Blueberry pomegranate salad dressing and a berry smoothie

 According to Dr. Fuhrman, berries are among the best foods you can eat, they are some of the highest antioxidant foods you can eat. They have been linked to reduced risk of diabetes, cancers and high blood pressure. They are also great brain-food, they've been proven to improve motor coordination and memory. I honestly do feel since I've increased my berry consumption that it has helped me in school. The skill that I am working to perfect in Court Reporting School involves a high level of motor coordination, you wouldn't believe the things we have to do with our fingers. It reminds me of the game Twister but for your fingers. 
Every day at lunch I have my kale salad and smoothie which makes me incredibly full. After I finish the both, I don't need to eat anything else which is SO helpful because then I don't ever go after the junk food anymore. 

I rarely like to have store-bought salad dressings because they are usually loaded with sodium, chemicals and fat. I've given the low-fat, "healthy" ones a try and they just taste exactly what they are, store bought. It's also cheaper to make your own and you can load it with nutrient dense ingredients. 
I decided to give a sweet salad dressing a try this time for a change. I came across this one on Dr. Fuhrman's website. You have to join a membership in order to access all of his recipes but it is 100% worth it, and it's not expensive. 
This one is called Blueberry Pomegranate Dressing. 

      Ingredients:

•    2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries thawed 
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 4 tablespoons blueberry vinegar or any other type of fruit flavored vinegar (I used raspberry wine vinegar)

 Blend all together in a high powered blender until smooth. 

I poured mine over kale, as usual. I'm sure it would go great with any other type of leafy green, such as romaine lettuce. 

   As for my smoothie, it may sound a bit odd of a combination, but I assure you that it tastes amazing.

                                                                  

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup frozen dark red cherries
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup pineapple
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk (or any other kind of milk)
• 1 date
• handful of almonds

 Blend in high powered blender until smooth.

I know it may sound odd that it randomly has pineapple in it, but I love the tartness and flavor that it adds. I also love having smoothies because it's a great way to get a ton of fruit in quickly. The blender also breaks down the nutrients of the fruits even more so that you absorb more of them.

Enjoy! I would love any feedback if anyone decides to give them a try! :)

Healthy, low fat pizza is possible!

So obviously I try to fill up most of my diet with dark leafy greens and keep the carbs/fats at a minimum. But I will always absolutely love pizza. Fortunately me and my mother were able to find a way to enjoy pizza without the guilt of all the fat and carbs that your average slice of pizza has. Oh, and it still tastes really good.

                                    I think this is proof of how good it is.

                   So what we use can all be purchased at your local health food store.

        Middle East Bakery wheat flour pitas. We get them at Mrs. Green's in the bread isle, I'm sure they can be found in any other health food store as well. 

        One pita is only 70 calories!! When using them for a pizza, they're best when toasted.

         I know that almond cheese may sound a bit odd but it doesn't even taste like almonds, it tastes like a mild mozzarella cheese. This also can be found at Mrs. Green's or any other health food store. It can be bought in an 8 oz package and shred on a cheese grater.

       Other than the great taste, this is one of my favorite parts about this cheese:

        Cheese with only 50 calories and 1 gram of fat per serving is pretty miraculous in my opinion...

        Not only that but it also is a good source of protein and contains some fiber.

  

There isn't very specific instructions to making this, just toasting the pita, putting your favorite tomato sauce on, sprinkle the grated almond cheese on top, melt it and you have your own individual, healthy, low calorie, low fat pizza! 

                                          It does taste as good as it looks.

Kale salad with orange peanut dressing & some food facts

 Many Americans aren't aware of how significant leafy greens are in our diets. They are rich in micronutrients that are proven to prevent cancer. Diets that are high in vegetables, fruits, beans and nuts and low in animal products have been demonstrated in 15,000 studies to dramatically lower cancer rates. Not only are they amazing for your long-term health but they are great for weight loss. Since you can eat large amounts of it without gaining weight and if you are over weight it will help you lose excess pounds. A cup of kale is only 34 calories! Most Americans are also misled to believe that dairy is your only source of calcium when one 4 oz serving of steamed collards or kale has about the same amount of calcium as one cup of milk. Green vegetables also have calcium absorption rates of over 50% compared with about 32% for milk. 

 One problem I often see is people ordering a Caesar Salad thinking that they are going for the healthier option when you are probably eating just as much fat and saturated fat as you would if you ordered a cheese burger. One tbsp of Caesar Salad dressing has 8 grams of fat and has just about no nutritional value. 


My mother discovered an amazing Orange Peanut dressing that is one of the best salad dressings I have ever had and it is healthy. Dr. Fuhrman states that having nuts with your leafy greens enhances the absorption of the cancer fighting nutrients in the leafy greens which is why the peanuts in this dressing are an important ingredient. The Vitamin C in the orange helps to absorb the iron from the leafy greens as well. I was NOT a fan of salads or vegetables at all when first starting out this way of eating and this was the salad dressing that got me to actually enjoy my veggies. 

     I love to have the orange peanut dressing on raw kale and dried cranberries, it is absolutely delicious and so filling! 

        Not to mention that kale is the most nutrient dense food that you can eat.


Ingredients for Orange peanut dressing:

• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter, unsalted
• 2 tablespoons raw cashew butter
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos or low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1/4 medium clove garlic, chopped

  Blend all dressing ingredients in high powered blender or food processor.

Healthy chocolate chip cookies!

I have always had a weakness for chocolate chip cookies, so it was so exciting to find a healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe that wasn't loaded with white flour, white sugar, eggs or butter. I kid you not, they were the best tasting chocolate chip cookies I have ever had.

The ingredients were really quite simple as well as making them.

Those are just about all the ingredients I used, only one missing is the low-fat vanilla soy milk.


Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup oat flour (140g) 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 4 tbsp coconut sugar (or Sucanat)
• 4 tbsp more coconut sugar is what I did instead of xylitol 
• 3 tbsp to 1/2 cup chocolate chips 
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
• 3-5 tbsp milk of choice, as needed. (I used low-fat vanilla soy milk)

Preheat oven to 380 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients and then add in the wet ingredients. Mix very well. Then put into tiny balls on a cookie sheet and bake for 7 minutes. I was able to make about 15 good sized cookies with this recipe, I probably would have been able to make more if I didn't eat so much of the batter. :D

You will not regret making these at all!