An 'Everything You've Got' Salad - Learn to Love it :)

My favorite part of my day when I have hours upon hours of class is when I get the opportunity to whip out my salad!!!! Sounds lame....and ridiculously healthy, I know. But seriously, when you make a salad THE RIGHT WAY (as in my way ;) ) you will get just as excited as I do.

A salad doesn't seem like a hard thing to make - in my opinion at least - because I literally throw in almost everything I've got in my fridge/cupboard (I try not to overdo it and switch it up from day to day :) ) But I always have people comment on my salads [as well as my boyfriend Justin - I can't take all the credit since he does give me a lot of ideas] and ask me how I do it. So here are some ideas!!!!

Start with your base:

Large serving of a spring mix or 50/50 mix (I usually buy the 'organic girl' bins @ Whole Foods)

Then add any combination of the following. I try not to include EVERYTHING. But it's nice to switch it up and use different vegetables - keeps it interesting:

Sliced cucumbers

Shredded carrots (instead of cutting the carrots into large pieces, use a peeler to give you nice stringy pieces of carrot - easier on your teeth/jaw :) )

Radishes

Tomato

Any color bell pepper (green, red, yellow, orange) - cut into smaller pieces

Red onion - be careful because your breath will smell!!!!

Beets - don't be afraid to try! Gives your salad a sweeter taste and pairs really well with some sliced green apple

Raw broccoli

Hard boiled egg (although I don't use eggs because many people are allergic to them)

1/2 avocado

If you eat meat: a little bit of ground beef or 1/2 a chicken breast will taste great

Other interesting goodies that make my salad taste AWESOME:

Raisins

Hemp seeds - I absolutely love these! 2-3 tablespoons

Other Dried fruit - cranberries, blueberries

Sauerkraut - such a great probiotic!

Pumpkin seeds

Flax Seeds

Raw Cheese

Dressing/Topping ideas:

Olive oil and balsamic

Squeezed lemon

Hummus - 2 small dollops, not too much

Guacamole 

Salsa

*Sometimes I honestly have a little bit of each of these toppings on my salad [some of them may seem strange, I know!] and it makes it taste great but you definitely don't need to go overboard

Avocado and/or guacamole, and hemp seeds are a MUST for me. Can't do without! I'm also a huge fan of beets with apple slices and then some pumpkin seeds. Beets are intimidating, smell gross, and taste like dirt on their own but I absolutely love them in my salad. 

Don't be afraid to try new things - as foods sometimes taste different in combination with others and our taste changes as we age. 

You'll also be surprised as to how filling a large salad is and it won't give you that afternoon crash - you'll be feeling great and have a satisfied tummy all at the same time :) What a great combo! Enjoy. 

Raw Nut/Date/Avocado/Cacao Cake

After eating this dessert you will NEVER go back to any of those tempting sugar filled treats and sweets that are harmful and addicting to your body! These are healthy...AND EXTREMELY DELICIOUS!

A shout out to my amazing roommate, Helena, for finding this recipe and letting Justin and I sneak them out of the fridge :) We can't resist!

Ingredients:

Base
1.5 cup nuts (mixed nuts or a particular nut of choice will do)
1 cup dates (make sure you remove the pits! Medjool are the best but can be kind of spendy so do what's in your budget)
5 tbs. cacao

Topping
1 Avocado
3-5 tbs. honey (raw, local honey is always the best choice)
5 tbs. cacao
2 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt (we use Himalayan salt)
Pinch of cinnamon 

1. Finely chop nuts in a blender. Add dates and cacao. You may need to add a little bit of water if it is not mixing well or becomes TOO sticky (depends on the type of dates you use)

2. Press this base into a medium sized square glass pan lined with parchment paper (if you don't put down parchment paper it'll be impossible to cut pieces out of the pan!)

3. Put this in the fridge while you make the topping.

4. Using a hand mixer, mix the ripe avocado in a bowl. Add the vanilla, salt, cinnamon, cacao.

5. Remove the base from the fridge and spread on the avocado topping! To make it look pretty add some finely shredded coconut to the top and BAM! It's definitely edible at this point but you may want to put the completed project back in the fridge to let it harden up.

Some Favorite Inspirational Photos

You may have already seen these on my Facebook ...but I share them because I like them and I hope that they can inspire you. Everybody needs a little inspiration from time to time...some of us more than others :)

Morning Power Smoothie!

Ingredients that I use along with a picture of the final product!

Whether I'm headed to class, just got done with a workout, or simply craving something sweet, a smoothie in my still fairly new and awesome blender is one of my favorite choices! I want to share my little creation so that you can enjoy it too :)

I like my smoothies to be THICK so you may have to play around with it and add more flax/almond milk to make it the consistency you would like

Recipe:

1/4 frozen organic mixed berries (I get the large bag @ Costco - such a good deal!)
1/4 cup full fat coconut milk (in a can - see picture)
1/2 banana
1 scoop of raw protein, raw meal, or whey protein from grass fed cows
1/2 - 3/4 cup almond or flax milk (this will vary depending on how thick you like your smoothies - you can always start with less and add more)

Other ingredients that I like to add:
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp maca powder
Handful of spinach or kale

Chia seeds are a good source of protein and Maca powder helps balance your hormones and boost your sex drive (if you need any help with that :) ). I recommend gelatinized Maca powder which you can learn about on this website.

Like I mentioned - a great smoothie to have on its own as a meal (especially when you are busy busy busy like most of us) or post workout. Loaded with good fats, protein, and carbohydrate that our body can utilize to rebuild tissues and give us energy!

Enjoy :)