Berry, Lime & Spearmint Tea Smoothie

I’d love to be able to share in everyone’s fall enthusiasm. Boasting pumpkin everything, with the promise of scarves and boots and 90% less pit stains on tank tops. I’m with you guys. I would like it to rain. I would like the dusty California hills to be able to settle down with a nice cool drink of water — or vodka — whichever falls out of the sky first. But, right now it kind of feels like fall will never get here. It’s what I affectionately call “I’M-PROBABLY-GONNA-DIE-HOT” outside. Also, by affectionately, I mean dramatically — and most often peppered with choice swear words. So, here we are, clinging to the hope of fall, and forced into late summer survival mode. Also, our meals are going to be exclusively smoothies. K, thanks.

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Chocolate Sunshake + Slaying An Anxiety Dragon

A couple weekends back, I found myself crying in a farmers market.

This isn’t typical farmers market behavior. Usually it’s a sunhat wearing, hip checking a vegan to get the best bunches of kale, haggling over baskets of warm strawberries type of situation. But, I haven’t been having a typical week, or month, or year. I used to go to our local farmers market regularly on Sundays. We’d meet up with friends. We’d eat gluten-free crepes, and sweat profusely in the sunshine as we listened to some dude play a sitar. But, in recent months I haven’t been going. My body has been tired, and my mind even more so.  My health will ebb and flow along with my Lyme treatment. Unfortunately, it often gets worse before it gets better. I get trapped in days or weeks or months of feeling like I’m walking through a thick sludge. Exhaustion will creep in and feel debilitating. My normal vivacious self just sits at a hum under a heavy blanket of fatigue. It’s disorienting and frustrating and a breeding ground for anxiety. I stopped doing things that I love to do. Driving became difficult if not impossible. Flowing through a yoga class made me feel like I was suffocating. I’d stare at the door the whole class as if it was the only thing between me and freedom. Walking around the neighborhood I’d feel my heart pounding — my mind racing, telling me that I was too tired, that I wasn’t safe. So, those rows of vendors at our farmers market, selling produce and honey and fancy pickles didn’t feel the same as they did a couple summers ago. Everything was difficult now. Simple every day things become big things. Huge things. Mountains. […]

Detox Juice |My Go-To Green Juice for Detoxing

It’s post-New Year’s. My Christmas tree is gone (although I keep finding needles in weird places–how did that get in my bra?!), the ornaments are packed away, and the lights are down. But, I’m still experiencing a major holiday hangover. After holiday travel, the flu, a Lyme flare, and a couple of stress-inspired poor eating decisions (I’m looking at YOU entire gluten-free pizza with enough cheese to choke a horse), my body is BEGGING me to get back on track. So, I’m listening to my body’s plea and responding with my favorite detoxing green juice, salad, soup, and lots of episodes of Friends on Netflix. It does a body good.   […]

Kiwi + Matcha Green Smoothie

The weekend said “Let there be candy”, and there was candy. This was one of my better Halloween years as far as not gorging myself with peanut butter cups. However, I did go kind of mental on a bag of these Dark Chocolate Honey Mints (Only three benign ingredients–they are a revelation)!

I’m totally not bragging or saying that I’m better than you for not eating Snickers bars trough-style out of a pumpkin-shaped vat. In fact, I am currently doing an autoimmune protocol to heal my gut… so, I’m probably worse than you. Also, there was that time that I ate like two pieces of this awesomefunfetti cake for breakfast. I understand what it feels like to have a stomach full of sugar and regret.

This morning my body was like “Let there be smoothies”.  Okay, body. I get it. I’ll schlep my blender onto my counter top and make some green magic. Just you watch. I’ll put in a bunch of green things and liquefy them. It’s gonna feel real good. It might even give us an energy boost. I can always use one of those. I mean, Mondays are hard.  […]