Immune System Boost! Warm Water, Lemon, Cinnamon and Raw Honey.

I often rant and rave about the Power of Lemons and its benefits as well as Cinnamon and Raw Honey, but I thought I would address this again, since the cold months are coming upon us.

In the fall and winter months, I up the ante on my Warm Water and Lemon Drink and add Cinnamon and Honey to it. This combination will boost your immune system and fight sickness. Its really great to drink this all year round, but definitely in the cold months during Cold and Flu Season.

Benefits:

Water -- our bodies are anywhere from 55% to 78% water, depending on body size and brain tissue is said to consist of 85% water. Need I say more? We need WATER to survive. A simple equation you can use to see how much water you need each day for optimal hydration is:

Your body weight

 2.2

So if you weight 150pds: 150lbs / 2.2 = 68.9 /8oz = 8.5 glasses of water a day.

For dry climate:  add + 16 oz.

For strenuous exercise:  add + 16 oz.

Lemons-- Controls your blood sugar level! This is especially good for diabetics, pre-diabetics and those looking to take preventive measure to prevent diabetes.

Cinnamon-- Stabilizes insulin levels, lowers the amount of bad cholesterol, (Great for diabetics/pre-diabetics.)

Raw Honey-- Proven to boost the immune system and helps to protect against the flu and cold as a PREVENTIVE measure. Also useful in regulating blood pressure and fighting disease of the heart.

Can I get honest for a moment here? I HAVE NOT BEEN SICK WITH A COLD OR THE FLU (maybe minor sniffles that last a day or two) IN OVER 10 YEARS! I attribute that to more then just "good immune system genes" but to the preventive daily measure that I take to protect my body against disease.

BONUS: Not only will all of these aid in boosting your immune system, they all play a role in weight control and some have credited this combination to weight lose as well! (Of course the latter statement is true coupled with a balanced diet and exercise.) 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheescake Recipe: raw/vegan dessert

Hola and happy Friday! Here is a great recipe for a Raw/Vegan cheesecake that I found (courtesy of . I altered it just a tad! Hope you enjoy!!!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tofu Cheesecake

Ingredients
FILLING
12 ounces organic dark chocolate/vegan chips
2 12-ounce packages of firm silken tofu
2 tablespoons agave nectar or 1/3 cup of homemade fruit sweetener
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons soy milk or coconut milk
1 1/4 cup organic peanut butter

CRUST
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup soy margarine
1/2 cup organic sugar or raw sugar

Optional:
chocolate syrup for garnish
Soy whip cream

Preparation: Melt chocolate over double boiler. Blend melted chocolate with 12 ounces of tofu, 1 tablespoon agave nectar, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of soy milk. In separate bowl, blend 12 ounces tofu, 1 cup peanut butter, 2 tablespoons soy milk and 1 tablespoon agave nectar.
Crust: blend oats, sugar and margarine and press into a spring form pan. Cover bottom of crust with remaining peanut butter. Pour chocolate/tofu mixture in pie crust, then peanut butter/tofu mixture on top.

Viola!!!

A sweeter Green Smoothie! blended to perfection...

Ahhhh...... alas... another quick video on how to make an amazing smoothie! I hope you enjoy this! It's a little sweet, but its a great "starter" green smoothie for those new to the game.... enjoy!

smoothie craving....

I'm so craving my watercress, cucumber, grape lemon, ginger smoothie right now! Strange to some I'm sure, but so true! It's an amazingly refreshing summer smoothie and oh so good for you! It's my youth serum from the inside out! Think I need to make a market run! ;) its gorgeous outside today... maybe ill see if one of my local juice bars can make it for me.

Detox Juice Celery, parsley, spinach and apple

Hey Dolls!

So, if you read my post on on my favorite drink- Carrot, Apple, Ginger and Lemon Juice, you will know that the times that I don't prepare this at home, I go to my local juice bar and have it made for me! :)... A girl can get pampered every now and then right? :)

Well, today was one of those days. I didn't have time to JUICE, so at lunch time, I went to my favorite local juice bar and guess what! They were out of carrots. So I deviated from my norm and opted for Celery, Parsley, Spinach and Apple Juice. Not only is it super tasty, it's also super good for your too. So, this may be my alternative and I will have to try this at home. I would probably add some watercress to it... just because of all of the phenomenal benefits of watercress.

Kimberly Snyder's Smoothie Skin Facial

Hi Dolls!

I am a huge fan of Kimberly Snyder's Health and Beauty Blog. She provides some amazing health and beauty tips. Back in 2008, she posted a great recipe for a smoothie skin facial that is great for repairing your skin from within. Our skin is a reflection of what we eat and is a tell tale of what is going on inside our bodies. So pay attention to what your skin is telling you! This great smoothie will aid in (1) clearing away toxins by purifying your liver and blood (thanks to the ginger, lemon and watercress), (2) provide essential fatty oils and antioxidants (the grapes) and (3) help with hydration (the cucumber, which is 96%% water). In addition, watercress is valued for clearing and improving the complexion to give you a nice overall health glow.

The recipe is as follows:

*6 cups green grapes (try to find seeded organic ones, which have not been genetically modified in any way and are naturally fertile and vibrant)
* 2 inch square of ginger
* ½ bunch watercress
* 1 large cucumber
* Juice of one lemon

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender (EXCEPT FOR THE LEMON JUICE). Squeeze the lemon juice in and stir. Voila!

Carrot, Apple, Ginger and Lemon Juice

My favorite fresh juiced drink is carrot, apple, ginger with lemon! Yummie.... This is a very popular drink amongst "juicers" and is packed with Vitamin A and C- which is great for the hair, skin and nails. Here is my recipe:

What you need:
high quality juicer (I use the Jack LaLanne power juicer pro)
8 carrots
2 apples
piece of ginger (to your taste)
1 lemon (juice, pulp and pith)
Shaker (martini shaker is fine)
ice
makes 2cups/16oz

What to do:
Wash and clean carrots, apples and lemon. Cut the tips off the carrots and slice the apples in half if they are too large to fit down the juicer. Power-up your juicer and toss in carrots, apples and ginger. Place ice in the shaker and pour the fresh juice over the ice. Cut lemon in half and squeeze the juice, scrape the pulp and pith and add all of these to the fresh juice. Place the lid on the shaker and lightly shake to chill the juice. Strain juice into glass and… Voila! Enjoy your fresh squeezed juice!


Top benefits of carrots: Excellent source of Vitamin A and Beta Carotene. Therefore, carrots are great for hair and nails, elasticity of your skin and also supports vision function.

Top benefits of apples: Apples are high in Vitamin C, fiber and over 200 trace nutrients. Apples contain potassium, which aids in the water balance of the body and are good for muscle function.

Top benefits of ginger: Ginger stimulates digestion.

Top benefits of lemon: Lemon acts as a blood purifier and improves the body’s ability to get rid of toxins.

This combination provides an amazing liver cleansing, blood purifying, and health intestinal drink.

*Juicing a carrot removes the indigestible fibers (all that stuff that is collected in the back of the juicer bin) allowing for greater absorption of the nutrients in carrots.

**General Tip when juicing: Try to drink your juice within 15-20 minutes of juicing for maximum nutrient absorption.

***Remember—everything in life must be balance…