Birthday Surprise

The cake was from LA and the food was from two local restaurants.  Our neighbors and friends were conversing, eating, and having a good time.  Everything was going fabulously for the first of my planned 40th birthday celebrations until later that night when we had to call 911 and rush to the emergency room.

Thank God it turned out to be a false alarm but that's a story to be told at another time.  Health is wealth, folks, and when you're dealing with a possible life and death situation, you're at the mercy of the healthcare system in whatever country you happen to be in.

Waiting in the ER to start off my 40th year was mind boggling and frightening but it certainly got me to think about the conversations that night.  Many of our guests talked about their own health challenges or of their loved ones.  Everyone is connected to someone who is dealing with disease.

My way of combating disease is through prevention.  I am committed to learning as much as possible about food, health, and lifestyle and sharing the very best information that helps support living a long and happy life.

I have two tips to share today.  The first is a powerful and yummy superfoods shake recipe and the second is about exercise.    

An alkaline diet helps combat disease.  My superfoods shake is fully packed with alkaline ingredients and is currently my favorite energy boosting breakfast shake.  The base is coconut water and chaga tea.  I order my chaga online as I haven't seen it in grocery stores yet.  Chaga is the king of medicinal mushrooms which can be found on birch trees in cold weather climates.  It is probably the most alkaline of all foods and is known to fight cancer and other diseases.  You can learn more about chaga here.  All the other superfoods are readily available at your local grocery as well as online.  You can find the superfoods shake recipe down below with a list of my favorite brands.

Unfortunately, I am not so fond of regular exercise.  I'm one who has a hard time committing but I would like to stress the importance of breaking out into a sweat every day if possible.  Sweating helps remove toxins out of the body.  

I think it's important to find something that you enjoy doing.  Whether it's pilates, swimming, brisk walking, a sport, just do it or find a partner that can help encourage and support you. 

One of the easiest exercises to do is to jump up and down for at least five minutes.  There's no need to change clothes or get special equipment.  I've been doing this for a couple of weeks now and it has been very helpful.  I get an instant burst of energy and get my heart rate going.  Better yet get a trampoline and do it anytime at home.  Hop on and there you go!  It's so much fun.

Here's to everyone's health and here's to another 40 years ahead and beyond!  Praise the Lord!

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Superfoods Shake

Ingredients

1/4 cup coconut water

1/4 cup chaga tea

1/4 cup frozen organic blueberries

1/4 cup frozen organic blackberries or use another 1/4 cup of frozen organic blueberries

1/4 cup organic pear

Pinch of Himalayan pink sea salt

Few dashes of cinnamon 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla powder

1/2 tsp raw maca powder

1/2 tsp raw cacao powder

Couple drops of chlorophyll or 1/2 tsp raw chlorella powder

Couple ice cubes

Raw organic honey to taste (optional, If you are dealing with disease I would omit this and all types of sugar)

Directions

Blend all ingredients in a blender and drink right away.  Enjoy! 

Favorite Brands

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Maine Chaga Tea ChunksPure Vanilla ExtractVanilla Bean PowderMaca PowderCacao PowderChlorOxygenChlorella PowderCoconut WaterHimalayan Sea Salt

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“My way of combating disease is through prevention.”

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Pan-crêpes

When I next make it to New York City again (it's been at least several years since my last visit), there's one eatery that is on my wish list.  And I never thought that I would say this, but it's vegan.  Yup!  That's right.  No meat and no animal products.

I've recently discovered a very talented, innovative, and young chef, Chef Chloe, on the Internet.  She's the owner of By Chloe in New York City and I'm just so curious to try the place out one of these days.  Since pretty much every recipe of hers that I've tried has turned out super delicious, I'm adding her recipe books to my wish list on Amazon.  

My new obsession is pan-crêpes.  The original recipe calls for regular all purpose flour but since my son and I can't consume wheat I substituted Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free baking flour.  Chloe's olive oil pancake recipe comes out fluffy.  Mine resulted in a different texture and look so I'm calling these pan-crêpes because they remind me both of pancakes and crêpes.  

The first time I made this I added orange zest and chocolate chips flavored with stevia.  These were very good.  But when I used organic blueberries, the whole family and I couldn't stop raving.  The blueberries give the pan-crêpes some height so they don't turn out so flat.  Plus the juice oozing from the blueberries make these so nice and sweet.  You can also try making these with bananas and organic chocolate chips (I like a brand called Lily's).  I would cut the bananas in chunks to add height.

I recommend you eat these right away as nothing beats warm, newly cooked food.  You may not need to add any more maple syrup as it's already included in the batter.  Genius, right?  The edges have a neat crispness and the olive oil makes these so buttery and moist.  I can eat these all day long.  

The original recipe can be found on Chef Chloe's website.  But I think these pan-crêpes are a new family favorite.  They are absolutely delicious, and adding a bowl of fruit or a breakfast meat make this a wonderful meal! 

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Pan-crêpes

Ingredients

1 cup Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free baking flour

1 tbsp baking powder

3/4 cup filtered water

3 tbsp real maple syrup

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the pan

1 pint or less of organic blueberries

1/2 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a smaller bowl, mix the water, oil, and maple syrup.  Add the liquid mixture onto the the dry ingredients.  Mix the ingredients very well.  Once its well combined and most of the lumps are gone, fold in the blueberries gently. 

Heat and coat with oil a cast iron pan.  Adjust the heat between low and medium depending on your cooktop.  Use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop the batter and add it to the pan.  (I try to scoop about 3 or 4 blueberries for each pan-crêpe.)  Allow bubbles to form (I like to have the bubbles form throughout the pancake), then flip and continue to cook till lightly browned.  Allow the liquid from the blueberries to ooze out.  Then repeat.  

Resources for Clean Eating

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“My new obsession is pan-crêpes. ”

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