Banana Bread Milk!!! October 19, 2009

Do your own thing and walk your own path… you usually get lost if you try to follow someone else!!  ~NA

Sup y’all!!  I just wanted to hook everyone up with a really yummy kid-friendly drink that they will love to help you make and is way better then standard strawberry/chocolate milk!!

Banana Bread Milk

1-2 cups of vanilla coconut milk (Kroger’s Health Food Section=Delicious)     

1/2-1 banana – fresh or frozen

1/2-1 tsp of a good quality vanilla

agave to taste (all natural sweetner… available at meijer, costco, etc.)

(You can get tricky and add some soaked chia seed to bump up the nutrition value and if its for an adult(or kids that are not too picky) try some ground up flax seed or hemp protien powder)!

Toss it all in a blender and let the good nutrition roll!!!  Then dump it through a strainer to remove big chunks and enjoy!!!  Taste just like banana bread – my kids love love love it and its so easy to make!!  So dust off that nice little wedding present that you thought was only good for margaritas and get creative.  Let the kids mix it up, sometimes when they pick the ingredients they are more willing to try it

Enjoy Nicole

POWERFUL POMEGRANATES September 25, 2009

“Where there is great love – there are miracles”  ~Willa Cather

All right ladies and gents… here is another wonder of nature we can add to our ‘eatin healthy arsenal’.  Yeah baby its the pomegranate!!!  At first I was freaked out by this fruit and had no idea what to do with it – read and become enlightened!!  These superfoods are so awesome and kinda special cuz they are only available from september (and those ones aren’t that good) until january, so we have to get our pommie fix and let it last for the 7 months you can’t have any (unless you are really ambitious and freezes like lbs of these thing)… the juice rocks as well but I am partial to the pomegranate seeds themselves.  Here is what the experts say they can do for ya…

Lower Risk of Heart Disease ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Lower Risk of Cancer, Especially Prostate & Breast ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Lessen Symptoms of Diarrhea ^{[7] [8] _a good thing to know!!}

Reduce Cholesterol ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Control Your Weight ^{[12] [13] [14] – Yeah baby!!!}

Fight Cell Damage ^{[15] _ like maybe the skin on my aging face!!}

I have also read they can help with erectile dysfunction, which I am sure sucks (sorry lol)!!, help with arthritis, neutralize those pesky free radicals, they are loaded with potassium, fiber, vit C, niacin… all that fancy jazz which quite frankly I don’t care what it does I just know that you probably need it   There is also all this history on this stuff like a really cool mythological story, the bible is all over it, and the Torah and Koran mention it to… so thats cool – we can please the ‘Gods’ of all religions.  In some cultures it’s a symbol of good luck (which is a wicked cool bonus)… and most importantly a good pomegranate taste AWESOME!!!

This is how the expects recommend to slice it and dice it…

1.Cut off the crown (you’ll see it) and throw it away or better yet use it for compost. 2.Score and slice the rind all around, but don’t cut the rind all the way through. 3.Soak the pomegranate face down in cold water for about ten minutes. 4.While the pomegranate is still in the bowl of water, break apart the scored rinds, and remove the seeds from the flesh (the seeds will sink to the bottom of your bowl). 5.Remove the rind and membrane from the bowl with a sieve or spoon. 6.Drain the seeds with a colander and pat dry with a paper towel.

I just cut it in half and pull the seeds out in a bowl of water (the rind stuff will float + seeds sink = easy to separate!  It is slightly tedious but little kids love to do the work for you so have them help out!!

To one of the few reasons I don’t mind summer ending… the pomegranate!!

Cheers Nicole

For more info see below or just google or bing or whatever the benefits of  pomegranate!!

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-health-benefits-of-pomegranates/

Emotional Meals… September 20, 2009

“Sometimes a belief is created to justify your actions” ~Nicole Alvarado

Hello… I’m back.  Since the birth of my awesome 4th baby – I am not gonna lie… things have been  stressful, crazy, chaotic, etc.  you get the drift (like I need a tubal ligation STAT crazy).  The first few weeks I allowed the stress to flow right out of my body – into the kitchen – and onto my hips… if you get my drift.  A few weeks later, and one child size inner-tube around my waist, I was done with this outlet for my stress.  Got me thinking – I bet a lot of us out there eat ‘emotional meals’ – and some of us go in the other directions and skip eating entirely which I would  still classified as an ‘emotional meal’ – just a skipped one  

I think emotional eating is one of the most common things in our society.  Its often times how we celebrate, greive, cure bordem, find comfort, start relationships… etc.  Once I got my head back on straight I started thinking ‘how am I gonna break this wicked cycle?’  Food had become my medicine for dealing with my changing environment.   (And let me tell you – winds of change for me are like tornados – I don’t handle change or stress very well.)  So here is what I didn’t - I turned eating back into what it was initially designed for – fuel for the work at hand.  I turned it back into a regimented way to feed my body.  I figured out about how many calories I needed a day (you can search this stuff on the internet) and broke it down into how much I was gonna have every meal and snack (I do the best I can and don’t become a calorie maniac – we still have to live and function here – but a loose monitoring can help regain some control).  Now I know this sounds tedious and annoying, but to break my emotional eating cycle I had to take the emotions out of eating and turn it into a structed routine I did every day (kind of like all our other daily chores… brushin our teeth, brushin our hair, shavin our legs, doing laundry, etc….).  I think that this philosophy could be applied to lots of different things when they get out of wack… like if we are not spending enough time with our kids, if we aren’t working out regularly, if we are watching too much tv or on the computer too much.  Until you can naturally keep these thing in a nice balance, regulate them – at least until you get your barings back.  It has worked wonderfully for me.  Now that I am not eating all day long I have to find other outlets for my stress, bordom, etc..  Plus, my inner-tube is slowly deflating and I am feeling much better about myself  and in control again!

Like I always say… these are just my experiences - I am not a psycologist/nutritionist/personal trainer/pastor/good speller (lol) etc.  I am just a regular chic tryin to rock it out in this crazy world

Take Care… Its nice to be blabbin on the internet again,

Nicole

… Chaotic Food Revisited… June 19, 2009

“Being yourself is highly overrated.  Be whoever the heck you want to be!” ~Unknown  (irrelevant but I love this quote!!)

So I was doing that little experiement to determine if the level of my ‘healthy eating’ was related to the quality of my mood… My final but slightly inconclusive answer is ABSOLUTELY!  The reason I say inconclusive is this.  I cannot say for certain, but I believe this correlation is both physical and mental.  As with anything in life, when we make the right choice and make decisions we feel good about we naturally gravitate towards feeling happy and peaceful.  When we go the opposite way we tend to feel tense, stressed, depressed etc..  But I do believe that there is a strong physical correlation as well.  A body that is feeling physically poor (which is most often times the result when we decide to drown it with junk) we are going to feel like mental crap too!!  It makes sense – as do most things in life!!  Junk in junk out!  You buy a crappy cordless phone your gonna get crappy use out of it!!!  So bottom line ladies and gentlemen… dun dun da dahhhh – The worse we eat the worse we feel!!!!!  Or should I say the better we eat the better we feel – physically and mentally!!!  I would love for anyone to try this experiment at home and let me know if they notice any changes!!  Please leave comments if you do

To good food, good friends, and good fun!!!   Nicole

The wrong way… June 13, 2009

“If you don’t like something, change it – fix it – fight it.”  ~Unknown

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I have the hardest time making decisions.  From what to have for lunch to where to give birth to our child… most of the time I am paralyzed by these decisions.  They consume my life – it took me a week, five people, six test colors, and two sleepless nights, to pick out the darn paint color for our living room (I ended up going with my original plan all along).  Point being is that life is jammed packed with ‘forks in the road’ – times when we have to pick which way we are going to travel.  Sometimes we pick right – all is merry and gay, we travel almost effortlessly down this path… other times we pick what MIGHT be the wrong choice - we experience discomfort, difficulties, and some major bumps (tears may be shed)… then there are times when (and we don’t know this at the time) we have made the right choice, but in order to reap the rewards we have to experience those challenging hours!  Recently Chris and I made a really big descision… at first everything seemed cool but now things are falling apart and what appeared to be a totally reasonable choice has turned into a relatively unpleasent experience.  So now what… first – I cried and stomped my feet like a little 4 year old, but (surprisingly) that  didn’t change anything.  But the cool thing is, that even when we make the wrong choice or a bad descision there are always ways, paths, sort-cuts, hidden trails, that can bring us back to the ‘right way’ – the way that puts us back in that place of peace.  Here is the thing… we have to work for it – it is up to us – WE ARE IN CHARGE OF OUR OWN HAPPINESS!!!!!!!!!!!  So if you end up on the wrong path and everything around you seems ‘yucky’ its up to us to dig a treanch, build a bridge, swing from a branch back to where we want to be.  And if your not sure, well at least you know where you were wasn’t the right place.  And sometimes we need to allow things to settle into our systems.  We are creatures that do not handle stress, shock, stuff out of the ordinary very well.  Change doesn’t always feel right at first, but it is up to us to find the silver lining… I love the saying (it goes something like this, but I can’t find the exact quote) if you stand ridged like an oak, you are likely to break during the storm, but if you are able to sway and bend like the willow, you will survive the ruff whether.  Point is… life is full of decisions, choices, options… some right, some wrong, some somewhere in-between.  And its ok to go the wrong way, because we always have the power to move past that point, back track, stop and ask for directions, etc. - but it is up to us… no one is going to express shuttle us to happiness!

To the smooth road… may we travel it more often then not!! Nicole

… Chaotic food continued June 7, 2009

“I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.” ~unknown

So I have been doing pretty good (had a few week moments) but on the whole I feel better mentally and physically.  I was having wicked crazy back-aches and now they are all gone (could be the food, maybe its just cuz I have taken it easy this weekend)!?  I have really uped my fruit/veggie/nut and seed intake and I feel much better… no more Kashi waffles for breakfast or cheese sandwiches for lunch.  Plus I have had the best salads made from the lettuce grown in my friend’s (not naming any names – but I bet you can guess) garden!!  Its true – home grown is way better!!  I will keep you posted hopefully I can go all raw tomorrow.  I went to the HFS and meijer and stocked up on some raw fruits/veggies/ and nuts… I should be stylin now – we will c

Nicole

Can food create chaos??? June 6, 2009

‘Garbage in… garbage out’ ~I have know idea… someone cool

So my friend Sam (I know I talk about her all the time) is doing a 30 day ‘raw food’ diet www.unprocessme.wordpress.com .  Raw foods are food that are not process or heated above ~104 degrees (depending on which raw-foodie you ask).  She came over today and I ate (almost) 100% raw with her.  Now I have been researching and dabbling into   this lifestyle for quite a while but have never been able to commit.  Recently I must say my diet has been full of junk – oh yeah baby - little miss ‘wannabehealthnut’ has been nothing more then a wannabe recently… I’m talking pizza, chips, pop, bagels… you pretty much name it!!  Consequently, my mood, attitude, and entire disposition has been about as crappy as my diet!!  I have been an emotional maniac!!  Chris (my main squeeze) blames it on my pregnancy but I beg to differ.  I have read many a raw foodie say that the worse you eat… the more strain on your system… the more strain on you mentally, physically, spiritually… the result – a really crabby, depressed, angry, etc. person!!  Basically, to make this long-winded story short – having eaten really really health today – I noticed a total change in my disposition.  I was not cranky, short-tempered, moody, etc.!!  I think I should continue this experiment and see if by altering my diet from ‘junk in the trunk’ – to ‘high energy – super healthy’ foods if my moods will move from ‘borderline exersist’ to ‘peaceful patient parent’!!  I have read that a ’stressed colon (I know sounds weird) leads to a stressed person’… lets see what happens!!

… to be continued!!

Nicole

Fruit Salad for Dinner… yummy yummy!! June 3, 2009

“Reexamine all that you have been told, or read in any books, and dismiss whatever insults your soul.” ~Walt Whitman

I think that sometimes the simplest things in life are the best!!!  I know when I first started trying to eat healthier I made it really hard on myself… but for the most part – the healthiest way to eat is the easiest, least messy, fastest, and cheapest.  I give a lot of credit to all the moms and dads out there who are bustin their booties making big old dinners every night…  I hate hate hate doing that.  First of all I hate eating a bunch of food late (better for your body to have a bigger breakfast and lunch), I hate thinking of something to make, I hate tryin to time when this and that will be done…. and I hate cleaning up!!!!!  Sorry to be so negative, the point here is that mealtime doesn’t have to resemble a full coarse spread at Grandma’s on thanksgiving.  Simplify, slow down, make it easy… what is wrong with have a huge salad for dinner, or a big bowl of fruit salad, or guacamole and chips??  I think sometimes we need to take out a little kitchen hammer and bust down the old stereotypical walls of when, how, and what we should be eating… I think people would be shocked how my kids and I eat.  I pretty much never cook ‘dinner’!  I mean we eat, but not how people traditionally do… and guess what – that is o.k. cuz it works for us!  I’m just saying, try to be a little more open minded, fruit isn’t just for a morning snack, eggs aren’t just for breakfast, protein isn’t a dinner thing, and you don’t have to always ‘wait for dinner time’ to eat.  Our bodies are super efficient at cluing us in on what it really needs… but we just need to listen a little better – if your body goes on  an apple binge… go with it – your body is probably letting you know it is deficient in something and apples are the answer.  I do this all the time, I will just love something for a week or two and then be done with it and can barely eat it!  Point being is that there are no real rules as to how, when, and what we should eat throughout the day… listen to your body and make the best choices you can – I guarantee you will reap some seriously wicked benefits!!

To my favorite meal right now… fruit salad!!  Nicole

Becoming more respective with a new perspective… May 24, 2009

“Don’t compare your life to others, you have no idea with their journey is all about!” ~Unknown

O.K. so that is not the right use of the word respective but it rhymed and really sounded cool…  What I really want to talk about is how we need to allowing ourselves to respect that ‘perspective’ is pretty much the key to peace out in the social jungle!  I have been thinking a lot about my relationships with others and how crazy relationships are… They can be beautiful, ugly, nasty, uplifting, evil, loving, nurturing, etc. you get the point.  I mean we are asked everyday to go out into the world and engage in ‘life’ with hundreds of people… armed only with our one perspective, are one way of viewing, analyzing, and reacting to the world.  The crazy part is that we are interacting with tons of different perspectives… I mean if you think about it we kind of all speak a different language, we all think, process, and react in different ways, yet somehow we have to live and communicate with one another – hopefully with a peaceful ending to our encounters.  I guess my point here is that we need to start respecting the fact that people are not all coming from the same place… we are all on different life journeys, looking through different windows, with different missions and goals… and I think we need to step back sometimes and, instead of fighting this, criticizing it, and separating ourselves from it -  just realize that we are just encountering a different life perspective, that is it not going to endanger our life mission if we keep focused, and that it is not for us to try to change other people’s life journeys.  I feel I spend so much time muddling over what and how other people should be doing things – so not my business (of coarse I am not talking about when someone is in real life-threatening danger – like has an addiction or experiencing serious physical and mental problems)!  Who in the heck am I to judge!  And I bet if I were to look at their life situation from their perspective, things would look much different.  I cannot translate someone else’s actions unless I can think through their perspective.  A dear friend of mine tried for years to explain this to me, as far as my relationship with Chris went.  I would just fight and fight and fight because I wanted him to be living his life the way I thought he should… and she kept trying to teach me this lesson… he is on his own journey, with his own perspective and mission, let his life play out for himself… you cannot control others-you cannot understand their thought processes-and you cannot change them.  So go out and enjoy life – enjoy others - enjoy your relationships… armed with the knowledge that we are just one little perspective on this beautiful earth and it is our duty to try our best to respect others and just allow others to be… without judgement, scrutiny, and criticism!!

To all my dear friends and family… love you lots, my apologies for all the years of unjust criticism!! - Nicole

I’m Coocoo for Coconuts!! May 18, 2009

“Those who deserve love least, need it most.” ~Divine Child Church Paper

So I bet when I say coconut… you are thinking, I love almond joys or I hate them… well ladies and gents, that’s not the kind and/or form of coconut I am gonna talk about here – that shredded, dried, sweetened stuff is for mainstream america, but we are the rockin informed part that knows that coconuts are a multi-dimensional SUPER FOOD!!  Yee haa!!  We are gonna break this down into three parts… coconut oil (wonderful to eat straight, cook with, bake with, put in smoothies etc.), coconut water (a superior hydration masterpiece of nature), and coconut flesh itself (from young coconuts – the cream colored hut-like things).

Coconut oil… so here are the raw dawg facts.

The health benefits of coconut oil include: hair care ( use like conditioner), skin care (heals wounds, repairs damaged skin, reduces aging), stress relief (good massage oil), maintains cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity (it strengthens the immune system as it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid, and caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties), proper digestion and metabolism (again the anti microbial properties help the body deal with various bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc., that can cause indigestion.  It also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids), relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strenth. Wow I’m out of breath!!  Most of these benefits are from all those acids I named earlier and their antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc., properties.

For the whole story check out:http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html

Coconut water:

It has a natural balance of sodium, calcium, and magnesium, so move over all that gatorade-type crap, it is an ideal electrolyte drink.  This is so cool, it is a natural isotonic beverage that has the same electrolyte balance as we have in our blood and has been used intravenously to stabilize electrolytes… its like natures blood transfusion being identical to human blood plasma – it has really been used to save lives in 3rd world countries – that is just crazy to me.  Coconuts balance acid levels and flush out toxins.  Plus it has some of the same properties found in coconut oil!!!  It is best consumed the second you open the young coconut, but you can also buy is packaged at some krogers and health food store!!!  It does too many awesome thing to list, but it can help with a number of digestive issues (even in babies – but I’m not a doc just forwarding info), boost circulation, helps oxygen transport, increases metabolism, helps the body heal from antibiotics… you get my point!  Point being… freakin drink this stuff, I love love love to put it in my smoothes!! 

Coconut ‘Meat’:

Eat it its good for you!!  Blend it in your smoothie… yummy, my friend Sam makes this for me whenever she comes over.  Unfortunately, I don’t have easy access to them so I have to rely on the oil and water!!

Oh I hope you read this, its so important!  You can get coconut oil at kroger, meijer, HFS, etc… use it, drink it, eat it!!  Nicole                                                       My friend Sam has more info about this on www.rawkinmom.wordpress.com!