Food Focus: Raspberries

Benefits:

High in Manganese, Vitamin C and Dietary FIber.

Raspberries possess almost 50% higher antioxidant activity than strawberries, kiwis, tomatoes,

Recipes:

Raspberry Mousse Cake

Peach Raspberry Smoothie

Raspberry Sauce

Food Review: Pitter Patties

They are little patties made especially for 1-4 year olds. So the ones I picked up are yammy chicken. The ingredients are yams, cooked chicken meat, apples, eggs, brown rice, onions, extra virgin olive oil and spices.

I had my husband be the taste tester as I don’t have kids of my own yet. I patty is about 3” wide and an 1” thick. A good size for a toddler to hold and eat. My husband would have to say it’s a bit bland, but as adults we are so use to additional flavor. It needs a little something maybe some Wholemato Organic Agave Ketchup (healthy option for ketcup). Regardless, you can taste the different flavors ingredients in there and it is a healthier alternative for kids for something quick and easy for them. Try them out and let me know what your kids think…

They are also dairy free, gluten free and in the box 4 fully cooked patty are included. All you have to do is heat and then eat.

Affirmation of the week: I am learning to trust Life and to enjoy all the good I have.

Do you focus on the negative in your life? Do you hate life sometimes? Do you realize your energy can alter the good from happening in your life? Try saying this affirmation to remind you of all the good you have in your life.

Remember repeat after me with interest and desire.

Tip of the week: Don’t be fooled by Fat Free foods.

Do you ever wonder why you are still not loosing any weight when you are consuming all these fat free foods. I mean there are a whole bunch of snack foods out there that say fat free, but GUESS WHAT…

Since they have to take the fat out they replace it with SUGAR. And our bodies have a hard time digesting sugar and mostly then stored as fat in our fatty tissues. If you want to learn more about this then join me on my next free teleclass on August 18th on Understanding Your Cravings. I will deconstruct sugar and the affects it has on the body plus other reasons why these possible cravings could be happening.

Special Healthy Inner Beauty Offer:

FREE health consultations until September 1st. It’s usually $100. It doesn’t matter where you live as we can do it over the phone. When is the last time you spoke to someone who truly puts love, no judgment, genuine support towards your health?!!

Email me today at marianne@healthyinnebeauty.com to schedule your appointment.

By Marianne Bridgeman

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 tablespoon agave

½ teaspoon fresh lime juice

½ teaspoon coconut water

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a food process and process until the raspberries turn into a sauce.
2. Place a strainer over a large measuring cup or bowl and pour the raspberry sauce into the strainer.
3. Take a small rubber spatula or spoon and stir and press the raspberry sauce through the strainer.
4. Continue until all the raspberry sauce is in the bowl and only the raspberry seeds remain in the strainer.
5. Refrigerate until ready to use.

By Marianne Bridgeman

Ingredients:
1 cup of ice
1 cup of coconut water
1 1/2 cups of peaches
1 cup of raspberries
1 tablespoon agave nectar (optional, for added sweetness)

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients together in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into a glass and enjoy!

By Ashley Skabar

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped fresh Mejool dates, pitted*

4 cups frozen raspberries

½ cup agave nectar, maple syrup or honey

1 cup ground cashews

1 dairy free chocolate sauce (see below)

Ingredients for Chocolate Sauce:

½ cup pure cocoa powder

½ cup oil

1 ¼ cup maple syrup

Blend all above ingredients and put aside.

Directions:

* If fresh dates are not available, substitute 1 cup of chopped dry dates and allow them to soak in hot water to cover for about 30 minutes before using.

1. Make the crust. Using your hands, press the dates into the bottoms of four 4″ springform pans or one 10″ springform pan, covering the entire space, adding more dates if necessary. (Dates are incredibly soft, and with just a little pressure, they will almost fuse together.)Place pans in the freezer while you make the filling.
2. Make the filling. Combine the raspberries, honey and ground cashews in a blender and blend on the highest setting until thick and creamy. Pour over prepared crusts and place back in the freezer for at least 1 hour before topping with Chocolate Sauce.
3. Pour the Chocolate Sauce onto the cakes without using any spreading utensils, covering the surfaces evenly. Return cakes to the freezer for at least 1 hour more before serving. (If you decide to freeze them more than a few hours ahead of time, allow the cakes to rest in the refrigerator for about 1 hour before serving.)
4. When ready to serve, run a sharp knife around the edges of the cakes to keep them from sticking to the sides of the springforms. Serve cold.

Benefits:

Cucumbers flesh contains Vitamin C.

Cucumbers skin is rich in fiber and contains a variety of beneficial minerals including silica, potassium and magnesium.

When consuming the flesh is helps soothe the skin of irritations and reduce swelling.

Cucumbers can be used topically to help with swollen eyes, it helps with burns and dermatitis.

When consuming the skin of the cucumber it is known to improve the complexion and health of the skin.

Cucumbers also have a high water content, which naturally hydrates and helps have glowing skin.

Those who want help with skin problems incorporate some cucumbers into your diet so today I have 3 recipes.

Recipes:

Cucumber Water

Lime Cucumber Smoothie

Raw Avocado and Cucumber Soup

Food Review: Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal

I have reviewed other cereals on my previous podcast like Cheerios from Episode 7 and Kellog’s Smart Start from Episode 2, but I’m finally happy to be giving a review of a healthier option for a cereal. A lot of times even if it’s organic or it claims its whole grain sometimes there are a lot of hidden sugars or ingredients that you have no idea what they are.

Honey Sunshine Kashi Cereal says on the front, honey-kissed seven whole grain cereal and 6 grams of Fiber and 20 grams of whole grains. For a serving size of 3/4 cup there is only 6 grams of sugar. The ingredients are understandable and it does have 7 grains listed in the contents and it does contain honey, but it also has another sweetener, which I’m still not a big fan of which is organic evaporated cane juice. I’m not a fan because this sugar is still processed. It may not undergo the same degree of processing that refined sugar does but still processed.

This cereal contains wheat and soy ingredients so anyone with those sensitivities stay away.

Affirmation of the week: All that I seek is already within me.

Have you ever thought you weren’t good enough to do something so you didn’t do it? Or you sought further education? Or started reading more books? A lot of the times we tend to doubt ourselves when what we are looking for is already within us. This is what this affirmation is for.

Tip of the week: How to Get Vitamin D Naturally.

As you have probably heard you can get Vitamin D naturally from the sun, but there is so many concerns with the sun and how do you properly get this Vitamin D from the sun.

So to settle the score according to Dr. Oz we are to get 15 minutes of direct sunlight a day, but if you have darker skin you may need to get 1 hour of direct sunlight. We should put sun block on our hands and face, then the proper way to get Vitamin D is for the sun to actually hit our skin… exposed stomach, back, arms, legs should be exposed.

Special Healthy Inner Beauty Offer:

FREE health consultations until September 1st. It’s usually $100. It doesn’t matter where you live as we can do it over the phone. When is the last time you spoke to someone who truly puts love, no judgment, genuine support towards your health?!!

Email me today at marianne@healthyinnebeauty.com to schedule your appointment.

Special thanks to WHFoods.com, Kashi, Dr. Mehmet Oz for some of the information for this podcast.

water

1/2 medium sized cucumber

crushed ice (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel and slice cucumber.

2. Place in pitcher

3. Put the water in and ice (optional) and let it chill.

4. Enjoy.

Note: It is recommended to change the cucumber daily.

Ingredients:

3 quarts water

3 cucumbers, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/3 cup agave nectar or to taste

Crushed ice (optional)

Slice of lime or mint sprig, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour 1/2 cup of the water and 1 cup of the cucumbers in blender. Blend until cucumbers are pureed then add more cucumbers and water until all cucumbers are pureed.

2. Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain cucumbers into a pitcher to remove seeds and pulp. Stir in remaining water, lime juice and agave.

3. Chill before serving over crushed ice garnished with a slice of lime.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds

Filtered water

2 medium avocados, pitted and cubed

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped

5 large scallions, thinly sliced (including some green tops)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Directions:

1. Place almonds in a large glass jar and cover with filtered water; soak overnight.

2. Drain and rinse well. In a food processor, blend almonds and slowly add 2 cups filtered water until smooth, 2–4 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a bowl, pressing or squeezing to extract all liquid. Discard solids (or save them for baking). Refrigerate milk in a clean glass jar.

3. In a food processor, combine avocados, cucumber, and scallions; add almond milk and purée until smooth, about 2 minutes.

4. Stir in cilantro and pulse for 5 seconds.

5. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with cilantro sprigs.

Food Focus: Watermelon

Available throughout the year, but the season for watermelon is in the summer when they are sweet and of the best quality.

Benefits:

Excellent source of vitamin C

Very good source of vitamin A, notably through its concentration of beta-carotene.

These powerful antioxidants travel through the body neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals are substances in the body that can cause a great deal of damage.

Vitamin C and beta-carotene are very good at getting rid of the harmful molecules; therefore prevent the damage they would otherwise cause.

High intakes of vitamin C and beta-carotene have been shown in a number of scientific studies to reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce the airway spasm that occurs in asthma, reduce the risk of colon cancer, and alleviate some of the symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

A cup of watermelon provides 24.3% of the daily value for vitamin C, and, through its beta-carotene, 11.1% of the daily value for vitamin A.

Recipes:

Watermelon Juice

Pink Summer Smoothie

Watermelon Mini Fruitcakes

Food Review: Agave Dream Ice Cream

Some ice cream cause breakouts for my husband because of the types of ingredients used, but then we found this new brand Agave Dream.

Their story:

It’s led by Stacey Ralphs and Jean Zwarg, Agave Dream™ includes the best, all-natural ingredients to meet the needs of people who value exquisite flavors and healthy living. At the heart of this professional commitment to sound nutrition is extensive research and product development. Stacey and Jean are also longtime advocates of helping individuals with sugar sensitivity and diabetes. As mothers, they recognize the necessity of educating consumers about making smart decisions that further the principles of leading an active life and eating rewarding foods.

Agave Dream™ only uses no-hormone-added milk, while avoiding any and all additives – like corn syrup, wheat and gluten – that are not suitable for children and other consumers. The company strives to produce sorbets and ice creams that reflect Stacey and Jean’s efforts toward critical and commercial acclaim. A “guilt free” indulgence, Agave Dream™ also contributes a portion of its proceeds to worthy causes like juvenile diabetes.

Ingredients from vanilla flavor ice cream: hormone free milk, cream, organic agave nectar, skim milk, egg yolk, pure vanilla, locust bean gum, guar gum (helps create the texture of the ice cream).

This ice cream I still feel is on the high side of sugar content as it has 17 grams of sugar per ½ cup serving, but at least it comes from a natural sweetener like agave and in hopes you don’t eat ½ a cup everyday

Affirmation of the week: I am worthy of love.

Sometimes we struggle with relationships or we feel we aren’t good enough or we feel we have a hard time finding love…we tend to focus on the negatives when love is supposed to be beautiful so here is a simple affirmation to know you can have love in your life. Remember repeat after me with interest and desire.

Tip of the week:

Do you have a lot of food cravings? A lot of times the reason we have that mild hunger feeling is because our bodies are sending us a message that you are actually thirsty and close to dehydration.

So the next time you feel like you are hungry or have a craving try drinking 1 to 2 glasses of water about 16oz in total.

If you don’t like plain water try adding lemon, mint leaf, or blueberries to add additional flavor.

Special Healthy Inner Beauty Offer:

FREE health consultations until September 1st. It’s usually $100. IT doesn’t matter where you live as we can do it over the phone. When is the last time you spoke to someone who truly puts love, no judgment, genuine support towards your health?!!

Email me today at marianne@healthyinnebeauty.com to schedule your appointment.

Special thanks to WHFoods.com and Agave Dreams for some of the information for this podcast.

Ingredients:

• 1 watermelon, peel and cut into squares
• 2 cup cashews, soaked for two hours
• 1 cup agave
• vanilla, to taste
• water, to taste
• blueberries

Directions:

1. Place cashews, agave, and vanilla in food processor and process. Adding water slowly, little by little to achieve a smooth frosting-like consistency.
2. Place in a zip lock bag and cut a small section of the bottom corner. Use this as your frosting instrument not unless you have your own icing tool.
3. Squeeze frosting on each watermelon, then top with a blueberry!

Note: You can cut the watermelon into shapes like hearts or stars and put the cream on top.