Roots of Healthy Living

To kick off the summer, I thought we would talk about fruit.

Being from the northwest, berries are BIG in my family. U-pick farms dot the country side with strawberries, bluberries, and raspberries. Blackberries literally cover the hills and roadsides. Berries are one of the highest antioxidant foods out there, especially blueberries.

Stone fruits, like apricots and cherries are not far behind and equally delicious. Late summer and early fall will bring the arrival of melons, peaches, pears, grapes, and apples.

Thanks to modern transportation it is possible to have fresh fruit year round. Bananas, mangos, pineapples, kiwis, and papayas, (and more) grace the local produce section of the markets.

Freezing fruit is easy and preserves much of the nutritional content. During the winter a huge portion of our grocery bill goes to frozen fruit because no matter how much I freeze during the summer, we run out before October. We go through a LOT!

Smoothies, popcicles, and frozen fruit sorbets are where most of it goes. My kids come home from school every day and out come the blender, Magic Bullet, popcicle molds, juicer, and even just bowls and spoons (The popcorn popper usually comes out too, but that's a different article).






This is my daughter Hannah, with Katie making a smoothie and freezing the leftovers into popcicle molds.

Right now we are on a strawberry kick so these are fresh squeezed pineapple juice, bananas and frozen strawberries. If you like it a little sweeter, just add a little agave syrup or honey to the blender.

We have a Champion Juicer which will "juice" frozen fruits that come out like sorbet. My kids call it "that special fruit ice cream" you make. I'll include a picture the next time I make it.


Also, you have not lived until you drink a glass of fresh juice. Be warned though, it will ruin you to the store bought juices. It's a little thicker and tastes like nectar. The best part is the real energy burst you get because you are taking in the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes of several oranges in one glass.

Eating bowls of frozen cherries or blueberries, or fresh fruit salads, with sliced almonds and coconut are desserts within themselves.

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A couple of notes about fruit:

Many people say that they can't eat a lot of fruit because it causes serious intestional consequences. Fruit actually works as a wonderful cleanse for the body. If it is causing problems for you, it might signify a toxic condition. If you rarely eat fruit, when you do eat it the body cleanses as much toxicity out of the body as quickly as it can. Eating more fruits and vegetables and less cooked food will naturally help bring the body into a better balance.

Another thing that is misunderstood is fruit and diabetes. My mom is diabetic and was concerned about a three day juice cleanse that I put her on last summer. Make sure the juice you are drinking is real juice (blood from the fruit) and not reconstituted juice. She did great and her numbers were actually better on the cleanse.

If you're going to be successful at changing your lifestyle, you have to have chocolate to fall back on...right? But, it needs to be delicious and good for you, right? This one keeps my hand out of the cookie jar! I discovered a variation of this recipe at a recent class I was taking. It has been a "staple" ever since! The combinations are as endless as your personal creativity. Here are the basic guidelines:

Place wet ingredients in a bowl, add your dry ingredients and other extras and stir in until a dough like consistency. Roll into balls and roll in extras or dip in chocolate. These will keep in the fridge for quite awhile (although I've never had to test this).

Nut Butters:
Tahini (Raw or Roasted)
Peanut Butter
Cashew Butter, Almond Butter...you get the idea

Sweeteners:
Molasses (great source of vitamins and minerals)
Raw Honey
Real Maple Syrup

Dry Ingredients
Ground Flaxseed
Ground Sesame Seeds
Raw Cacao or Raw Carob Powder
(Whatever else you come up with...)

Extras:
Add: raisins, dried fruit, chopped nuts, cinnamon, etc.
Roll in coconut, chopped nuts, dip in chocolate, etc.