Detox Day 2: Breakfast In a Glass, Start Your Day Off on a Good Note!

Smoothies are one of my favorite healthy breakfasts. They are delicious obviously but also because if you put a few healthy ingredients in them they are also the perfect breakfast IMO. Pick up a bag of toasted flaxmeal which is pretty easy to find these days at most well-stocked markets. Flax adds fiber and essential Omega fatty acids and it has a wonderful mild nutty flavour perfect in smoothies as well as oatmeal, muffins etc.
Flax is very high in lignans, which have anti-tumor properties—lignans act as antioxidants that could mirror the results of Tamoxifen, the anti-cancer drug for breast cancer.

Check out these 25 Healthy Smoothies from Whole Living.
Also, don't forget to click my smoothie link on my right side bar for easy, healthy and quick ideas!

Apple Carrot Ginger Smoothie

Carrot-Mango-Herb Smoothie

Kiwi Smoothie

Banana-Oat Smoothie

Mona Claire loving her Berry-Tofu Smoothie with Flax

Mix it up a bit! We have a breakfast Gazpacho 3-4 times a week too. Yup, my kids love them!

Keeping a daily journal holds you accountable and keeps you on track!
I carry a small note book to jot down what I eat and my thoughts.
I also just downloaded the 'LivingStrong' App for my IPad which is an excellent calorie counter, nutritional data base, excersise tracker and more!
Also, it will be nice ( I hope ) to look back and see my progress!

BTW, this is what we had for dinner. 3-Bean Vegetarian Chili, slightly adapted from
Whole Living. I added kidney beans and more veggie juice.

DIY~ Children's Tea Towel Aprons

I've been looking for cute, affordable aprons for Jack and Nolan, my 4 and 5 year olds, for some time. They love to help me in the kitchen almost as much as they love personalized gifts. I was in JoAnne's Fabric last week and saw what I thought were children's apron's. As I  unfolded one and looked closer I found that they were actually cute little tea-towels for the Holiday's. The bottom of each towel was trimmed with  gathered fabric making them look like aprons to me. Each towel had a different embroidered Christmas picture on it and so I grabbed the cutest ones and set off to sew my boys and
my nieces some aprons for their Holiday Cookie Baking!

This defiantly falls into the " If I can do it, Anyone can do it" category. Sewing is NOT my forte'! This took me all of an hour to make 4 aprons and that's with baby Mona 'helping' me........

So here is a little photo tutorial I put together to show you how simple it is,

and how cute my son's and nieces are! ;)

1. Find cute Holiday Tea-Towel's on sale for $1.99 at craft store.

2. Turn towel over, fold down top to create desired length.
Fold over sides to make a steep triangle.
Iron

3. Sew along very top edge.

4. Sew 1"-2"  from the side of apron, leaving enough room to slip in your ribbon.

5. Slip ribbon into slot (just an inch or two) and sew on securely.
Sew ribbon onto the sides of the apron.
I found it helpful to have my 4 year old nearby to measure the lengths for the ribbons.

6. Embroider names on chest of apron. You could also use iron-on letters.

Voila! Aren't they cute?

I sent them to my adorable nieces in New York just in time for Holiday Cookie Baking!

My boys couldn't wait to put on their Christmas Baking Aprons and make Peppermint Chocolate Cookies!

Simple Chilled Gazpacho! "Give a Kid a Straw!"

This is part of a 'new' series I've been thinking about ever since I wrote the post about "Bok Choy Stir Fry with Asian Marinated Tofu" and got my kids to eat it by giving them cute hand painted chop sticks ~

" Give a Kid Some Chop Sticks"

All I have to do is give my kids a straw and they will drink anything! If your kids are new to veggie juices/monster smoothies etc. try putting it in a solid color cup with a straw. Maybe even a Starbucks cup or something they think is cool!

This is another habit I've gotten from my health nut mom. One of those things I wrinkled my nose at initially, but now can't live without.  I've never been a big breakfast eater, which I'm sure you've all heard is not good for you. So I used to drag around here in the morning for a couple of hours before I really woke up and felt like I had any energy. Four cups of coffee later I would start to wake up but still felt blah! Now, I wake up, have a glass of cold water which kicks your metabolism into gear and yes,  I still have a cup of coffee while I get the kids fed and ready for the day but then I whip up a glass of gazpacho for my breakfast! Chilled gazpacho in the morning gets ya movin and groovin!

This is a powerhouse of vitamins and protein! So many good things for you in this zesty little glass of juice. Some of you may still be thinking, 'Gazpacho for breakfast, I don't think so.' and that's o.k. I was stubborn too once, you'll come around if you know what's good for you! I started having this for an early lunch then once I realized how yummy it was and how good it made me feel I started drinking it for breakfast, not first thing but after my coffee... first things first.

Why in the morning you ask?  After sleeping all night your metabolism and GI system are in sleeping mode and you are essentially starting fresh. The worst thing you can do is wake up and have something that is going to raise your glycimic index quickly. Most cereal's are culprits as are muffins, breakfast sandwiches, juices and some fruits. It's best to eat something Raw before every single meal do help with digestion and stabilize the glycimic index, which really helps with weight loss.

Really, you could throw any veggies you like into this. The base should be a Low-Sodium, preferably organic veggie juice. I love R.W. Knudsen brand, 'Very Veggie'  It has wonderful ingredients and no additives!

      
MAKES  6 CUPS (48 OZ. )   ABOUT 4 SERVINGS

At the very least, this is what I throw into the blender:

2 tablespoons Hemp Seeds ( put in first to keep them from flying all over the blender and sticking to sides)

1/2 small head of cabbage, cut into chunks

celery

1 clove garlic, smashed and cut into small pieces

2 cups ( 16 oz.) Veggie Juice ~ low-sodium! preferably organic and in a glass jar ( not plastic or a can)

* other ideas: purple onion ( this is when my 5 year old won't drink it, but I like it)
spinach, kale etc. carrots or beets to make it sweeter, flax seeds etc.

Shelled Hemp seeds are an excellent source of protein at 11 grams per serving,

Omega 3's, and all 10 essential Amino Acids!

Did you know garlic lowers blood pressure and bad cholesterol, has cardiovascular and respiratory benefits? Garlic also aids in digestion, is an antioxidant, anti-viral and anti-bacterial super hero?

I Love my new Ninja blender! Blends up the smoothest gazpacho I've ever had! *booo Cuisinart...

I didn't think you'd believe me so here's the proof,  my kids really L.O.V.E Gazpacho!
This is also part of a new series I've been thinking about " Give a kid some [chopsticks] ". Basically, tips, tricks and games to get your kids excited about eating new and healthy foods.
So this would be, " Give a Kid a Straw"  and they'll even drink gazpacho!

 Going, going.....

Gone! 

 Seriously, she didn't even take her mouth off of the straw and sucked down the whole glass!

Nolan gives his thumbs up of approval!

Jack (not pictured) who is 5 years old and my 'picky eater' is hit or miss with gazpacho. Some days he'll drink it, other days he won't.

I am submitting this to Kahakai Kitchen for her 'Souper Sunday's event! Stop by for the love of soup!

Bok Choy Stir Fry with Asian Marinated, Grilled Tofu

" Give a Kid Some Chop Sticks!"

This was so light, crisp and delicious. I love eating fresh, light meals when it's so hot outside.  My mom made this dinner for us last night and we all loved it. Every one of the kids gobbled it up. Give a kid some chop sticks and meal time, even with veggies and tofu becomes fun!

The trick with this dish is pressing the tofu so it's not soggy. You simply take a cooling rack (like one you put cookies on to cool) and line it with a single layer of paper towels, then set your tofu on that, cover with another sheet of paper towel and set a cast iron skillet or something heavy and flat on top of the tofu (even a bowl with a heavy can will work). Let it set over a sink being pressed for about 30 minutes.

"GIVE A KID SOME CHOP STICKS"

For the Tofu and Marinade You Yill Need:

2- 14 oz packages of organic, firm tofu

1/3 cup Tamari (fermented, light soy sauce)

1 tabelspoon grated gingeroot

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tabelspoons sesame oil

sesame seeds

Whisk ingredients together and put into a bag with sliced, pressed tofu. Marinate in refridgerator for 30 minutes.  

Place marinated tofu on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake at 425° for 15 minutes, flip tofu over and bake another 15 minutes.   Drizzle with more marinade and bake another 15 minutes being careful not to let get to dry.

For the Stir Fry You Will Need:

2 Carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 stalks celery, sliced 1/2 inch thick

1 small onion

1 head bok choy, chopped

2 baby portabella mushroom, sliced

1 cup shitake mushroom, sliced

1- 5 oz. can baby corn

1- 5 oz. can  sliced water chestnuts

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tabelspoon ginger root, minced

Putting it all together:

Put white part of chopped bok choy, carrots, celery, onion in a bowl.

Put green part of chopped bok choy, mushrooms and garlic into another bowl.

Open cans of water chestnuts and corn, drain and set aside.

When tofu is in it's last 15 minutes of baking, put 2 tabelspoons of coconut oil ( c. oil has a very high smoke point and is ideal for stir fry's)  in a large Wok that has been preheated over med-high heat for several minutes. 

Add carrot mixture and stir fry for about 4-5 minutes. Take out of Wok and put back in bowl.  

Add another 2 tabelspoons coconut oil and add mushroom mixture. Stir fry about 2-3 minutes. Add corn and water chestnuts and Tamari and ginger. Stir fry another 1-2 minutes. Gently combine all veggies together and toss to coat.

Serve tofu on top of veggies

Serve with brown rice if desired. We like to eat this with pickled cucumber salad on the side. YUM!

 

PRINT THIS RECIPE!