Put da lime in da coconut...

A couple weeks ago, a fellow in my office saw me getting my Holy Crap cereal ready in the kitchen, to which he said "What is that crap?"  So, I answered, "Actually, it's holy crap."  He didn't seem very enthused about the idea of trying some himself, but a couple of days later he made a point of telling me that I'm supposed to eat chia seeds with lime juice.  He wouldn't tell me how he knew this, but he insisted on it.
 
So, as I'm sure you guessed, curiosity killed the cat and I turned to Google.  Turns out that Chia Fresca (a mixture of chia seeds, water, lime juice and sweetener) has been a popular natural energy drink in Mexico and South America for quite some time. 
 
So, I figured I'd do some experimenting and try it with my holy crap cereal.  I mixed 4 tbsp homemade holy crap, the juice of half a lime, and about a cup of water. I shook it up good and let it hang out overnight in the fridge.  When I ate it as part of my morning snack the next day, I thoroughly enjoyed it!  It was light, refreshing, and very tasty.  So, if you're looking to mix up your holy crap consumption, I definitely recommend trying this out.
 
For those of you who are wondering how to make holy crap, you can find the recipe here: http://myloveoffood-shayne.blogspot.ca/2013/02/homemade-holy-crap-cereal-feed-life.html .  For your viewing pleasure, I've also included some interesting facts about the ingredients in holy crap below:
 

1. Chia seeds, hemp seeds and goji berries are all on the Feed Life Starve Cancer top ten cancer fighting foods.
2. Hemp seeds are a complete protein, a great source of omega 3's, have lots of fiber and act as a natural anti-inflammatory.
3. Chia seeds act as a natural detox since they pull toxins away from the intestinal lining.  They are also a good source of omega 3's and protein, and act as a natural anti-inflammatory.
4. Goji berries are high in iron and vitamin C.
5. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc which helps decrease healing time. 

 Chia Fresca: http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/mexicanbeverages/a/Chia-Fresca.htm

 

Feed Life Starve Cancer: http://feedlifestarvecancer.com/wp2/

A Dozen Habits to Nourish Your Life - Feed Life Starve Cancer

Believe it or not, there was another Social Shopper voucher for Feed Life Starve Cancer's second three hour seminar, A Dozen Habits to Nourish Your Life, a couple weeks ago.  I couldn't believe it!  I enjoyed the first seminar so much I couldn't resist the opportunity to check out the second one, so Social Shopper got a little bit of my business that day.

A Dozen Habits to Nourish Your Life was a three hour seminar jam-packed full of more yummy recipes (all free of animal products, sugar, wheat and dairy), along with twelve tips to help you improve your healing potential.  Yet again, Eden and Colin were fabulous presenters and my good friend and I thoroughly enjoyed the class.  I've included the dozen habits to nourish your life below, along with pictures of the yummy goodness that we got to taste throughout the night.  I'm definitely going to be making some of these in the future, so stay tuned for recipes and secret details as to why some of the ingredients are so good for you.  Thanks again for a fabulous evening Eden and Colin!

The Dozen Habits to Nourish Your Life

1. Have a glass of lemon water when you wake up in the morning.  This preps and wakes up your digestive system for the day ahead.
2. Have a green smoothie every morning.
3. Keep your body moving through exercise and breathing.
4. Manage stress constructively.
5. Stay hydrated.
6. Think ahead and prepare your food for the week.
7. Nourish your skin. (Eden gave us a recipe for a homemade facial mask!)
8. Avoid labels.
9. Eat a salad every day.
10. Spend your time with positive people.
11. Breathe and watch your thoughts.
12. Create a sleeping sanctuary for restful sleep.

Westcoast spread on gluten free crackers.  This spread was designed to taste like tuna salad and boy did it ever.  We ate it on crackers but Eden suggested eating it in a wrap or making sushi out of it as well, which sounded like a great idea.

 

Raw zucchini hummus.  I never thought about making hummus from anything but chickpeas, but this recipe definitely changed my mind about that.  It was flavourful and refreshing, all in one.

 



Believe it or not, this is zucchini pasta!  They demo'd a spectacular handheld machine called a Spirooli.  You stick your zucchini in it, and out comes pasta like strands of zucchini.  Amazing!  The sauce on top was called Tangy Tahini and it was very yummy.  Full of tartness, which is right up my alley.

And no meal is complete without dessert.  You are currently looking at Gooey Chocolate Squares with Pumpkin Maca frosting.  Definitely an enjoyable way to finish the evening.

 

http://feedlifestarvecancer.com/wp2/prevention/

Leafy Cleanser - Feed Life Starve Cancer

I've been popping a handful of spinach or kale into my regular smoothies for quite some time now, so I figured it was time to take the plunge and make a green drink in the morning.  I picked the Leafy Cleanser recipe from the Feed Life Starve Cancer workshop I went to recently.  They'd made this cleanser during the work shop and I'd really enjoyed it.  However, they had warned us to build up to incorporating green drinks slowly, as it might be a bit of a shock to your taste buds at first.

I'm not going to lie, I think I may have taken the plunge a bit too early and will most likely end up reverting to my kale and raspberry smoothie for a bit longer.  It has nothing to do with this recipe in particular.  I just think it was too much, too fast.  For those of you who enjoy a green drink in the mornings, I think you would really enjoy this recipe.

Leafy Cleanser

• 1/2 cup leafy greens (I used spinach)
• 1/4 cup parsley or cilantro (I used parsley)
• 1/4 box broccoli sprouts
• 1 thin slice lemon
• 1/2 pear
• 1/4 cucumber
• 1/2 stalk of celery
• 1/2 date
• 1 cup water

Place all ingredients into blender and blend well.  Makes 1 serving.

 Ready for blending!

My first official, homemade green drink.

 

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Homemade Holy Crap Cereal - Feed Life Starve Cancer

I decided it was officially time to start making some of the yummy Feed Life Starve Cancer recipes for myself, and I figured there was no better place to start than with breakfast.  This is their All-In-One Breakfast Cereal which I've been told is essentially a homemade version of the Holy Crap cereal that costs an arm and a leg.  It was super easy to make and the cinnamon made it really yummy.  I took it as my morning snack for work, which was great.  However, I'm not so sure that the portion I made would have sustained me fully for breakfast before a morning workout.  So, I'd recommend playing around with portions a bit, depending on when you want to eat it.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup buckwheat grouts
• 1/2 cup goji berries
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a glass container and keep in a cool dark place.

I discovered that everything fit perfectly into a large canning jar, which made storage and mixing really easy.

 

To eat, mix 4 tbsp of the cereal with 1 cup of milk (hemp, almond, cow).  You can let it soak in the fridge overnight or wait 15 minutes and enjoy.  The chia seeds absorb the milk and become a pudding, so if you want a thinner consistency, add more milk.

 

My snack!  I used skim milk and transported the milk and cereal together in a small canning jar to work.  It sat for about 30 minutes before I ate it and it was still a pretty thin consistency, so I think I'm going to try shaking it up a bit and letting it sit overnight next time.  Let me tell you, though, 1 cup of strawberries is a kick butt topping!

http://feedlifestarvecancer.com/wp2/simple-chia-cereal/

Feed Life Starve Cancer

A couple months ago I bought a Groupon for a 3 hour food seminar at Feed Life Starve Cancer.  The thing that caught my eye about this seminar (besides the fact that it was regularly $125 and was on sale for $35) was that the emphasis of the class was on what to eat in order to prevent cancer.  As you all know, I love food, so I figured if I could learn how to help protect my body while enjoying food, it would be an added bonus!

 

The seminar itself was very informative and the food they served was delicious.  The emphasis was on a plant-based diet but the two presenters, Eden (a Nutritionist) and Colin (a Health Coach), were 100% understanding of the fact that there were people in the room would still want to incorporate dairy and/or meat in their diet.  I'm not going to lie, I'm never going to give up meat or dairy because I like them just too darn much, but I most definitely plan on incorporating a good chunk of the recipes that they made into my repertoire.  So, stay tuned for future yummy details!

 

The Dozen Foods to Help Starve Cancer

1. Chia
2. Hemp
3. Broccoli sprouts
4. Goji berries
5. Garlic
6. Ginger
7. Fresh herbs
8. Mushrooms
9. Berries
10. Cacao
11. Leafy and seaweed greens
12. Turmeric 

 

Kreamy Komfort Kale served over zucchini pasta.  Unreal!!! 

 

Kale Waldorf Salad...out of this world!

 

Nice Cream

 

Anti-Inflammatory Chai Tea

 

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