Spirulina or chlorella – I would say both

These two super foods are super amazing in the way they clean your body and have so many benefits.

I decided just to list the benefits of both and really to remind you to take them… or to introduce them to you in case you have never tried them before.

Spirulina is blue-green algae with the scientific name Arthrospira platensis.

About 60% of spirulina’s dry weight is protein, which is essential for growth and cell regeneration. It is a good replacement for fatty and cholesterol-rich meat and dairy products in one’s diet. Every 10 grams of spirulina can supply up to 70% of the minimum daily requirements for iron, and about three to four times of minimum daily requirements for vitamins A, B complex, D and K.

These are only some of the health benefits associated with Spirulina:

• Boost the Immune System
• Improve Digestion
• Reduce fatigue
• Build Endurance
• Nature's Detoxifier - Cleanse the body
• Boost Energy Levels
• Control Appetite
• Maintain Healthy Cardiovascular function
• Support the Liver and Kidneys
• Reduce Inflammation
• Benefit People Who Suffer from Allergies

Chlorella is a pure food made from dark green colored micro-algae, one of the richest sources of chlorophyll.

Chlorella is a very rich protein source, contains amino acids, rich in B vitamins, is high in beta carotene, and is able to bind to the toxins in your body, pulling them from the bloodstream, giving you a detox.  Chlorella will purify your blood and cleanse your organs.

Benefits of Chlorella

• boost your immune system
• detoxify heavy metals
• improve your digestive system
• reduce cholesterol
• protecting your liver
• help with kidney problems
• improve skin conditions
• balance blood sugar

Spirulina and chlorella can be taken in a powder form or tablets, I take them in powder form.

Vegan baked cookies

These are definitely one of my favourite cookies. I make them very often. They are very easy and quick to prepare.

The final result is just amazing. And what’s best, they are vegan.

The necessary products:

250 g honey or agave syrup

200 g tahini (pure)

200 g oatmeal

100 g walnuts

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

50 g raisins

50 ml rum (optional, for the raisins)

Preparation:

Optionally, soak the raisins in rum for 30 minutes.
In a bowl, mix well the tahini with the honey (or agave), the vanilla and the cinnamon. Then add the other products: drained of rum raisins, the walnuts and the oatmeal. Followed by the addition of each product, the mixture is stirred well.

From the resulting dough, with wet hands, form your cookies – big or small, it doesn’t matter. The cookies are arranged in a tray covered with baker’s paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C for about 15 minutes, or until their edges start browning slightly. Once removed from the oven, leave them in the tray - many will be too soft to lift. Wait at least 15-20 min until they have cooled down completely.

Enjoy!

Rucola salad with hemp seeds

Just a quick idea for a fresh, mostly green salad with rucola and iceberg lettuce.

1 cup Rucola

1 cup Iceberg lettuce

1 cup Broccoli

½ cup Peas

1 carrot

2-3 dry tomatoes

3-4 table spoons Hemp seeds

Pinch of Himalayan salt

Virgin olive oil

For coffee addicts

I know how hard is for coffee addicts to stop drinking coffee.

 I was the same case. First few days you are tired, sleepy and in bad mood.

I used to drink it a lot mostly because of the smell and the taste.

But I found very healthy alternative of coffee and milk…

Bio non-coffee coffee (from barley and rye) & soya milk with vanilla.
Instead of sugar you can put honey, agave syrup or stevia

You can drink it either hot or cold. It’s always delicious. There is no quantity limit.

One more please J

Kiwi smoothie with wheat grass

Today I had this super energizing breakfast, kiwi smoothie with 3 super foods. It is very detoxifying as well. Drink it in the morning and you will not think of eating until lunch.

What do you need to do it?

5 kiwis

3 table spoon chia seeds

1 table spoon maca roots

1 tea spoon wheat grass powder

Again, everything goes in the blender.

I like the way chia seeds and the seeds of the kiwi are mixed.

If you wonder why I put wheat grass powder and what is good for, here is the info:

http://www.healingvibes.com/products/foods/wheatgrass.html

Homemade lemonade

Hot summer days are here and what you need is a glass of homemade lemonade.

I decided instead of still water or artificially gassed water to put natural gas water such as Perrier so it can be healthy and real lemonade J

So you need:

The juice of 3 lemons

1 liter of Perrier

3 table spoon of agave (or other natural sweetener)

20 leaves of fresh mint

Enjoy!

Mint dip

Now I am going to introduce you one of my favourite green dip. It is delicious, healthy, vegan and it’s very easy to prepare.

Here is the recipe

1 avocado

250 gram peas

A juice of ½ lemon

20 leaves of fresh mint

Pinch of Himalayan salt

Everything goes in the blender. And you can add it to your salads; put it on your crackers etc.

Bon appetite!

Nuts

Should I tell you why nuts are healthy and important for you to eat?!?

Of course always buy raw nuts which are great source of protein and have other benefits such as minerals, vitamins, essential acids like Omega 3 and Omega 6. Some of them can help you prevent cancer and heart disease.

 Let’s make a quick review of the healthiest ones:

Macadamia

It also known as Australian nut, it contains one of the highest amounts of fatty acids among the nuts - around 86%. They also contain 9% carbohydrates and 9% proteins, nearly 2% fibers, B vitamins C and PP, as well as phosphorus, potassium , Sodium, selenium, iron and calcium.

Macadamia Oil contains approximately 22% omega-7-palmitoidna acid, which is a well known antioxidant. Specialists say it has a central role in reducing the aging of the cells.

Consuming the nut every day helps reduce the bad cholesterol.

Although it is one of the fattest nuts, consuming it every day helps you lose weight!

How not to love it? J

Cashews

Cashews are high in antioxidants and have a lower fat content than most other nuts;  75 % of their fat is unsaturated fatty acids. They are also a good source of monounsaturated fats, copper, and a good source of magnesium and phosphorous.

Eating cashews promotes good cardiovascular health, even in individuals with diabetes.

Almonds

Almonds are a good source of protein, vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, copper, vitamin B2, and phosphorus. Almonds are also high in proteins; a quarter-cup contains more protein than the typical egg. Although one-quarter cup of almonds contains about 18 grams of fat, most of it (11 grams) is heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Eating almonds can lower bad cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease, provide protection against cardiovascular disease and diabetes, boost energy, and help prevent gallstones. Whole almonds (with skins) provide the most heart-healthy benefits.

Brazil nuts

Brazil nuts are 18% protein by weight, 13% carbohydrates, and 69% fat. The saturated fat content of Brazil nuts is among the highest of all nuts, surpassing macadamia nuts, which are primarily monounsaturated fat.

My advice is to purchase your nuts and seeds raw and then soak them in clean water for a few hours before eating them. Soaking raw nuts and seeds stimulates the process of germination, which increases the vitamin C, B, and carotenes (pre-vitamin A) content. It may also neutralize phytic acid, a substance present in the bran of all grains and seeds that can inhibit some absorption of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc.

Cosmetics

How I wash my face?

 Thanks to my friend Tita who gave me the idea I wash my face with honey…yes honey in the morning, honey in the evening…

Just take a spoon of honey, put the honey on your face and use it the same way you put scrub or face cleaner. Then wash you face with lots of water.

I can’t believe the result! Why was I buying expensive cosmetics for so many years? Now, when I am eating healthier, I am also thinking of what to put on my skin and what kind of fabric to wear.

Try it and I will be glad to receive your feedback.

Super foods

When I started to eat healthier I found a lot of super foods I haven’t heard before and now they are constant part of my meals. Some of them I put in my smoothies, others in my salads.

So here I will introduce you to my favourite super foods.

Goji berry

Can you believe that these small berries provide the body with more vitamin C than oranges, more beta carotene than carrots and more iron than steak portion?

They are a good source of vitamins of group B and antioxidants, which prevent harmful effects of free radicals damaging cells in the body. They also take care of your skin, heart and immune system.
Godji Berry is a good adaptogen - adaptogens strengthen the human body and help it cope better in stressful conditions.

You have to eat between 10 and 30 gram per day only.
You can always add some in your smoothie, musli etc…

Chia seeds

They are just great!

Chia seeds are easy to digest, and at the same time make you feel full, but this is because they absorb 10 times their weight in water.

It is actually the richest plant source of Omega 3 fatty acids - containing more of them than salmon. Chia also reduces your blood pressure.

So many reasons to eat chia seeds. You can add 2 tea spoons in your smoothie, musli or to make some nice healthy recipes that I will publish later.

Hemp seeds

 Going vegan could be a huge step and if you are like me, you can find yourself wondering how to manage eating enough protein.

Here it comes hemp seeds! For me they are very delicious, I can eat them just like that with a tea spoon but I usually add them in salads or again in my breakfast or make hemp milk.

 Why is good for me?

They contain a great source of protein; good unsaturated fats which help lower your blood cholesterol, Omega 3, Omega 6, high in magnesium, Vitamin E and chlorophyll.

Spinach salad


Actually, most of my main meals very often are salads. I often add seeds, nuts, fruits, super foods and they become super salads J

Everything in the salad is raw, vegan and seasoned.

Recipe:

Spinach 

1 head of Broccoli

1 red pepper

2-3 dry tomatoes

Pinch of Pumpkin seeds

Pinch of Linseeds

Pinch of Himalayan salt

Linseed oil

Served with chestnut crackers to you and your beloved! J

Sweets

Fresh juices

I love them so much, I used to drink them every morning before, but now I’ve changed them with smoothies, but it doesn’t mean I stopped drinking them… Just to remind you, always choose fresh juice instead of other juices and soft drinks or just drink water J

For preparing it at home you need a very good juice maker so you can prepare not only citrus but vegetable juices as well.

If you don’t have one, keep with the citrus or just eat the fruit J

My favourite combinations are:

Beetroot with carrots and ginger

Beetroot with carrots and apples

Carrots with green apples

Pomegranate juice

Blueberry magic

The summer is here! So we have plenty of choice of fruits and vegetables in the market.

Yesterday I saw in the store the first blueberries this year and here I go, I prepared my Blueberry magic with chia seeds, maca roots and purple corn (it has more antioxidants than blueberries and makes the lovely purple colour of my creamy smoothie).

It boots your energy, it’s super healthy and full of antioxidants… what a great start of the day.

Actually I always start my day drinking a cup of hot water in the morning. It helps flushing out toxins in your system.

Then it is time for breakfast. And here is the recipe:

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup soy milk with vanilla

1 table spoon chia seeds

1 tea spoon maca

1 tea spoon purple corn

Everything goes in the blender.