What a great discovery. I had 2 half grapefruits in the fridge and wanted something cool on a warm midmorning for my sheer drop, but I wanted something a little more substantial (currently breastfeeding a growing toddler) so I added in a few things to slow it down a smidge.

Ingredients:

1. 1 whole grapefruit
2. Handful of raw cashews, soaked one hour preferrably)
3. 1 tsp. Maca powder
4. Almond milk and/or coconut water to desired consistency
5. Stevia to taste (optional)

Directions:

Blend well and enjoy!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!  Appreciate any mothers you know, and if you are a mother, appreciate yourself today! Mothering is a wonderful thing, as long as we give and take equally.  Accept the joy in the face of your child or children, accept the love they give you, accept the trust they bestow in you, and accept the fact that they make you want to be your best self!  These are beautiful gifts from little ones and we should not take them lightly – they are the of the most important gifts we can get. Remember today to give yourself and/or any mothers you know a little extra credit than you usually do by taking a little extra care of yourself in only the ways you know actually bring you peace and good energy.

A great way to feel the lightness and flowing energy of the day is to juice until lunch (as usual…) and try the Bunny-ade (phototgraphed above)!!! For having broccoli in it, it’s quite amazing.  You’ll definitely feel the zing!  If your family wants to take you out, have them take you out for lunch or dinner so you can enjoy juices all morning – this is an amazing gift of cleansing, alkalizing, and nutrient-filling for your body <3

]]> http://www.enlightenprinciple.com/happy-mothers-day/feed 0 http://www.enlightenprinciple.com/pineapple-mustard-sweet-potato-fries?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pineapple-mustard-sweet-potato-fries http://www.enlightenprinciple.com/pineapple-mustard-sweet-potato-fries#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:43:34 +0000 admin http://www.enlightenprinciple.com/?p=3212

Sweet Potatoes are one of the best things we can eat in my opinion.  Eating carbohydrates that are healthy, without protein will help to boost serotonin in the brain to have you feeling happier and calmer. Sweet potatoes are also high in Vitamin A, help balance blood sugar and are anti-inflammatory.  Try getting all of these benefits from regular fries! The pineapple and mustard add sweetness and zing, and allow you to cook the fries without having to add a load of oil to the fries!

Ingredients:

1. 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
2. 2 Tbs. Organic Pineapple Juice
3. 1 tsp. Mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice the potatoes into ‘fries.’ Toss the fries in a large bowl with the pineapple juice and mustard until all are coated well.   
3. Bake the fries for 40 minutes, or until they reach your desired consistency.

A quick meal if I ever saw one!  This is an excellent snack or meal to have at any point during the day.  It is alkaline, easy to digest, well combined, gluten-free, vegan, non-allergenic and nutrient-dense, including protein and fiber to satisfy a growling tummy.

Ingredients:

1. 1-2 medium organic Zucchinis
2. 1/2 C. cooked Lentils
3. 1/2-1C. cooked Quinoa
4. 1 tsp. Coconut Oil, if desired
5. Tamari to taste

Directions:

1. Using a spiralizer (buy one on Amazon here – they’re very affordable!), spiralize 1-2 zucchinis.
2. Throw all ingredients in a non-stick pan and cook over medium heat, just until everything is warm.  Overcooking will take aways the crisp freshness of this dish and dull the zucchinis considerably.
3. Place the mixture in a bowl and serve!

Finding your level of body cleanliness can be a little harrowing, considering there is no specific ‘gauge’ of how many environmental, chemical and metabolic toxins are lodged in your body, and where specifically (liver? Pancreas? Brain? Fat stores?).  This is the reason that detoxification programs have come under fire so often:

1. A person with little toxic residue takes on an intense detox and suffers
2. A person with major amounts of toxic build-up takes on a light program that does little to help
3. Or people just plunder along, trying to figure it out as they go, feeling amazing one day, and terrible the next, causing ups, downs, and all arounds.

Alternatively, with the fitness programs available these days (Jillian Michaels, Tone it Up, Jackie Warner etc.), you eat every 2 to 3 hours, keep blood sugar stable, and build and cleanse at the same time (generally), which helps the body cleanse while losing weight, which is why people gravitate towards them these days – you don’t starve, your body knows what to expect consistently, and emotionally they are easier to deal with, particularly with a busy lifestyle where you don’t want the ‘detox symptoms’ happening while you’re writing, typing, meeting with people, giving presentations etc, and aren’t lugging about 20 pounds of juice, fruits and vegetables to the scrutiny of your family and fellow workers.

The key to gauging where your body is at, without having to schedule 2-a-day workouts or break down if you weren’t able to do today’s scheduled in workout, is to listen. When the body is overly fatigued, and you want to lose weight, the last thing you should do is jump into a 5-day-a-week workout schedule and meal plan.  This simply will stress your body out more.  You want to incorporate a lot more raw fruits and vegetables, cooked vegetables, lean proteins (try sprouted tofu and tempeh as well to give your body a break from meat protein) and switch up the white and brown rice to easier to digest grains such as millet, amaranth and quinoa.  The key here is to make it manageable for you. If you can juice at some point in the day on an empty stomach, by all means do this.  If you’re at home and feel like jogging, go for it.  If you’re body is exhausted after a long day, sleep.  Having the perfect body requires intimate connection with it.

A little common sense here:

•  Hungry?  Eat.
• Energetic? Move.
• Tired?  Relax, or sleep.
• Constantly tired?  Make a change. 

It is very important to listen to your body.

A good way to start being able to trust your body’s signals, is:

1. Eat roughly every 3 hours
2. Make sure what you eat is highly nutritious
3. Include increasingly more raw foods in your day
4. Exclude sugar from most or all meals

For additional guidance if you are still confused, use the help of a professional!  It is worth the money, as you will feel better, inspired in your days, and looking forward to rather than dreading your meals.  I have many free recipes online and provide as much information as I can here without you guys having to buy the plan itself, but some of us do need to understand on a deeper level what’s happening in our body and how we can bring it to balance. If you are one of these people, check the plan out, and if you do buy it, I am here for your support personally!  Enlightens are my people and are my absolute priority!

Ingredients:

1. 1 C. Almond Milk
2. 2 C. Raw Kale
3. 1 scoop Raw Brown Rice Protein
4. 1 tsp. Maca
5. 1/2 Banana
6. 1 tsp. Cinnamon
7. Ice as desired
8. 1 packet Stevia (optional)

Directions:

Blend all ingredients, adding ice if desired as the last ingredient.

This recipe is for all levels, particularly for those who feel like their cleansing is progressing more quickly than their bodies can handle, and also for athletes and breastfeeders.

It came to my attention that many people don’t quite know what it means to eat ‘enlightened’ – do you just eat whatever you like and therefore you feel enlightened of rules and regulations?  Actually no, because letting go of the rules of the body is not enlightened – that would be out of tune and absolutely unenlightened for most of us, who might choose the less-than healthy options.  By utilizing a few food rules, you have the ability to listen to your body’s messages while eating the best quality food available, with space for treats of course, and even indulging sometimes so as to give yourself space to want to come back to healthy eating on your own accord, not feeling forced and trapped.  Here are a few of the Enlighten Plan principles to help your body up-level at your pace.

1. Start Juicing 3-5 Times a Week

2. Eat Light-to-Heavy Throughout the Day

3. Eat Foods Closest to Their Natural State

4. Combine Your Foods Well at least 50% of the Time

5. Consume Probiotic-Rich Foods Daily

These rules will help you lose weight, maintain weight loss,  feel higher energy throughout the day and feel good eating a very satisfying dinner that won’t weigh you down as a heavy breakfast will Gone are the calorie-counting days that keep you tied to a calculator and intuition comes more into play, allowing for more freedom and enlightened ways of perceiving whole, healthy foods and portion sizes to meet your body’s needs.

The pictures are from my nephew’s birthday party at a crazy place full of inflated playthings where kids can literally bounce off the walls.  Wolfgang was very intimidated at first – he’s never been to a place with so much going on audibly and visually, so he clung to me for most of the time, watching from my hold. Jeff took him down the slide and bounced around with him, but he wasn’t having it after he rolled down a short slide and became afraid.  I really feel his peacefulness when we’re out and about in a forest or natural places – he’s confident and curious, and will easily leave me behind, but when we go to man-made entertainment places he seems to be overwhelmed and anxious.

I find it very comforting that Wolfgang is so interested in flowers and leaves and watches birds and screams with delight when Paddington, our poodle, comes running over to him.  I love that he hasn’t learned to not listen to his body yet, and I love respecting his tastes and distastes. I feel it is so very important to honor our babies and toddlers and not force them to eat what they don’t like – their bodies will crave what they need, whether it is a fresh strawberry, a smoothie, avocado, quinoa, seafood or organic no-sugar added cereal.  If you don’t give them access to the taste disruptors like fast food and junk food or all of the ‘healthy’ things that have food coloring, preservatives, nitrates, refined sugar and salt, hydrogenated oils or artificial sweeteners, then you will be able to trust that they will follow their body’s actual signals.   Wolfgang, for example, is the perfectly healthy little boy, having a 1 day flu, once.  He is still drinking breast milk, and sometimes he’ll have a big appetite for avocados, quinoa, millet and strawberries, but he doesn’t care much for smoothies or purees now, and often, he’ll just want milk and a little oat cereal with no sugar, corn by-products or preservatives, and a few vegetables and beans or fish with us at dinner, sometimes.  Considering his perfect health, high energy, and happy disposition, he obviously is eating just as he needs to.

This is what the Enlighten message is about – be in tune with your body, eat clean, and make sure you’re eating close to the earth, whether your omnivorous, vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, raw or whatever it is you choose or choose not to be labeled as.  The most important thing of all is:  Listen to your body.  

As many of you know, all of my friends and family of course, I began my journey into Enlightened eating years ago, and have been a nutritionist helping clients for 2 years, and as you can see I have been growing at a steady, well-suited pace for a fairly new mother.  I wrote the Enlighten Plan during my pregnancy with Wolfgang, whom is now 18 months old and just the greatest little boy ever.  He waves at trees and planes and likes to shove food into my mouth – he’s like me, trying to make sure the ones we love eat well!  Though I don’t know how healthy a chewed up apple core is… The Enlighten Plan has grown to 167 pages, grocery list, condiment list, resources guide and recipe sections constantly growing and getting better and re-formatting for easier usage, which is sent to those who have bought it as I don’t want anyone to miss out, particularly those who have faith in and have already bought the plan!  It’s pretty amazing to be learning constantly and adding and able to share with you guys, and as I grow I hope to create a larger Enlightened Eating community who can motivate and inspire one another and help pick each other up when we struggle with the clean eating amidst a world and often communities of ‘dirty’ eating and the perception that being healthy is a 2-week horrifyingly difficult process and return back to barbecued ribs and soda. We can love clean eating, watching our bodies grow leaner and more vibrant. We can become in tune with what it needs and crave beneficial exercise (as it is not always beneficial, particularly when we’re tearing things and having to rehabilitate after excruciating programs).  It is possible – we just have to provide the right circumstances to do so, gauging our emotional and physical ties to food and loves and dislikes so that we can find what is best for us at this point.  No need to jump in the deep end when you can’t swim – learn to swim first, and enjoy the process.  Eventually you’ll be doing flips and dives and whatever you like in the deep end.

If you start at your level with self-respect and grace, and find what you enjoy, the journey to Enlightened living is delightful!

I haven’t done a recommendation in awhile, and figured I would do one this time as I do love this book and use it almost daily.  A lot of my work is inspired by Natalia Rose, and though there are a few qualms I do have with her theories, I do love her recipes!  I have made dozens of these already, and have made the Cauliflower Pizza Crust with Matsbucha Sauce  for myself, and then for Jeff and I, and then again for us, and when I told a friend about it, he tried it, spread the word, and made it twice more!  Its quite amazing that this pizza is cleanse-friendly AND as delicious as it is.

The Cookbook itself is beautiful, and makes you want to make things from it daily, as I have.  The theories of Natalia are expressed in the beginning with some words from Doris Choi, a chef that trains in her theory.  For anyone on the Enlighten Plan, this is a free-for-all book – you can use any recipe you like in here, at any level that you’re at. Intuition is key for level 4′s and 5′s, but you already know that if you’re there! Click on the photo above to be sent straight to the book on Amazon – I am an affiliate on Amazon for full disclosure, but of course I only promote what I feel is highly beneficial for you guys. <3