real food = real good.

How charming! Looks like I'm not the only parsley fanatic!

Sundays are my OFF days. This means I am off my usual schedule. I get up bright and early, make my super smoothie and jet to the Farmer's Market to stock up on an abundance of locally grown, seasonal, fresh organic food. This is how I eat and boy do I eat good. I have been running errands all morning and am home now and feeling very happy inside my heart! The rain has come to visit me again and decided to be nice and wait until I got home to start it's sprinkling surprises! I am very proud of myself for my power smoothie this morning. I haven't been using coconut meat since I get so much dietary fat from my avocados but used coconut meat in place of my avocado for my smoothie this morning. I always use coconut water from a fresh cracked Thai young but have been giving Dante the meat with his meals. HE LOVES IT. Who doesn't? Coconut is going to be good to start using again for my weight gain and muscle building process. I mixed 1 Thai young coconut - water and meat - a heaping handful of parsley and some raw honey into the most delicious green smoothie shake ever! This kept me going ALL morning long due to it's high energy yielding macronutrient and healing micronutrient contents! It feels so good to truly nourish your body, feed your cells and brain and be able to optimally operate in return. Two of the greatest gifts I've ever given myself are 1. the gift of nutritional education and 2. the decision to go raw and stay raw six years ago. Eating fresh feels like pure bliss and you know you are doing your body good so that feels good. There is no room for misuse, abuse or complaining with real raw foods! I love that I can actually ENJOY my foods and the entire process of growing them at home or selecting them from the Farmer's Market... as well as the fun of preparing them and the humble act of harmony when eating them. It's like a powerful circulation of energy with every bite or sip and swallow. God has really blessed this earth well with vegetation. I am lucky to live in California where I have a rainbow variety at my fingertips!

+ Deuteronomy 32:1-4 +

¹ Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

² Let my teaching fall like rain
and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants.

³ I will proclaim the name of the LORD.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

⁴ He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.

Today I will: try to nap, eat more than I usually do due to time differences and my potential plans are: make a live fruit enzyme scrub or facial mask to pamper with ... possible movie on the couch with a nice crackling fire and my heating blanket specifically for the couch... a long good foot rub from the Good Old Faithful - KING KONG foot massager! Relax! Enjoy! Be HAPPY ; D

Heart to Heart:

Your assignment and affirmation of the day...

Treat yourself to a nice raw meal, it doesn't have to be complicated and anyone can do it! How about some fruit meditation? a nice salad? a bowl of live sprout and avocado soup? freshly made coconut milk? freshly made veggie juice? a handful of fresh medjool dates? bananas in pajamas!?

"I am worthy of nourishment."

rawocado spinach smoothie.

Sensational ~ Smoothie

*Rawocado Spinach Style*

Avocado smoothies are a big

hit with me! For those of you

that don't know, avocados are

my favorite food on the face of

this beautiful bountiful earth! I

have used them as a staple food

in my eating disorder recovery.

Years ago during hardcore

anorexic days I would not even

consider eating a slice of one due

to their energy density (caloric

and fat intake). When I went raw,

6 years ago, everything changed. Calorie counting no longer consumed

me and if I did track calories it was to make sure I was getting ENOUGH

verse not enough like before. I have become a Master of avocado

picking & eating. I eat them on a daily basis and if given the correct

circumstances I don't think I've ever had an avocado I didn't just LOVE.

My favorite way to eat them is to cut one in half and pratice fruit

meditation while I slowly spoon out the nutty nutritious flesh OR I like

to blend them with other fruit or heaping handfuls of greens ; ) They

are a perfect food and best eaten as less complicated as possible. I am

currently enjoying organic Gwen avocados (one of the many varitites)

from my local farmer's market. Gwen avocados seem to be a little

sweeter and saltier in flavor than Haas (my second favorite variety)

which makes them my favorite variety tried thus far... and I have had

a few varieties in my days. I wanted to share one of my raw avocado

smoothie recipes. Your taste buds will do backflips and your body will

thank you for every savory sip. I used spinach for this one but any

green will do. I also fancy making this with parsley as my green choice.

Spinach and parsley are two greens that have a salty taste to them

and pair beautifully with the nutty richness of the avocado and sweet

sensations of coconut water and raw honey. Heaven in a glass, at last!

Ingredients:

- 1 Ripe Organic Avocado

- 1 Thai Young Coconut (water only, reserve coconut meat

for other recipes and usage - it's very nutritious)

- 1 HEAPING Handful of Organic Spinach (about 2 cups)

- *Optional - Raw Organic Honey

-* Optional - A Few Ice Cubes to Chill

Instructions:

- Crack and open your Thai young coconut, pour water

into your Vitamix or high speed blender.

- Remove pit from avocado, spoon into blender and toss

in your greens and optional honey & ice if desired.

- Blend until smooth. Smoothie will be of a thicker base.

- Pour, sip slow, chew (yes chew your smoothies to aid

in optimal digestion and absorption!) and ENJOY!!!

Nutritional Information:

Based on 1 16oz (2 cup) Serving

w/raw honey included in calculations

*Serving sizes & nutritional info may

vary depending on amount of ingredients

Calories aka Energy:385

Healthy Fat: 23 grams

(Cholesterol Free)

Natural Sodium: 320 grams

Healthy Carbohydrates: 45 grams

Natural Sugars: 21 grams

Fiber: 10 grams

Protein: 10 grams

Nutritional Highlights:

- Rich in heart healthy poly & monounsaturated fats

- Excellent source of vegetable based protein

- Friendly in fiber to promote a clean colon

- Packed with potassium, vitamins a,b,c,e,k -

antioxidants, calcium, folate, iron, chlorophyll,

magnesium, fiber, enzymes, plant protein and

HIGH source of electrolytes (potassium/sodium)

-Coconut water is one of the best electrolyte

drinks available and all natural! Toss your fake

sport drinks and enhanced waters goodbye -

grab a coconut and watch your energy fly high!

Check out www.avocado.org for more info on

avocados and how they can benefit your health.

Many people are uneducated and unaware of

how HEALTHY they are for you and avoid them

due to fear of their dietary fat content when

really they contain the kind the body needs. I

eat an entire avocado at a time and do not give

a hoot about serving sizes. If you must be fruggle

with them then I suggest you alter your servings

per ounce. Example: one medium avocado will

generally contain 5-6 1oz servings, that's 5-6

fruit servings in that entire avocado with general

ratios added above in my Nutritional Information.

Everything in balance. Everything in variety.

Everything in harmony & don't forget your avocado yo!

+ 1 Samuel 25:6 +

"Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!"