Keep Juicing, Keep Loving

 Daikon Radish, Mint, Cucumber, Lime, Parsley, Celery. Apple, Cilantro,Spinach, Wheatgrass

 Apple, Yellow Beet, Orange, Ginger, Carrot

This post is to give an example of juices you'll make when you have the primary ingredients stocked in your fridge. Other produce that you happen to have on hand keeps things exciting and adds depth & nutrition to your drinks.

Here is a list of items I always keep on hand
apples
cucumbers
celery
carrots
ginger
citrus
greens
beets

More Green Smoothies make you feel so good

Mango, Blueberry, Goji, Kale, Peach, Spinach, Orange, Coconut water

Spinach, Honeydew, Blueberry, Goji, Kiwi, Kale, Coconut water

Let's Drink!

I've been off & on a juice fast for the last 2 weeks. I love juice fasting, it aint easy, but when it works it feels sooo gooood. So.. "off & on" a fast obviously means I'm struggling. I'm blaming my busy life and workouts. Hey.. I'm training for a triathlon! The date is set for Dec 1st in Key West, Fl. So this is no traditional juice fast. Ive been supplementing with Vega my protein powder of choice, and one of the loves of my life. I love you Vega. But the juice plus the powder wasn't cutting it. So, I have added in green smoothies and for today... I'm happy.

Amazingly Delicious Green Smoothie
9oz coconut water
1/2 a lime, juiced
pinch sea salt
1 mango
and a handful of each of the following:
Kale
Spinach
fresh blueberries
frozen goji berries

Green Juice du Jour
1 apple
1 lime
3/4 c honeydew
sprig mint
3stalks celery
1 cucumber
2 handfuls spinach
stems from 1 bunch kale

Hiking the Ozark Trail VEGAN STYLE

It's my 26th Birthday and Amanda, Layla & I are hitting the trail! Specifically, we are heading to Tom Sauk on the Ozark Trail in southern Mo. We hiked 18 miles and camped out 1 night. Tom Sauk is the highest point in our great state and it's a gorgeous place to hike any time of year. Usually you can look forward to lots of water at Mina Sauk falls, less than a mile from our campsite, but this year we found only a small stream and a few large puddles. Thankfully it was enough to refill our canteens!

Our Vegan/mostly Raw hiking foods included celery, cucumbers, bananas, trail mix, sesame nut honey bars, chunks of energy (kind of like trail mix pulverized & smashed into little cubes. love em.) carrot cake cookies, Vega protein powder (I never travel without it.. or live without it for that matter) and Raw Revolution spirulina dream bars.
Yum. We ate well. It was actually the Perfect amount of food. When your body is working that hard hiking.. you actually don't get that hungry. Its hard for the body to focus on digestion, carrying a heavy pack and hiking up & down hills all day.

Cooking locally-made Tempeh for breakfast before the hike. We planned a big breakfast for the long trail ahead of us. These gorgeous locally-made tempeh steaks marinated overnight in
2parts olive oil
1 part shoyu/tamari
1 part balsamic vinegar
blend of favorite dry herbs

We made some simple "reuben style" breakfast sandwiches on Udi's whole grain Gluten Free bread with saurkraut and hummus. yessssss

Back to MO, Blogging Hiatus & a Business Venture!

 
HOWDY! As many of you already know, I have completed my vegan culinary courses and internships with the Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts. I am no longer living in Austin,TX.. though it was nearly perfect in every way.. and I have returned home to Columbia, Missouri.

I love Columbia. This is my community. I love the size, the progressive atmosphere, the diversity, being surrounded by colleges &  universities, great music, local farms & food, film festivals, museums, nature & hiking trails.. right smack dab in the middle of the country and an 1.5 hour drive from my family. Gotta love it.

When I started this blog I was leaving Missouri and heading to TX. My food preparation style, diversity of ingredients and overall outlook on food & health has come a long long way since the start of this blogging journey.

Now, I've gone gluten free and eat mainly vegan foods, and my diet includes loads of nutritionally dense "super foods." I've discovered that I'm lactose intolerant and eating more than one egg makes me nauseous. Every once in a while an egg may sneak in but I've discovered more than one way to substitute them from cooking & baking. Same with gluten.. for a very special occasion I may indulge, but for the most part I live without it, and feel great.

The Natural Epicurean, and specifically the group of 11 incredible women I went to school with, had a major impact on my life. I anticipated that it would.. I just wasn't sure how. I think we all took away different lessons and skills, we all advanced our techniques and deepened our knowledge and understanding of our relationship with food. And we formed a community which I will I am eternally grateful for and will cherish always.

So here I am. In Columbia. Some days it feels like I never left. And that's okay. Because I'm home. I may not stay forever, but this is a very good place for me now.

Finally, Im excited to announce that I'm starting a small business. Its called Sorella Natural Foods. Sorella means "sister" in Italian. I've created 20 in-home plant based culinary classes, offer personal chef work, cater small events and will be launching a line of ready-to-eat snacks & meals at local grocery stores. I'll try to post a flyer on here.. but I'm not sure how that works yet haha. If you'd like more information send me an email at sorellanaturalfoods@gmail.com

All Good Things,
Shelly