Amazing Festival - We had so much fun!

Green Juice

Yes, it's time to get a juicer......

Morning Green Juice

This recipe makes approximately 32 ounces

* 2 large cucumbers (peeled if not organic)
* big fistful of kale
* big fistful of sweet pea sprouts
* 4–5 stalks celery
* 1–2 big broccoli stems
* 1 pear or green apple (optional)
* 1 inch of ginger (or less)

Other optional greens we love: romaine, parsley, spinach and dandelion.  

Mojito Juice

Makes one 12 - 16 oz juice

1 cucumber
3 stalks celery
handful fresh mint
2 kale leaves
1 lemon, peeled


Green Goddess Juice

Makes 8 - 12 ounces

1/2 cucumber
2 stalks celery
2 kale leaves
small handful parsley

If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don’t, they never were…
~Kahlil Gibran
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.

~ Martin Luther King
Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.
~ Mary Anne Radmacher 
A loud voice cannot compete with a clear voice, even if it’s a whisper.

~ Barry Neil Kauffman 

One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can’t utter.

~ James Earl Jones

I’ll speak in a monstrous little voice.

~ Shakespeare
There was a disturbance in my heart, a voice that spoke there and said, I want, I want, I want! It happened every afternoon, and when I tried to suppress it got even stronger.
~ Saul Bellow

Nothing that I can do will change the structure of the universe. But maybe, by raising my voice I can help the greatest of all causes—goodwill among men and peace on earth.
~ Albert Einstein 
Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinions drown out your inner voice.
~ Steve Jobs 

Listen to your own voice, your own soul, too many people listen to the noise of the world, instead of themselves.

~ Leon Brown

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

~ Zen Master Dogen

Chickadee Says: Hearty Organic Vegetable Soup - THANK YOU, THID LOOKS YUMMY

Chickadee Says: Hearty Organic Vegetable Soup

Hearty Organic Vegetable Soup

Hello Darlings!

Normally I am in the camp that soup on its own is not a meal. I am a texture girl-- something needs to crunch. And while soup is delicious, it is a little too liquid. But if you have been following me on Instagram you’ve seen that I have been following I.AM.YOU. Studio’s Detox to Retox program, which they so graciously sent me to try. (A post with a full review of the program will be coming soon!)  Yesterday’s meal plan called for veggie soup as part of lunch, so I threw together what I had in the refrigerator and the pantry and this super filling veggie soup was born. While more like a stew than a soup, it was beyond delicious, even without my beloved crunch!

Ingredients: (All Organic)

• A collection of vegetables- I used:
  • 1 Sweet Potato
    
  • 4 Yellow Potatoes
    
  • ½ Bunch Kale
    
  • 4 Large Carrots
    
  • 2 Yellow Onions
    
  • Shitake Mushrooms
    
  • White Button Mushrooms
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• ½ Bunch Flat Leaf Parsely + extra for garnish
  
• 6 Cloves Garlic
  
• 3 tsp. Paprika
  
• 2 tsp. Thyme
  
• 2 tsp. Tarragon Leaf
  
• 1 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper
  
• 2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions:

1. Prep your vegetables by washing, peeling, then chopping everything into chunks.
2. Preheat a large saucepan and add olive oil, wait until oil ‘shimmers’ then add the sweet potato, yellow potatoes, garlic cloves, and onions. Toss with olive oil and let brown about 5 minutes.
3. Add paprika, thyme, tarragon, and black pepper. Toss.

4. Add carrots, parsley (leaves only), kale, and enough water to cover the vegetables by at least an inch.

5. Bring to a boil then let simmer.

6. After about 15 minutes add mushrooms and let simmer 10 more or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

7. Garnish with extra parsley and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Tinkerbelle and Kiwi Are Intrigued

I love thrown together creations that turn out great. What has been your favorite cooking-on-a-whim dish? Let me know in the comments below

Winter & Being Cold is a Pain in the Neck

Yoga Poses To Help Cervical Spine & Neck Issues

For pain relief at any time, here are some yoga poses that will free up all of the areas surrounding your neck, and let you feel more open and less tense:

Shoulder Opener on Blocks

Still kneeling, place two blocks in front of you and place your elbows on the blocks.
Press your hands together in a prayer position, then release your head in between the blocks and reverse the prayer down your back. Stay here for at least 10 deep breaths.



Supported Fish Pose

While sitting, place a medium-height block behind you vertically beneath where your shoulder blades will lay and place another block behind that one vertically to use as a pillow for your head. (Use lower blocks if this height doesn't feel great on your back.)
Allow your body to gently rest on the blocks, adjusting their placement until you are comfortable, with arms resting on either side.  Stay here for at least five deep breaths.



Cow Face Arms

While kneeling, reach your right arm to the ceiling; bend your right elbow, and allow your right hand to fall between your shoulder blades.  Take your left hand to your right elbow and allow the weight of the hand to deepen the shoulder opening (no pushing!).  You can stay here for five deep breaths, leaning back slightly, or, if the clasp is easy for you, take your left arm down, bend the elbow, and reach your left hand up the center of your back, taking hold of the right hand. Stay here for five deep breaths, leaning back slightly into your arms and taking care that the right arm isn't putting any pressure on your neck.



8-Point Shoulder Opener

Start lying on the ground on your belly, reach your right arm out at a 90 degree angle from your body, palm facing up, use your left hand under your shoulder to start to press away, and maybe bend your left knee and reach your left toes behind your right knee if tipping/rolling over feels good.   If you want to reach your left arm to the ceiling, flex the palm and allow the hand to fall towards the ground with gravity, stay there for as long as you like. If you feel like you have even more space, allow your left hand to meet the right in a clasp and breathe there for as long as feels good.  Warning: this is a deep one, come out of the pose as slowly and mindfully as you come in!



Standing Forward Fold With Shoulder Opener

From standing, clasp your hands behind your sacrum, soften through your knees and forward fold.
Breathe here for five to ten deep breaths.



Seated Spinal Twist

Sit with legs long in front of you. Bend right knee and place right foot outside of left knee. (You can keep left leg long or fold it in like a half-cross-legged seat.)   Wrap left arm around right leg and place right hand on the ground behind sacrum.  Breathe here for 5 deep breaths, then repeat on the other side.



Shoulder Opener At Wall

Place your forearms on the wall parallel to one another below shoulder height, keeping your elbows shoulder-distance apart.   Take a few steps back from the wall and allow your head to relax down between your arms.  Breathe here for five deep breaths.

Thread The Needle

From all fours, reach your right arm underneath your body, allowing your right shoulder and temple to release to the ground. Your left hand can stay where it is, or crawl a bit to the right over your head.  Breathe here for 10 deep breaths, and then repeat on the other side.

Pumpkin Bread (grain-free, gluten-free)

Ingredients

Dry
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
heaping 1/2 teaspoon of cloves and cinnamon
heaping 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Wet

1 cup pumpkin1/2 teaspoon liquid Stevia or 1/2 cup honey1/3 cup coconut oil3 eggs1/3 cup water (reduce to 3 tablespoons if using honey)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease baking pan with coconut oil then line the bottom with a piece of baking sheet. (the baking sheet will keep the bottom of the bread from sticking when you flip it out).
   
2. In a small bowl add all the dry ingredients and toss around until all dry ingredients are incorporated into each other.
   
3. Then in a large bowl add 3 eggs and beat until frothy then add 1 cup pumpkin and mix until there are no more lumps then add coconut oil while mixing and continue to mix until thoroughly incorporated, then add Stevia or honey and mix in as well.
   
4. While mixing slowly add a third of the dry ingredients into the wet followed by a third of the water and continue mixing, once slightly incorporated do the same thing and put in the next third of the dry ingredients followed by the next third of water in the bowl and continue mixing the entire time. Continue this until all the ingredients are in the large bowl and mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated.
   
5. Pour mixture into loaf pan and spread around so it is spread out evenly in the loaf pan and place in the oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Tom Kha Gai {Thai Coconut Soup}

You will also want a really good quality fish sauce for any Thai dish you’re making. Red Boat Fish Sauce company is the only one on the mainstream market that is both Paleo and SCD/GAPs legal. It’s aged 12-16 months and comes directly from Vietnam. They bottle only pure first press “extra virgin” fish sauce so you get an extract that is made of just two all natural ingredients: fresh wild caught anchovy and sea salt. For years I used Thai Kitchen fish sauce and looked past the sugar in the ingredient list, but I’ve tasted the two side by side now and notice a huge difference.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon Thai dried chiles, finely ground*
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 cans full fat coconut milk
2 inch piece of Galangal, skin on and thinly sliced (fresh Ginger will work too)*
1 stalk lemon grass, sliced diagonally into 3-4 pieces and slightly bruised/flattened with a mallet or butt of a knife*
8 kaffir lime leaves*
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 cups chicken breast, very thinly sliced
1 cup white button mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 tablespoon coconut sugar (honey will work too, but coconut sugar will taste the most authentic)
8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
fresh cilantro and scallions for serving

*All of the starred items can be purchased dried in a jar by the brand Thai Kitchen

Directions

Melt the coconut oil in a soup or stock pot, then add the ground chiles and stir for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.

Pour in the coconut milk and bring to boil. Add the chicken stock, galangal, lemon grass, kaffir leaves, fish sauce, and chicken and simmer for 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the mushrooms, lime juice, coconut sugar, tomatoes and simmer for another 5 minutes until the vegetables are tender but not mushy.

Serve with fresh cilantro and scallions.