Melon Seed Milk Recipe Vegan Non Dairy

What I ate in a day. Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant rich Liver & Kidney Flush Challenge

Good Morning Beauties,
I started a little challenge that I am excited to share with you in a few days. Its a 30 day morning liver and kidney flush. So first thing in the morning I made a power juice shot.

ORGANIC BEETS

CELERY, TURMERIC, CUCUMBER, BEETS, CILANTRO, ASPARAGUS, LEMON

YUMMY LIVER CLEANSE JUICE :)

TURMERIC JUICE

TURMERIC IS A GREAT ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FOR DOGS

GALANGAL

TURMERIC

TURMERIC & CARROTS

Today's teas were simple yet delicious and healing.
Orange peel tea made with the left over organic orange peels. Orange peel in Chinese medicine has been used for centuries to improve digestion, bloating, heartburn, GERD, HIGH CHOLESTEROL; also used as an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and an immune system boosting herb. The essential oils contained in the peels is great for insomnia, depression, nervous tension and anxiety.

ORANGE PEEL STEEPING IN MY PAN

Later on I had some turmeric tea. Great for joint inflammation and a skin beautifier. Indian women have been traditionally using turmeric as a brightening face mask. I tried mixing turmeric and L ascorbic acid and resveratrol to make a turmeric Vitamin C treatment and I have to say that my hands turned yellow from handling it but my face did NOT. hehe :D

HEATING UP FRESH TURMERIC BLENDED WITH WATER AND ALMOND MILK

 A FEW HOURS LATER - BREAKFAST

 I mix cacao powder with coconut milk, mesquite powder and stevia and pour this over the frozen bananas. I had maybe 5-7 baby bananas.

Frozen Chocolate Bananas with Grated Coconut 

Some hours later I did a short but intense Interval Yoga Sequence. I had to run out of the house right after that. If I can, I make sure to eat within a few minutes of working out. Otherwise I feel it the next day.

Lunch
I went to one of the healthiest places in LA, Erehwon and picked up a salad.

GARLIC SPROUTS, PEA SHOOTS, GUACAMOLE SALAD

I put some green salsa on top, I think it was salsa verde and OH GOD! The heat got me! The top sprouts are garlic sprouts and they were more than delicious, underneath there are a bunch of pea greens and radish greens, mushrooms, lentils, guacamole, hemp seeds and chipotle dressing.

Later on I managed to make two stops at Whole foods and in Thai Town.

Driving through Hollywood.

SEVA MAPLE SAP WATER

This is the first time I have seen or heard of Maple Water from the Maple Tree Sap so I got a carton at Whole foods. It tastes pretty much like subtly sweet water with a slight maple aroma to it. Seva is a Canadian company that just started exporting it from what I can gather. It's said to be really healthy full of polyphenols, peptides, plant hormones, inulin (pre-biotics), amino acids. (BTW I am drinking it as I type this)


















I had a busy day and didn't get home till 5 which is Sofie's walk time. She practically kicked me out of the house with her leash in her mouth. ;)

DINNER TIME


2 CARTONS OF BLUEBERRIES BEFORE DINNER

MACRO CAM BLUEBERRY 

ORGANIC BLUEBERRIES

LEFT OVER FROM LUNCH SWEET POTATOES AND VEGGIES

ORGANIC ASPARAGUS AND CHERRY TOMATOES

ROASTED KABOCHA SQUASH WITH MUSTARD, SCALLIONS AND MINT.

I have also been loving raw brussel sprouts with dip. (no photo of the brussel sprouts- that's proof of how much I LOVE them :P )

This dip was a beautiful orange color. Made with tofu, coconut, aleppo peppers, carrots, turmeric, barberries.

Barberries are a new favorite superfood, super-herbal ingredient of mine. Very healing. Great for high cholesterol, epilepsy, high blood pressure; used as a liver cleanser, antibacterial, anti-hystamine (for allergies) and the list goes on and on. They are sweet and sour in flavor. Known as Zereshak in Persian cuisine. Persians use them to decorate and add sour flavor to rice dishes. It's also used in some Indian chutneys. Funny thing a lot of the indian chutneys remind me of my dip recipes haha :D

DRIED BARBERRIES 

For my Bulgarian readers I think the name in bulgarian is berberis (Berberis vulgaris)

 and it's been researched in Bulgaria as an effective treatment for rheumatism and inflammatory diseases. 

I think that was a lot of nourishing food for one day :D 

LOVE AND BLESSINGS 

What I eat in a day High Carb Vegan

Blog number 3 (I think) on What I eat in a day :)

Most of my food made it in the photos :)

Good morning Beautiful Yogis. The day here was bright and sunny. Sofie loves 15 minutes of sunbathing in the morning. She gets her vit D :) One other thing Sofie LOVES is kumquats (always cut and deseeded). I can't take a kumquat photo without her getting her little self ready to jack me out of my kumquat :)

My day started with Some Reishi "Coffee" Reishi Coffee Recipe Video HERE
BTW I have been getting a lot of questions in regards to knee pain. This recipe nourishes the kidneys which govern the knees in Chinese Medicine. Generally kidneys and knee pain is almost always related. So definitely check it out and if you can source the herbs indulge in its grounding, nourishing, earthy goodness.
I added cardamom and ginger to make it easy on the digestion. Rehmannia can be a bit heavy as its prepared traditionally in a reduction of wine and black bean juice. This is a deeply rebuilding herb that supports vitality and fertility, it can regulate the menstrual cycle and reduce inflammation.

Rehmannia, Reishi mushroom, astragalus, cardamom, ginger brew

After I left it simmering for a while I was ready to enjoy a few mugs.

Reishi coffee with hazelnut stevia and Dream Blends Hazelnut Cashew milk

The first brew is always bitter and intense and I have to add vegan milk to it. The subsequent brews are milder and I have them with no add ins.
I was working while drinking my reishi so an hour or two later I made some GREEN COFFEE as I was quitting black coffee.

Kumquats, Persimmons and Green Coffee with non dairy milk

Notice Sofie in the background. You couldn't script this if you tried to haha

FOR MY TAKE ON GREEN COFFEE, HOW TO QUIT COFFEE, HOW TO PREPARE IT AND THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF GREEN COFFEE YOU CAN CLICK here

Later on I had some baby bananas.

I am not sure why I prefer them over regular bananas but the taste is pretty close. The baby bananas seem to have a lower water content and taste more like banana bread, banana dessert or something. Also they are less hybridized.

On some days I have 5 of them (we split with Sofie of course) on others 15. Depends what quantity makes me feel satiated for the moment.

A big baby banana - size reference (Yes!! She thinks she is getting sum lol) 

I worked on a L Handstand & Legs Routine for 20 minutes. This workout was very intense and a ton of fun for the advanced yogis. I am hoping to shoot it this week and upload it as soon as I can. Then I made some of the celery lime drink from my chaturanga challenge class, the link to the class is here. A few of you asked for the ingredients so I remembered to photograph them.  If you want to join the chaturanga challenge this is the link to the video. There is nothing more important for arm balances than mastering chaturanga dandasana perfectly.

Cilantro or parsley, celery, jalapeno, lemon, garlic(optional) and some savory and other dried spices.  Blend with water!

A few hours later I had some of this stevia sweetened sparkling water.

SPREE with vitamin B12

Followed by some more Kumquats

Kumquats

This is how much she loves kumquats! She is all business around them.

Oh but she wants them!

She actually knows to never grab anything from the table, trash or grocery bags! Phew! 

Dinner time. As usual I had raw and steamed/roasted veggies and dip. Salad and dressing.

I made the best salad dressing ever! This was an incredible combination of flavors. I combined tangerines, kumquats, wasabi, chipotle, sesame seeds, tofu, flax seed, ginger, pomegranate seeds and a few more ingredients to make something that tastes out of this world. Recipe here

Some veggies and dip

Pumkin tofu dip

As a rule adding mashed pumpkin, peanut butter, carrots, tofu and sesame seed to dips makes them amazing. This dip was made with pumpkin, tofu, chipotle, cinnamon and a few other ingredients.

Sauteed (no oil) carrots for dipping. Glazed in orange, pomegranate molases base.

Glazed carrots (orange juice, pomegranate molases glaze)

Tofu tomato carrot dip with sumac and raw brussel sprouts

I ended up eating around 1500 calories and around 15% of the calories from fat. Why I don't eat more calories? I have changed how I train in the past 4 years quite a bit. I think I mentioned in my BIO that I used to teach up to 20 classes a week. Most of which were power yoga classes lasting an hour and a half. So I know quite a bit about being very physically active. I am a person that needs balance in certain areas of my life. Yes, certain areas only. Knowledge is off limits. There! I allow myself to be on the extreme side. Overall I follow what I consider for me a middle path. So if I eat 3000 calories as promoted by many health gurus then I will have to exercise more which is not optimal for me. I prefer to exercise enough to be fit, strong, flexible and balanced and that's not that much exercise. :) 

Why I dont believe in low sugar, low carb diets - that's a future post. I have eaten the same way pretty much since the age of 15. Meaning mostly fruits and veggies with some other additions such as beans, grains, nuts and seeds. Superfoods to me are a fad. Herbs however are Natures Superfoods! As far as dry powdered superfoods most of them are not bad for you but extremely overprised and of average health promoting efficacy compared to the local varieties of FRESH veggies and fruit in your area. Herbs however are a truly powerful medicine. I turn to Nature when I need to heal. I love herbs more than I love yoga. Sorry Yoga you are still my second biggest love :P Yoga is a way to connect with the human soul. Herbs are a way to connect with the soul of Mother Nature. They are the expression of her genius. 

Time to walk the little monkey! 

Best salad dressing ever! Tangerine, wasabi, chipotle, sesame, ginger

Best salad dressing ever! Super Healthy too. 

The ingredients are not traditional and you can either get them at various ethnic stores or online. I have been using a lot of dried pomegranate seeds lately. This is not the same variety of pomegranates that we normally find fresh in grocery stores. It's used in indian and a persian cuisine. The seeds are dried from a sour type of pomegranates. The antioxidant content is at the top of the charts. It's surprisingly higher than acai and goji berries! It also makes for a great salad dressing ingredient. VERY HEALTHY!

Another unusual ingredient is the wasabi powder. The one I used is from Penzey's. I randomly walked into their store in Santa Monica and got a few things that are hard to come by. Needless to say a Japanese ingredient. 

Chipotle - dried smoked mexican hot peppers. I get them at health food stores, online or mexican stores. They add a smokey flavor to any dish. They can be mild or hot. 

Aleppo pepper is a type of mild, sweet, oily pepper. It's rich and bright in color. It comes from Aleppo, Syria. It's superior to any pepper I have ever tried. I randomly bought it at an Armenian store not thinking much of it. It turns out it is the most gourmet mild hot pepper out there. Its a bit salty and oily. I am pretty sure it's from the way they process it. It's flavorful and sweet with a slowly building heat. It is not a must but if you happen to see it in your store definitely try it out. It creates a great presentation when sprinkled over zucchini "fries", potatoes, salads, etc.

Kumquats can be substituted for oranges and orange zest.

Jamaican Jerk is a combination of ginger, brown mustard seeds, onion, allspice, garlic, paprica, thyme, fennel seeds, black pepper, red pepper, cloves. OPTIONAL

Tofu can be substituted for boiled garbanzo beans. Tofu gives it a nice creamy consistency. 

Ingredients

1-3 tangerine

3-4 carrots

200 grams (organic) tofu

4-5 kumquats

a  slice of fresh ginger

chipotle or hot peppers to taste

a dash of ceylon cinnamon

2 tbsp (freshly) roasted sesame seeds

tamari sauce or soy sauce to taste 

stevia (optional) or (palm, cane) sugar

1 clove of garlic

2 tbsp pomegrante seeds

1-3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp flax seed

a dash of jamaican jerk spice

2-3 tbsp of aleppo pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon of wasabi powder

water to achieve desired consistency

Blend in a high power blender. If you don't have a high power blender make sure you grind the sesame and flax first. Boil the carrots so they blend to a smooth consistency. 

DRIED POMEGRANATE SEEDS

Dried Pomegranate Seeds

Energetics and Doctrine of Signatures, Cabbage and Broccoli Health Benefits

One of the reasons I love Chinese Medicine is because it has a more holistic way of looking at health.
A few days ago I wrote a post on broccoli and cabbage and their beneficial effects on your health. As far as Western Medicine is concerned food is not all that related to health! Western Nutritional Studies would tell you that broccoli and cabbage are both a part of the cruciferous family and they have this and that amount of fiber, carbs and protein per serving and this and that amount of vitamins and minerals. Overall both have similar nutritional properties and you can substitute one for the other if you are looking to lose weight or improve your nutrient intake.

Now it doesn't take a genius to look at the two and notice that they are dramatically different in the way they look, smell and even taste. Chinese Medicine in its deeper way of looking at things will observe the energetics of food; are they warming or cooling,  contracting or expansive, yin or yang, with an upward or downward energy, inward or outward direction, which Body Meridian are they affecting, which organs are they going to work on and in which way? For example if the food affects the lungs is it going to moisten them or dry them out (i.e.phlegm).

You see why I love Chinese medicine? It gives me answers to questions about body and food energetics that I can't get from the modern dry scientific literature.
I like to look at things from a symbolic stand point. That's why Doctrine of Signatures is so dear to my heart. Unfortunately Doctrine of Signatures is incomplete. I would love to add to the list of foods covered by it.
It is so lovely when we have known and used a traditional folk remedy for generations and all of a sudden there is a new scientific study discovering and explaining why this remedy is so healing in such ways.
For example the walnut (looks like a human brain within a hard shell like the scull) always known to be beneficial for brain function is high in DHA which is so important to brain health and cognitive function, in addition if you slice a walnut across then it looks like a heart.

"Coincidentally" omega 3 fatty acids abundant in walnuts are heart healthy :)

I am sure there are a few more nutrients in walnuts we will discover in the next decade. Maybe some much more important than what we already know. 

In comparission walnuts in chinese medicine are tonifying, yang and sweet (one of the 5 flavors). They affect the Lungs and the Kidneys. They are prescribed to people with lower back and knee pain, impotence, sexual dysfunctions, infertility, frequent urination (all kidney related); as well as asthma. 

Reminds of 2 kidneys

(They Tonify the Kidneys and can help a weak back and achey knees with coldness, frequent urination.

Nourish the blood, Warm the lungs, help the kidneys grasp lung qi - chronic cough, wheezing.

Moisten the intestines - constipation in elderly patients.)

BLACK WALNUTS CUT ACROSS LOOK LIKE KIDNEYS EVEN MORE. 

And BLACK foods and herbs in chinese medicine have an affinity to kidneys. No mistake there! 

In certain Islamic and Western Herbal traditions, in order to determine a plant's function we will observe the habitats of the herbs and plants, the way they grow, the conditions they grow in, the smell, color, shape and the taste. For example plants growing under the ground will affect the physical body and the lower part of the body. Plants growing in harsh conditions will strengthen our immune system and our ability to adapt to difficulties, stress (therefore they are called adaptogens)

Flowers and especially their energetic water imprint will affect our emotions and soul and so forth and so forth. 

After this extensive intro let me get to the point I was making! 

Brocoli and cabbage look different from one another (haha)..... ha yes took me only 5 paragraphs to come to that conclusion. Thank god I am not writing about psychology. Imagine if cabbage is so complex and complicated in my head what I will do to physics or astronomy for example........ 

So yes broccoli does look like the Lung Alveoli. And a compound in broccoli called sulforaphane is researched as a possible treatment for preventing or reducing infections in smokers and people with lung disease.

Broccoli in Chinese Medicine is used to improve vision. Now thanks to modern science we do know that Broccoli is high in Lutein a pigment in vegetables and fruits that can protect our vision. I can see some resemblance between the little branches of broccoli and the anatomy of the eye specifically the retinal blood vessels. 

Sulforaphane in broccoli is also known to block cartilage-destroying enzymes by intercepting a molecule that causes inflammation therefore preventing the onset and development of arthritis. Again I see a resemblance to joints in the branches and stalk of the vegetable. Do you?

On the other hand cabbage looks like a head and even resembles a brain. 

In chinese medicine it is used to clear "heat", lubricate the intestines and stop coughing.

Used for: constipation, whooping cough, hot flashes, common colds, frostbite.

Frostbite is obvious as the vegetable itself is a fall vegetable and has to resist frost itself.

Common cold usually affects the head.

New research is finding that cabbage has brain protective properties.

‘’Qian Jin Yao Fang Shi Zhi’’ a Traditional Chinese medicine book, says that eating cabbage often can strengthen the kidneys and brain!

Cabbage purifies the blood and clears toxins (free radicals and uric acid which is a major factor in developing  rheumatism, gout, arthritis, renal calculi, skin diseases, eczema etc.).  Cabbage, being rich in iodine and polyphenols- antioxidants such as anthocyanins(the pigment in blueberries), also helps in the proper functioning of the brain and the nervous system, as well as the endocrine glands. Bottom line CABBAGE is good for the brain and treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

(Red cabbage could cut Alzehimer's risk By Stephen Daniells, 10-Mar-2006
In a new study red cabbage was seen to reduce the build-up of certain plaques in the brain that could cause Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia that costs the UK an estimated £15 billion (€ 22 billion) every year.
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Red-cabbage-could-cut-Alzehimer-s-risk)

And if that was not enough cabbage improves circulation and can help with joint inflammation and pain. True story :) 

"One ancient Traditional Chinese Medicine book called ‘’Ben Cao Shi Yi’’ records that cabbage clears the channels by removing toxins that may block the Qi and blood around the joints, strengthens and loosens joints." *

I want this to be the beginning of understanding things from an energetic perspective and understanding nature from an intuitive and creative place!

NATUREKNOWS

NATURE KNOWS 

 *http://www.pingminghealth.com/article/227/cabbage-and-circulation-around-the-joints/