A Vacation, Going on Holiday, A Get-Away, R&R, Going on a Retreat, The Great Escape…

  A Vacation, Going on Holiday, A Get-Away, R&R, Going on a Retreat, The Great Escape…

These are the terms used when we want to have some Rest & Relaxation. So it seems that we usually do these things during the summer months, its much warmer and nicer weather to be outside. Do you go to a beautiful sandy beach, a quiet tranquil wood cabin, a city night on the town, visit exotic locals that you don’t see on a daily basis?

Would it not be nicer for us to treat ourselves to some of this wonderful reprieve day after day? A romancing of the ordinary if you will…The daily grind can become overwhelming for many if you don’t have a little to look forward to, you could become depressed, sad, lonely, angry or bitter by not having some fun in your life in a more regular way.

And did you get what

You wanted from this life, even so?

I did.

And what did you want?

To call myself beloved, to feel myself

beloved on the earth.

-Raymond Carver

“Late Fragment”

We even think of others so much more than ourselves sometimes that when we do have more time for ourselves, we wonder what to do. What can fill this space…

I’ve always been intrigued with Journaling. Although not able to do much of this lately, I know it helps to unlock, release, to get to know the real you. Finding hope in your life, you see what your dreams are once again and you can plan little times for you, just you. Feeling refreshed afterward like a Vacation would, but in a simpler way.

I’ve always wanted to be an artist. I never went to school for it, but it is a gift that I have. I have supplies galore and try to fit it into my days although not very successfully. This is something that I need quiet time for and inspiration as well. With a bustling house full of kids, activities and things to do I never get to it.

I had an idea to put these two things together…and wouldn’t you know it, more ideas on the internet…

Keeping a Painting Creativity Journal

What should you put in a creativity journal and why should you make one?

By Marion Boddy-Evans, About.com Guide

http://painting.about.com/cs/inspiration/a/paintingjournal.htm

I will be sorting through my things and putting together my own art journal. I want to keep this in my life and continue to grow in my art. Something for me.

 In the mean time I have to cook and prepare food daily for the family so I have found a reprieve in that. I find I enjoy this very much, especially when not rushing for time. I find delight in new recipes and new ways to get the best nutrition into my family.

 Raw food is something I am captivated with. Although challenging to incorporate into the daily dishes I serve, I keep trying.

Perhaps a small retreat you can give yourself is a quiet  picnic alone…when was the last time you did that? It is a sure way to restore a sense of innocent wonder ~ in a shady lane or a park, by the lake, on a riverbank or a hillside. Some place where it’s green and leafy. Although both occur in open air, a picnic is not to be confused with eating outdoors. We eat outdoors on the patio, deck, or in the backyard, and during the warm summer months, we should try to do it as often as we can. We picnic away from our home, and even in the summer we don’t seem to do it often enough. Do they seem like productions? A bit of planning doesn’t mean a three ring circus. Picnics posses romance and ritual-the day, the place, the menu, the accoutrements, the clothes, the blanket, the companion, the keep-in-minds, and don’t forgets. But there is a splendid reward for she who delights in the ceremony of the picnic. What comes to my mind is the old pictures of famous artist of pictures of families picnicking on the edge of the water.

Where shall you go? Somewhere a little AWAY FROM THE ROUTINE THAT;S Picturesque, quaint, or charming. Is there a place you’ve often thought “that would be a great spot for a picnic.” If no place immediately pops into your mind, pretend you’re a scout for the movies or a painter. You want a spot with a view that doesn’t include power line, satellite dishes etc.. Somewhat a secluded spot with level ground and  a fair balance of shade and sun. Near a tree is idyllic. Imagine having a picnic on every vacation you take and knowing the nooks and crannies in locals from Kansas to Kenya?

What to lie on the ground? Take an old soft blanket (and a plastic liner if the ground may be damp) and lay it out on the ground, pillows are optional for some but two is preferred. Spread a table cloth and a vase for wildflowers to pick later.

“I wish my life could look like it was out of a magazine or a movie, just once.” Well it can, occasionally, and a picnic is one of those times.

The menu. Simple is best. Try salad, a light sandwich, cheese, bread,pickles, snacks, pie or cake and maybe a nice bottle of wine or special beverage of choice. Something that can withstand the warm weather.  Do you have a hamper for your possessions? Easily found at a thrift store with assorted fine china, cutlery, real glasses, linens, can all be placed in a type of picnic basket. It is a delightful indulgence and hobby for the summer. It can be there and ready, and deciding to go on a picnic seems so much simpler and light hearted. You can have a companion of course, a person, child, pet, book, or journal or art supplies! It’s nice to have someone or something to share your thoughts with. But it’s also refreshing to be able to hear your own. (So, no cell phones on.)

Keep in mind and don’t forget some essentials though. Paper towels, damp sponge, plastic bag, napkins and even bug spray and a first aid kit. A little trick is to Take an extra plate and pile it with something sweet and walk it about thirty feet away from your spot, and let the bees and wasps have their own picnic.

Bring a light jacket or weather, umbrella, bottle opener and pocket knife. Always take extra water.

Let me know how your experience with this is. A nice retreat from the daily lives we live. Nothing too fancy or far or expensive But may be worth its weight in gold to our health and well being.

Curried Egg Salad Tea Sandwich

Directions

Mix 3 chopped hard-boiled eggs, 3 tablespoons each chopped celery, red onion and cilantro, 2 teaspoons each Dijon mustard and lime juice, and 1/4 cup mayonnaise.

Cut white bread into pieces and spread with mango chutney.

Sandwich with the egg salad.

Not Potato Salad
Salad:

• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1 Jicama, chopped into small cubes or 5 zucchini or squash, peeled and diced
• 1 Turnip or other root veggie cubed
• 1⁄2 lemon pickled cucumbers, chopped

Mac Mayo:

• 2 cups macadamias or cashews, soaked in filtered water
• 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
• 1 chunk of onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 date or 1 tablespoon agave nectar or more to taste
• 2 teaspoons prepared mustard or powered mustard
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme or 1 to 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper

Put the macadamias into a strong blender or Vita-Mix Blender, add:

• lemon juice
• date or Agave Nectar,
• chunk of onion
• garlic clove

Blend with just enough water to blend, create a thick mayo base.
Next, take a tablespoon of mac mayo in a bowl adding:

• 1 teaspoon mustard,
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon Agave
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

and stir. Making a prepared mustard for mac mayo.

Now back in the blender add:

• the prepared mustard you made
• cumin
• fresh thyme
• dried dill
• sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper

Blend a second time into a smooth thick mixture adding a little water if necessary to blend easier (but not too much). You may have to stop the blender a few times and tamp the mixture down.
Transfer the macadamia mayo to a bowl then add the Jicama (or zucchini) and veggies, stir together.

Lemon-Pickled Cucumbers: Instead of pickles

In a glass jar add:

• 1 large cucumber or 3 pickling cucumbers, sliced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tablespoon of dried dill
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• water to fill the jar Soak overnight or more.

Enjoy!

Raw Divine Dish~ Laura

Birds

Writing…….

Journaling………

Thinking………….

Quietness…………..

Being with yourself……….

Relaxing………………….

Listening to nature around you…..birds….

do you hear them??? I do.

 Each morning they start singing and wake me, and then through out the day, if I’m home, I hear them and listen.  Whether you live in the city or county birdsong is meant to be a healing balm. Have our ears gone deaf to their charms? What cheeping and cooing are outside your window? Look for their nests tucked into branches while out for a walk.  Put up a feeder so they can serenade you.

Lets delight for the first time in the natural wonders we are too blind to see or too deaf to hear, pretending to be grown ups. Birdsong is delightful, let’s throw out our impressions of what a bird watcher is and delight in them in our way.

Do we do these things enough? I do not think we do because there is so much stress in our lives and it is affecting us in a negative way. I recently became aware again of my blood pressure. So, I took the necessary steps naturally to care for myself. I am also committed to exercising aerobically at least 2 X a week which is more that none.

 I feel so good for having done just that little bit for myself. I could easily be upset that I didn’t do more, but I need to give myself credit for what I AM doing and so do you.

Maybe by starting to take moments for ourselves in the above ways, We can become more aware of our successes, small as they may be.

I also have been on a raw diet for awhile now (over a year) and I haven’t been diligent with it. Change is so hard. But I am coming to the conclusion that I am on a journey and it only gets better, I keep going one foot in front of the other. I am blessed to have been aware of the changes I can make and continue to move towards them and not regret any mistakes on the way. Don’t we learn from the mistakes we make? I always believed that, I teach that to my children.

Things I am thankful for today are, I am on a good path in my life, I eat healthier than I ever have, I have a few good friends and wonderful family. I enjoy my life now more that I could ever have imagined, I love my husband & my kids and try to give them the best of me. I hear the sounds around me everyday; I smell the flowers and walk barefoot in the garden and in the mossy grass under my maple tree. I’m enjoying my work and friendships there and I am continuing to work on my art. I’m considering health coaching as a future endeavor and traveling more… my life long dream.

What are your dreams? Do you have any? If you don’t I think you should get one. And work toward it.

 We only have one life to live…..Enjoy it…Like the birds do…..Sing and be cheerful.

Zesty Spring Asparagus

fresh young asparagus
essential blend oil or other living oilCeltic sea salt
mild cayenne powder
Bragg's Liquid Amino

Drop asparagus into hot tap water or lightly steam for under 3 minutes, so they are brilliant green.  Arrange onto platter and drizzle over the oil and Bragg's, sprinkle on salt and cayenne.

Another Brick in the Wall......

What do you think of when I say bricks? Do you think you have brinks in your life? Well, I’m exploring mine with a wonderful book by Marianne Williamson.

It is” A Course in Weight loss”

The first chapter is on our bricks like fear, pride, shame, selfishness, anger, ETC…I like her visual of our "Fat" being made up of "Bricks in the wall". And learning what each of those bricks are, facing those bricks, facing the truth, they can dissolve in the light of our truth. With your journaling you address each of these bricks that are in our lives and get it all out in your writings. And we love ourselves through this process.

Here is a snippet of the idea on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcRkatSz9o4

I recommend the book and if you’d like to view it immediately you can download free a PC Kindle here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000426311&tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=8403591349&ref=pd_sl_68gf1oywpl_b

The Second chapter talks of writing a letter to your "thin self"and back to your "Not thin" self . She stands before you not craving food but craving love. You can let her know how you feel but still letting her know you love her.
I love where it says that you cannot hate yourself thin & ONLY LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR!   So As I begin this new journey into myself, I will share what I’m learning and hope that you will join me in reading this and let me know your thoughts on it too.

A prayer from her book:

Dear God,

Please forgive me

if I have failed to love

every part of Your creation.

Open my eyes that I might see,

soften my heart that I might love,

open my mind that I might understand

every aspect of myself.

Heal my relationship

with all of me,

that I might suffer no more

such violence toward myself.

Please help me, for by myself I cannot win this

war.

Please lift me above the battlefield

to the peace that lies beyond.

What a beautiful way to seek guidance in the battle against food, overindulging and weight gain. It is a battle for me especially in the evening, when I want to snack...

I enjoyed this wonderful delight recently:

Yellow Squash pasta with Olive Tapenade

1 yellow squash, peeled with a vegetable peeler, or spiralized

(Save seeded part for later salad)

2 carrots, peeled with a vegetable peeler

Sun dried tomatoes, to taste

Tapenade:

½ yellow pepper, chopped

½ C. pine nuts

Black olives, to taste

Lemon juice, to taste

Salt, to taste

Dried herbs, to taste (I used basil)

1. make pasta with slices of squash & carrots arrange nicely on a plate
2. pulse in a processor, the other ingredients& toss with pasta and add tomatoes or pulse them in as well,  if you prefer.

Delish…..

Moving on to the Transitional Stage

Change is difficult, so if you don't have a plan it will be very puzzling to your mind and routine to just stop what you’re doing.

So, the next part is for you to make a list of trigger and vigor foods. Just write out all the foods you have a strong preference for, which set off cravings and compulsive eating patterns. These are the foods you’ll need to omit to arrive at real recovery-and every persons list will be different.

·       Include things you eat in large amounts

·       Things you start eating and just can’t seem to stop,

·       Things you eat to the exclusion of other things,

·       Those things you eat in secret after hording and hiding them form others or

·       turn to in celebration, sorrow or boredom.

They can tend to be the sugary refined foods, starchy or fatty, high in calories and low in nutritional; value.

Make it a simple list or in detail, don’t procrastinate on this one. Stop right now and start writing…

This is an excellent resource for you to have throughout this journey.

Next let’s find our vigor foods, those that promote vitality to you body, which you love. These will be the raw, health promoting foods that you already enjoy like succulent plums, strawberries, & peaches, fresh spinach and pumpkin seeds or almonds and raisins, romaine leaves….Be sure to add as many leafy greens to this list as you can because these are the major healing foods for us: balancing, energizing, alkalizing & re-mineralizing.

Also, add in any non-raw food that you enjoy for your transition, such as steamed quinoa, brown rice, cooked hummus and so on, just be sure they are whole grain and organic if possible.

This list will exercise your taste buds and retrain them into enjoying natural tastes. Your palate may be so used to eating toxic processed foods it may be hard to even sense the taste of raw foods at first, as your taste buds are so used to being blasted with all kinds of intense chemicals and flavors.

This will be your stepping stone to a new lifestyle of confidence in yourself as you grow and explore more and more raw foods that you love.

Just remember in the back of your mind that those trigger foods in your list will be eliminated from your diet completely,  if not now, at the onset of this journey, then to be at least eating 50% fresh raw organic food starting here and now and work towards a 100% at some point later.

It’s very important that this feel comfortable to YOU and meets you where you are now. Focusing on what you are restricting and can’t eat and what you’re giving up is not managing to help you feel empowered.

However, if you keep adding in more of the vibrant, fresh raw foods you DO like, you’ll usually find that your body asks for more of the same and the triggers naturally start to lose appeal….

It can be useful to post these lists right on your refrigerator, side by side, this way they are available to you to refer to in making health food choices, so your more likely to stay in the game!

Vanilla Delight Recipe

This is something a bit heavier to keep from being hungry for several hours. You can also add green powder or other supplements to this drink.

I often blend in several handfuls of sprouts or even some kale to increase my consumption of greens and also to lighten the sweetness. A great way to get greens into kids!

1 cup water
2 tablespoons raw tahini or more depending on how many calories you want
1-2 frozen bananas.
Dash of vanilla (optional)
Optional sweetener if desired: a date or two

Blend until thick and smooth.

Serve immediately.

Healing the Emotional Connection with Food

Emotional eating…we’ve all heard about it but do we do it? Are we ready to admit it? I am. I’ve been looking into this subject recently and I really want to get back to a place where I feel good about my relationship with food. I want to create a rhythm where I feel as great as I can, as often as I can. If you do too, then follow along…..

I think we need to, one, realize where we are at, and secondly move to a transition stage to healthier eating habits, then thirdly, to a happy maintenance state. I will start this message with the first.

It is our mental/ emotional relationship with food, not the food itself that can make it seem tough to eat optimally.

Our consistent eating patterns, peer pressure, unconscious needs, cultural patterns and so on persuade a huge part of our consummation of foods. We need to distinguish between these patterns and true hunger with a healthy intuition about what, when, where and how much to eat, then we will be on a great pathway to healing.

Are you ready to let go of the patterns that no longer serve you? Let’s begin at the beginning, our past. Take a few minutes to truly examine your history with food and patterns you see. This is such a simple & rewarding task, yet very few ever do it. To guide you, you may ask your self:

·        When did I start overeating/or eat unhealthily?

·        What were the things going on around me at that time?

·        How did I feel during and afterward?

·        What was it that I overate?

·        What/Where do I overeat now?

·        Which foods do I crave?

If you don’t identify with overeating, adjust the questions here, to suit your particular situation.

·        Are their any foods you suddenly started eating a lot of, at any time?

·        What was happening then?

·        Do you find yourself suddenly eating that food again in similar circumstances-for example, if I’m upset?

·        Do I use food in a way that is unhealthy to me?

·        What were those circumstances?

·        How did I feel when I ate that way?

·        What was I eating?

·        What are the main things I eat now?

·        Which foods do I crave?

Use your journal here and just sit with yourself for a few moments and get in touch with your self. It can be very rewarding. I can also be challenging to really see what you’ve been doing and see it, maybe for the very first time.

After this step, it is time for a reward. Put on the pot of water for a warm cup of herbal tea and relax on your favorite comfy spot and listen to some wonderful music, you deserve it! You’ve worked hard to go deep within.

You may try this recipe if your so inclined:

Zucchini and Carrot Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 2 carrots, julienned
• 1 zucchini, julienned
• 2-3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dulse flakes
• Dash Nama Shoyu

DIRECTIONS

This simple dish is at its best when the vegetables are sliced into very long, thin strips. You can make the strips with a gadget that can be found at country fairs. It looks like a poor man's mandolin. It has scary-looking razor-sharp blades which you drag the vegetable across. A similar machine with V-shaped blades is occasionally advertised on TV and can be found in some kitchen gadget stores. Pulling the carrot and zucchini across the cutter the long way rather than on their ends creates 4-6 inch strips. Even if you are slicing by hand, try to achieve this effect.

If you are using a mandolin, don't watch television or have a conversation at the same time. These pieces of equipment are sharp and dangerous and require one hundred percent of your attention!

Combine carrots, zucchini, oil, garlic, dulse and Nama Shoyu in a bowl. Toss.

Serves 2-3.

Orange Tahini Dressing

NOTES

A delightful light dressing that only takes a few minutes to make. Its simplicity invites variation. Try adding 1 teaspoon chopped ginger and 1-2 teaspoons tamari. Or, add 2 teaspoons poppy seeds and 1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• pinch sea salt
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon dulse flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon curry powder

DIRECTIONS

In bowl, add orange juice gradually to tahini, stirring after each addition. Add salt. Dressing tastes fine as is, or add spices to taste.

Yields approximately 1/2 cup

Diets Don't Work..Use a Vision Board

Have you ever went on a diet? Did it work ? Really? I think that they do not produce any satisfactory or permanent results.Most diets ignore the true problem, the emotional attachment or addiction of food. I had never thought of this before now. I realized that for everything  we celebrate there is food, or in every problem, disappointment, or hurt we use food to soothe. Even crying babies, children etc...are rewarded with food.

The things we eat are largely refined sugars and simple carbs and we could be said to be self medicating with them. 

"The food we eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison."

Interesting quote, isn't it?  

A very good book on this subject is one by Angela Stokes Monarch called Raw Emotions. I am finding it very enlightening. 

My journey to Raw foods has been a roller coaster ride really. I feel great when I can eat healthy but when I slide and eat SAD foods, boy can I feel it. I do know the difference. I challenge you to try eating at least 50% raw fruits & vegetables in your meals and see and feel the difference. It is so amazing.

I am also writing a journal of foods I eat and the emotions I feel. 

And I'm beginning a vision board!

What is a Vision Board?

A vision board (also called a Treasure Map or a Visual Explorer or Creativity Collage) is typically a poster board on which you paste or collage images that you’ve torn out from various magazines. It’s simple.
The idea behind this is that when you surround yourself with images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live, or where you want to vacation, your life changes to match those images and those desires.

There are several methods you can use for creating your vision board. I’ve written about each one below. You can choose which one works best for you, depending on where you find yourself on this path of creating your life.

Supplies you’ll need for creating a Vision Board:

- Poster board.
- A big stack of different magazines. (You can get them at libraries, hair salons, dentist offices, the YMCA.) Make sure you find lots of different types like Oprah, Real Simple, Natural Home, Yoga Journal, Dwell, Ode, Parenting, Money,  and an assortment of nature magazines.
- Glue. Not Elmers. (It makes the pages ripple.) Try Yes! Glue or Rubber cement.

Before you begin your vision board:

No matter which method you’re choosing, have a little ritual before you begin your vision board. Sit quietly and set the intent. With lots of kindness and openness, ask yourself what it is you want. Maybe images will come into your head. Just take a moment to be with that. This process makes it a deeper experience. It gives a chance for your ego to step aside just a little, so that you can more clearly create your vision.
Put on soft music.

The Five Steps of Creating a Vision Board:

Step 1: Go through your magazines and tear the images from them. No gluing yet! Just let yourself have lots of fun looking through magazines and pulling out pictures or words or headlines that strike your fancy. Have fun with it. Make a big pile of images and phrases and words.
Step 2: Go through the images and begin to lay your favorites on the board. Eliminate any images that no longer feel right. This step is where your intuition comes in. As you lay the pictures on the board, you’ll get a sense how the board should be laid out. For instance, you might assign a theme to each corner of the board. Health, Job, Spirituality, Relationships, for instance. Or it may just be that the images want to go all over the place. Or you might want to fold the board into a book that tells a story.
Step 3: Glue everything onto the board. Add writing if you want. You can paint on it, or write words with markers.
Step 4: (optional, but powerful) Leave space in the very center of the vision board for a fantastic photo of yourself where you look radiant and happy. Paste yourself in the center of your board.
Step 5: Hang your vision board in a place where you will see it often.

Three Types of Vision Boards:

1 - The “I Know Exactly What I Want” Vision Board
Do this vision board if:
- You’re very clear about your desires.
- You want to change your environment or surroundings.
- There is a specific thing you want to manifest in your life. (i.e. a new home, or starting a business.)
How to create this vision board:
With your clear desire in mind, set out looking for the exact pictures which portray your vision. If you want a house by the water, then get out the Home magazines and start there. If you want to start your own business, find images that capture that idea for you. If you want to learn guitar, then find that picture.
2 – The “Opening and Allowing” Vision Board
Do this vision board if:
- You’re not sure what exactly you want
- You’ve been in a period of depression or grief
- You have a vision of what you want, but are uncertain about it in some way.
- You know you want change but don’t know how it’s possible.
How to create this vision board:
Go through each magazine. Tear out images that delight you. Don’t ask why. Just keep going through the magazines. If it’s a picture of a teddy bear that makes you smile, then pull it out. If it’s a cottage in a misty countryside, then rip it out. Just have fun and be open to whatever calls to you. Then, as you go through Step 2 above, hold that same openness, but ask yourself what this picture might mean. What is it telling you about you? Does it mean you need to take more naps? Does it mean you want to get a dog, or stop hanging out with a particular person who drains you? Most likely you’ll know the answer. If you don’t, but you still love the image, then put it on your vision board anyway. It will have an answer for you soon enough.The Opening and Allowing Vision Board can be a powerful guide for you. I like it better than the first model because sometimes our egos think they know what we want, and lots of times those desires aren’t in alignment with who we really are. This goes deeper than just getting what you want. It can speak to you and teach you a little bit about yourself and your passion.
3 – The “Theme” Vision Board
Do this vision board if:
- It’s your birthday or New Years Eve or some significant event that starts a new cycle.
- If you are working with one particular area of your life. For instance, Work & Career.
How to create this vision board:
The only difference between this vision board and the others is that this one has clear parameters and intent. Before you begin the vision board, take a moment to hold the intent and the theme in mind. When you choose pictures, they will be in alignment with the theme. You can do the Theme Vision Board on smaller pages, like a page in your journal.

Some things to remember about vision boards:

- You can use a combination of all three types of vision boards as you create. Sometimes you might start out doing one kind, and then your intuition takes over and shifts into a whole different mode. That’s called creativity. Just roll with it.
- Your vision board might change as you are making it.  You might find that you have little epiphanies from making a vision board.

Make a Vision Journal

Another option is to use these same principles in a big sketch book. Get a large sketch book and keep an on-going vision journal. This is especially effective if you’re going through many transitions in your life.

I welcome anyone who has created a vision board to write your own experience in the comments…

Raspberry-Avocado Smoothie

 

 

A  creamy avocado makes a surprise appearance in a sweet beverage. The fruit is great for your skin because it contains essential oils and B-complex vitamins, especially niacin. This vitamin is an anti-inflammatory that soothes red, blotchy and irritated skin.

Ingredients:

·                                 1 avocado, peeled and pitted

·                                 3/4 cup orange juice

·                                 3/4 cup raspberry juice

·                                 1/2 cup frozen raspberries, (not thawed)

Preparation:

1.        Puree avocado, orange juice, raspberry juice and raspberries in a blender until smooth.