"It’s not easy being green!" 5 ways to add more greens into your diet!

In honor of Earth Day (belated, it was yesterday) I thought I’d write about being green in a different way.  It’s hard to get more greens in your diet if you don’t know what to do. Here are 5 easy ideas:  

1. Fresh herbs count as greens (especially parsley and cilantro). I always buy fresh herbs and I used to not know what to do with them. 
1. Use them to top your lunch,
2. in a soup or on a salad,
3. as a pretty garnish for your meal
4. take the leftover herbs and make an herb salad to quick garnish or to spruce up any dish.
5. Mint or basil is a great garnish/topping on a yogurt parfait

NOTE: To keep herbs fresher longer wash as soon as possible pat or salad spin until mostly dry and wrap in a slightly damp paper towel.  Then place in a green bag (or Zip-lock if you don't have one) for air tight storage in fridge.

2. Dark leafy greens

1. are great sautéed with any vegetables, add your favorite salad dressing as a "sauce".

2.  in a raw salad (remove stems from the greens and slice thin or chiffonade-see below and place in a bowl with a little salt and some oil.  Massage the mixture for about 5 minutes or so until it softens. Add some avocado and your favorite sliced/ diced veggies (I like diced red bell peppers and avocado) with a homemade light (lemon) vinaigrette. This makes a great and surprisingly delicate salad for a dark green veggie!)

How to Chiffonade Step 1

 STEP 2

STEP 3

1. in a smoothie 40/60 ratio veggie to fruit.
2. In a soup

3. Juiced. Juice of celery,beets, carrots and Kale are very tasty add an apple or orange if that's too much veggie for you. The store bought ones are generally loaded with sugar and most are pasturized and/or preserved. There is a brand called “Evolution” that sells just regular juiced veggies and it’s not bitter, it is flash pasteurized though and costs about $5.00 (depending on the store).

4. Baked
1. Slice them up and make veggie chips- the real kind not the ones full of preservatives or salt. Kale, carrots, radish, beets and sweet potatoes or yams make GREAT chips and even better snacks!
1. It's super easy. Place sliced veggies in a large bowl. Add 1-2 tbsp (or more) of extra virgin olive oil, lightly sprinkle sea salt to coat (maybe 1/4 tsp salt depending on how many veggies you have/ your salt preference) and fresh ground pepper to taste. Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon and gently mix (just use your hands) it all together to coat. 
2. Spread evenly on a lightly oiled cookie sheet 
3. and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes or even better, dehydrate at 103-105 degrees for 4-8 hours (again depending on the veggies and thickness, thinner is better for dehydrating. (The time will require adjusting depending on what veggies you use and how thin you slice them. Note: squash does not make good veggie chips. They basically disappear because they're mainly made of water.)

5. Dipped

1. Use your chips from above OR chop up carrots, celery, jicama, cucumbers or whatever your favorites are and make (or buy) a simple hummus, baba ganoush or salsa! Mmm this sounds awesome... I’ll have to come up with some good dip recipes this spring and share!

Make Basil Chiffonade | eHow.com

Make Basil Chiffonade | eHow.com

Food and Nature

It's such a beautiful day I was inspired to do more quick cooking and enjoying my surroundings (and a little down time) than my normal gig.  I also decided to take some more photos...

 Beautiful Day in the neighborhood (won't you be mine?)

 Veggie Rice Bowl for lunch 

(Leftover Gourmet, lol! I used leftover rice, and veggies I needed to eat today... collard greens, daikon radish, onion and zucchini and previously made vegan ceasar dressing. Yum-o!)

 Happy Flower! Gerbera Daisies are so cheerful, even the weeds are happy to be near them. 

(My mother in law gave me a pot of these last year and I planted them and thought they died, I was wrong.)

 Husbands gourmet lunch, Quesadilla a la JD

 Happy husband caught a big fish on his day off!

 Jade (another plant my mother in law gave me).  

Funny story: Our budget has been pretty tight since we moved up here and I was bummed that I couldn't buy plants last year to landscape our back yard or spruce up the front yard and I thought. OK so I don't have any money, when has that stopped me before? How can I get plants for little to no money... I pondered and meditated on it for a while and then forgot all about it. Then what do you know one friend gave me a (almost literal) truckload of succulents and my mother-in-law now gives me plants every time I visit. I LOVE IT!  So now you know where to send the plants you don't want/need. :o).

My tulips are not into this indecisive (hot/cold) spring weather. I barely have any, however, the ones I do have are gorgeous! They're orange and pink and yellow in really delicate swirling designs. They remind me of popsicles my mom used to buy us as kids, "astronaut pops".

Spring Break

Ok, I apologize it’s been so long but I’ve been busy and the good news is I have lots to share.

First I was in a bit of a cooking funk… I spend a considerable amount of time cooking in the winter to make sure I have lots of healthy deliciousness to eat (and keep me on track) and when I took a break to tackle all of my spring cleaning projects I rediscovered “free” time. For me that is time that has been allotted for cooking and is no longer needed. WHEW-HOO! I was so amazed at everything else I could enjoy or get done if I just didn’t spend my time cooking. I didn’t take pictures of all my adventures (I was too busy enjoying them to care) but I did take a few of my succulent garden and some foodies…

I also started a fake cleanse. (lol!) I really wanted to do a cleanse but didn’t have the time or money or will power to sink into it so I just beefed up a couple of good habits AND stuck to them (along side a cheat or two per week- I am human after all, and need to allow myself a little freedom).

Here are my cheater cleanse strategies that are super easy to apply. The only way it works is if you continue the good habits (cheats are ok AS LONG AS you stick to your goals/ guidelines).

1. First, get focused and organized and set goals like:
1. A time limit for yourself. I decided 3 weeks because that’s how long it takes me to get to the point where I can feel my vitality again.
2. What is the purpose of this “cleanse”. Improve digestion, lose weight, increase energy, etc.( I wanted to improve digestion and gain more energy)
3. What bad habits are you willing to give up? (laziness, negativity were mine)
4. Which good habits would you like to replace them with? (motivation and perseverance/persistence were mine)
5. Make sure all of the above are realistic
2. Double or even better still triple your normal veggie intake (so if you eat it once a day normally you’ll eat it 3x/day).
1. How you ask… fresh squeezed juices veggie/ fruit or mix(either use your own juicer or watch someone juice it for you- Jamba Juice does NOT count! Fresh juice loses it’s cleansing properties within on hour or two so if you are drinking juice to cleanse you need to do it yourself. Also if you want the best results you will have to splurge a little on the organic stuff.  
1. Please note that the USDA now owns the term “organic” so now small amounts of pesticides are “allowed” in food in order to be considered organic. Reputable/responsible companies and grocery stores will not allow this and make sure they still use the same small or larger truly organic farms that they used before the government got involved. Whole Foods is a big chain that is more easily found but also mom and pop grocery stores and markets should be good resources or if you do an organic veggie/fruit delivery service. Those are SUPER nice but can be pricy.) smoothies, soups and salads/snacks are the easiest way but here are some more ideas:

                                                               i.      Eat veggies with breakfast. I like to quick sauté Kale, collards or any dark leafy green (thinly sliced and stems removed) with garlic and olive oil (salt and pepper if you wish) and put that with an egg (prepared your choice although I think soft boiled is best- where the yolks are soft but not watery) or try a veggie soup with/ for breakfast.(don’t skimp on protein. 

                                                             ii.      Eat veggies for at least one snack (raw veggies and humus or other non-dairy dip. Also avoid nut/seed butter- this congests the intestines) OR better yet make a smoothie with 60 percent fruit, 40 percent veggies and add some green powered and/or juice and water.

                                                            iii.      Eat veggies with lunch (chicken, steak, tofu, seitian) salad, veggie wrap (use large collard greens- stems removed and thinly sliced veggies  and make like a sushi or hand roll)

                                                           iv.      Eat veggies with dinner (the possibilities are endless here…)

                                                             v.      Remember to try to eat at least half of your veggies raw and if you want the cleansing effects chose organic as much as possible, it’s a little bit more but WELL worth it!

Note: your daily fruit to veggie ratio should be 2(veggie):1 (fruit)

3. Next, limit carbohydrates and add in lean protein, our long lost friend. Let’s be honest. We all eat WAY MORE carbs (or would like to) than we burn so the bigger picture is it doesn’t matter if it’s gluten free or not. For a few weeks we can let go of this! Don’t go completely gluten free unless you want to or know you have to. Some carbs are absolutely ok just make sure they’re whole grain (and if it’s pre packaged CHECK THE LABEL. Just because it says “whole grain” on it doesn’t mean it is. I won’t buy wheat unless it reads (organic) whole grain wheat (I prefer stone ground- but an not always that fussy).
4. Avoid canned, packaged/heavily processed foods (including refined sugar, dairy and soy products) and dried fruit and nuts. These types of food are ok when enjoyed in moderation but do not promote cleansing. Depending on your level of commitment give up coffee or at least cut back.
5. Stretch, exercise, mediate, reflect (journal if you like). Stretching and exercise are big ones for me and you don’t have to do all in one day but basically start making time for yourself. Even if it’s only 10-15 minutes per day and you have to lock yourself in the bathroom to do it. (No one will know but you!)
6. Relax and enjoy. Remember this is a learning process and keep your overall goal in mind. It’s hard to break old habits and create room for greater things to take it’s place (that’s why I generally choose the 3 week mark).

Here are some foods I came up with to satisfy cravings while cleansing but still keep mostly on track!

 Baked Fish

Chicken/Veggie Coconut Curry Soup

Sweet Potato Fries (baked of course)

Fresh Papaya for earlier mentioned smoothie

 Fun new toys: Julienne cutter and fancy cutter

 Veggie Pasta

Zuchinni, crookneck squash and carrots Julienned with sliced mushrooms. TOTALLY satisfied my pasta craving... until week three when I was working out like 2-3 times/day and actually needed the pasta...

Chicken and 3x noodles

(veggie noodles, whole wheat udon and brown rice vermicelli)

Another new favorite that I had to share with everyone that crossed my path last week was Aritichoke Pesto Chicken. Sorry friends but it didn't last long enough for pictures.  I will share the recipe though, it's so easy...take a rotisserie chicken and shred or cut into bite sized pieces and mix with artichoke pesto (store bought as well. I found a really clean brand; Cucina & Amore). By itself the pesto is way too salty for me but added to chicken and then veggies made a great team! I ate it on salad, veggie pasta and real pasta. My husband even liked it.

And last but certainly not least...

Ode to With love, April

My friend April is ridiculously creative in the sewing department. I think her favorite is quilts and bags but she also does aprons. I asked her to make me one with my logo on it and she threw in a flirty one to hopefully sell on my website and at the farmer's market. Here's what she came up with:

Center: personalized apron for A.C.S. Top Left: cafe apron and Top Right is a flirty apron.Bottom left is a reusable bag for groceries , etc. and the bottom right is another version of her reusable bag (beach bag but so durable she used it as a diaper bag for her son).

I LOVE all her stuff (if you couldn't tell) and just wanted to show off her talents. Check out her blog for more projects and to get to know her precious son, Grey.

Questions/ Comments? Leave them here...

I'd love to hear any comments you may have and I'm happy to answer any questions I can. :o)