Recipe: Sweet Green Smoothie

National Farmer's Market Week

Photo Courtesy of www.aoinspiration.com

Hey Rox(ies)! I hope you are having a great week. I have something to make your week a little brighter and healthier. This week is national Farmer's Market Week (waaahooo). You know I simply adore fresh produce. Get out in your town and support you local farmer's market. The best thing about these markets are the freshness, prices and people. In my town we even make a festival of the whole experience. Make sure you get out and support. 

Here is the link to your find your local market: http://www.localharvest.org/

Also check out A&O Inspiration a great healthy living site!

Keep Roxing!

Juice of the Week: Cucumber, Mint, Pear & Grape

1 Cucumber

Cup of Grapes

3 Mint Sprigs

2 Pears

I call this juice “Summer Green”. The color of this juice is amazing! Not to mention it is an instant shot of health. I love using cucumber in many of my juices as a base, because the taste is not over powering and it yields so much juice. I also leave the skins on the cucumber when I juice but I make sure I soak the cucumber in vinegar or baking soda for at least an hour to get the waxy stuff off.

Some of the health benefits of this drink include:

-High in vitamin C %30 of your daily dietary needs

-High Potassium 12% of your daily needs

-The mint acts as a skin cleanser and anti-inflammatory agent.

-Grapes increase the nitric oxide levels in the blood, which prevents blood clots thereby reducing the chances of heart attacks.

-Ripe grape juice is an important home remedy for curing migraine.

Happy Juicing!

Food: Orzo Tomato Goat Cheese Salad

I love this recipe because it is so quick and easy. All the ingredients are in season and it is such a fresh and light summer salad. Now use portion control when eating this salad because it is pasta and cheese. Enjoy and make this for your friends or family this weekend!

1 Box of orzo

1 ½ cup of goat cheese crumbles

1 scallion

1 ½ cucumber

1 carton of grape tomatoes

A fist full of basil

1 bottle of Italian dressing

¼ table spoon of Sea salt

1 table spoon of Oregano

1 table spoon of parsley

Boil the box of orzo, till orzo is slightly tender. Be careful not to overcook. Strain and run under cold water allow to cool before mixing in other ingredients.

Dice your cucumber, halve your grape tomatoes and chop your scallion and basil.

Once your orzo has cooled mix in your scallion, cucumber, grape tomatoes and goat cheese. Season with fresh basil and add the sea salt, oregano and parsley. Lastly shake your Italian dressing an add about ¾ the bottle to your salad.

Allow to sit in the refrigerator for several hours or make the day before. Letting the salad sit will infuse the flavor and it will taste better!

Happy Eating!

What your parents never taught you about food…

(Me at age 3)

If I knew then what I know now, my life would have been totally different. It has taken me years of trial and error; of bad diets and weight gain to finally get in the groove of being healthy and maintaining my weight. Now, don’t get me wrong I am glad that I went through my trials they made me better but looking back I wonder what lessons about food I wish I knew. I often think about what values I will instill in my future children about diet and exercise, so they can avoid the pitfalls that I encountered.

Growing up I did not eat horribly, we actually ate pretty healthy. We were never allowed to have sugar, we did not eat red meats or pork, and we ate tons of brown rice and fiber; so where did I go wrong? Despite my parent’s good intentions I feel as though I didn’t understand why I was eating so healthy. I ate what we had at the house and really didn’t learn why these foods were optimal for my health. I was in college when I had my first hamburger and from there it was all downhill. Here are a few lessons I hope to pass on one day:

Don’t eat late. Eating late was a staple growing up; sometimes we would eat dinner at 9:30 PM. I didn’t see anything wrong with it then, however as I aged I noticed I would wake up feeling horrible. I felt weighed down and my digestion was thrown off track. The more I learned, I realized that eating late and going right to bed is a sure fire way to pack on the pounds.

Eat color. While I developed a love of green vegetables as a child I still ate an abundance of meat. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I realized the importance of eating a variety of vegetables and fruits to have an optimal diet. Eating color is now the source of my vitality.

Don’t’ have seconds. I always had seconds as a child. Thank God the food was very healthy. However, when I was in college (and my diet disintegrated) I continued that bad habit of over eating. I really didn’t know what a healthy portion looked like. Instilling portion control in children at an early age helps to build a healthy relationship with food.

Eat Breakfast. Breakfast was never a huge deal growing up. Especially when I got to high school I always remember skipping breakfast. Breakfast is so essential. It kick starts my day and it sets the tone for the healthy eating.

What types of eating habits do you wish you had learned? What lessons have helped you stay fit? What will you teach your children? Share your thoughts and comments.