Grapefruit & Banana Smoothie

It has been a bit of a rough weekend and start to this week. I apparently have one of those terrible "summer colds" my grandmother always talked about.  Honestly, if you have to be sick, August in Texas is probably the worst possible time to have said sickness.  Ugh.... My head feels like it is  in a vice, my nose is leaking like a sieve, and my throat is on fire. Basically I feel like crap.

The best possible antidote for a cold is always going to be prevention: eat the right things, get plenty of rest, and stress management. Well the last week I have not done any of the above listed things, hence the obvious weakness in my immunity allowing me to catch, the "terrible summer cold". 

So if you are like me and happen to be enduring a visit from the wonderful common cold (please I hope you can catch my sarcasm) what now? Well plenty of rest and fluids is always a must.  Also on the menu for recovery is healthy bug fighting food! 

Today I had a tasty smoothie made from grapefruit, banana, and kiwi. 

Grapefruit is packed with Vitamin C which is an immune boosting antioxidant.  Bananas contain B6 which is a supplement that helps our bodies fight infection.  Kiwi is full of more Vitamin C and Vitamin E.  Vitamin E helps aid our bodies in the production of immunoglobulins which are our bodies defense system against invaders. 

Ingredients

1 grapefruit (peeled)

1 banana

2 kiwis

1/2 cup of coconut water

1 spoonful of almond butter (protein)

Ice to desired thickness

All in all we have a delicious immune boosting, cold fighting, glass of deliciousness. It really does matter how we treat our bodies and what food we eat. Remember to be kind; our bodies are amazing and deserve it.

Chipotle Bucks at the Dallas Farmer's Market

Folks who here loves Chipotle? Who here also loves a good farmer's market?  Well, do I have news for you!  This Saturday, August 9th, at the Dallas Farmer's Market, Chipotle is handing out 5$ vouchers to the 1st 300 people who visit the Chipotle tent at the Dallas Farmers Market.  The Vouchers are redeemable for produce at the Dallas Farmer's Market. Chipotle is a huge supporter of local and sustainable produce, so in support of National Farmer's Market Week(Aug 3-9) this is how Chipotle is showing their support. 

I mean how seriously cool is this?  All you have to do is show up at the Dallas Farmer's Market,  grab your favorite burrito from Chipotle, and then pick up a voucher for 5$ worth of amazing local produce.  This is a total steal!  If you live in Dallas or the DFW area you have to swing by.   I know we will and I hope to see everyone out and about at the Dallas Farmer's Market!

They only have 300 vouchers so beat the heat and get there early!

Strawberry, banana, & kiwi smoothie

I am loving this random Wednesday off from work and feeling so blessed to have my brother and his girlfriend visiting.  After an awesome yoga session with my brother (his 1st yoga session ever!) a energy, nutritious, and replenishing smoothie was in order. 

I used almond butter to replenish protien, banana for the "good carbs",kiwi for the potassium and vitamin c (awesome at combating soreness), and chia seeds for the omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates,protien, fiber, antioxidants, and calcium. 

A dietary serving of chia seeds is 2 tbsp per serving.  So when I make a smoothie for me I use 2 tbsp. These are seriously a little superfood!

All in all this smoothie was delishious, refreshing, replenishing, and packed full of goodness. 

Ingrediants ( made for 3 )

1 cup strawberries

2 kiwis

1 banana

Large spoonful of Almond butter

1/2 cup coconut water

4 tbsp chia seeds

Ice to thickness

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! 

(All ingrediants I used are organic)

Organic Gardening Hacks

For those who know me, you know that I have always been a self declared brown thumb. Gardening has never been my thing.  In fact, last summer I killed 3 basil plants alone.  Well, this spring I decided, I was gonna do this! I was gonna grow a small garden and it was going to be organic. 

Step 1 was to order my heirloom organic non GMO seeds from SEEDS NOW.  I decided to start out simple with green bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, beefsteak tomatoes, basil, cilantro, and Italian parsley.  

 

Well between now and then I have had an ongoing battle with the squirrels.  Which is still very much ongoing so the story of my pepper plants is to be continued as they have been caught in the crossfire. 

My tomatoes and herbs look beautiful! I couldn't be more proud.  So 2 of my favorite  Organic Gardening Hacks came from my great grandmother.  How cool is that.  Sometimes when we hear the word organic, we think it has to be a new age complicated thing. When truely it is simply how generations before us always used to grow their food; before pesticides and genetically modified seeds came to be in common use. 

The best way I can think to describe organic is "think about it as old school, it's the food our grandparents used to eat".  

So taking that into consideration here are 2 Organic Gardening Hacks that if have used consistently. 

Ground Egg Shells

When egg shells are ground into a fine dust and sprinkles on plants they act like sharp shards of glass to beetles. This will repel the beetles from hanging out and making a lunch of your hard grown veggies.

 

I collected a handful of organic cage free egg shells, washes and dried them. 

Then I used my food processor to break them down into shards.  My food processor can not get the pieces fine enough so then I transfer them to my coffee gender. ( it helps to use the food processor 1st so your coffee grinder doesn't have to work so hard) 

Then sprinkle a layer on your plants. 

Another Organic Gardening Hack is to use coffee grounds as fertilizer. 

 Just throw in the used coffee grounds from that mornings coffee to your soil.  It helps to add nitrogen.  I have used this tactic for years with my flower pots and I believe they have lead to some of the largest mutant like marigolds I have ever grown last year.

Caprese Salad

I know, I have been a little MIA this week. It has been a crazy busy week and I have literally been living off of smoothies and left overs 😳 but last night I was able to cook and dang did it feel good!

Between late nights at work and a sick puppy I still needed something easy and quick to whip up.  I started hunting through my fridge; honestly I didn't know what I still had in there as grocery shopping is on the To Do List.  Well I found some beautiful heirloom tomatoes left over from last weeks summer share from Green Grocer (seriously if you live in Dallas you have to check this place out).  Then I found some mmm... good fresh mozzarella cheese. Well natrually I thought, Caprese Salad. 

I have never made a Caprese Salad before, but I thought tomatoes, cheese, and basil how could I go wrong? There is not science to this dish, I basically just threw it together in a bowl and crossed my fingers hoping it would work out (as I was starved and the chicken broiling was not gonna cut it for dinner alone).  

 

Ingrediants (mine are all organic)

Olive Oil

Apple Cider Vinegar

7 fresh basil leaves

Fresh Mozerella

2 heirloom tomatoes

Black pepper

Pinch of stevia

 

 I cubed the tomatoes and mozzerella in a bowl.  I then drizzled the olive oil (about 2 tbsp) over the tomatoes and mozzerella.  I then added the chopped fresh basil.  Sprinkled with black pepper (about 1/2tsp) and a pinch of stevia. I added a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar, mixed together with a spoon, and viola a Caprese Salad. 

Now, I know my measurements are exact on this one, but have a little fun with it.  You can always add less, then taste, and add more pepper or stevia if you think you need it.  Also feel to comment if you have any questions :)