Hi friends. How are things going today? Rockin’ and rollin’ over here. Yesterday was a pretty successful day. I got a lot accomplished on the work front, played with the pups, hit the gym with the hub, picked up a few groceries and enjoyed a delicious dinner al fresco while watching the Braves.

Well, I guess it is more appropriate to say that I watched them fight over this ball rather than played with them. Boxers will be Boxers.

Black beans and quinoa, Balsamic roasted Brussels, onions and mushrooms, & Roasted rutabagas and sweet potatoes for me – we also did a mozzarella and spinach stuffed chicken for the meat eaters. 

Anyways, on to today…

Thirsty Thursday, we meet again Thirsty as in green smoothie thirsty that is!

Yesterday I received a comment over on Facebook for a green smoothie recipe so today I decided to breakdown the green smoothie madness for any of you green smoothie rookies or even you vets out there A few weeks ago I posted a Beginners Green Smoothie recipe that might be helpful too!

These are just a few ingredients that I like to use. You can add or omit anything that you like. Place ingredients in this order directly into your blender… (The order is important! You want liquid first, light ingredients next and the heavy ingredients last so that when you turn your bender on everything pushes down toward the blade.)

Build Your Own Green Smoothie Green Smoothie

(Makes 2  smoothies)

1. 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2. 1/2 cup filtered water
3. 1/4 cup aloe vera juice
4. squeeze of 1/4 a lemon
5. 2 large handfuls of greens (my favorites are kale and spinach) – your blender should be 3/4 the way full with greens
6. 1 tbsp flax meal
7. 1 tbsp hemp seeds
8. 1 tsp chia seeds
9. 1 tsp maca powder
10. 1 tbsp spirullina
11. 1/4 inch fresh ginger
12. 1 inch fresh turmeric
13. 1 cup frozen berries
14. 1 frozen banana
15. 1/2 cup ice cubes

*Remember all ingredients are optional. Use what you have – don’t feel like you have to go out and search for ingredients that you might not keep on hand like fresh turmeric, hemp seeds or maca powder.

*A lot of people like to add peanut butter/almond butter too – I don’t do this too often, not because it’s not delicious, just because I don’t feel like it doesn’t need it.

*Also, if you like things super sweet and think that it is just not sweet enough, try adding a pitted date as a natural sweetener – sweet + vitamins/minerals = double whammy.

*Lastly, using frozen fruit is key. This makes it smooth and creamy.

By starting your day with greens your body will thank you, I promise. Green smoothies are full of antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc. – all of which help our bodies fight disease, cancer, inflammation, skin issues and much, much more.

Are you already a green smoothie junkie like me? If not, I challenge you to enjoy a green smoothie a day or at least every other day to improve your health and fuel your day!

And thanks to all of you that have ‘Liked’ Guard Your Heart on Facebook! If you haven’t yet, scroll down on the right sidebar and please do so! Thank you!

Have a wonderful Thursday! Almost the weekendddddddd! I’m off to do a little workout, a little yoga, and pack up yet again for a week long road trip with the hub starting tomorrow.

Good health!

The post Thirsty Thursday – Green Smoothie Style appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Good morning! Happy Earth Day! Isn’t our earth beautiful? The picture above was taken on one of my runs last week. In honor of Earth Day, today’s post involves one of our earth’s greatest gifts: coconut oil.

A few years ago when Dustin and I lived in Orlando and even when we lived in Statesboro, I was the green queen. I recycled like someone was paying me for it, I rid my house of all harsh chemicals and cleaners, you would NEVER find me without my reusable grocery bags, I switched over to “natural” beauty products and started using aluminum free, mineral deodorant. I’ll never forget the look on my friend’s face when I busted out my mineral rock deodorant in Vegas after not seeing each other for a few months.

“Ashley, what is that?”

I’m sure the day I went vegan, a few months after that trip, was no surprise to her after that experience.

For some of you, all of the practices that I just mentioned are included in your daily lives and completely normal; for others, I just confirmed my craziness. I truly have a hippie soul and I realize that.

Not that I don’t think that the above practices are important or that I don’t try my best to still feed my green soul and “Save our earth!”, but I find that the busier I get, the more to the way side these practices get pushed. It’s pretty unfortunate.

Introducing recycling to a non-recycling family/person can have its challenges. Right when Dustin finally realized for himself that, “I married Ashley. She is a crazy recycler. She is not going anywhere so neither is recycling,” my recycling habits went by the way side – along with my ban of harsh chemicals in the house. Slowly, I noticed myself grabbing whatever was convenient and cheap instead of searching for the greener, safer products. What happened to me? Lucky for Dustin, unfortunate for our earth and world.

But what do you know? Right now, I’m not overly slammed with work/school anymore and actually have time to think straight again, and I can already feel my blood reverting back to green.

For the past few years, my makeup of choice has been very consistent. I prefer Tart over any other line and love not only the practices behind the vegan line, but also the quality of the makeup.  Lately, however, I find myself searching for even more. I’ve been Googling and researching natural beauty products and when drugstores pop up, my searching continues. I’m not looking for another company that makes a more “natural” product, but instead, beauty recipes straight from the kitchen.

Let me introduce you to my favorite beauty ingredient right now: coconut oil. (As if I needed another reason to love it.) A great moisturizer, lotion, makeup remover and hair softener/smoother… sans harsh chemicals!  I literally lather my entire body in it every night and wake up the next morning feeling smooth… greasy, yes, but soft as well! Say no to wrinkles!

I’ve also been using coconut oil a lot lately to hydrate my hair.

About twice weekly, I cover my entire ponytail in coconut oil, let sit for about 30 minutes or overnight and then wash out. A few weeks ago, I did this on an afternoon before I was going to a wedding shower that night. After washing, blow drying and straightening my hair, let’s just say, it looked liked I hadn’t washed my hair in days. Lesson learned: don’t do this hours before you have to somewhere to be, clean. That night, after embarrassingly explaining myself to a friend, she told me that she loves coconut oil for the same purposes but washes her hair twice after each treatment. Coulda’, woulda’, shoulda’.

There are also a few guys that I know that are digging coconut oil right now too!

Boss and Gunner! After washing the pups, I warm the coconut oil for a few seconds to liquify it and then rub them down from head to toe with it. Their coats shine, they smell delicious and they even try to lick it off my hands in the process. A win win for all.

What about you? Do you ever use coconut oil outside of the kitchen? Any other natural beauty remedies you love? Please share!

Happy Earth Day and Good Health!

The post Natural Beauty: Coconut Oil appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Hi there! Happy Meatless Monday! You haven’t forgotten about Meatless Monday, have you? Just because I’ve been MIA doesn’t mean you’re Meatless Monday motivation has been too, right? I sure hope not! But even if it has, it’s never too late to jump back on (or on for the first time) board starting at your next meal, or maybe just for one out of three of your meals on Mondays. Any effort is beneficial!

No bones about it here though, without mentioning names or pointing fingers , my lunch date had tuna in his lunch today. So you can see, even in this household MM doesn’t always happen, especially when we are on the road as much as we are right now (but maybe my evil tactics will rub off on him for next Monday or the next or the next muah hahahahaaaa.) Totally kidding…well, kind of.

Eating as healthy as possible on the road… Fresh Market Tunacado Roll for the Mr. and a Veggie Roll for me. Washed down with a kombucha, of course. I only say “of course” because these days, the day isn’t a day until the hub has a kombucha, I kid you not. So maybe my evil tactics are rubbing off on him a little bit? Just maybe.

On to today’s somewhat related topic and an explanation of the post’s title.

What do horses, cows, elephants and hippos all have in common? If you’re only thinking their massive size, you’re on the right track but there’s more. In addition to there large body size, each of these animals has extremely strong bones to hold up this enormous amount of weight. And guess what? These animals eat a plant-based, herbivore diet, meaning no animal milk for them. All of the calcium they consume in order to build and maintain those strong bones comes from the plants they eat. So why are we taught that we can only get enough dietary calcium to keep our bones strong through “three servings of dairy/products made from dairy daily?” Blah, blah, blah.

Simple answer: because of the mighty dolla bill.

I’m going to leave it at that, but I want you to know that there are other ways to get your calcium in for the day. And I’m sorry but no udder included!

Whether you don’t like the way dairy products taste or choose, for other various reasons, not to consume it, you can be sure that you are meeting your daily calcium requirements by including the following foods in your diet daily:

1. Leafy and non-leafy green vegetables: collard greens, turnip greens, kale, bok choy, mustard greens, broccoli, okra
2. Dried beans: black, navy, great northern, soy
3. Calcium-fortified plant based milks: almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, etc. (just check the label for calcium fortification)
4. Nuts & seeds: almonds, almond butter, sesame seeds, tahini (ground sesame paste, used in most hummus recipes), chia
3. Dried figs
4. Tofu (made with calcium sulfate, again check the label; non-GMO preferably)
5. Blackstrap molasses (add to oatmeal, baked beans, etc.)

And in case you’re wondering just how much you need daily, here is the government set RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for calcium:

See, it’s quite easy to get enough calcium without the help of our 400 lb+ cow friends. Don’t let your health be decided by the high dollar marketing tactics – plants can do it too!

I hope you have a wonderful evening! Good health!

Ashley

(This post has been brought to you by the magic and timeliness of my iPad. My first ever iPad blogpost. If you notice any abnormalities (like the large spaces before and after the pictures and the absence of my signature), I blame it on that. Not sure I will attempt this again.)

The post Calcium…Without the Udder appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.

Mmmmm… this coffee is so good. There is nothing better than waking up to a coffee aroma flowing through the house; that smell gets me out of the bed every time.

Good morning! How are ya? Tuesday, again? In less than one month I will start my internship at the Mayo Clinic! My, oh my…so much to learn!

Yesterday was a very productive day. We may have found a place to live, we were able to make one step forward in completing our personal training (well more like, athletic training) certifications (more on that and what we want to do with them another day), and I was able to fit in an evening yoga class too. Pretty good day to me.

Anyway, after talking to you about coconuts a few days ago, today, I decided that it would just be mean of me not to share another one of my new favorite things.

Let me first say, I am sooo not a supplement girl. Sometimes I wish I was: it would be so easy. But there is just something about the “Pop this pill and you will get all of your nutrients in one swallow!” that just doesn’t seem right to me.  As stated in my last post and my mom’s famous words, “if something seems too good to be true, it usually is.”

I actually think it’s the development of the multi-vitamin that got Americans into trouble in the first place. Eat whatever you want, but take this “One-A-Day” and you are golden.

No. Way.

A multi-vitamin is, as one of my nutrition professors described it, like an insurance card. Have it, hold it, but use it only if you have. Eat a well balanced diet first, and then let a multi step in a fill any gaps.

Sometimes the husband and I go back and forth on the great supplement debate. It’s not that Dustin thinks that supplements are an end-all be-all but as a former professional athlete, he was taught supplementation most likely from his very first tee-ball coach all the way up through the professional organization.

Dustin and I had a few nutrition classes together when he was returning after finishing his baseball career.  I remember the day that one of our professors “downgraded” protein shakes and Dustin was more than willing to battle his case.  For his sake, it was understandable.  As a minor league baseball player, traveling from city to city, hotel to hotel, for a guy that eats healthy, the Waffle House ‘Steak and Cheese’ just wasn’t going to cut it.  He felt that a whey protein shake, banana, and trail mix would be the better option. I agree. So for some, supplementation is best, for others, it’s extremely unnecessary.

Even though I do mix up protein shakes occasionally after a hard workout, I currently don’t use in many other forms of supplementation. I used to be the vitamin box girl: multi, fish oil, calcium + magnesium, and whatever I felt necessary at the time.  Throughout time, I decided that my diet was extremely healthy and that all this supplementation was a waste of money: good insurance, yes, but necessary? I didn’t feel so.  Using actual true, whole foods, to me, will always be best.  Without taking a multi, it makes me feel responsible for getting in all of my daily nutrients, however that may be. Even B12: I can get through nutritional yeast, so I choose that over anything else for the time being. 

(Please remember that everyone is different. A multi-vitamin may be unnecessary for some but absolutely vital for others. Always refer to your physician for personal situations and questions.)

If were talking “natural supplementation” and using foods to heal, like I said, let me introduce you to one of my new favorites.

Say hello to Spirulina.

You’re thinking I’ve gone mad, right? So does the hubs.

That was until I put it in his protein shake and it was love at first sip, well once he learned of all of the goodness that spirulina contains.

As I mentioned a thousand times on this blog, for some ridiculous reason my face waited until my twenties to breakout. So instead of having acne with all the other kids in my tenth grade math class, I now get to deal with it as a mid-twenties wife. Lovely, huh? Not so much.  The same reader that mentioned to me that coconut oil helped cure her skin, also mentioned to me that she thinks it was the two, coconut oil and Spirulina together that did the trick. That’s when my own research began.

As a nutrition junkie, I’ve always heard the word Spirulina used on shows like Doctor Oz or maybe reading in a magazine, but as a nutrition student, we never learned of anything of it.  We are taught only what has been talked about for years and years. Even though Spirulina HAS BEEN around for years and years, since it isn’t apart of the mainstream SAD (standard American diet), it isn’t taught.  To me, that isn’t right. We should be taught about things like nutritional yeast, chia seeds, hemp seeds, maca powder, Spirulina, etc. but we aren’t and that’s unfortunate. It takes doing our own research to understand these foods and the benefits of them.

With that being said, I want to share with you a little more about what I have learned about this superfood.

Spirulina is a blue-green algae found deep within our oceans, fresh waters, and natural springs. It contains protein, B-vitamins, iron, and omega 3s. I thought this was interesting: the reason some fish contain omega 3s is because they eat this algae.  While research is far from complete, Spirulina is being looked at for its effects on the immune system, inflammation, and infections (any many other things!).

Pretty good stuff, right?!

If you want to know even more, check out this article about Spirulina over at Natural News.

Also, it is highly important that you purchase a reputable brand of Spirulina because some sources are highly contaminated (Again, you can order yours here (contaminate free), using my VitaCost referral link, if you wish.).

Anyways, have a blessed Tuesday!

Good health!

The post Green Goodness: Spirulina appeared first on The Gypsy Dietitian.