March 10th, 2010
- Pick your Price: Decide how much $$$ you are going to spend on food each week. Make your budget realistic, if you are going to eat out a few times, some of your food you buy for home will go to waste. Shop at smaller Local Natural stores, they have a lot of specials so they can move items faster. Stock up on deals, like when almond/rice/hemp milk goes on sale, or raw almond butter is on special. Save enough cash in the till for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Plan a menu: When shopping think ahead to the main meals you will be eating that week. I usually buy for 3 dinners, my breakfast favorites and enough greens for salads at any time. Try not to create anything too wild, you want to be able to use the stuff thats in your pantry. Nothing worse than making a recipe that calls for a specialty item that ends up being a good chunk of your budget. I’ve done that before. Its still sitting in my pantry.- Buy bargains and deals: Pantry items are usually marked down, or have a two for one deal going on. When you see it, don’t hesitate to stock up. It may take a chunk out of the weekly budget, but it will lower your overall costs. When fresh fruit is in season and selling at a lower price, I will stock up and freeze for smoothies later. I’m not crazy about big warehouse markets, but lately they have organic/fair trade items and eco friendly deals.
- Shop Farmers Market: Prices vary, shop around the market, there is always a few vendors that have really good deals. You can save a lot of money by buying organic fruits and vegetables that are in season. “In season” produce is less expensive and more delicious. If you own a Dehydrator, stock up. Dehydrated fruits and fruit leathers are awesome snacks. Freezing fresh organic fruits for smoothies is also a wise budget move.
- Buy in Bulk: Buying in bulk is easier on your budget because they do not have packaging costs attached to them. You can purchase loose items such as cereal, tea, spices, coffee, almond butter, snacks and grain in loose bulk at your local natural grocery store. Bring your own containers and some markets will give you an extra deal.
- Eat Less: Lets face it, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. We buy for an army and can’t finish eating all that we purchased. Waste is eminent and we all get bummed when throwing stuff away. Buy less and eat less!
- Eat Vegan: Animal products are expensive. They can add up to the bulk of your food costs each week. Treat a favorite vegetable as a meal. For example, I like Butternut Squash. I will make a butternut squash soup that lasts me three meals. (Recipe available in Get Naked Fast) For a mere $5 I have my favorite soup all week.
Butternut Squash soup from "Get Naked Fast"
- Create your own flavor sensations: Don’t rely on bottled dressings, canned sauces, or prepackaged mixes. Put a cold pressed oil into your budget, such as Bariani Olive Oil, Nama Shoyu,a nice vinegar, miso, or some nut butter. All these items store well and last a long time, they are the base of all dressings and sauces in the naked lifestyle. Dressings, marinades, and sauces are very easy to make, and with these products on hand, you will have the best and highest quality ingredients at your fingertips for instant and inexpensive flavor sensations.
- Prepare your own food: When preparing your own meals, you are in complete control of your health and your budget. Eating simply and nutritiously is not a difficult adventure, it is with ease and grace that food can be prepared and enjoyed inexpensively and deliciously. Packaged meals, and processed foods are laden with fillers, preservatives and very un-earth conscience packaging that increase the costs of the food.
- Shop at different markets: If you buy at the same store every time, you will not be privy to price differences, specials, and deals that are happening all around you. A farmers market is always a great way to start your marketing, add in a chain market for some basics (you know will have a deal), and then go to your favorite health food store for the bulk items that were not available at Farmers. I hit the asian markets for coconuts, fresh mangos, and baby bananas. They are amazing and cheap! Shopping for your health should not be an all day chore, just pop into markets when you see them, and add necessary items to your pantry and fridge as you happen upon them. Utilizing a big warehouse market is also an option for getting organic products at a much more affordable price.
11. Bring Your Reusable Bags: Many of your local grocery stores may offer a reusable bag program. When grocery shopping if you use your own bags, a certain amount of money is deducted from your total bill.
For great recipes, ideas, and eating healthy, buy the book GET NAKED FAST a guide to stripping away the foods that are weighing you down and get yourself started on a path to eating for Health Vibrance and beauty!
Tags: bargains, budget, bulk, butternut squash soup, deals, dehydrator, farmers, food, fruit, grocery, health, live, market, natural, natural stores, organic, raw, Shopping, vegan, vegetables
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February 15th, 2010
Whatever is happening in my kitchen, be it blending, mixing, grinding or processing, I am always trying to sneak in an ancient superfood. These Superfoods I speak of are not the ones we grow in our backyards, or pick up at farmers market, or even get in the supermarket produce section. These Superfoods are ancient, roots, berries, herbs and plants that have long been valued for their healing properties. Not to dismiss the wonderful Superfoods that we encounter each day, leafy greens, fresh fruits, roots and tubers, these ancient plants are being re-initiated into our diets by the grace of awareness toward health and longevity. Maca is a Superfood that has had some good press, well known, well received, and yet, still not a daily food. So, I thought I would add a little boost to old fashioned favorite. Enjoy a little Bliss!
Try making this week’s Creamsicle Bliss with a Maca Boost
What does it taste like?
Maca reminds me of Malt powder. Reminiscent of the malt balls that you would buy in the movie theater. Kind of an intense vanilla-ish flavor. Not all Maca’s taste the same. For me, some are tough to swallow. I am particularly fond of the one I sell on The Naked Shoppe. Its sweet, mild and delicious.
What is Maca good for?
Hormone balancing in women, great for breastfeeding, balancing menopausal symptoms.
Libido and sexual performance, it has been said to be natures Viagra.
Fertility- Maca has been known to increase sperm count.
Physical endurance and performance. Maca has said to make you faster and stronger.
Adrenal and endocrine boost- maca has had benefits to the endocrine system, helping the thyroid function more accurately. It has also been known to balance the adrenals and increase overall energy.
For more on benefits of Maca
What do I do with maca?
Eat it. Put it in your smoothies, your cereals, your frozen desserts. I like Maca just as I described it- like a malted shake. I make Maca nut-milk shakes, and this week I made a Creamsicle shake, added Maca and it is amazing. Check out my recipe section for the new recipe of the week.
Tags: adrenals, bliss, brest feeding, coconut bliss, dairy freea, endocrine boost, endurance, fertility, fresh squeezed, hormone, libido, longevity, luna and larry's, maca, malt powder, menopause, natures viagra, non dairy, orane juice, sexual performance, sperm count, superfoods, vanilla
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February 1st, 2010
Hearts and flowers and of course chocolate.
Chocolate has been linked to the feelings of love, much ado to its ability to raise serotonin levels that cause blissfulness and joy. It is also a well known anti depressant. Chocolate contains over 380 chemicals. When eaten, it can cause an opiate affect on the brain triggering a overwhelming sense of well being.
“Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world’s perfect food” Michael Levine, nutrition researcher, as quoted in The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars
Chocolate truly is food for the heart – it is the heart’s “blood,” due to its magnesium, antioxidants, love chemicals and esoteric properties. Chocolate is known for its sensual love vibration. It is the symbol of sensuality, pleasure, and sexuality.
So, as we engage in the month of love, Valentines and sweethearts, love and kisses, lets not forget the recipes for true Bliss.
Raw Chocolate dipped Strawberries for LOVE !!!
Prep time: less than 5 minutes • Serves 2
- 1 pint fresh organic strawberries
Fondue
- ¼ cup raw cacao powder
- ¼ cup agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
Directions: Beat together by hand or in blender.
Prepare the Chocolate fondue and add a wee bit more coconut oil. Take deliciously large plump and juicy Strawberries and bury them in the depths of decadent darkness. Lay them on a flat surface and refrigerate until fondue hardens. Then feed them to your loved one and watch the aphrodisiac effects take over.
Happy Valentines Day to all of you!
XOXO
Tags: 380, agave, anti depressant, cacao, cashew, chocolate, coconut, drizzle, engage, flowers, fondue, hearts, hersheys, juicy, love, magnesium, mars bars, michael levine, pleasure, plump, rebecca mead, sensuality, serotonin, sex, sexuality, strawberry, tuxedo, valentines day, vanilla, vibration
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January 24th, 2010
I was playing in the kitchen, high on life, feeling the urge to create a recipe for my skin. (I think about this stuff all the time, but rarely follow through.) It was a moment in the kitchen where I created magic. I’ll call it the Cherry Love Mask. I smothered myself in this rich and somewhat chunky face mask, and could immediately feel its soothing tingle. Rebecca, my beautiful assistant came over and I slathered her face with it as well. I guess I didn’t realize how goopy and icky it looked until I put it on her. We stared in the mirror and laughed. She felt the tingle too. We let it set on our faces for about 10 minutes before we took it off and couldn’t believe how smooth and luscious our skin was. I tweeted about it, took pictures, and slathered it on my daughter and another friend. We were so excited I had to share.
1/2 cup Montmorency Cherries
1/2 cup Tocotrienols
1 teaspoon of raw honey
appx. 1/4 cup Purified Water
Blend water and cherries to a paste. Add Tocos and honey and blend until smooth (or as smooth as you can get it)
Slather it all over your face….look in the mirror and laugh…wash off in 10 minutes and enjoy your super soft, hydrated skin!
Why?
I kept reading how Montmorency Cherries have the highest amount of antioxidants. There is always some claim to fame for every wonderful fruit placed on this earth, but this one seems to have climbed its way to the top for healing, health benefits and its beautifying properties. The naturally occurring bioflavinoids in the Montmorency cherry fruit combats free radicals and the effects of aging. The fructose and fruit acids have a nourishing, toning and astringent effect on the skin that refreshes and rejuvenates the complexion.
Tocotrienols a rice bran soluble having the highest amount of Vitamin E and 50 times more potent than tocopherols. In a powder form, I have been mixing Tocos into my morning smoothies and green shakes, but have always been aware that it is going to be the wave of the future in skin care. Vitamin E is one of the best known antioxidants found in the human body. Its key biological function is to protect lipids from oxidation and free radical damage. Lipids are the building blocks of cell membranes and other important biochemical structures. As a topical food, it has incredible anti-aging properties.
Honey is a nectar of the gods transferred from the budding flowers of life to the the buzzing of bees. Honey is surely sweet, but it is also a natural humectant, aiding and attracting moisture to the skin. Honey is a natural antiseptic and antibiotic, excellent for removing bacteria from skin-it is known to aid in controlling acne.
Thats why!
And, it tastes good, too!
Tags: acne, antiseptic, bacteria, Beauty, bioflaviniods, cherries, cherry, honey, humectant, love, mask, moist, moisture, montmorency, natural, nectar, raw honey, Rebecca, reverse aging, rice bran, skin, slathered, soft skin, tighten, tocos, tocotrienols, vitamin e
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January 8th, 2010
What is your reality? As we are ending this 12 day lovefest with ourselves, It’s good to ponder…what is our reality when it comes to day to day nutrition? And, why would we do it differently now that we know how great eating for health, vibrance and beauty makes us feel?
My reality is not too different from what I have been experiencing over the last 5 days. I would definitely add a salad , soup, or nutmilk into the mix with my daily juices. And I would explore new produce and mix unique items together. But overall, this is my reality, and I love it.
Many people ask me what I do when I entertain, or go out to eat, or join in on a dinner party. And I always answer the same thing. I partake in the festivities. I enjoy food, all kinds of foods. I eat what I love and I choose to eat the foods that love me.
But my day to day menu is basic, healthy, alive and good!
Breaking the cleanse gives you a fresh start on your new reality, and i hope that the ride we took together last couple of weeks has been fun, informative and beneficial to your well-being. I completely enjoyed walking you through the cleansing journey .
Until next time, happy juicing.
Tags: cleanse, fast, pure, `
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January 7th, 2010
I’ve heard it said that it takes 21 days to break a habit. I don’t know about you, but it takes me just three. Not that I’m habitual about anything. But, I’ve noticed when I go on vacation, it takes me three days to adapt to my environment and relax. It takes me three days to get back into a workout routine. And, it takes me three days, for my stomach to shrink and stop craving.
1st day on a cleanse always seems to be more mental than physical, because once you get past the idea of deprivation, your body welcomes the change.
2nd day , detox begins as the toxins are being released from the tissue, causing some adverse reactions
3rd day, change is noticed, and although you are still dealing with some residual detox, you are clear that you are going in the right direction.
4th day, the habit is broken, you succumb to the new regime, and your body is thankful
As we enter day 5, the question arises, how do we break the cleanse?
The answer is, gently.
Today, think about the foods that you were eating during the pre-cleanse that made you feel good, salads, fruits, soups, mostly vegetables. Add them to your favorite part of the cleansing juices you were drinking, green smoothies and coconut, keep up with your digestive enzymes, and sun chlorella and go about your day. Slowly add grains back into your diet if you want. If you continue eating in the same manor as you did during the pre-cleanse you will find that your body will continue to detox It is the small changes that we do with consistency that create change in our lives.
Before you know it, you will have begun a new lifestyle, eating for Health Vibrance and Beauty
Warning: if you want to break the cleanse with a slice of pizza, be aware that severe stomach cramping may occur. And, as soon as you re-introduce meat, dairy, wheat, sugar, caffeine and alcohol, your cravings will instantly re-appear. Tread lightly on your very beautiful body.
Enjoy your new habits today!
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January 5th, 2010
When starting a cleanse, there are usually certain goals we wish to achieve:
Weight loss. Yes, you will lose weight, in fact, I am already feeling my pants looser and my face is far from the puffy version it was 10 days ago.
Regularity. To say the least. There is something magical about those digestive enzymes mixed with liquid that makes you a regular machine. I sometimes wonder where it all comes from, but be sure that it is old material that is being flushed down the toilet for a clean start.
Clear Skin. This is one of those things that just creeps up on you. Your skin is your largest organ, and it shows you exactly what is going on in your body. When your body is clean, you will sparkle and glisten, radiating beauty.
Flat stomach. All the gas and bloating disappear like magic virtually leaving a relaxed unstressed abdominal area
More energy. It’s almost crazy how much energy your body can maintain when it is not overworked by hard to digest foods.
Better sleep. And less sleep too. Sleep is a time for your body to take a break from it’s hardworking days. But a cleanse gives your body a rest even while you are awake so you don’t need as much sleep.
A better demeanor. Although most of us don’t think we need improvement there, we get this as a bonus. Our normal reactions to any given circumstance is dealt with in a much gentler, calmer and more thoughtful way.
Clear thinking. Less scattered, and more focused. We are able to assess and act clearly and precisely without our brains going haywire. What affects the body also affects the mind. We are cleansing both.
Sharper insight. I was going to call this clairvoyance, psychic abilities, deeper connection to spirit, and all those wonderful things that are true. But, I didn’t want to scare anyone. This is the one benefit that we never expect and are always so pleased to welcome. A clean body =clear mind= connection to all that is…aka spirit.
With that in mind, I am going to rest in my tub, meditate on the glorious life I have created, and love every part of my being. Every day is a new day, and you never know what’s ahead. So, enjoy exactly where you are today.
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