond fruit, nuts, or maple syrup as a topping on pancakes. On this day we had some left over whipped topping called Truwhip ( 70% organic, gluten free, no high fructose corn syrup, and 2g sugar per serving) from the holidays in the freezer. Not something we would normally purchase, but it was better than the old whip we used to eat. The Hubby thought the combination of syrup and whip was way too sweet. Perhaps ... although this opportunity for pleasure is no time to be restrained ... as the Queen is going for voluptuous! Ha! Every three or four months I will savor this moment of the pancake gods .....buckwheat!

Yes, I also had seconds of this splendid morning treat. The lesson I wanted you to take from this post is your comfort food life is not over! I wanted you to see that there can be times when it's okay to draw outside the lines with your food, and still make healthier choices than your old ways. I do not do dairy, but in this case I allow myself to eat something made with a cage free organic egg. Hubby does use almond milk for the milk requirement. You can use a flax or chia egg as a dairy replacement instead of chicken egg. We try to do most recipes within the "good/better/best" paradigm. It's good to use the Truwhip. It's better to use buckwheat and real maple syrup. It's best to use lots of fresh or frozen berries. Don't eat pancakes everyday, but when you do... fully enjoy! Then go back to morning green smoothies!

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Follow directions on organic buckwheat flour package of choice or availability in your store. Add in fresh seasonal berries, or frozen blueberries. Use real maple syrup. Bob's Red Mill is usually the brand that hubby uses to make pancakes. He prefers the ease of the mixes, but he has also made the pancakes from scratch as well. Recipes are on the back of the packages.

Always grateful for my dear husband whose thoughtful care and concern for me have been a blessing in my life throughout my medical issues. He has also taken on our new food paradigm and supported the organic food all the way! Thanks hon! Now in our healthy healing mode we are looking forward to the next decadent foodie dream come true! Since... sometimes Ben makes me banana walnut buckwheat pancakes! Paradise! 

Fresh Flax Powder: Only 2 Tablespoons A Day Will Cut Cardio Risk In Half!

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, and Dr. Michael Greger, flax powder adds the needed DHA EPA Omega 3's your body needs to reduce your cardio risk by half! Heart disease is one of those ailments that is mostly preventative. So if you do only one thing to improve your healthy lifestyle this year, adding 2 TBS. of fresh ground flax seeds is just the thing to do! My doctor Joel Fuhrman MD made sure to emphasize the importance of taking two tablespoons a day for my breast cancer health issues when we spoke last year because flax powder is a huge source of lignans. Essential Omega 3 fatty acids are something our bodies cannot make, and must come from food or supplements. 

Flax powder is fast to create and can be easily added to smoothies, salads, cereals, and baking. One to two tablespoons a day does the trick, and equals one to two fatty fish meals a week without the toxic mercury or chemical dangers. One tablespoon of ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons of water equals an egg substitute in baking. Flax powder can be substituted for 1/4 of the flour used in recipes, and it works as a great thickener too. Good news is that you can bake with powdered flax and not lose the nutritional value. (Although you should never cook with flax oil.)

Seriously these tiny seeds are the best form of EPA DHA and lignans that you can get on the planet. Even better than salmon. Plus you do not get the mercury risk of eating fish which sadly is a concern in our modern polluted industrial world. Flax seeds come in golden and dark brown colors and the nutrition is said to be the same. At some point I heard the golden was slightly better, but let's not split hairs. We need the flax powder mojo in either color. The shell is unable to be broken down by your body, so the flax seed must be fresh ground to release those powerful Omega 3's and lignans locked inside! If you eat whole flax seed crackers, just know they go through you without adding any nutrition. These seeds are tough and you need to grind into powder to get the benefits.

Ground flax seeds must be kept in the refrigerator once you grind them open, because the oils released will go rancid. Which is why I grind mine in small batches once or twice a week. Ground in the fridge it will last 3 months. Although you should be using it much faster than that my friends. You could grind the hard little seeds the old fashioned way shown above, and that looks like it could take forever. Yeesh! So I recommend you get a spice grinder, coffee grinder, food processor, or a high speed blender to do the task. Then in a flash you will have fresh powerful Omega 3 flax powder to add to your food. 

If you use a small coffee bean/spice grinder as I do it only takes a few pulses, and you're finished. A fluffy lightly nutty powder is the result. Easy. I fill the grinder three times per batch. You are now ready to sprinkle on foods and be healthier.

I use a small glass mason jar to store my flax powder. I love using this funnel made for the wide mouth opening of the jars, since you can pour items cleanly be they nuts or seeds without side spillage.

Once your seeds are ground just pour the fresh flax powder through your funnel and into the mason jar. Tighten down the lid, and keep the fresh flax powder in the refrigerator or freezer. 

Make a fresh batch of flax powder once or twice a week. 

For super organization keep your jar of flax powder in the fridge storage container I talked about in this blog post here seen above. I pull that baby out everyday and it makes my smoothie life so much easier. Oh look at those yummy green smoothies below!

Add the flax powder powerhouse of good health to your morning smoothie, cereals, and salads everyday. Vegetarians, vegans, and meat eaters need the prevention qualities of flax daily to prevent heart attacks. Yes, flax powder is one of those must have super food supplements that everybody needs no matter where you are in reclaiming your health or maintaining an already healthy situation. The heart problem comes from ingestion of too many saturated fats and poly unsaturated Omega 6 items in a modern person's diet. These are from animal fats, coconut oils, palm kernel oils, cottonseed oil, corn oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil. We need the help of DHA EPA Omega fatty acid foods to decrease the inflammation on our heart. This is the same reason doctors prescribe aspirin for people with heart problems. It is a way to reduce inflammation. Lucky for us flax powder is a natural, healthy, cheap, and easy to make solution without the risk of using pharmaceuticals. Lives could be saved if everyone adopted this habit of adding one to two tablespoons of fresh flax powder daily to their foods. Many other degenerative diseases begin with inflammation besides heart disease, such as diabetic issues, some cancers, arthritis, depression, and Crohn disease to name a few that can be improved as well. Other good forms of Omega 3's to have everyday are hemp seeds, dark leafy greens, walnuts, and flax seed oil. Flax powder reigns supreme, and should be part of your daily healthy protocol for the rest of your life.

If you want to make the big changes to protect your heart health, and affect other diseases including various cancers, add the most powerful EPA DHA Omega 3 and lignan producer... Flax powder! Find the best sources of flax seeds in your local health food store refrigerator section, or in the flour aisle. Keep the seeds in a dark place until you grind them into the flax powder, then refrigerate or keep in the freezer. I hope you get your daily two tablespoons of flax powder for life and thrive! Be happy, be healthy, be peace.

Links:
University of Maryland on Flax Benefits
Web MD Flax Benefits
Flax Seed Meal Benefits Livestrong
Multiple Videos about flax seeds and disease improvement
Video: 40 Year Vegan Dies Of Heart Attack