Brunch/ Drinks/ GF, Vegan & Raw/ Healthy Eating

Matcha Latte & Matcha Chia & Pear Cereal

by Teniel Moore–Raw Foods Contributor

Want to try something new to drink thats full of amazing health benefits?
Have you tried a matcha latte? What is matcha?

Matcha is simply stone ground green tea leaves.

This tea is going to provide you with a powerhouse of antioxidants, vitamins & minerals. It is full of vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc & magnesium.

It can help calm & relax, burn calories, and is detoxifying. It is also rich in fiber –and that’s just naming a few of its benefits! If you are looking to add more nutrients into your day, ditch the coffee & try matcha. I buy organic matcha powder and a little goes a long way!

Matcha powder can be enjoyed in so many ways. Here are some ideas of how you can enjoy matcha:

• Creamy frothy coconut milk matcha latte (recipe below)
• Matcha milkshake over ice
• Matcha chia cereal (recipe below)
• Added to your green smoothie
• Throw some into your baked goods
If you have never tried this amazing green powder before, why not give it a try?

Here are 2 simple recipes for you to make using matcha:

Matcha Latte

1 cup of coconut milk (or any nut milk of choice)
1/2 tsp of matcha powder
Small amount of hot water to blend
~Heat your milk on the stove or use your coffee machine

~In a cup or small coffee plunger, add your matcha powder & mix a small amount of boiling water in and give it a good stir to break up all the lumps. (A tiny whisk would be helpful, or for the matcha enthusiasts you can actually buy a bamboo matcha whisk also called a chasen. But that is totally optional. I just use a fork.)

~Once you have whisked the powder well then add your hot nut milk. I like to use a single serve coffee plunger when making matcha. I then use the plunger to plunge up and down fast to create lovely frothy milk. If you do not have a coffee press, simply heat the milk using your coffee machine

~Serve in your favourite cup or bowl. Add sweetener of choice as matcha does have a slightly bitter taste. I use stevia but coconut nectar or raw honey would work great also.

Matcha Chia & Pear Cereal

1-2 Tbs of chia seeds
1/2 tsp of matcha
1 cup of almond milk
liquid Stevia (or sweetener of choice)
cinnamon
1/2 pear thinly sliced
crunchy topping for texture –I like to add dehydrated sprouted buckwheat

~Combine your chia seeds, sweetener & matcha powder with your nut milk in a serving bowl.

~Mix well and wait a few minutes for the chia seeds to swell.

~Thinly slice your pear & add half the pear to the chia mix along with cinnamon.

~Top it off with the rest of the thinly sliced pear and your crunchy topping for texture and another sprinkle of cinnamon.

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Enjoy!

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TENIEL MOORE OF ADDICTED TO RAW

Raw Foods Contributor

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10 Healthy Items I Buy At Sam’s Club Each Week

We have had a membership to Sam’s club for a few month’s now. I enjoy having one, and have found that I stick with just a few main staples when I go. Our Sam’s club is located right by our church, so I stop there on the way home from church each week. I am amazed at how just these few food items really help make healthy eating easy, and get us through the week.

As far as food goes, it is not easy finding healthier options at Sam’s club, but it is possible, and they are adding more and more organic options, which makes me happy.

As far as our eating goes, I am finding we have settled into a ‘perfectly imperfect’ way of eating. It has to be all about balance for us, and as much as I would love to be feeding my family only whole, unprocessed, organic, and all homemade food; it just isn’t doable. It has felt good to let go of perfection and embrace balance, and at times, convenience.

I also have compromised with my 3 daughters as they have gotten older. They have certain requests and I try to hear them and learned I can’t force them to eat exactly what I would like them to. A good example of this is the bread above. I would love them to eat the super grain bread, as it is organic, no preservatives, and has a ton of amazing omega’s and power seeds in it. They will eat this bread as toast or french toast, but for their daily lunchbox sandwiches they prefer the softer, Oatnut bread.

Another place I compromise is with lettuce. They prefer the crunchy iceberg garden mix, but I prefer they eat power greens like spinach and kale. We meet halfway and I mix the two almost every evening as we eat a green salad with almost every meal. It helps that Sam’s sells the iceberg garden mix for only $1.99 a HUGE bag. I use the kale medley in salads, smoothies, and soups. This container is really large and it is always fun to find ways to finish it by the end of the week!

The veggie tray is another area I have chosen convenience over perfect, organic veggies. This tray is loaded with vegetables, has delicious great ranch yogurt dip (which keeps my girls very happy and crunching on their veggies) and is a steal at $9.99. Most grocery stores sell them for $12-15 and only have about half of the veggies in it. I set this tray out after school almost daily, when appetites are most hungry and they are ready to snack. I often will grab it at dinner and chop the veggies up even further to throw on our salad. So easy!

Oh, how I wish those grapes were organic, but they are pretty seasonal so we are enjoying them for this season. They are amazingly sweet and are great for my girls school lunches and snacking.

The Garden Veggie Straws are a hit with my girls in place of greasy potato chips. There is nothing healthy about them, but they satisfy any salty, crunchy cravings and are a step up from chips. The bag is huge and lasts the week, even when using in lunches and for evening snacking.

I often make my own granola bars, but lately have been buying this box of Organic Cascadian Farms Granola bars. The girls like them a lot. I also will buy a box of KIND granola bars from Sam’s, which are my favorite.

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What do you buy from Sam’s club? What foods do you compromise on when it comes to convenience?

Featured/ Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

5 Practices To Start Your Week With Healthy Eating

There are several things I do at the beginning of the week to make sure we can easily access healthy food and snacks during the week. I try to get the grocery shopping done on Saturday or Sunday, which really helps make me feel ready for the week. I especially do this during the school year, when I need to make sure we have all that we need to pack school lunches and have healthy after-school snacks.

1. When shopping, keep foods as clean and pure as possible.

Avoid packaged foods with mile long ingredient lists. We eat packaged foods in our family, but I make sure I buy them from stores that promote more healthful ingredients, like Trader Joes or our local health food store. For example, if you look on the package of Trader Joes chocolate chip cookies, it is familiar ingredients I would use here at home to make chocolate chip cookies. I like that I know what they are and can pronounce them. This is not the case if I were to buy packaged cookies from a regular grocery store, unless maybe if they were in the specialty organic foods section.

Making food homemade as much as possible just tastes better and you are in charge of the ingredients. The freezer salsa in the above picture was made with our homegrown tomatoes and tastes so good!

2. Buy organic…or not. Know when to compromise.

Most of the time I buy only organic fruits and veggies, but lately, to get my kids to snack on more vegetables during the week, I have been picking up this tray of already cut up vegetables and dip. It is from Sam’s and the dip is a ranch greek yogurt dip. Yes, I would love it to be organic, but it is not. Sure, the yogurt dip has some ingredients that are not so clean and pure, but I’m ok with it. It is only 9.99, it is super convenient, and it gets a ton of vitamins and phytonutrients into our bodies. We eat it up every week, and I often will chop some of the veggies up even further to throw on our dinner salads. Eating healthy is not about eating perfectly. Compromise is ok.

3. Hard boil some organic eggs.

I’ve been doing this at the beginning of every week & it is a great way to get added protein into the body. I often find my girls with the egg slicer out, ready to snack on a protein rich hard-boiled egg. I also love throwing them on top of our dinner salad for added flavor, texture & protein.

4. Make some tea.

At first glance, caffeinated tea might not seem like the best healthy option, but it really depends what you are comparing it to. It is SO much better than grabbing a coke, whether diet or not, and does not have added sugar, artificial colors, or dreaded artificial sweeteners. Tea also has antioxidants which other sweetened beverages do not. I usually try to buy my tea organic but right now I’m crushing on this Tazo Iced Blushberry Black Tea.

Get rid of the pop, get rid of the Kool-aid. Drink tea! I make a big pitcher at the beginning of the week and it lasts quite a few days around here. It makes a nice change from typical plain water.

4. Keep lots of leafy greens on hand.

Here is another purchase I make from Sam’s at the beginning of each week. The container is huge and the price is right. I have a salad many times for lunch, and if not, I throw these greens into a green smoothie. I also try to make sure we get some sort of leafy green salad with every dinner, so a big package is a must around here. I’m very happy that Sam’s usually gets fresh shipments in daily, so the date on the package gives us a good week to eat up our greens. Tonight we will be topping taco’s with these greens.

5. Go nuts with nuts.

I really like having lots of nutritious nuts on hand during the week, and I really like storing them in mason jars. Putting them in a jar shows them off a bit, and makes it super easy to grab and start snacking. I also like how easy it is to just unscrew the lid and sprinkle them onto our salads. I have a big crush on cashews right now, and top almost every salad I make with them. Who needs croutons when you have crunchy cashews?

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What are some ways you start your week off to help with healthy eating throughout the week?

FUN/DIY/ Healthy Eating/ RECIPES/ Sides

Simple Mason Jar Salads

Salads in a Mason Jar

I’ve seen these mason jar salads all over Pinterest and Instagram, and have been wanting to make them myself for quite a while now. I love the idea of just grabbing a jar and having a healthy lunch or snack right at your fingertips.

These jars took just minutes to make. I decided to keep mine simple, which helped make the process super easy.

I wanted to use ingredients that all members of my family would eat, as I hoped that having some beautiful jars of goodness in our refrigerator would encourage my 3 girls to grab one and eat up their veggies.

It worked, especially on my oldest girl who is a cross-country runner and is quite motivated to get her veggies in! She loved these so much that she asked if she could take them in her school lunch instead of a sandwich.

Salad in a Jar

I’ve seen quite elaborate salads- in- jars all over the internet, but I knew simple would work best for our family. Most that I’ve seen put the dressing at the very bottom, then add veggies, a protein (beans or hard-boiled eggs) then the salad at the top.

Putting hearty vegetables in-between the dressing and the lettuce keeps the lettuce dry and makes them last 5-7 days in the refrigerator. It is great for a to-go lunch or snack.

My family members all like a different dressing, so I skipped putting the dressing in the bottom. We ended up eating most of these at home, where we could easily grab the dressing we liked, dump the jar onto a plate, and add any other toppings at the time of eating.

Really, for my family, the salad jars were a great way to present enticing, healthy, grab and go food. I think it is worth the little bit of time to put the jars together to make this happen.

Sometimes when veggies just sit in their bags in the refrigerator, my girls are less likely to grab them and eat them. Having them in such pretty jars really made a difference in the number of vegetables we consumed that week.

I’ve written before about keeping fresh veggies cut in jars in our refrigerator. Most weeks when I am making a salad for dinner, I will cut up extra vegetables and put them into jars–again–worth the extra time for my family to see healthy foods in our refrigerator.

They will not grab a cucumber and cut it up to eat it, but they will grab a jar of sliced cucumbers and munch away.

The week I made these jars, I made sure I had hard-boiled eggs peeled and chopped, ready to go as it is one of my families’ favorite salad toppings and a great way to add protein.

I also had red pepper slices and cooked peas, both in separate jars, which are two of my favorite salad toppings.

In my pantry, I had a large jar of croutons, a jar of dried cranberries & a jar of sunflower seeds, all of which are great salad toppings.

Jars a wonderful way to keep healthy ingredients at your fingertips, store ingredients so that they last a long time, and make the refrigerator and pantry look beautiful and organized. I just love them!

Below is a list of salad ingredients that can be stored in jars to top your Simple Mason Jar Salad, or to make more elaborate Mason Jar Salads.

If you are wanting to make these with the dressing and all of the ingredients layered in the jar, make sure you buy large mouth jars and layer the ingredients in the right order.

Best Order:

Dressing, hearty vegetables (ones that can marinate in the dressing without breaking down like carrots, peppers, grape tomatoes, cucumbers), fruits, protein/carb (beans, pasta, chicken), dry toppings (seeds, croutons, dried fruit) then lettuce.

Ingredient Ideas for Mason Jar Salads

Shredded Rotisserie Chicken

Chopped Bacon

Whole-Wheat Bow-Tie Pasta

Sliced Strawberries

Blueberries

Grapes

Pineapple

Mandarin Oranges

Dried Cranberries

Avocado

Green Peppers

Cauliflower

Broccoli

Carrots
Peas

Radishes

Cucumber

Tomatoes

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Feta Cheese

Croutons

Sunflower Seeds

Sliced Almonds

Simple Mason Jar Salads

Here is how I made mine:

Cucumber

Shredded Carrots

Shredded Broccoli Stalks

Baby Spinach

Lettuce Mix

*all of my ingredients (except cucumber) came prepped in bags from Trader Joes- easy!

Directions:

Add ingredients in jars in the order given. Put a lid on and store in refrigerator 5-7 days.

When ready to eat, take out, add whatever extra toppings you would like, add dressing & enjoy!

What about you?

Do you like the idea of having these available in your refrigerator ready to grab and eat? Do you think it would motivate you to eat more veggies?

For a very detailed article on Mason Jar Salads, click here.

Drinks/ GF, Vegan & Raw/ RECIPES

Golden Milk

{post by our Contributing Raw Foods Author, Teniel Moore}

I know when its cold outside, you want something delicious, sweet & hot to warm you on the inside and make you feel good.

You might reach for a hot chocolate full of processed sugar & artificial flavors & sweeteners.

Next time you fancy a comfort drink why not try my golden milk. This is delicious creamy & full of warming spices that not only taste yum but are so good for you.

Did you know that turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory and a great antioxidant? I have it fresh every day in my green juice.

Studies are showing it helps reduce the oncoming of Alzheimer’s disease. Helps fight cancer and so many more benefits. So why not try and include it in your diet?

Now let’s get making this delicious milk.

Golden Milk

Cook Time

10 mins

Recipe Type: Brunch

Servings: 1

Ingredients

1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp maca powder optional
1 - 1 1/2 cups coconut milk or milk of your choice
3 - 4 drops stevia or add sweetener of choice

Optional Add Ins

fresh vanilla beans
pinch of himalayan salt
cardamon pods

(all organic ingredients if possible)

Instructions

Warm your coconut milk on the stove on a low heat.
Add in your spices and stevia and continue to stir with a wooden spoon or whisk until the spices are well combined and the milk is hot.
Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy.

I really hope you enjoy this golden milk as much as I do.

Cheers to delicious health.

———————-

Teniel Moore | Raw Foods Contributor

You can follow her here:

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Treating A Gallbladder Attack Naturally

I spent the morning with a friend who had some awful symptoms of pain in the upper right side of her abdomen, under the ribcage area and radiating into the back. She has yet to find out if it is her gallbladder, but hearing her describe it all made me remember when my gallbladder was acting up, and my doctor wanted to take it out.

I was SO DONE with surgeries, breast cancer has made sure I’ve had my share of them, so I scoured the web for some natural alternatives to treating a gallbladder attack. Would you believe it worked?!

Natural Juice - Treating A Gall Bladder Attack

How I Treated My Gallbladder Naturally

This pic was taken right after I was told I had to have surgery. I investigated natural remedies and went straight to the health food store and went a little overboard. I have had a couple of attacks after the initial one, and have since narrowed down how I treat myself to just a few products and dietary restrictions.

Books/ Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

19 Favorite Food Rules For Healthy Eating

Cover for Michael Pollan's book: "Food Rules"

FOOD RULES -an eater’s manual

by Micheal Pollan

I am a fan of Micheal Pollan.

He was the first one that I have read who was able to take the incredibly complicated question of

“What Should I Eat?”

and answer:

“Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

“Eat food and avoid edible food like substances.”

I read his first book, In Defense Of Food, a year ago and just really jived with it. I was so happy to see that he came out with a short, easy to read, manual that expands on the answer.

Each page gives a simple tip on what to eat. I read the book in 30 minutes and loved it.

Here are some of my most favorite rules from the book:

#2 Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.

(for example–neon colored tubes of flavored gel called Go-GURT!)

#3 Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry

(ethoxylated diglycerides??)

#4 Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup

(it is a reliable marker for a food product that has been highly processed)

#5 Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients.

(exception to this rule, are “special occasion” foods–see Rule 60)

#6 Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.

(another sign that it is a highly processed food)

#7 Avoid food products with the word “lite” or the terms “low-fat” or “non-fat” in their names.

( Refined carbs can make you fat. Sugar makes you fat. Many low-fat or no-fat products boost the sugar and salt to make up for the flavor lost when removing fat)

#10 Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not.

(imitation butter-aka-margarine-is the classic example. Artificial sweeteners..)

#11 Eat only foods that will eventually rot.

(real food is alive food…therefore it should eventually die)

#12 Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature.

(read ingredients on a package of Twinkies or Pringles and imagine what those look like raw or where they grow…ya can’t!)

#19 If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

#22 Eat mostly plants, especially leaves

(antioxidants, fiber, omega- 3 fatty acids, energy dense!)

#23 Treat meat as flavoring or special occasion food.

(become a “flexitarian”–someone who eats meat only a couple times a week)

#25 Eat your colors!

(colors from nature are full of polyphenols, flavonioids, carotenoid, which all fight disease!)

#34 Sweeten and salt your food yourself.

(you will find you are consuming a fraction as much sugar and salt as you otherwise would–example oatmeal–buy plain not flavored, sweetened or colored!)

#36 Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.

(ha..like that one. It’s kind of a “duh”)

#37 “The whiter the bread, the sooner you will be dead”

(I expand on that here)

#39 Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you cook it yourself.

(if you made all the french fries you ate, you would eat them much less often! Too much work!)

#57 Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does

(Gas stations have become processed corn station. Ethanol outside and high-fructose corn syrup inside!)

#60 Treat treats as treats.

(special occasion food is great as long as every day is not a special occasion. Save them for weekends or for true special occasions!)

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual

In Defense Of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

by Micheal Pollan

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healthy eating

Matcha Latte & Matcha Chia & Pear Cereal

Here are 2 simple recipes for you to make using matcha:

Matcha Latte

Matcha Chia & Pear Cereal

TENIEL MOORE OF ADDICTED TO RAW

More posts by Teniel at New Nostalgia:

10 Healthy Items I Buy At Sam’s Club Each Week

5 Practices To Start Your Week With Healthy Eating

1. When shopping, keep foods as clean and pure as possible.

2. Buy organic…or not. Know when to compromise.

3. Hard boil some organic eggs.

4. Make some tea.

4. Keep lots of leafy greens on hand.

5. Go nuts with nuts.

Simple Mason Jar Salads

Salads in a Mason Jar

Salad in a Jar

Ingredient Ideas for Mason Jar Salads

Simple Mason Jar Salads

Golden Milk

Treating A Gallbladder Attack Naturally

How I Treated My Gallbladder Naturally

19 Favorite Food Rules For Healthy Eating