Hey Gorgeous, Be an Herb-an Woman!

Want to move into the gorgeous life and have a little raw kale, butterflies fluttering on your head kind of fun? Of course you do!

Each Sunday I will be posting a new Hey Gorgeous tip that is simple and fun. I am a believer that what we put out we attract and I am looking for some simple and some fun. I want my tribe to feel sexy and gorgeous and inspired. I want you to pay-it-forward when you feel inspired by a tid-bit and create the ripple that the joy of loving yourself up, healthy style brings. Yes, that means we might have to share this with the guys (*wink* at the guys who are here already)!

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It would adorn women who sang at feasts in the Middle Ages and now makes a wilty appearance atop a slice of orange on the side of your plate at a restaurant. The Greeks may have intended the parsley garnish to be a powerful part of the plate, but have we down graded it? If we want our gorgeous we need to connect to our Gods and Goddesses and listen to Hippocrates. This man knew the power in the herbs.

Parsley helps to regulate a woman's menstrual cycle (minimum parsley if you are nursing), serves as a diuretic and is a vitamin C/ iron powerhouse. Parsley power will help you get your lovely on! It's part of your dark green routine so start munching, blending or juicing this pretty plant. Don't forget to rotate your greens gorgeous, parsley is just part of the green circle of health. Start there and move through the basil, cilantro, thyme, sage and other beautiful leaves.

Two stems in a smoothie or through the juicer is a shot of chlorophyll on these final days of cold and brown on the East Coast. Throw a handful into a pot of soup right before serving with a small squeeze of lemon and your meal instantly brightens. Chicken soup in our house isn't the same without a broth full of herbs, save your parsley or other herb stems in the freezer and use them as part of your healing stock.

Be an herb-an woman, connect back to your inner Goddess and glow from parsley beauty.

1 cup frozen mango 1/2 pear 1/4-1/2 cup parsley 1 big kale leaf (optional - little extra green) 1 1/2 cups water Blend away baby!

What To Do

Cherry Green Smoothie

1 cup baby romaine leaves

1 cup frozen cherries

1 banana

2 Tb coconut oil

2 cups water

1 Tb raw cacao

1/4 English cucumber

Blend it up, sip slowly.

I wish I had made a list of To-Dos a few days ago when I was super-woman. I love to cross off accomplished tasks. I have resisted list making in the past as I always lost my list or forgot about it, or "the dog ate it" somewhere along the way. Now, I must list to function as a business woman and mother of 3 high energy little loves and partner to a guy who needs some me time also.

There are the lists that are big, big long term stuff and there are the day to day. Last night my husband and I crossed off one of the big ones. We have gone out on dates before (a couple of times I clearly remember).  A friend or family member will watch the kids, but this time we hired a babysitter.

I am working hard to take some of my own advice surrounding getting support as a mother. Our role as mothers starts from the moment that baby presents itself to us in the form of a pregnancy test! It is vital to have support to get through each phase of motherhood. Last night as I crossed off a big goal on my list I felt proud. I was actually a nervous wreck last night, but I'll be better the next time. So today I sit on the computer as the baby sleeps, with my smoothie in hand and work on the next list. I am currently adding some big, BIG things to my long term goals and as for the short term, let's see.

1. Water the plants
2. Order books from amazon
3. Prepare for tonight's sessions with clients
4. Put a load of laundry in
5. Put away the rest of the groceries
6. E-mail Patrick and check in
7. Remember to pick Eli up from school
8. Breathe
9. Finish Newsletter
10. Freeze half of the pesto (oh you should know about that)

Arugula Sunflower and Almond Pesto

3 cups or so of baby arugula (you can mix in some other baby greens if you have them)

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup or more good quality olive oil (this part is so important)

juice of 1 lemon

sea salt and pepper

In a food processor or high speed blender, process or blend the ingredients together. You may need more oil, be sure to scrape down the sides often until you have a smooth texture. Check for seasonings.

I plan to serve this over tortellini for the kids tonight. Recently they discovered tortellini and though I am mostly  a gluten-free cook, I am indulging them in this treat. So tonight it will be monster tortellini and I'm sure I will hear a grumble or two until they taste it and realize that the green goo isn't so bad. I am going to freeze the rest and use for a vegetable gratin of some sort. I'll get back to you on that.

Have you crossed off any big to-dos lately? Find some support and start crossing off!

Going Green

Things have been looking up around here. I was sinking into the February Blues, which for me have a certain look. It starts with a dash of emotional eating, eliminating all exercise, and for fun, adding a teething 18 month old who doesn't want to sleep. A recipe for the February Blues! My goal for the month of January was to not spend, look at what we have, and purge what we don't need. Warning...lots of emotions come up during this process. The whole family went for a month not buying anything new other than groceries and a tire for the car when a piece of glass found it's way into the old one.

I have made van fulls of runs to donation sites, yet there is still more. Upon clearing out the playroom of almost all toys, my kids have never played better. We are making systems for ourselves to stay on track. I'll show our family meal board in the next post. The kids and I are putting together our chore/responsibility chart which has become a fun search for clip art online.

In some of the clearing, that green and white tablecloth appeared in a box of forgotten linens. I had been visualizing a new tablecloth, it may not be the one, but Chloe is loving it's presence on the table. For now, it's bright and green, teaching me a lesson in patience and using what you have.

Pairing down our toys to the essentials, there will always be blocks and rocks of all shapes, colors and sizes. Endless villages are being built for me in the scant 20 minute naps the baby is taking. You cannot safely build a village with a giant baby running around!

The best part of going green is daily green smoothies! I make them using what we may have on hand for frozen fruit, but the kale is the star of this green goodness.

Green Goodness Smoothie

2 giant handfuls of chopped kale 2 TB parsley 1 1/2 cups of frozen pineapple or cherries (if using cherries the green will be a bit more on the brown side, with pineapple a nice bright green will appear) 2 TB hemp seeds 2 TB coconut butter (you could use the oil or almond butter) 1 cup almond milk (fresh or store bought) 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water, depending on the thickness desired

Blend away and enjoy the burst of natural energy that comes from going green.