I almost vanished! 3 Months Recap

I will start with Italy.  I have to say that "I Love Italy"!  Everything was amazing and I will return someday.  Highlights will be short since this post is overdue.  The history and the culture will blow your mind.  I loved the architecture and all of the churches and little towns, some with walls around them!

 Of coarse the food, coffee, and the Vino!  Never had a bad espresso or coffee anywhere!  Even the gas stations or cheap hotels had amazing coffee.  The food is divine and I loved getting a carafe of wine for $5 euro!

And, of coarse, the people and culture!  So fun and sweet and charming.  I love Italy!!

Next couple months were kind of a blur thinking back..  May and June.  I may have to come back to them and also do a more dedicated post of travels.

July started with a spontaneous trip to my favorite...  MEXICO!

I finally went back to Playa Del Carmen to kick start my summer!  It was filled with sunshine and amazing beach time and beautiful friends.  I love you Playa!

So this is a very short and sweet recap of the last few months.  How has your summer been so far?  Unfortunately I failed on my goal for my blogging, however I will start over again and try to catch up and succeed for next year.

Happy rest of summer to you!

Loss for words

Not sure what to post to end this week because it hasn't been the greatest of weeks and I'm not one to promote negativity so I will end with FOOD.  It can bring you down or Cheer you Up so here are a couple sauces I made today.

Last night I made an oil free pesto sauce  and put over steamed broccoli.  It was delicious and light.  Unfortunately I may have chipped a tooth on the first bite on a peppercorn.. yikes!  But was still yummy.

Oil-Free Vegan Pesto
makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 cup diced zucchini
1 handful fresh basil leaves (about 3/4 oz.)
4 garlic cloves (I love garlic, but feel free to use less)
½ cup raw walnuts
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

Directions:

Throw all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender, and blend away!

Tonight I made cilantro garlic sauce and had on top of steamed brussels sprouts.  Yum again!

Here’s the recipe:

• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 small/medium cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp tamari (soy sauce)
• juice of 1 fresh lemon (about 1/4 cup)
• 1-inch piece of fresh ginger
• Pinch of cayenne (optional)

Put all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Pour over your favorite dish – brown rice, lentils, beans, veggies, tempeh, tofu, meat, eggs, whatever you want!!  Enjoy!

And don't waste the left over sauce.  Simply put into ice cube trays and freeze for later!  Add a couple cubes to your favorite dish when ever you are in a crunch for time.  Brilliant!

So enjoy these easy healthy sauces and share with friends.  I'm winding down tonight with a glass of wine and the end of the Oscars.  Did you guys watch??  

Music to listen to!!! Check it out.  Her voice is mesmerizing! xoxo

Juicing and Juicers

So I have been juicing a ton lately and loving it!  My big question of the day though is...  Which juicer produces the most juice?  I feel like from reading other blogs and books that I may want to invest in a new juicer but then I think well I have one already and it works fine so do I really NEED another juicer?  I have a Jack Lalanne and really have no major problem with it other than yes it can be a pain to clean sometimes, I don't have a dishwasher, and if it produces the most bang for the buck?  As you know juicing can get expensive at times with buying fresh fruits and vegetables but trust me..  It is worth it!  Juicing is so healthy for you and if I had more time right now I would babble on and on and tell you why.  Or you can watch Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.

So for all of you juicers, cleansers, and anyone with an opinion...  What is your favorite juicer and why and what is your favorite juice recipe?

Happy Juicing!

Monday Inspiration

As Monday is nearly over I feel the need to share a couple of sites that have inspired me recently.  This time of year it seems that we all want to start fresh and cleanse our bodies, mind, and souls.  I came across a way of eating recently through some of the following blogs and decided to do the Detox for women for 30 days.  Natalia Rose - Books - Detox 4 Women  Are any of you cleansing or feeling the same after the holidays?  Share your comments or ideas please:)

So I came across the rose cleanse above through another new favorite and local blogista...  The Vegetable Centric Kitchen | For the Love of Veggies

Do any of you currently use or have heard of Stevia? I want to share with you my new favorite site to order vitamins and herbs from.  It's called iHerb and it's the cheapest I have found for all.  Cheaper than amazon or local vitamin or co-ops or grocery stores.  Something I highly recommend for all of you to start using is Stevia.  The species Stevia rebaudiana, commonly known as sweetleaf, sweet leaf, sugarleaf, or simply stevia, is widely grown for its sweet leaves.  Use it as a sweetener or sugar substitute and is all natural derived from a plant.

NuNaturals, Pure Liquid, Alcohol Free Stevia, 2 fl oz (59 ml) - iHerb.com

So order stevia or vanilla stevia and all your health products from here and enter my coupon code BEM483  to receive $5.00 off your first order!

Another lady I want to mention who led me to a new favorite dish of healthy roasted vegetables is http://lindawagner.net/blog/  Super easy and so good in the winter you must try!

So please check them out and be inspired!  And fall in love with Stevia for a healthier sweet tooth!!

To close I am on Day 3 of my cleanse and feel great!  I will try and post some pics and more posts on that subject next.  

Happy New Year!

Well we made it through another year.  There were some hard times and plenty of good times.  As I am working on my 35 goals for turning 35 list, one of the goals is to blog once a week or as I'm hoping to do even a wee bit more!  To start off the very first post of 2012, I will share a couple of holiday pictures to recap the end of the year.

The 1st is a picture of a dinner party for winter solstice with the ladies and burning of the old to start off the new.  Next I am proud to say that I baked my first homemade vegan brownies which were a hit at the party to follow for us orphan children.  And finally a lovely cocktail to celebrate my Birthday on New Years Day... Cheers!

So to sign off I'm hoping to live up to some of my goals and to fill you all in as I check them off my list.  Next blog is hopefully a top 12 list to highlight 2011....

Happy New Year to All and may 2012 be full of happiness in life to be shared with the ones you love!!

Thailand and Indonesia Adventure

It's been very busy since my return from my travels to Southeast Asia a week before Thanksgiving.  I would have tried to post earlier but I had a recent loss of my Dad's brother and my fun loving uncle Urbie.  It's always sad but we did celebrate his life.  Unfortunately he loss his battle with esophagus cancer on December 4th, 2011.

                                                       R.I.P. Uncle Urbie  Love you Always

Of coarse there was also Thanksgiving which I chose to celebrate at home with my big fat cat Earl since it was my first full day home in over a month..

So back to the travels!  How would I sum up in a word the beauty and intriguing culture and land of Thailand and Indonesia... Delicious, Genuine, and absolutely take you breath away Beautiful!  Ok that's more than one word but one word is not enough to describe a land of caring people, beautiful land, and absolutely delicious food.  So here are some photos to capture a few of the moments.

                                                                   1st meal.. So Good!!
                                                           

                                                             Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

                                                    Breath taking Sunsets.. Above Ko Lanta

A couple questions everyone has been asking since I've returned...
1.  "Was a month long enough?"  Yes and no.  I was ready for my own shower and bed and different clothes but I was just starting to really feel comfortable in such a foreign land.
2.  "So was the food good?"  YES!!!!  Some of the best food I've ever had and one of the main things I miss.  I haven't had asian food since I've been home cuz I'm a little nervous it's just not gonna measure up but I think I'm ready or at least I want to try and make some of my favorite dishes at home.  Maybe that will be some of my next posts??

Well now I feel a little better getting something up since it's been forever except I just realized that my camera went kaput on my trip from the heat and humidity...  Xmas ideas for me...  New digital camera Please:)  Kap kuhn ka!  xoxo

Sweet beginning to a perfect ending

To start my day today I made a yummy juice... First I've had other than my lemonade drink from the cleans.  Tasted so good since I've been craving fruits and veggies like mad since being on the cleanse.

Recipe

- 4-6 celery sticks

- 1/2 cucumber

- 1 whole lemon

- 1 apple

- 1-2 slices of ginger

- 6 kale leaves (I alternated 3 chard leaves and 3 lettuce leaves for this)

- stevia to taste (optional)

Picture is before shaken and mixed to drink and Enjoy!

Then while at work a friend brought me goodies to have fun playing with my new sewing machine!  Thanks Tyler..  Check out her blog Baby lux!

Last I get home to package in mail from a friend of more goodies!!  Books, post cards, and scented oil perfume:)  Thanks Abby... Check out her blog Abby normal!

My friends know me well.  Both included a little El dia de los Muertos because I love Mexico!!  I love my friends and the thoughtfulness given to me today has made me one incredibly happy girl.  Reminds oneself that giving is so much better than taking and a little random gift can bring more joy to ones life than they may realize.  Live... Love... Life

Spring clean Your body, Mind, and soul

 I am nearing the end of day 5 of "The Master Cleanse" with 5 more days to go. This is not my first time doing the cleanse and will not be my last.  After my first time with the cleanse I felt so amazing I thought I'm doing this every season.. 4 times a year!  Since then I have changed my mind because it's not always the easiest to be in the right mind set to do the cleanse.  That said 1-2 times a year is a more likely accomplishment.  It might not be for everyone but I find it simple to follow yet so satisfying that I highly recommend it!  And I do believe that in order to truly be able to endure the full cleanse that you need to be in the right mind set and it helps a great deal by reading the book.

The Master Cleanse Recipe - How To Make The Lemonade

Here's the recipe for making the Master Cleanse lemonade:

 * 2 Tablespoons of organic lemon juice

 * 2 Tablespoons of organic grade B maple syrup

 * 1/10 Teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

 * 10 oz of filtered water

That recipe is for a single serving of lemonade, and you should drink 6-12 servings a day. 
  
So get motivated and spring clean your body to jump start that summer swimming suit body! Do it!