Crabby Thoughts

I was at a grocery store today and I noticed three large words on the side of the building. Relax. Renew. Revive.

My whole family is sick. Patrick who never gets sick, is sick. I am the only one in the house without a hacking cough. Lucas has been coughing in my face all night long for the last few nights and I am silently hoping I stay the only one without a cough. I would love to tell you how gracefully I have been handling the wide awake nights but I am not one to lie. So the truth is I am about as crabby as it gets.

So as I walked past 5 smokers, one lady wearing an entire bottle of perfume, 2 kids asking me for money to donate to something and into the store I wasn't exactly feeling the message posted on the building. I was crabby, really crabby. I went in to buy the orange juice that Patrick requested (he is withering away with no appetite) and the store was packed. People everywhere. I had a moment where I wanted to communicate my crabbiness to all of them, but I kept moving through the store uttering nasty words to the person who wrote those calming words outside.

I paid for my orange juice and went past the kids asking for money, the many smokers and into my car. Driving away I felt so grateful to be in my car. I felt so grateful to have orange juice to bring back to Patrick. For a moment in my crabbiness I thought about those three words. Words I believe in.

Relax. Renew. Revive.

They aren't in a place, although a retreat with others making me dark greens with no children makes it easier to find. They are a state of mind. I can relax as I move through my daily routine and I can seek out ways to renew and to revive. In those few moments alone in the car, I found some gratitude and a moment of relax.

I'm back to crabby now. Still wanted to share this with you.

My 15 cleansers and I are on day 1 of 10 days and this is my favorite way to eat broccoli.

Sesame Broccoli In The Raw

3 cups of broccoli florets 2 Tb olive oil 1 Tb wheat free tamari soy sauce 1 Tb raw honey juice of 1 lemon 1 Tb tahini

1- tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Mix all the sauce ingredients together and pour onto the broccoli. Pour onto the broccoli and mix well. Top with sesame seeds.

Kitchen Sink Coleslaw

Days with the sun and gorgeous vegetables all around inspire me towards throwing things together. This one just made itself and I liked the result, eating a bowl of it with a side of hummus for lunches. Get your greens in and feel the energy flow.

Cilantro Sesame Dressing

1 bunch cilantro, washed with bottom stems removed

2 garlic cloves

1 Tb grated ginger

1 Tb mustard

2Tb apple cider vinegar

2Tb wheat free tamari soy

2Tb olive oil

juice from 1 lemon

2Tb sesame seeds

1/2 tsp sesame oil

I mix it all together in a high speed blender, you could use a food processor as well. Blend until smooth.

Kitchen Sink Coleslaw

5-6 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced

3 kale leaves, rinsed and stem removed, thinly sliced

1 carrot, grated

Cilantro Sesame Dressing

sesame seeds (optional)

Mix it together in a large bowl, add Cilantro Sesame Dressing and allow to sit in the fridge for 4 hours. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Really The Best Cookies

You thought I already had the perfect cookie, the grain free, high protein snack that I give to all my clients and that my son Eli eats for breakfast! Over the past few months, I have been gifted with clients who cannot eat nuts. Time for a nut-free perfect cookie, I did not know that it would turn out to be the best yet! Going for a GORP (good ole' raisins and peanuts) kind of cookie, minus the peanuts of course. When I was pregnant with Chloe I made GORP cookies with whole wheat flour during my third trimester and couldn't get enough. I used to bring them to my childbirth classes and share them with the hungry expectant parents. When you decide to eliminate foods that don't work with your body, a big part of that commitment is overcoming the loss of the tastes you are leaving behind. I have never once felt that loss. In fact, to me it has been a gain in flavor, texture and enjoyment. Now enter that taste memory from before I was a mother. I think these are even better.

What is your favorite taste memory?

Good Ole' Raisin and Sunflower Seed Cookies

1/2 jar tahini (8 oz)

1/2 jar sunflower butter (8 oz)

2 eggs

1 cup palm sugar or sucant

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 Tb vanilla

pinch of sea salt

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or carob chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together tahini, sunflower butter, eggs, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and baking soda until smooth. Add in sunflower seeds, raisins and chocolate. Form cookies into a ball about the size of a golf ball and slightly press it down on a baking sheet. These are big cookies, you want to get bites of all the goodies in each one. Bake for 10-12 minutes, allow to cool and store in the refrigerator. When they are cold they come alive!