Can you believe it’s Monday already? And we’re already in February!

How was your Super Bowl Sunday? I only watched the halftime show, and I thought Katy Perry and Missy Elliott did a great job. Oh, and Lenny Kravitz was great too, but I’m all about girl-power, so I really enjoyed watching two beautiful women creatively express themselves in such a strong, powerful way. What an amazing show!

And I don’t know about you, but Monday morning came too soon, eh? Although I’m not a sports fan, I was busy all day yesterday. While Greg enjoyed the game, I got some household chores done, did some self-care, and even knocked out a couple of chores in my home office. I probably overdid it with the vacuuming – my back is sore, and in big need of some massage therapy!

But still, it was a really good weekend. And now it’s Monday morning, and I’m excited to get back to work, as I’ve got some exciting projects lined up for this year.

Well, anyway, back to the purpose of this email. I wanted to disrupt your Monday with a healthy recipe. It’s similar to the ones in my 28 Day Jumpstart To a New You program.

I love to make this recipe, and this is one of my family’s all-time favorites. And guess what? It’s 100% HEALTHY, EASY and DELICIOUS!

BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 handful frozen or fresh organic wild blueberries
  1 banana
  1 tablespoon extra-virgin coconut oil
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1 tablespoon hemp seeds
  1 tablespoon chia seeds
  1 pinch of cinnamon
  ½ cup to 1 cup hemp milk, almond milk, oat milk, or coconut water as your base
• Optional: Stevia, or 1 tablespoon raw honey if you need to sweeten it. Add more water if it’s too thick.DIRECTIONS
  Put all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend until creamy (1-2 minutes).

AND…I didn’t forget about that salad.

My Secrets for a GREAT Salad

Here’s my secrets for making a GREAT salad:

1. The trick to making a great salad is to always use FRESH, organic ingredients when possible.
2. If I use organic pre-rinsed salad mix, I still rinse it again 2-3 times. I’m picky like that, but do what feels right.
3. I never use pre-washed spinach – the chlorine water gives it a gritty texture that sticks to my teeth when I chew it.
   If you prefer spinach, grab the unwashed spinach, and when you get home, put it in a bowl of water and add a splash of veggie wash. Let it sit for a few minutes, and then agitate it with your hands to loosen the dirt and sand. Do this as often as you need, until your spinach is clean. I have been known to rinse my spinach 5-6 times, if it’s really caked with mud. And I love it when my veggies still have the dirt from the ground on it, it means it came straight from the farm to my kitchen!
4. Rinse loose leaf greens in cold filtered water and use a salad spinner to discard excess water.
5. Place loose leaf greens in a large bowl, and drizzle it with about 1-2 Tbsp of good quality organic extra-virgin cold pressed olive oil.
6. Add a pinch of sea salt flakes. I prefer Maldon Sea Salt.
7. Using a large wooden spoon, stir the salad until all leaves are well coated with the olive oil.  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT – NEVER SKIP THIS STEP!!!
8. Now you’re ready to add all your other salad fixings. I like to put my salad toppings in little serving bowls, and let my family members build their own salad.

Salad Fixing Suggestions:

• Grab olives from Whole Food’s olive bar. Seriously, you can’t go wrong with anything there, but make sure to skip the olives that aren’t pitted. Your teeth will thank you.
• Diced cucumber (peel off the skin first).
• Diced green apple
• Cherry tomatoes
• Sliced heirloom tomatoes, topped with a finishing sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, thinly sliced basil, drizzled with olive oil
• Thinly sliced red, yellow and orange bell pepper (seeds and stem removed)
• Orange slices (peeled, remove all seeds, pith, and skin)
• Fresh chopped herbs like mint, basil, or cilantro
• Chopped watermelon (goes well with mint and balsamic vinegar)
• Thinly sliced red onion
• Steamed peas, chickpeas, or black beans
• Sliced avocado (my substitute for cheese, as I am lactose-intolerant)
• Pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• Hard boiled egg
• Splash of fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice

Enjoy!