I was going to post a recipe for some raw beet burgers tonight but I have been spending quite a lot of time stuck in this vicious cycle of self-hatred. so tonight I thought I would post something that I came up with as a little reminder to myself to stop feeling sorry for myself and start living my life again.

Enjoy!

My baby girl turned one on Sunday! Birthdays for us are not about presents or birthday cake. Instead, we focus on the person celebrating the birthday and spend the day doing fun things that person wants to do. In the future, celebrating Harpers’ birthday will probably entail a party and dessert of some kind. This year, however, she is one and really not interested in that sort of stuff yet so we decided, why bother? Instead we decided to do something that she would think was fun.

The fun thing about having a one year old is that pretty much anything new is fun for her. She also LOVES making a mess. So, we decided this year for her birthday we would introduce her to something new that she could make a huge mess with: FINGER PAINT!

I found this recipe online via several sources and decided to test it out for the following reasons:

1. It was easy and used minimal ingredients

2. It was edible so when Harper tried to eat it (which was inevitable) I did not have to worry too much about it

3. It was easily washable from clothes and surfaces so I could let her make a big mess and not worry about it staining anything.

Harper had a ton of fun making a big mess with these paints but if you plan on letting your little one create a work of art that you can keep as a precious momento do NOT use these paints. The paint looks very faint on paper and is great for little ones who make a big mess and stick some in their mouth every now and again but it is not making any masterpieces!

Anyways,

Here is the recipe I used. Enjoy.

Homemade Non-Toxic Finger Paint

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 cups of water

Food coloring (you can get all natural food coloring from India Tree)

1. Add the cornstarch to a medium saucepan and slowly add water, whisking constantly so that no clumps form.

2. Once the water and the cornstarch have been mixed, heat the pan over medium heat and stir constantly until the cornstarch mixture thickens. It will look something like this:

3. Remove mixture from heat and divide evenly into separate bowls. Add food coloring and mix until desired color is achieved.

4. Store covered until ready to use.

Note: The paint might harden a bit if you let it sit too long. Just add a little water and mix it well until desired consistency has been achieved.

Here are some pictures of Harper having fun with finger paint!

1st Birthday Fun! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Note: When Trader Joe’s starts selling bags of fresh cranberries around Thanksgiving I buy a ton of them and keep them in my freezer so I can use raw cranberries in my smoothies all year long!

Have you read the article by the New York Times about How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body? It is a very good article that brings up some very good points. I am a huge advocate of exercise and have been practicing different forms of yoga on and off for at least five years. Until recently, I was only interested in taking a yoga class if I thought it was going to be fast paced and challenging with lots of poses where my body was bent and twisted in all sorts of unnatural ways. Apparently, I was not alone in this thought.

Yoga has become so main stream and it easy to find a class where a teacher will “challenge” you to get into a pose or an inversion that is far too advanced for a beginner by your second class. Pushing yourself too hard too fast and contorting your body and spine in an unnatural way that it is not used to is a dangerous and a sure-fire way to end up with a horrible injury that can leave you debilitated for the rest of your life.

Do I think Yoga can wreck your body? Absolutely! Do I think it is dangerous? It can be but it definitely does not have to be. Yoga can be a very healing and spiritual practice but you have to listen to your body. If you are too busy trying to do inversions or bend your body into a balance pose that your body just does not want to go into and ignoring the pain signals your body is sending you, then you will miss out on all the benefits of yoga.

This article as well as my yoga teacher, Audrey of Camarillo Yoga have made me realize what yoga is really about and how to really get the best out of my yoga practice:

Listen to your body. Yoga is not about ultimate fitness, it is about relaxation, healing, and spirituality. Do not expect to come out of a yoga class with superhuman abilities of strength and flexibility. Only do what feels good and do not try to push yourself further than that. Flexibility and strength take time and patience. And finally, do not forget that yoga is a mind practice too. Relaxing, stretching, and healing your mind through breathing and meditation is just as important to your yoga practice as the body poses are.

What are your thoughts on yoga and the New York Times article?

Note: It is the end of the week and I’m running low on fresh fruit and veggies! So this smoothie is a concoction of what I had left. Needless to say it was not my favorite, but still drinkable and so healthy!

My baby girl is turning one on Sunday! I cannot believe it has been a year already! Time has flown by! When it came to introducing solid food to my baby I think I took everything the doctor told me and basically threw it out the window and did the exact opposite! I am a huge advocate of breastfeeding and I knew that for the first year of Harpers’ life and as long as she wants after that, breast milk would be her main source of nutrition. So when it came to solid foods, I was not too worried about what she was eating or how much and I really only fed her solid foods as an introduction. I wanted her to learn the look and feel of food, I wanted her to get used to sitting at the table with us, and I wanted to tickle her taste buds with all kinds of new tastes and textures!

Harper had her first experience with solid food at six months old and it was avocado. I do not think a single bite actually passed her lips but she had fun making a huge mess! After avocado, she had banana (First doctors rule I broke: introduce vegetables before fruit) and then hummus (second doctors rule I broke: introduce a single food at a time and wait three days before introducing a new food). From 6-8 months I only fed Harper solid food about once every three days or so and for the most part she just played with it. If any of the food passed her lips it was usually by accident.

By 8 months old Harper was actually starting to ingest the food as well as play with it so we started feeding her more regularly, about one to two times per day. Avocado and Banana were now her favorite foods and I found she preferred feeding herself to being spoon fed so we did a lot of finger food including tofu, steamed carrots, steamed broccoli, avocado, banana, diced soft fruit, beans, steamed sweet potato, etc. Most of the time I would just feed her bits and pieces of what we were eating. Again, the majority of the food got smooshed, spread across the high chair, or fed to the dog, but her poop changed so she was definitely ingesting some of it! It was around this time that Harper learned how to drink from a straw as well so we started giving her water at her meals and she shared a lot of smoothies with me!

Now that she is almost a year old, Harper is eating three meals a day. Some meals she will only eat a bite or two, while others she eats quite a lot. She is still breastfeeding a ton so I do not worry so much about the times she does not eat her food. I am however, trying to find sneaky ways to get more greens and super foods like chia, hemp, and flax seeds in her diet. I also introduced nut butters into her diet a couple months ago as well. I started mixing almond butter, tahini butter, coconut butter, and sometimes peanut butter in with her foods(Third doctors rule I broke, avoid introducing nuts the first year of life). Harper has 6 teeth now so she does well with more raw foods. She loves chewing on slices of apples, carrots, and cucumbers and LOVES rice cakes. I have tried different grains with her but she is not really a fan of oatmeal, rice cereal or any other type of grain cereal. I let her have some homemade rice pilaf the other day and she loved that. She is very curious and is willing to try almost anything. I always give her sips of my smoothies and bites of my salads and more often than not she likes them! I always have a lot of options for Harper at each meal because after a few bites she is usually done with that food. I also make sure she has a mixture of spoon fed foods and finger foods because she usually insists of feeding herself!

I am a huge advocate of fresh food. I hate eating anything that is frozen or canned. I think because of this I have a huge aversion to buying pre-made baby food AND to making big batches of baby food and freezing it. To be honest, I have not felt the need to. I have always been able to find finger foods or make a quick one serving meal for harper in a flash and it is so fun to see her trying all these new foods and figuring out what she loves and what she thinks is just ok.

This recipe below is something I made for Harper today and will definitely be a recipe I use a lot in the future. It is so easy to make, so healthy, and she LOVES it! It uses Chlorella and Spirulina, two green superfoods that are packed with a TON of micronutrients, vitamins and minerals. I get mine in pill form here. I usually ground up 2-3 pills with my mortar and pestle and stir them into her food. You cannot even taste it.

What kind of foods were staples in your babies diet the first year? How did you get your child to eat his or her greens?

Green Monkey Mush

Vegan, Raw, Gluten-Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free

Makes 1 Baby Serving

1/2 banana

1 teaspoon almond butter

2-3 tablets Chlorella and Spirulina tables, ground to a powder (or use Chlorella, Spirulina, or some other green powder. Start with a very small amount as slowly increase it as your child gets used to the taste.)

Directions:

Add everything to a small bowl. Mush the banana with a fork and stir to until all ingredients are blended together. Feed to your baby. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

I have been drinking a green smoothie almost every day for the past two years. I love it. So much so that I actually cannot wait to get up each morning just so I can create another delicious concoction of fruits and veggies in my blender! When I first started making  green smoothies I had a regular blender. Four months and two blenders later, I finally convinced my husband that we needed a Vitamix. Best. Purchase. Ever.

To say I LOVE my Vitamix is an understatement. I simply cannot live without my Vitamix. I use it multiple times a day. It is an expensive purchase but in my opinion, one that is worth ever penny!

I believe that green smoothies are a vital part of a healthy diet and I urge everyone to start making it a daily habit to REPLACE ONE MEAL A DAY WITH A GREEN SMOOTHIE! To help inspire you, I will post my daily green smoothie on my blog every time I post something.

Happy smoothie making!

Todays Green Smoothie: Two big handfuls of spinach, 1 fuji apple, 2 grapefruit-oranges (a hybrid fruit I found at the farmers market. They are so good, they taste like oranges with a hint of grapefruit!), 1 inch knob of fresh ginger, sunwarrior vanilla protein powder

Note: I blended todays smoothie without water (Yay Vitamix!) and it was so thick and creamy that I decided to serve it in a bowl and eat it with a spoon. Yum! It was so good and so fun to actually eat my smoothie instead of drink it!

print this out, post it on your fridge, and read it everyday. I call it the Mom’s Mantra For Sanity. It helps. I promise.

When Your Children Are at Their Worst…

You need to be at your best.

You need to set the tone. Quietly.

You need to calm down.

You need to use your hands gently to help.

You need to approach your child in a true manner that shows you actually want to help them.

You need to be able to pass this duty to someone else in your family if you cannot do it right this minute. This does not mean you have failed, it means you are human.

You need to still be able to love your child, even if you do not like them right this minute.

You need to know, this too shall pass.

You need to know there is no perfect peaceful house.

You need to know your child is not doing this on purpose.

You need to know your child loves you and wants to connect with you more than anything.

You need to acknowledge you are doing your best and you cannot do more than that.

Attachment parenting

Homeschooling

Eco-Friendly Living

Building a positive body image

Spirituality/ finding inner peace

And other topics that I find important to my lifestyle. I hope you are excited, because I am!

Today is a simple post about this dessert that I have been devouring every single day for the last week! If you love dark chocolate this will quickly become your favorite thing on the entire planet! I am obsessed!

This recipe is adapted from the The Rawtarian. Her version is here. This fudge is awesome because:

1. It is single serving

2. It is quick and easy to make

3. It is low in sugar and fat

4. It is insanely yummy!

Just a warning though, this is definitely your dessert if you like rich and very very dark chocolate. If you like chocolate more on the sweeter or milky side then this dessert may not be for you.

Oh and another warning, be careful about consuming this dessert right before bed because boy does it give you a jolt of energy! Whew I was practically spinning in circles the first time I ate this! Both my husband and I had the hardest time falling asleep!

Single Serving One Minute Raw Fudge

Vegan, Raw, Gluten Free, Soy Free

Makes 1 Serving

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon raw honey or agave

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a large cup or bowl and stir with a spoon until well mixed. This may take awhile so be patient.

2. Eat slowly and take small bites, savoring each rich chocolaty mouthful!

All I have to say about this recipe is Oh My Gosh YUMMMMMMM! This parfait is decadent enough to be dessert yet healthy and filling enough to be breakfast! The banana chia soft serve is so sweet and creamy it is reminiscent of soft serve frozen yogurt and pairs perfectly with the crunchiness of granola! I know fall is among us and most of you are probably craving warm breakfasts like my pumpkin oatmeal so here is my suggestion for you: Eat this with a nice steaming hot cup of coffee or tea because you need to try this now! Cold weather be darned!

You might have noticed that I used chia seeds in a lot of my recipes. Chia seeds have more uses than just for chia pets! Chia seeds are very rich in Omega-3 fatty acids (even more so than flax seeds!) and are full of anti-oxidants! Chia seeds also provide fiber as well as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc. Talk about SUPERFOOD!

Chia seeds do this really cool thing when you put them in a liquid, they turn into gel. It is great for making puddings and soft-serve ice creams because it makes liquid very thick and gelatinous.

To make a basic chia gel:

1 cup liquid: water, juice, non-dairy milk

1-3 tablespoons chia seeds

Place the liquid and chia seeds in a container with a lid and shake to mix. Let sit 20 minutes to half an hour to thicken. The more chia seeds you use, the thicker the gel will be. This gel is now ready to be used in smoothies, in puddings, or drink it as is!

Banana-Chia Soft Serve and Granola Parfait

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Can be Raw

Makes 2 Servings

1 cup almond milk (or other non-diary milk of choice)

2 tablespoons chia seeds

2 scoops Sunwarrior vanilla protein (optional but highly recommended!)

3-4 bananas, cut into pieces and frozen

Your favorite Granola (to keep it raw use raw granola!)

1. Add the almond milk, chia seeds, and protein powder (if using) to a blender and pulse a few times to mix. Let sit 20 minutes to overnight to allow the chia seeds to gel.

2. Blend in bananas, adding a few at a time, until you have a very thick and very creamy mixture (a Vita-mix or Blendtec work the best for this)

3. Use your favorite clear glass or bowl or wine glass and spoon about an inch thick layer of soft serve. Top with granola and repeat until you have used all the soft serve. Makes enough for two servings.

4. Drool, and then devour!

This dish was inspired by a dish I had at the Loving Hut in Palo Alto last weekend. They have this raw fettuccini dish that is killer! Here is the description from the website:

A raw celery root fettuccine with collard greens,
carrot, tomato, beet, cucumber, bell pepper, pistachio
and almond, in a rich n’ creamy almond sauce

So I really wanted to recreate it and let me tell you, this tastes NOTHING like it! It is still good though. Mostly, I just liked the idea of using a bunch of different veggies in a “pasta” shape with a creamy and nutty dressing. For mine I just used veggies I had on hand: Kale, butternut squash, red bell pepper, and zucchini. Celery Root, Kohlrabi, Collard Greens, beets, would all be great to use as “noodles.”

As for the sauce, I decided to make an almond turmeric sauce. Turmeric has a compound in it called curcumin which has many health properties including anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. When combined with black pepper the bio-availability of curcumin increases dramatically making it much more potent as a healing agent.

I made a very simple sauce with almond butter, soy sauce, black pepper, raw honey, lime, and turmeric. It was yummy but I will be honest, I think I liked the sauce that Loving Hut used better. I added water to my sauce as well to thin it out and felt it was too watery so the recipe below does not include water. If you find the sauce too thick add water a tablespoon at a time to thin it out.

I added tempeh that I lightly seared in coconut oil to my salad. It was healthy, light yet filling, and tasty! Enjoy the recipe!

Raw Rainbow Pasta with Almond Turmeric Sauce

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Raw

Makes 1 Serving

two handfuls of chopped kale

1 bell pepper, sliced into very thin strips

1 cup raw butternut squash, spiralized

1 cup raw zucchini, spiralized

2 tablespoons almond butter

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon raw honey (or agave)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic

1. Layer the veggies in a large bowl.

2. Blend the almond butter, soy sauce, lime juice, honey (or agave), turmeric, pepper, and garlic in a blender until smooth.

3. Pour sauce over veggies. Mix. Enjoy!

I woke up today with a start. Something was not right. It sounded like water was gushing outside, flooding the streets. It sounded like everything was about to be swept away. I snuck out of bed, careful not to wake the sleeping baby lying next to me to peek outside. Surely, it could not be raining. It has been so warm and sunny, it is not fall yet! Sure enough, as soon as I peaked out the window I could see the slick and glossy color of wet pavement. It was raining! And not just a drizzle, really raining!

All day today has been rainy, gloomy, cloudy, and cold. I have not felt such a dramatic turn of seasons in a very long time. Yesterday it was Summer, today Fall. I am not happy about the turn of seasons, I will miss my sunny warm weather. This bowl of oatmeal, however, perked up my attitude and reminded me about all the great things that come with fall: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, apples, pumpkins, vegan hot chocolate, fires by the fireplace, I could go on and on. Instead, I will leave you with happy thoughts of the season to come and a recipe for Pumpkin Oatmeal.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Vegan, Dairy Free, Soy Free, can be made Gluten Free

Makes 4-5 Servings

1 cup Irish Steel Cut Oats (or use gluten free oats or another hot cereal of choice)

4 Cups water

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1 can pumpkin puree

Stevia or other sweetener to taste (I used 4 teaspoons stevia)

2 teaspoons cinammon

For each serving you will need:

1 banana

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1. Make the chia oatmeal by boiling steel cut oats with water. As soon as it starts to boil turn off the heat and slowly pour the chia seeds into the pot while stirring vigorously (otherwise the chia seeds will clump).

2. Let the oatmeal sit over night. In the morning stir in the pumpkin, sweetener, and cinnamon. Serve oatmeal in bowls and store the rest in the fridge for another day.

3. To each bowl add 1 chopped banana and heat in the microwave until warm (1-2 minutes).

4. Add peanut butter to each bowl right before serving. (The peanut butter is optional but highly recommended! (Everything tastes a little better with peanut butter!)