Coconut Almond Yogurt! (Non Dairy)

It's the end of August and my favorite month just flew right by! I haven't spent much time on the computer this month. Instead of writing about life, I was just so busy living it!

How could I forget how much fun it is to go barefoot in the yard and run under the hose? 

Today I was watering my garden and the hose burst! My first thought was, oh geez, I'm getting all wet. Whahhhhh....  :)

But then I threw off my sandals and immediately felt free, like a little kid. My toes in the grass, warm water from the hose soaking my clothes, sun on my face, and I was loving it!

Playing in the backyard! 

One of the simple pleasures of summer!

This month I had the honor and delight of sharing my story alongside Dave the Raw Food Trucker   at a couple of our local raw/vegan restaurants. I was nervous about speaking, yet it always seems that what's meant to come out of my mouth, does. I get so excited about sharing the healing power of green smoothies that after a few minutes I forgot my fears. It's amazing the confidence it builds for me to step out of my comfort zone, put myself aside and just talk about what I am passionate about!

Even more exciting was speaking on my own recently!

I was invited by a friend to speak with her church group up in Waterbury. It was my first time flying solo and it couldn't have been a more rewarding experience. There was a good crowd, about 30 people. Everyone was lovely and very receptive. There was a terrific raw pot luck before hand, what a nice spread! After I spoke, which was great fun, we had a Q & A session and then a smoothie demo. I can't thank my friend Nan enough for having such faith in me, organizing such a wonderful even and introducing me to the nicest people ever. She gave me the opportunity to spread my wings and see for myself just what I am capable of. It was a great experience and such an amazing night!

The feedback I received from people looking to renew their own healthy happiness was fabulous!

 It's a wonderful feeling to know that I may have inspired even one person to incorporate more fruits & veggies into their days and begin their own personal, healthy journeys. I think it's important to stress that "going 100% raw"  does not have to be anyone's goal. What's most important is eliminating the processed junk foods and replacing them with fresh fruits & veggies. That's a great place to start and what better way than to add a green smoothie into your day!

Onto my next favorite subject ~ food!

One food that I had been missing lately is yogurt. It was a favorite of mine back when I was still eating dairy and I knew that I had to find a way to get it back into my life! 

And that I did!!

Here's a wonderful recipe that I now enjoy daily. It only requires 3 ingredients plus a spoonful of probiotic powder. It takes minutes to prepare and is so beneficial to  your tummy health as well as being just plain yummy!!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Coconut Almond Yogurt

2 cups raw almonds 

(soak overnight & rinse first)

meat of 2 or 3 coconuts 

2 1/2 cups of coconut water

1 tsp of a good probiotic

1 tsp vanilla powder or extract 

(optional but delicious!)

Simple ~ Nutritious ~ Delicious

Here's a little video I made while whipping up a batch.

I hope it's helpful!

Most people will use the coconut meat from opening and removing the meat from inside the coconut. I found that because I enjoy this yogurt regularly, that it was easier for me to purchase my coconut meat flash frozen in bulk at exotic superfoods!

In the picture above I drizzled a little honey on the yogurt and added fresh raspberries.

Here I blended the yogurt with strawberries. 

The yogurt will have a bit of a bite because it is fermented, but the taste has really grown on me!

 It's nice blended or topped with fruit but it is really very yummy just as it is!

*~* Enjoy *~*

Sharing the Green Smoothie Magic!

The green smoothie magic is spreading!  

 I see it all around me   :)

 Slowly but surely the word is getting out that there is something truly special about green smoothies. Drinking a green smoothie is like drinking liquid sunshine.You can feel the green goodness filling you up with a nourishment your body craves, creating an almost euphoric feeling of over all well being. This feeling radiates from you once you begin a daily routine of sipping your greens. You glow from the inside out, your skin radiates health and your eyes become brighter. Energy levels you never knew possible become the norm and life seems happier and more peaceful. You will begin to experience a confidence that only comes from knowing that you are taking good care of your body, something many of us struggle with at one time or another in our lives. This confidence leads to making healthier food choices, causing you to think twice before eating something that will diminish that great feeling!
All this from simply drinking green smoothies?  Yes, Absolutely!  I have been sharing my green smoothies with friends for quite awhile now and seeing these things happening for them gives me such joy! I knew I was on to something when I began to experience all these things, but watching all my friends reaping these same benefits really validates the magic of greens....

Sharing the green smoothie magic ~ one person at a time!!

 My friend Angelo! He's 87 years young and began blending up his own smoothies just 3 weeks ago. He wanted to lose a little weight and knew that I had great success with them. Already he is sleeping much better, has more energy and is slowly coming back to life after recently losing his sweetheart of many years. He is overjoyed at how great he is feeling after a mere 3 weeks. Yesterday he shyly confided in me that his pants had fallen down around his ankles! I thought it was time for him to step on the scale and see just how much weight he had actually lost. Angelo had tears in his eyes when I looked up at him after checking the scale to tell him that he had dropped 12 pounds! Chia seed cereal has been another addition to Angelo's daily routine. Not long after he began drinking the green drinks he began to lose his taste for his heavier lunches and asked what he could substitute. He now enjoys a daily lunch of chia cereal, munches on fruit throughout the day and nightly salads have become the norm.

Angelo is one very happy man and I couldn't be more thrilled for him!

 Patrick is one of my many friends that are enjoying green smoothies at Fedex where I work. Every morning I make up several jars of smoothies and let me tell you ~ we are one bunch of healthy happy people! We had a group of employees that used to work at our station come to visit with us last week. The green smoothie glow was so obvious to these friends that hadn't seen us in so long. Our healthy glow and vibrant energy is just so evident, everyone wanted to know our secret!

What a great testimony to the magic of green smoothies!

Here's a picture a friend sent me while wheeling out in the middle of the woods. 

There's her green smoothie sitting on the tire!  How cool is that?  Have smoothies ~ will travel.

I've shared this next picture before but it really excites me to be spreading the smoothie love with everyone! I feel such a sense of gratitude from knowing that I am making a little bit of difference in my little corner of the world. 

We all play our part, no matter how large or small. 

Hearing everyone's stories of  the healthy happiness they've discovered by adding green smoothies into their days is absolutely one of life's

Simple Pleasures!

My Green Smoothie Magic

2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves

or 4 leaves of kale

1/2 " piece fresh ginger

1 large cucumber

2 stalks of celery

1 large apple

1/2 pear

(1 banana if you prefer it sweeter)

approx 2 cups water

Yields one blender pitcher full

Blend & Enjoy!!

Inspire and be Inspired... Hopes & dreams for a wonderful year ahead.

 Happy New Year!

  My wish for each & everyone of us is an amazing year full of good health & much joy. Let's all work towards our goals to make our dreams come true and reach for the stars. Let's dream big and believe that all we hope to achieve this year is absolutely within our reach! Let's be inspired and offer inspiration to those around us, because really, isn't that what life is about? When we encourage others with our love & support we are touching someplace deep inside ourselves that will shine forth our own bright lights! Giving of ourselves freely whenever possible will reward us with abundance and fill our hearts with joy.

 2011 was a wonderful year for me! I was given many opportunities to share the joys I've found through embracing a new & healthy lifestyle, and I feel blessed for that. Once I was self conscious and fearful of speaking in public or having the focus on myself, but now I am becoming more comfortable with that. I am learning that pushing through my insecurities is giving me strength and self esteem I once only dreamed of.

More important is the knowledge that sharing my experiences is truly helping others. Others who are searching for the vibrant health and happiness that we are all put on this earth to enjoy.

I look forward to many new and exciting opportunities this upcoming year. Ways to continue to share how the healing power of green smoothies and a diet rich in whole living foods has changed my life! I do this in hopes of offering inspiration, guidance and education for those staring out on the same path.

I'm excited to share that I have joined a friend in opening an online community for just that purpose! The intent is to have a comfortable atmosphere to meet like minded people and share stories, experiences, ask questions and gather information. We have people that are fully immersed in the raw food lifestyle as well as many who are just starting out. This project is in beginning stages and a daily work in progress so we would love for you to join us on the ground floor! The website is  Raw Inspiration Daily ~  I love that name  :)

We can build on this together.  We can inspire ~ be inspired ~ inform ~ be inform ~ enthuse & be enthused together! 

Anyone & everyone interested in renewed health, weight loss & living a vibrant energetic life will be an asset to our community!   Hope to see you there  :)

http://rawinspirationdaily.ning.com/

We are a member-based community offering support, inspiration, and guidance

 to those enjoying a simple approach to eating live fresh foods.

At this time I will continue sharing on this blog also. My heart and soul has gone into this blog and I still love it so. I hope you will continue to enjoy my blog Simple Pleasures and visit our new community too!

 *~* Hugs *~* 

        Kathy

Green smoothie recipes

 Although I tend to stick to my basic smoothie recipe more often than not, I thought I would share a few simple recipes that I found here and there, and had tucked away.

**There are so many sites online that talk about the magic of green smoothies and offer a huge variety of blending ideas. In place of a green in any given recipe you can certainly replace it with whatever leafy green you choose or have on hand. I always buy organic produce when it comes to my green smoothie ingredients. According to Victoria Boutenko, it's not only the fact that non organic has pesticides but it also lacks nutritional value. I never knew this!  It's a bit more expensive but considering that optimum health is my goal, I only buy what's best for my body. The most important thing is getting the greens into your body  ~ so use whatever fruit combo you prefer or create your own ~ the magic begins as soon as you get your greens on :) 

mix it up ~ have fun with them ~ ENJOY :)

My Personal Favorite

1 granny smith apple

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

1 large peeled cucumber

1 bunch of kale   ( you can use 1/2 if you're new to this)

1 inch piece of fresh ginger

1 cup water 

Carrot Apple Ginger Smoothie

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 medium apple, cored

2 large handfuls of raw baby spinach

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger root

1 cup water

Pineapple-Mango Smoothie
1 cup pineapple
1 large mango
2 cups fresh baby spinach 
1/2 – 1 cup water

Ginger Carrot Pineapple Smoothie

1 cup fresh pineapple, cubed

2 medium carrots

1 banana, peeled

1 inch of fresh ginger

6 ounces almond milk

 Mango-Carrot Smoothie

1 mango, peeled and pitted

2 small carrots or 1 cup, grated

2 bananas, peeled

6 ounces almond milk or water

Cucumber-Pear Smoothie
1 cucumber
2 pears
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup of water

Strawberry Pear Smoothie

1 cup whole strawberries

2 pears

2 cups baby spinach leaves

1 carrot
1 cup water

Cucumber Melon
1 cucumber
2 cups or 1/2 ripe honeydew melon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup water

Cucumber Cantaloupe
1 cucumber
2 cups or 1/2 ripe cantaloupe
1 cup watermelon
1 teaspoon lime juice
2 cups baby spinach 

1/2 cup water

Apple Blueberry smoothie
1 apple
1 cup blueberries
2 cups baby spinach
1/4 avocado
1/2 cup water

pear apple banana smoothie
1 pear
1 apple
1 banana
1 stalk celery
2 cups spinach
1 cup water
  
** I tend to copy and paste recipes regularly for my own sake on a regular basis. I will always try to give credit for where I found them when possible.Unfortunately many have been sitting in my mail folders and I can't give credit to where they originated. I may have altered them to suit my taste when I saved them!

I believe many of these recipes are from http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/smoothie-recipes/ ~ a great online source of green smoothie information.

What are you blending up? I'd love to hear what favorites everyone is blending up! 

                  Sharing is such a gift ~ Everyone benefits!
If everyone that sends me messages and posts on Facebook shared just one favorite green smoothie recipe here ~ wow ~ we'd have a lot of great recipes all in one place :)

Health & Happiness