Snow, Smoothie, Samples

Hey Everyone!!! It's another snow day here in New Jersey. Yuck, I want Spring already!!! Although, I didn't mind sleeping in and having a 3 day weekend! ;) But I haven't gone grocery shopping yet this week (we go to Whole Foods together on Fridays), so we are out of food! I hope we can get their later today or tomorrow! Otherwise it's going to be some kind of grain and whatever else is in the pantry.

Anyway, earlier this week I made a Double Green, Double Red smoothie: Kale, Cilantro, Bananas, Raspberries, Cranberries, Maca, Flax, Hemp, Spirulina and Vanilla Sunwarrior. I just received a new jug of Sunwarrior, this time I ordered the vanilla. I like them both a lot, but I think for smoothies vanilla goes better and with nut milks, chocolate all the way! I am trying to cut back on my chocolate/cacao intake because of the caffeine and trying to get pregnant. Although, it is becoming very hard, especially with all the samples I've been getting!Speaking of samples, Garden of Life sent me two new products to try out: Raw Vitamin D3 and Dog probiotics for good dental health for Ginger. With Crohn's, I tend to have low vitamin D levels, so I am exciting to get checked again after taking this for awhile. As for the pet breath powder, Ginger doesn't even know it's sprinkled on her food. There is no flavor, smell or color to it. Let's hope it works, she's got some bad morning breath! HA HA! I am going to be giving away some more stuff from Garden of Life in the future so keep a look out! :)
I also got some goodies from Transition Nutrition in the mail recently. Just for the record, I have never been paid by any company to review their products, I only receive samples and I always give my honest opinion. I would never push something on your guys for my own benefit!! Phew, okay, onto the goodies! The Wild MacMulberry (Raw Mulberries and Macadamia nuts) was pretty good, I preferred the Bliss Mix and would probably buy that over the other one. The Bliss Mix had cacao, pistachios, goji berries, mulberries and cashews... YUM! What a great little mix, perfect for an afternoon pick me up or for a hiking snack. The MacMulberry Brittle was a sheet of raw chocolate covering raw macadamia nut and mulberries. Definitely heaven sent! The chocolate tasted so milky but it was all vegan and raw! Totally yum, my favorite out of all three!
Have a nice weekend everyone! I hope to dig out of here soon! :)

Garden of Life Raw Cleanse Winner

Congratulations to Discovering Raw: Erica, who is the winner of the Garden Of Life Raw Cleanse. I just finished my cleanse kit on Sunday and I found the whole experience to be great. I did have to get use to the fiber mix at night, but I just chugged it down knowing it was catching all the toxins I was releasing. Anyway, Erica, please email your address to LNastasi519@hotmail.com congrats again!!! For everyone else, I am going to be having another Garden of Life giveaway soon, so keep your eye on my blog!

Onto food, most of this was from the weekend. This smoothie was: Kale, Spirulina, Maca, Flax, Hemp, Raspberries, Cherries, Pom Seeds, Banana, Coconut Milk, and Vanilla SunWarrior!Over the weekend T and I went to our favorite salad place for lunch, we got it "to go" and had it in the car at the park (it was too cold to sit outside). In my salad I had raw mushrooms, raw broccoli, chickpeas, and shredded raw zucchini and carrots. YUM!
I also received my copy of Yoga Journal from a contest I won from Earthmother! Whooo, this came fast, thanks E.M.!
The other night for dinner I made a recipe I got from Body + Soul magazine awhile back: Mulligatawny with Chickpeas. This was basically lentils with chickpeas and Indian spices. I garnished it with some scallion.
Have a great day everyone! More snow coming to us in the North East! Boo!!! I thought Spring was coming? ;)

NYC Love: Pure Food & Wine

Hey All! So on Saturday we headed to the city with my brother in law and my future sister in law to meet my mother in law, little brother in law and his friend for dinner at Pure Food & Wine for a belated birthday dinner (T, mine and my brother in laws). T and I and my brother in law and his fiancee went early to walk around and check out our new favorite place: Westerly Health Food Market. I got a bunch of goodies (which are later on in the post), and a Green Lemonade to hold me over. I believe this has lemon, kale, cucumber, celery, apple and ginger in it. Who needs coffee when there is green juice?!
Pure Food & Wine was amazing (as always). My mother in law, future sis in law and I ordered the Classic Caesar Salad: crisp romaine, raw Parmesan, nori strips, drizzled with a creamy Caesar dressing. All raw. All vegan. ALL AMAZING!!! It was not on the menu, but since it's a favorite of ours, we asked, and they said they could make it. You can also see in the background we ordered the Dr. Cow Cheese Platter, well actually two of them, for the table of course! So perfect. T had ordered the Iceberg Wedge with Blue Cheese dressing, which I will definitely order if it's on the menu the next time we go. I am not a huge iceberg fan, but with the blue cheese dressing, holy crap.
I opted to order my favorite dish from the takeaway menu: Raw Tortillas. As you all know, I have a major love for Mexican food, especially in the raw!! These were unbelievably fresh and tasty.
For dessert, we couldn't pass up the Classic Sundae. Sarma (the owner of Pure Food & Wine) had tweeted that this was back on the menu and people where going crazy for it. So I had mentioned it to the rest of our party and the waitress (before we even ordered dinner, LOL), and she agreed, definitely a must!!! My usual favorite is the Mint Sundae (which tastes like it has thin mint Girl Scout cookies crumbled in it). Mint and chocolate are my favorite combo, but... the Classic Sundae is in a close tie with it!!! Candied almonds, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, raw whipped cream, chocolate sauce, banana slices, HEAVEN! My younger brother in law (who is 14) and his friend were in raw ecstasy! While thoroughly enjoying this I mentioned how delicious, ripe and sweet the banana was, to which T laughed and said "Only Lauren would mention the healthiest part of a sundae being delicious!" Ha ha! Believe me, the whole thing was 5 stars, the bananas were just the icing on the..err.. bananas on the sundae?! :)
As I mentioned, before dinner we went to Westerly Market and I picked up some goodies. Two raw crackers from Audrey's Pleasure: Pizza Flavor and Cheese Flavor, a Chai Raweo from Alive and Radiant Foods, and two packages of Emmy's raw macaroons: Chai Spice and Lemon Ginger. I dipped the Chai Spice Flavor Macaroons in my "Mother to Be" tea last night, YUM!
Yesterday was a sunny, warmER day here. T and I decided to take little G for a walk at the park.
While we were walking, a bunch of little kids ran up asking if they could "pet the pug?" As they were petting her I noticed they had a boxer that there mother was holding back on a lease because it was ready to pounce Ginger. Next thing I know the dog gets loose and is heading towards Ginger. T pulls Ginger up in the air by her lease as if she was flying. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry, it was horrible and funny all at once. The kids kept calling her "Super Pug" and the lady apologized 10 times. Ginger just kept on walking like nothing happened: "another day in my life as Ginger!" Haha! What a save! Phew!
Have a great Monday everyone! I will be posting the winner of the Garden of Life Raw Cleanse giveaway on Wednesday!

The BIG news, but not the Biggest! YET!

Happy, Happy, Happy Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday, I went to my GI doctor to talk about the results of my colonoscopy and although the Crohn's is still active (which was the only part he told me while I was coming out of anesthesia), he said we can have a baby!!!!!!!!!!!! He said the Crohn's is healing up well, and over time it will get better, especially since during pregnancy the Crohn's stays the way it is before pregnancy, so during the 9 months it will have a lot of time to heal!!!!!!!!!!! I posted this on Twitter yesterday and a lot of women with Crohn's responded saying that this was good news for them, PLEASE follow your own doctor!! This is my case, everyone is different. If you are sick and you get pregnant, you will most likely be sick during your pregnancy. Since I am not in a flare right now, I should feel good and my body will heal.

So that's my super-duper exciting news!!!! For the past few months I've been doing a lot of baby prepping with my body. I started taking the following stuff: Essential Women EFA/DHA oil, Mother to Be Yogi Tea (to strengthen my uterus), Garden of Life Raw Vitamin Code Prenatals and Maca Powder. A few months ago the lovely Kristen from Kristen's Raw gave me a ton of info on preparing my body for pregnancy. THANK YOU KRISTEN!!!! I've been using all of her advice! Right now I am doing the Raw Cleanse, and adding cilantro to my smoothies for some extra cleansing. So no baby making yet! ;)So besides all that good stuff, here's what I've been eating this week: kale salad with cherry tomatoes, avocado and a scoop of hummus and a Falafel Sunshine Burger on a romaine leaf with Bubbies pickles, hummus and avocado.
This was a mug of raw hot chocolate from Gnosis chocolate, that we bought in the city. This stuff is so good!!!!
Broccoli and White Bean soup! I through this together last night with some broccoli I got from my co-op box last week and white beans we had in the pantry. This was excellent!
Finally, I was awarded the Sunshine Award TWICE last week!!! Thank you Bitt and Joanna! HUGS!
Have a nice day everyone!! I have a permanent grin, ear to ear today! I can't even imagine what it's going to be like when I get the news that I am actually pregnant! AHHHH!!!

P.S. Don't forget to enter my Garden of Life Raw Cleanse Giveaway!

Raw Cleanse Giveaway!

Hey Everyone! I've been doing this Raw Cleanse from Garden of Life this week. You take a packet of probiotics in the morning before breakfast and swish it in your mouth for 45 seconds. Makes my mouth feel really clean! Then you take 3 pills at breakfast and 3 at lunch and before bed a fiber mix that you mix in water or juice. The first day on the cleanse I felt a little sick (I don't think I drank enough water), but now I am feeling great!!
Now onto the good stuff: the people at Garden of Life were kind enough to offer one kit to a reader!!! Please note: this is not to be taken during pregnancy or if you think you are pregnant, also check with your doctor if you are on any prescription medication before doing this cleanse.

Here's how to enter (leave a comment for each thing you do, each comment is a chance to win):

1. Leave a comment here telling me why you need this cleanse!

2. Post a link back to this giveaway on your blog!

3. Tweet this giveaway!

That's all! I will announce the winner on February 24th! Good luck! Come back tomorrow morning for an exciting post!!

Valentines Day Yums and Loves!

Hey All! I hope you had a fabulous weekend and wonderful Valentines Day! I had to change my doctors appointment to tomorrow afternoon, my doc had an emergency to attend to today and I was his latest appointment since he is only there until 12pm today. So one more day!

Valentines Day was great! I started off with this smoothie: Romaine, Frozen Cherries, Frozen Banana, Frozen Raspberries, Maca, Flax, Hemp, Spirulina, 1/2 a Young Coconut Water and Meat, and chocolate SunWarrior! Mmm! We went to the city early and hit up a few spots for fun before dinner. Candle 79 had a prefixed menu. I started off with the arugula salad, this had artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, rose petals and avocado in it. Topped with a Meyer Lemon dressing.
My next course was the ravioli, this was beyond creamy and decadent..
For my entree I ordered the tempeh. This had seasonal vegetables, red pepper infused soft polenta, artichoke-basil salad. I always get the tempeh when I go to Candle. It is pretty much the only time I have it. They do an amazing job! Mmm!
We devoured our desserts before I had time to snap a picture! Sorry, we wanted to make the train, so we had it in a rush. No worries though, it was well enjoyed! We were very full too! Like I mentioned, before we went to dinner we went to a few places. One of the places was the Westerly Market. My friend Raw Nerd had told me about all the raw goodies they have there. We bought raw hot chocolate from Gnosis, an Almond Fig Spice bar from Gnosis, 2 Fine and Raw bars: Bon Bon and Vanilla Lucuma, and a Kookie Karma raw cookie. Although our intentions were to have some when we got home, we could only stomach a few small pieces of raw chocolate. The Fine and Raw Vanilla Lucuma is my favorite!! The Gnosis Almond and Fig is a close second! I can't wait to have some of this hot chocolate later on in the week!!! I will let you all know how it is!
Have a nice day everyone! Come back Wednesday for my next giveaway!!!

Staying in and Digging out

Hey everyone! We finally dug out of here today and actually went out for a little. I had my Upper G.I. test this morning at 8:30, that was a fun ride! Good thing T has a truck, my Passat isn't the greatest in the snow, but then again the only other car I have driven in the snow is a Jetta, so not sure how Volkswagen compares to other cars. Anyway, the test was big time yucky, barium is so gross, yuck, yuck, yuck! I will know how it turned out later on today. But I did see the technician write "no reflux" so that's good news!

My snow day started off with a smoothie (ha, SO not what normal people have on snow days!). This was frozen mixed berries and cherries, a banana, cilantro (which is said to be a natural chelator, I am trying to eliminate any heavy metals in my system), coconut milk, maca, hemp, flax, goji berries, green powder and chia seeds. While T was outside shoveling, the mailman rang the bell to give me a package! My lovely talented friend Julia from Sassy Gourmet and Sassy Kitchen sent me a belated birthday present. For me, presents are welcome at anytime! He he! ;) She baked me some Mini Mint Cocoa Brownie Bites and Mini Banana Hemp Seed Muffins. Why do things taste better when they are mini? Seriously? These were amazing!!! I am a big mint chocolate fan. Chocolate chip mint is my favorite ice cream! Julia's baked goods rock my world! She sent me some a little while back that I reviewed here. Everyone should support her by buying her stuff through her Etsy site, this lady is one talented baker! Gluten Free, Soy Free and Vegan too! You'd never know there isn't gluten in these gems!
This was in the earlier part of the day.. my backyard!
Ginger going for her snowy walk..
My street..
In the woods, walking..
My car!!!



Some snowy videos for your enjoyment..




And the treats (from Julia) I enjoyed afterward: Banana Hemp Muffins and Mint Cocoa Brownies..mmmm!
For dinner T wanted something hot since he was shoveling most of the day. So I made Spelt Pasta with Peas and Parma! I find Spelt doesn't bother my stomach like wheat does. Since T hates the gluten free pastas we both agree Spelt. Since we rarely have pasta, it's a once in awhile treat!
Finally, today my father in law stopped by and brought me some goodies!! He picked up 3 raw chocolate bars at the health food store for me! He is the best! I haven't tried any yet, but I will let you all know how they are.
Have a lovely Valentine's Day everyone! T and I are going to (where else?) Candle 79! Another thing we both agree on, T isn't a fan of gourmet raw food so we meet in the middle on Candle 79. I will post pics on Monday. Also, I will be having another giveaway starting Monday or Wednesday, I haven't decided yet! :) Love!

Snow Day, YAY!

Hey Everyone! We are having a snow day here!! Lots of snow is already on the ground and it's not suppose to stop until late tonight!! Needless to say, I rescheduled my appointment. Thanks for all the well wishes, I think I will be going tomorrow!

One night earlier this week, I had a big kale salad with olives, guacamole and hummus added to it. Along side I had a Sunshine Burger with hummus, guacamole and Bubbies pickles, I used a romaine leaf for the bread.
Yesterday I made a simple green juice: Romaine, Pear, Lemon. Light and perfect!
For dinner last night I made my favorite Lentil Chickpea Stew. This time I had some Daiya on hand to top it with. Someone had asked me if cooked foods make my Crohn's act up. The answer is no. I don't eat 100% raw, there are some days that I do, but most days I do not. I aim for raw until dinner and sometimes dinner is all cooked. For cooked foods I consume soups, cooked vegetables, grains, legumes, veggie burgers, gluten free pastas and breads & sprouted breads. I don't feel like my body is meant to eat 100% raw, I ALWAYS eat 100% vegan. I do what is best for me, you do what is best for you! :)
Here is a snowy picture of the trees in our backyard. I am sure I will take some more later if we take Ginger on a snowy walk!

Stay warm!

Superbowl Snackin'

Hey Everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! Thank you all so much for the kind words on my sorta bad news. I am seeing my doctor on the 15th and I am hoping he doesn't make me wait too long before we can have a baby!

Anyway, T had a little Superbowl Party yesterday so I am a little tired!

Last week I made this delicious Broccoli and Potato soup. I cooked everything in veggie broth then blended it down in my food processor. A little Italian Daiya Cheese on top! Mmm!The people at Prana Bar were kind enough to send me samples of there new bars. They send Mango Maca and Goldenberry Goji. These bars are pretty tasty. I preferred the Mango Maca over the Goldenberry Goji one. Goldenberries are a little too sour for me!
For dinner one night I had a big kale salad with a Sunshine Burger crumbled in it and topped it with Bubbies raw pickles and guacamole! YUM! I think I am going to have this for dinner again tonight!
Since T had his little Superbowl Party, I made myself a nice healthy plate of veggies before it started. This way I wasn't tempted by the chips and pretzels that were brought out (by the way, we bought only organic and "healthier" versions of these snack foods). I had a nice dollop of Garlic Hummus in the middle of my raw veggies.
Have a nice Monday everyone! I have another Crohn's type of test on Wednesday. Yuck, pray for good results! Hugs!

The Glass Dharma Winner is..

Hey Everyone!

I didn't mention this the other day because I was hoping for good results, and I wanted tell you when I found out.. yesterday I had a colonoscopy. Turns out my Crohn's is still active, and I don't know if a baby is in the near future. I have to see him in his office after another test on Monday the 15th. He will probably talk to me further, but since the Crohn's is active, I highly doubt I will get the green light. I am pretty sad about it, but I am going to keep hope. :( It feels like I lost something I never had.

Anyway, I have a bunch of meals from last weekend, so I will play catch up now. This green juice was: Romaine, Lemon, Apple, Cucumber.
I've been enjoying kale salads a lot lately. Mostly for dinner. This was a dinner one night with two sweet potatoes on the side. Veggie Girl taught me this yummy idea of putting coconut oil on top! Mmm! I think she said Gena gave her the idea! ;)
Last weekend T and I went to a great health food store that is a trip away from us (like 45 minutes). Anyway, I wanted to get some raw goodies here's what I got: Go Raw Pizza Flax Snax (love these), Go Raw Apple Cinnamon Grawnola, Brad's Raw Chips in Cheddar, Parma, 2 Righteously Raw Chocolate Bars, a Raw Organic Food Bar, and a cute little tin with Meditative Tea leaves in it. I might make that tonight, I need all the calming I can get. I don't want my Crohn's to flare from this setback.
Another night I made a kale salad with a Trader Joes Masala Burger on the side. I wrapped it in a cabbage leaf and topped it with organic stone ground mustard, Bubbies raw pickles, and avocado.
I had some leftover Cheesy Nacho Hemp Sauce from Kristen's Raw recipe I made on my birthday so I cut up some carrots and broccoli and dipped them along with Brad's Raw chips. Mmmm... this stuff is even better the next day! I will definitely be enjoying this again soon!
Finally, the winner of the Glass Dharma gift code for $25.00 is.. Joanna Steven! Congrats Joanna! Please email me your email and I will send you the gift code! Thanks to everyone who entered! I have another giveaway coming up in a few weeks!

Good Morning Starshine..

The title of this post? Yea, I can't stop singing songs from HAIR, my Twitter friends know this already! ;)

Wow, I am so touched by all the birthday wishes! I just love you guys!

I started my birthday off with a wellness shot: Ginger Juice, Lemon Juice and a sprinkle Cayenne pepper! Mmm!For breakfast: Green smoothie: Cilantro, Banana, Frozen Papaya, Frozen Pineapple, Spirulina, Maca, Hemp, Flax, DHA/EFA oil, Goji Berries and Green Powder.
For dinner, T and I made tacos. Mine were high raw, his made from soyrizo. I used Ani Phyos Raw Taco recipe, raw guacamole, a little Daiya cheese and topped them off with Kristen's Raw Cheezy Hemp Sauce (I LOVE THIS STUFF!!), all stuffed in an organic blue corn shell. YUM!
Onto birthday gifts: T (and by T, I mean, I) ordered me some fun stuff from 100% Pure. I can't get enough of their awesome products. Some of the of them do have honey in them, which I do consume it once in awhile. The shampoo and conditioner smell AMAZING, almost like a coconut taffy.. I could eat this stuff! Anyway, along with that I got hair gloss, hand lotion, body lotion, body wash, body scrub, concealer, tinted moisturizer, eye liner and some lotion samples.
He also got me the new cast recording for HAIR (yes, I have an Ipod, but I always like to own the CD when I really like something), and this really cool card. We always get each other two cards, one romantic and one cool or funny. This was the cool one.
One last gift.. this awesome metal sun, moon and starts for the wall! I am in love with this! I can't stop looking at it, it just makes me so happy!
Here I am, 26 years young. Little-G (as my little neighbors call her) sniffing me out.
Doesn't she look thrilled! There she was taking her 10000th nap of the day and I come along playing photographer! She loves it!
I had a great birthday!! Everyone sent me so many messages via Twitter, Blogger, Facebook, My Crazy Sexy Life, Raw Food Rehab and Email! You are all too kind! Thank you for being the best most supportive friends! XO!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway, I will announce the winner on Friday!