Moms and Daughters – Getting Green Together!

May is here and we’ll be honouring Moms this month in addition to our spring cleaning and detox programs.  So we were *thrilled* when two of our green smoothie participants, a super mom and daughter team, wrote to us about their recent efforts to support one another with getting green and eating well!  In fact, they even started their own blog, Royal Green, so that they could keep one another motivated and inspired!  In honour of Mother’s day and the beauty of family, we’re delighted to introduce them and to share some of their posts for you to enjoy!

- by Mimi Freeman and Rachel Calkins

Thank you for visiting Royal Green, A Family Affair. We are a fun loving, mind-body-spirit conscious mother-daughter duo from Santa Cruz, California. We have mostly led a healthy lifestyle filled with exercise and fresh foods. However, in the last few years, we have been prone to stray from our healthy habits. We acknowledge that we have much to learn about the ways of healthy living and are excited to do so!

Just before WISH, Rachel my lovely 24-year-old, now residing in Portland, Oregon, contacted me (I recently moved to France) to join her in a journey neither expected to be so fulfilling and life-changing. It has been a great way for us to connect on a whole new level, despite the ocean between us.

Charged up and ready to live life to the fullest, we enrolled in the Three Day Green Smoothie challenge.  Finding success, we decided to take it up a notch, and go for the 7 day
detox. Rachel created this blog for us to keep in touch and to support each other. We also aspire to inform our friends and family about our experiences, the benefits of a detox and hopefully inspire them to give it a try themselves! We hope you enjoy our posts, find inspiration in them, and maybe a connection to something you can apply to your own life. Live green and prosper!

- Mimi and Rachel
Royal Green, A Family Affair

Post Detox Self Love – by Rachel

Thursday, April 15, 2010

I am still beaming after our wonderful detoxification adventure!

As I mentioned earlier, I have been scoping out amazing restaurants in the neighborhood I work in, and Monday was the start of a beautiful adventure into the world of healthy delicious dining. There are some great spots around here, and I have been having a blast trying different things and figuring out what my stomach likes and dislikes.

Like you said Mom, reintroducing food has been an enlightening experience. After a dinstinct cleaner feeling, it is very noticeable when you consume something your body doesn’t like. One interesting example: I discovered I am probably allergic to strawberries. Everytime I used them in a smoothie or ate them alone, I would feel itchy all over. Who would have known?

You can also just feel it when something does not sit right in your stomach. You feel too full, bloaty, your mood might even change! It is truly astonishing to see the way in which the simple act of eating can affect so many parts of our lives!

And that includes not eating enough as well. I often overlook the fact that I am tired. There are times when eating only increases the sensation. But, when you are fueling up with such high octane, eating actually gives you abundant energy. What a difference!

Knowing what feels good and doesn’t really helps when picking something out on a menu, or reaching for a snack at home.

I can’t say my eating has been perfect, I caved in to one of the best croissants I have come across to date this morning. There is a little shop down the street with full flavorful coffee and naughty pastries. Croissnts are a weak point, and sometimes my body does give me slack for eating one, but usually a little treat like that is okay with me.

Also Mom, wanted to give you props on the delicious ice cream recipe, I can’t wait to try it! I went the lazy route, and got some raw coconut ice cream. My oh my, was that delicious. And Mole loved it as well!

I hope you have a lovely green day!

Tough to Stay Green this Weekend – by Mimi

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Well Rachel, I don’t know about you, but it has been more challenging staying on the green/raw path then I thought it would. I did pretty well all week, but when you are invited to dinner at a French person’s home, what are you to do? When in Rome…….

I thought of you Rachel, because James and Beatrice (Francois’s sister and partner) made us an incredible Moroccan meal. I decided to just indulge without any guilt and I did! Today however, I am ready to be back on track with raw foods throughout the day and a light dinner. Although it is fun to indulge, I still really enjoy the way my body, my energy level, and my mood is when eating raw. This is how I stay motivated to stay on path.

Well, I am off to the farmer’s market!

Back on Track – by Mimi

Monday, April 19, 2010

This was a bit of a decadent weekend, but I am back on track with green smoothies during the day, fruit for breakfast, and light meal in the evening. I am now trying to cut down on the fruit in my smoothies and go with mostly greens and maybe just an apple to sweeten it up a bit.

Today I added some basil leaves to my spinach, cucumber, and apple smoothie. It gave it a nice twist. I will save bananas for an ice cream treat in the afternoons

Rachel, how is juicing going? Any new recipes?

New Job Craziness – by Rachel

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Hello, hello!

Well, it has been an interesting challenge trying to remain as green as possible this past week or so. I have been training for a new position , and I go out to lunch with fellow trainees during the day. As you can imagine, it’s not all that easy.

The first day, we were instructed to bring our own lunches. Unsure of the situation, I brought a peanut butter and rice cake sandwich, and smashed a banana on top when it was time to eat.

Then a salad at a Mexican joint, not too bad. But today was a different story. We went to a Pho restaurant, that had beef in the name of the restaurant. I was trying to be friendly and nice with the other trainees, so I decided to go along, and was unhappy to see the slim choices in the vegetarian department.

Nothing looked appetizing to me, and I was about ready to get up and leave, tried to excuse myself, when the girl next to me said, well they have a vegetarian soup. I sucked it up, and ordered the soup, that only came in a beef broth.

Lame. Aside from that, everything was tasty, spicy and fresh.

While I can handle the occasional beef broth, it was interesting to observe that my co-worker thought the dish was vegetarian!

Thank goodness for home cooking (or food preparation).

Mom, hope you are well and that the produce is treating you nicely over there. Has France been affected by the ashes?

Paris Weakness – by Mimi

Saturday, April 24, 2010

I know what you mean Rachel. This week I went to Paris twice and was not able to stay on a good program. At home, I can eat fresh and raw throughout the day and have a cooked light meal for dinner, but when I am away, the choices and temptations are just too hard.

As you know, I am going on vacation early next week for 2 1/2 weeks. I don’t know if I will post while I am gone.  I am planning on making green smoothies (found out there is a blender), but all the fruits and veggies are flown in, quite expensive, and not organic, so I have already decided that I will have to start from scratch when I get home. The 7 day detox was great for letting go of cravings and getting on a good track of eating well. I will need this to jump start me again when I return from this trip Good luck with those luncheons Rachel!

Keeping it Green – by Rachel

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Well, things have been a little more lax on this side of the ocean. My schedule has eased, and I have been able to prepare more food at home and get back to the simple eating I oh-so love.

If there is one thing a counter full of dirty dishes can teach you, it is to eat raw and get creative with your cooking and preparation methods. I know that it is pure laziness, and probably very unsanitary, but the dishes will get done, and I feel fine.

Whole Foods sells pre-shredded assorted greens. Just wanted to throw that out there to anyone who is busy, but wants to add a variety of the good stuff to their diet. I threw some in with onions, garlic, mushrooms, a yellow heirloom tomato (yum!!!) and a little olive oil into a wok and let the magic happen. Just lightly toss and steam, and voila!

I also experimented with some vegan cheese, I probably shouldn’t have gone with “nacho” because it tasted just like the nachos you get at sporting events and concerts, the icky fake cheese, almost barf-like smell (apologies to those who enjoy the nachos), but I like a real nacho. So, I wouldn’t recommend synthetic flavors, or maybe even vegan cheese for that matter… Perhaps some things just aren’t meant to be recreated.

I wanted to pass along a lovely e-mail I got from my friend Sharyn this evening.

Hi guys! A lady at Herbin Acupuncture and Wellness passed this awesome recipe to me.  I made it on Sunday, and shared it with some friends at the park.  Very tasty.

Quinoa Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• shredded carrots – as much as you’d like to mix in
• chopped green onion – to taste
• dash of salt

Directions: Boil 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups of water.  When boiling, add sunflower seeds, shredded carrots, chopped green onion, and a little salt.  Cover pot and reduce heat.  Allow quinoa to simmer for about 20minutes, or until all water is evaporated.

Kale Salad and Dressing Ingredients

• 1  bunch of kale – or as much as you’d like to eat in a meal
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Tamari
• 1 Tbsp mustard (any kind you like – I prefer spicy) 
  

Directions: While your quinoa is simmering, clean some kale and remove it from the stem (the stem can be really tough to chew) MASSAGE THE KALE!  Ring it out like a towel, or like kneading dough. This allows the kale to become soft, and allows your body to soak up the nutrients with more ease.

For the dressing, mix the olive oil, Tamari, and mustard.  Pour this dressing over the kale.

Serve quinoa over the kale salad and enjoy!

(I added some shredded beets on top because I like beets.)

Love Sharyn

I lived with Sharyn on and off throughout college, and I can attest that the girl does love her beets!  In fact, Sharyn has greatly inspired me through my path of healthy eating and living, and I owe her much for these things and more.

Sharyn Greenberg is a massage therapist in San Diego, CA. Visit her Web site, www.holisticevolution.com to learn more!

Lots of green love, I can’t wait to try out the recipe.

Mom, do they have quinoa where you live?

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Be sure to say hi to Mimi and Rachel and visit their site!  Royal Green, A Family Affair