JANUARY 1 2013 START OF A THE NEW ERA IN OUR HOME

Many people many New Year resolutions that some are lucky if they last 1 maybe two weeks into the year before they break them. Not my husband and I. We are beginning a new ERA the ERA of Healthy Living.
Last year in March we watched Joe Cross's movie  Fat Sick and Nearly Dead, joined his community Join The Reboot and I went in search of facebook friends who also might be interested in helping me learn about this journey in Juicing to Better Health.

As many of you know, I juiced a good number of days and lost a good amount of weight. Most importantly I went from 22 medicines down to 6 yes count them ~6~! I am so excited! I am no where close to where I need to be weight or health wise BUT considering where I was 8 months ago when I started this journey I am way ahead of the curve.

Our New ERA
1.So Marty and I committed to no processed foods in our home.
2.Only fresh foods.
3. We cook our own foods or if we eat out it is some place we know it is made from 100% fresh or  Fresh/Raw.
4. Month of January Sandi will be taking part in a Juice Feast. That means I will only eat/drink fresh juices or water.
 I do not do this to loose weight quickly but to reboot my body. This give my organs a much needed rest. While they rest I am taking in high concentrations of vitamins and nutrients from the fresh juices. It is like getting a blood transfusion only this is a nutrient/vitamin transfusion.

I will be posting on here as the days go by and also adding some of my recipes to my recipe blog.
I weighed in this morning so I know where I am starting 232 pounds... gotta find the tape measure and will post that too.
 So if anyone is starting a Juice Cleanse or Feast as we call it on Jan 1 and plan to do to for the whole 31 days, join NOW on Facebook.
Hope you will follow me this year...Share with me your experience in getting healthy both in body as well as spirit too.
Til tomorrow when we start our Journey into our new ERA or Life!
Stay Healthy
Shweet Sandi

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie Gluten Free and Healthy

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pie
Gluten Free, Vegan and oh so Healthy for YOU...
Better Yet Tastes Great too!

This is a recipe I made up from about 4 different ones I found on the internet. I add my own twist to make it Gluten Free and because I love chocolate and I thought adding coco nibs or chocolate chips would make that nice rich touch to this classic holiday dessert.

Crust
1 1/2 cups Oats
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup cashews
3 Tablespoons Date Syrup or Organic Maple Syrup
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 cup Apple or Pear Sauce.(unsweetened)

**Note on Date Syrup: I made my own. I placed 6 big dates in a sauce pan and added 1 1/2 cup water and brought to a boil. Let it boil about 5 minutes.Then take it off the burner and let it cool down. Place the soften dates and water into blender and blend. This syrup can be used to sweeten baked goods. Whatever is left place in the fridge.

** NOTES on THE NUTS: The nuts in this crust can be toasted. You can use any type of nut you like, pecan, walnut, cashew or a mix. Experiment and find the combo you like best. If toasting do it lightly and don't add salt.

Now on to making this crust. Place the oats, cinnamon and nuts into a food processor and pulse until course. Place this mixture into a large bowl and add  the syrup and sauce of your choice. Sir until all is mixed well. Press into a pie plate.... along the bottom and work the crust slightly up the sides.

BAKE in an oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Take out of oven and cool completely.

Filling
1 1/2 Cup Canned Pumpkin
1/2 Cup Maple or Date Syrup
1 Cup Almond Milk
1/4 Cup Arrow Starch ( can use corn starch if you don't have this)
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger (can use dried if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon fresh Nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
**1/4 cup coco nibs or chocolate chips***

Combine the milk,  and arrow root starch... add the rest of the ingredients  (except for the chocolate chips or coco nubs) and mix well. This makes a custard like pie so it will look kinda like a pudding. Fold in 1/4 cup of coco nibs or chocolate chips. Pour this mixture into the pie crust.
Bake in Oven at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. You will know it is baked when the outer edges are set.

Let cool and cut. OMG this is So good. You can also make this pie up without the chocolate if you want or mix up the spices. I plan to make this up with Shweet Potato, Cranberries and lime for Christmas.

Cranberry Shweet Potato Juice

Today I started on juices and sauces for Thanksgiving. Here is one of the juices I made up today that came out really good.

Cranberry Sweet Potato Juice

2 Cups fresh Cranberries
2 Gala Apples
1 Garnet Sweet Potato medium
1 Orange
Juice in order listed. This will rock your world for Thanksgiving!

Til tomorrow
Sandi

Fennel, Beet, Prickly Pear Pick Me Up Juice Recipe

Now if the title of this new recipe has not scared you away I would love to share with you this Smooth Morning Juice I came up with today. Let's go back to my last visit to the Farmer's Market. While we were there I decided to pick up at least 2 items I have never juiced before and create a new recipe. So the two new items are Fennel and Prickly Pears or cactus.  I brought them home and started my journey of creating a new recipe not only for good taste but also for the healing properties.

Health Benefits

What can Fennel can do for you... It's main aid is on your digestion. It will help to regulate you as well as in reliving nausea, indigestion, constipation and flatulence. You can also use fennel to detox your body as it works as a natural tonic for your kidneys, liver and spleen. It has a very sweet licorice taste which can be controlled by the amount of fennel you use and also by the other produce you juice along side it.

Prickly Pear,  Cactus, Nopales different name for the same plant. This fruit of a cactus plant, really interests me as I have high cholesterol and have worked long and hard to lower it with proper diet and without the use of medicines. Cactus has polysaccharides fibers which help to lower LDL Cholesterol (the bad kind) and triglycerides (fat cells). It also high antioxidants which is always a good thing.

So now that I know about my two new produce and the benefits so next the big thing...

HOW DO THEY TASTE?

Both the Fennel which tastes like licorice and the Nopales or Prickly Pear which really has no taste maybe a slight vanilla taste will work well in many combos. The Nopales when juiced is slightly thick....I thought it might be slimy but I was pleasantly surprised to find when I juiced the green cactus the juice was clear, slightly thick and lightly flavored. I decided to add it to one of my morning juice recipes and                                          see how it taste. I was not disappointed  Oh let me say I do NOT like licorice AT ALL. BUT the fennel juice is not overly sweet and when added to the right combo of other juices it accents and did not over power.

Fennel, Beet, Prickly Pear 

Pick Me Up Morning Juice

1 Cup Cranberries
6 Large Strawberries

2 Bartlett Pears

1 Large Beet

1 Prickly Pear (Cactus)

1 Fennel Bulb

1 Large Gala Apple
1 Large Granny Smith Apple

8 Carrots

Juice in the Order Shown Above. Drink over Ice or Cold.

Til Tomorrow

Eat and Stay Healthy

Sandi~

My Eat 2 Live Lunch

I've been reading Dr Fuhrman's,  Eat To Live Book and have been really studying it closely. Each day I take one of his ideas and add it to my juicing regimental.  Since I had juice for breakfast today I decided to have a nice filling salad for lunch.

I started with a large mixing bowl and I added the following and mixed them well.
2 handfuls of baby spinach
4 handfuls of Spring Mix (i buy the premixed and I wash it.)
(It includes baby lettuce, baby greens, endives and radicchio)
6 baby bella mushrooms cleaned and chopped
2 roma tomatoes chopped or 1 beefsteak
1/2 of a large cucumber sliced and chopped
1 Cup mixed beans (I use Kroger's Organic brand of Three Bean mix) Rinsed and drained

Then I made up the dressing below and added it to my salad and lightly stired it around until it is all coated.
DRESSING
1/8 of a sweet onion chopped well
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 orange juiced
1 lime juiced
black pepper

Notice I did not add salt and did not feel like I needed it at all! Yeah! The taste buds have changed and do not crave it now! I started with a large bowl of this and placed the remainder in the fridge. I ate as much as I wanted and guess what this is actually love calorie and very good for you. I adding a large glass of ice cold water and I have been full all afternoon.
Til tomorrow
Eat Healthy Today
Sandi

White Bean Soup for a Fall Day

Today is kinda cold here in the Dallas area...Woke up to 39 degrees and that is a bit chilly. So I wanted  to make up a pot of soup that is healthy and filling and tastes good. This is the soup I made....Must say it DOES taste good and very easy to create. You can put everything into a crock pot and turn it on as you leave out the door in the morning and it will be ready for you when you get home. I choose to cook mine on the stove since I was home anyway and cleaning out the fridge.

Here is Sandi's White Bean Soup
1 Can Organic Great Northern White Beans (15 oz) rinsed well
1 Can 14.5oz of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
+ 1 Can of Water
5 Roma Tomatoes pureed in the blender
4-6 oz of Frozen Corn (if you use canned rinse well)
3 oz  Frozen Bell Pepper (if using fresh 1 small Bell Pepper)
4 oz Chopped Frozen Onion (or 1 small fresh)
dried garlic or 3 cloves fresh chopped
seasoning
2 - 3 Tablespoons Italian seasoning dried
1 Tablespoon Paprika
1/2 Tablespoon or more Black Pepper

After everything above cooks down you will want to add in the following.
1/2 Cup Brown Rice
1/2 Cup Quinoa

 (If cooking in the crock pot I would transfer the soup to a stock pan and cook the  Brown Rice and Quinoa in the soup. They will take in all the flavors from the soup and you will not taste the nutty flavor from the brown rice. Personally I find Quinoa to be bland but in this soup it is amazing! You might need to add extra liquid (I added fresh tomato juice but water is fine) as the rice and quinoa are cooking as they do take up moisture. Cook the soup at least 30 more minutes or until the rice and qunioa are cooked.

**YOU Will Noticed I have not added salt again. I personally am not adding salt to my soups as I find that my using most fresh or frozen produce, I don't have the need for the extra salt. You can add it of course just remember don't over salt.*8

You will have leftovers and I know..."WHO wants to eat the same thing day after day". Well here is a fun way to enjoy our leftover soup and yet it will be different.  Clean 1 cup of fresh spinach and place it in the bottom of a large soup bowl. Ladle your hot White Bean Soup on top of the Spinach. Let it sit for about 3-4 minutes and then stir and enjoy. The hot soup will cook your spinach and add a how new depth to your soup.

Other Add ins:
Steamed Broccoli
Steamed Carrots
Fresh Tomatoes Cut in Chunks
Spaghetti Squash
The list is endless...

Hope you enjoy this soup as much as we did. Love to hear from you. If you would like to share your recipes on our blog please drop me a  note at livingtheshweetlife@gmail.com
Til Tomorrow
Live Healthy!
~Sandi

Vegan Chili Oh So Good

Dr Fuhrman got me thinking a whole new way about eating. I have been reading his books Eat to Live and Super Immunity and both books have recipes for soups and stews that are simple and easy for you to make and eat every day of the week. So, I decided to make up our own chili for us to eat on this week. I made this chili up on my way to RCIA Class Monday night. I put it in the crock pot at 5 pm.... it was ready to eat when we got home from class at 9pm.

Here is what it took.

1 can of Diced Salsa Style Tomatoes
(Fire Roasted in Tomato Puree) mine was Kroger brand
1 Can of Water (use the tomato can)
1 can Tri- Bean Blend 15 oz
(Simple Truth Organic from Kroger) rinsed under water
6 oz Frozen Whole Kernel Corn
3 oz Frozen Bell Pepper
3 oz Frozen Chopped Onion
chopped garlic as much as you like ( I use fresh some people use dry)
Adjust the following spices to fit yourself
Chili Pepper - 1 Tablespoon
Cumin- 1 Tablespoon
Paprika- 1 Tablespoon
Black Pepper- 1/2 Tablespoon
I personally do not add Salt... You can add salt if you wish.
This makes a small crock pot full of chili. I put it on to cook on high for 4 hours and it is perfect when i got home. It is vegan NO meat in it. I  plan to add mushrooms to my chili tonight to get a "meat" variety and will let you know how it works out. I plan to add the mushrooms at the end maybe the last 2 hours.

If you make  this I would love to hear how it turns out for you. Drop me a note.