My Everyday Essentials Smoothie

Hey guys! Long time, no see. Sorry, I've been slacking a bit but I just went through a week of writing midterms and assignments and all I want to do is SLEEEP for a month straight. But anywho, enough of my pity party, I am here to share my Everyday Essentials Smoothie recipe with you! I love this smoothie because it is so easy to make and it tastes great while giving you a vast variety of nutrients for the day! There are many variations of this recipe and there are some ingredients that you might replace with others and I won't be offended. (I swear). So here goes.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk (you may use whatever kind of milk you like, I prefer almond but I also recommend coconut or any kind of nut milk)

1 cup kale

1 banana (nice and ripe, the more spots, the better and sweeter it is!)

1 handful strawberries

1 handful blueberries 

1 heaping tbsp of ground flax seed (available at any health food store or your grocery store's organic aisle)

1 tbsp Vitamineral Green powder (I freaking love this stuff!! order online right here: http://www.rawnutrition.ca/en/supplements/green-foods/healthforce_vitamineral_green_500gr_hfvg500 - it seems pricey but it will last you a good 6 to 8 months or longer!)

1 tbsp Salba (you can substitute with chia seeds)

1 packet stevia (to taste)

Additional Ingredients (if you'd like...)

1 scoop protein powder (I use Vega, but I also recommend hemp or rice protein or Sun Warrior protein powder)

1 tbsp glutamine (most common amino acid found in your muscles, over 61% of skeletal muscle is glutamine! - also known to boost immune system)

1 tsp maca powder (for maca benefits, visit http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/)

Directions

Deposit all ingredients as listed into your blender and blend until mixture comes to a smooth consistency. Pour into a glass and enjoy, peeps!

Tips

*If you wash and prep your produce before the week begins, it is much easier for you during the week! I wash and cut my kale and pre-wash my berries so all I have to do in the morning is throw everything into the blender and go! It's that easy. ;)

As always, thanks for coming out!

Inform2Inspire

My Simple Green Juice Recipe

Alright guys, I'm letting you in on a huge secret today. This is the key to everything. It's the holy grail! It's the answer to all your prayers, it's everything you've ever needed! It's------okay, I'm exaggerating a bit. It's my staple green juice that I drink on a weekly basis and I'd like to share the recipe with all of you. The best part about this juice is that it is so easy to prep and make! Like everyone else, I don't have all the time in the world to wash, cut and prep fifty different fruits and vegetables. This is why I created THIS recipe and stuck to it! So, here you have it folks, my simple green juice recipe! (People pay for this stuff you know?) 

(That was  a joke)

........Hi.

Ingredients:

1 head of celery

1 english cucumber

2 green apples (I use Gala, but you can use whichever you like)

2 oranges (I use Valencia, but again, whatever you like)

2 lemons

1 1-2 inch piece of ginger

Makes 1.5 L of juice (or more, depends on your juicer)

Wash and cut all fruits and vegetables. Run them through the juicer. Strain and stir your juice when you are done and voila! Your juice is ready bro. Best practice is to drink your juice as soon as possible. Remember, the fresher the better! However, if you'd like, you can store the juice for up to 2 - 3 days. Mason jars are the best to use or any glass container with a tight seal.

Notes:

If you want more of a kick to your juice, feel free to add some pineapple. Also, you can add spinach or any leafy green vegetable to the juice as well. I've just tried to simplify the recipe as much as I can. For an extra kick, stir in a tablespoon of turmeric for some more anti-inflammatory power! 

Health Benefits:

Celery - anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, digestive tract + cardiovascular support, cancer prevention

Cucumber - antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer benefits

Apple - regulates blood sugar, antioxidant, cardiovascular benefits, anti-cancer, anti-asthma

Orange - contains healing phytonutrients, antioxidant, immune support, cardiovascular benefits, promotes optimal health, cholesterol lowering benefits, good source of fiber, prevents kidney stones, prevents ulcers and reduces risk for stomach cancer, protects respiratory health, protects against rheumatoid arthritis

Lemon - antioxidant, natural antibiotic, supports optimal health, protects against rheumatoid arthritis

Ginger - anti-inflammatory, gastrointestinal relief, nausea and vomiting relief during pregnancy, protects against colorectal cancer, induces cell death in ovarian cells, immune boosting

Happy juicing brothers!

As always, thanks for coming out :)

inform2inspire

  

Why I decided to go Vegan

I don't want this post to be some anti-animal cruelty/PETA-ish type of jargon. I'd just really like to tell you why I decided to stop eating meat or rather, any animal product and how I've felt since. 

First of all, I was a meat eater my entire life. I've probably ate more meat than any one of you! Especially when I was going through my "get ripped body building yeahhhhh buddy" stage. My typical day would consist of egg whites and a protein shake for breakfast, chicken and veggies for lunch and then some sort of animal with veggies for dinner. I was big on that protein game. Gotta get my protein in, make sure I'm getting enough protein, eat eat eat. I later realized that yes, I was putting on plenty of lean muscle mass but was I actually getting any nutritional benefits from my diet? Eating a cooked dead animal carcass along with cooked and nutritionally depleted vegetables....there was no nutritional value in my meal whatsoever. And before you go all "don't knock the protein bro" on me, you need to realize that yes, I was getting protein from my chicken or turkey breast but...did I know where that animal was coming from? What it had been subjected to throughout its life? What it had been fed and how it had reached its end? No, I had no idea.

You need to realize that when you're eating that animal, you're eating everything that went along with that animal. What kind of nutritional benefits am I receiving from a chicken that was fed GMO corn its whole life and then injected with antibiotics, steroids, growth hormones and god knows what else throughout its lifetime to become that big and juicy piece of meat we have all come to yearn for? Nothing, but a small percentage of that protein you want.....which you can also get from a protein shake, or bar, or a cup of quinoa or some beans or kale or spinach or this super amazing sea vegetable that you have probably never heard of called spirulina (http://www.naturalnews.com/036101_spirulina_superfood_nutrients.html) 

So, after having that epiphany one fine day in February 2012, I decided to go vegan for one week. That's it. I was going to do it for one week, see what it was all about and then go back to my chicken and turkey breasts and egg whites and whey protein shakes. I replaced milk with almond milk, meat with beans, quinoa, green leafy vegetables, my whey protein shakes become my nutritional bombshell shakes (almond milk, ground flax seed, hemp protein, glutamine, chlorophyll, vitamineral green powder and maza - shazam!) and so on. 

During that week, I also decided to do research as I was going about my vegan journey. And that is when I decided it was going to stick. And it did. Almost a year and half a later, I'm still here and I'm still vegan and I'm still thriving. I still have muscle but now I also consume a LOT more fruits and veggies than the average Joe or Harpreet. It wasn't just the nutrition aspect that did it for me, it was also the many different ways in which we use animals from pets to experiments to entertainment to clothing. It's just disgusting and is extremely unnecessary. And if you know me well, you know I am an animal lover and I have the best dog in the world and his name is Gucci and he is the cutest. 

Going vegan does not mean deprivation. You can still enjoy all of the meals you love, but in a healthier and cruelty free way! You have to remember, there is a vegan alternative to everything. There's even vegan bacon! I'll be posting some of my favourite vegan recipes soon. But before I end this post, I urge all of you to do a bit of research of your own. If anything, you deserve to know what is going into food you're eating and feeding your family. 

Here are some great resources for you to check out:

Earthlings, full length documentary - This documentary explores the five different ways we use animals and this is the documentary that made me go vegan for life! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce4DJh-L7Ys&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dce4DJh-L7Ys&has_verified=1

Vegucated - A great doc on veganism: http://www.getvegucated.com/

Food Matters - You've got to watch this one! http://www.foodmatters.tv/

Hungry for Change - This one is more based on nutrition and lifestyle change but is still a great watch and one of my favourite documentaries ever http://www.hungryforchange.tv/

Peta - I know everyone loves to hate PETA but they still have some great info on going vegan plus tons of recipes and they'll send you a free guide! http://features.peta.org/how-to-go-vegan/

Skinny Bitch (and Skinny Bastard) -  Hands down, one of my favourite books on veganism. Rory and Kim make going vegan easy and have you laugh your ass off while you read http://www.amazon.ca/Skinny-Bitch-Kim-Barnouin/dp/0762424931/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370482862&sr=8-1&keywords=skinny+bitch and http://www.amazon.ca/Skinny-Bastard-Kick---Ass-Getting/dp/0762435402/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370482878&sr=1-1&keywords=skinny+bastard

Quantum Wellness Cleanse - a great 3 week cleanse for anyone looking to detox or ease their way into veganism - http://www.amazon.ca/Quantum-Wellness-Cleanse-Essential-Healing/dp/1602860912/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370482925&sr=1-1&keywords=quantum+wellness+cleanse

Famous Vegan Quotes:

Mahatma Gandhi: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." "To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being."

Thomas Edison: "Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages."

Albert Einstein "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."

Thanks for coming out guys!

Inform2Inspire