The Smoothie Vegetarians

Avocados are a stone fruit with a creamy texture that grow in warm climates. Their potential health benefits include improving digestion, decreasing risk of depression, and protection against cancer. Also known as an alligator pear or butter fruit, the versatile avocado is the only fruit that provides a substantial amount of healthy monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). Avocados are a naturally nutrient-dense food and contain nearly 20 vitamins and minerals. Here are a range of health benefits of the Avocado 1. Avocados are nutrient rich According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, one serving (one-fifth of an avocado, approximately 40 grams) contains: Avocado stoned and destoned, Avocados are rich in vitamins and minerals, 64 calories almost 6 grams of fat, 3.4 grams of carbohydrate, less than a gram of sugar, almost 3 grams of fiber. Avocados are a great source of vitamins C, E, K, and B-6, as well as riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, and p...

Time for Trudy's Tuesday Blog Hope everyone had a great week! Today's topic is FRIENDS. There seems to be a lot of pressure for little girls, teens and even women to have a BFF or a "bestie" which implies that one friend holds more importance other another. I hate labels of any kind and these two are on the top of my list. When we start to compare one friendship to another it becomes a competition and that is where jealousy comes in. In the world of technology as soon as you go somewhere or do something your first thought is to post it on Facebook. This is great until one of your friends that wasn't included sees it. Let's be honest not all friendships are the same each one is a unique relationship between two people. I love things that are not complicated and this goes for my friendships as well.I am fortunate enough to have great women in my life and we each share an individual friendship but none of them are a duplicate of another. I have a frie...

If you're like me, after a hard day of trying to save the world, you like to settle down with a nice glass of wine. Or a cocktail or just some sort of alcoholic treat. Did you stop and think if your adult-only beverage is vegan? You might be surprised. Avoiding liquor with cream or honey is the first thing that comes to mind when trying to get vegan booze, and it's simple enough to do. Irish Cream is out, unless you can find a non-dairy version (more on that in a minute), and any traditional mead product that is fermented with honey. That still leaves you with a whole wide range of alcoholic delights to choose from. Just avoid the animal products in the ingredients, you're good to go. Or are you? Now you can enjoy creamy cocktails that are vegan and dairy-free! Sorry to say, that's not the whole story. Not by a long shot. Though the ingredient list may be free of animal products, the processing behind many beers and wines is not. The problem i...

I'm a pretty slim person and have been for the last decade or so. For much of my childhood, however, I was overweight and was bullied because of it, like so many children are. I lost weight in my teens (not in a good way) and then gained, and so the yo-yo life began. I gained just over one hundred pounds with my first pregnancy (people who didn't know me then never believe this, but it's absolutely true) and it took me years to lose it, and then I gained just over eighty pounds with the second pregnancy and lost it again. Gained and lost, gained and lost, repeat. Too many of us know what this is like, and too many of us judge our self worth by this. It's ridiculous, and it's sad, but it's unfortunately the truth. I'm guilty of this as well, I think a lot of women are. About ten years ago I went back to work after staying home with my children for years. My new job was very physical and the weight dropped off and stayed off. I wasn't vegan t...

(photos by Danielle) (photos by Danielle)  If you want some delicious, indulgent recipes….check out some of these. All of these foods you can have for a dinner or as appetizers are all amazing if you want to eat food with amazing taste and texture, but not sacrifice anything! It can be important to stay on the healthier sides of course so of these meals can be made healthier with some alternatives.  (photos by Danielle) (photos by Danielle) (photos by Danielle) My family and I were looking for some alternatives to food we were already eating. So when we went to the store to pick up food for my family to eat during any of the upcoming football games, we found plenty of options. We did two products from Gardein which were the wings and the tenders. Both of these taste amazing and you can not even tell the difference. I also made some nachos which were absolutely wonderful.  (photos by Danielle) (photos by Danielle) ...

The Truth About Health Products You see the advertisement for the next big thing! Take this product and it will cure and you get a list of practically everything that ails you. The truth is that yes, there are herbal and natural products out there that will assist with the maintenance, prevention and even in some cases cure many chronic illnesses or promote the immune system, help with brain health and more. But! No one product can do this. There are a range of them but you need to take many individually to get the dosage that works and yes some require smaller doses and can be used with other plant and herbal sources that work together on the same condition. This article is not about the efficacy of these products, but about the types of products, the truth and the hype about the form they take. Supplement and health products are generally delivered in one of four ways. As a drink or infusion into a fluid medium, a supplement capsule or tablet, a tea/coffee blend or i...

Hi Everyone, hope you all enjoyed your week! Today's topic is ABUNDANCE versus MODERATION. Can there be too much of a good thing? How much do we really need? Do we always want more than we actually need? Do we live in a world of excess? I often think about this. When you eat too much food it can lead you to being overweight. If you buy too much it can create excessive debt you don't want or need. Excess stuff creates clutter. What is the difference between want and need? When I go shopping I now ask myself if the item is something I want or is it something I need. A perfect example of this happened the other day. I was in a shoe store and found the  most beautiful pair of red velvet heels that caught my eye. I tried them on and they looked stunning and I almost took them up to the register after justifying in my mind how much I needed them. But after walking around in them in the store for a few minutes I realized that they would wind up sitting in my closet sinc...

It may not sound too interesting (or appetizing), but nutritional yeast should be part of any healthy vegan diet. If you’re new to a vegan lifestyle than you may not know much about it yet and this is your chance to hop on the noochy bandwagon. Or even if you’re not vegan, you can still add a little of this stuff into your cooking for a nutritional boost. First thing to know is that this is not the same thing as baking or brewing yeast, but it is a form of yeast fungus (making it completely vegan). It comes in a thick flake, kind of like quick oats. Vegan places online sometimes call it nooch, and some countries call it “savory yeast” rather than nutritional yeast. The point is, it’s not baking yeast . Oh, and I should mention that it’s completely gluten-free too. Unlike the active yeast that is used to make baked goods rise, nutritional yeast is inert. It won’t have any chemical effect on your foods except to give a savory cheesy or nutty flavor to your dishes. Many...

With the cold weather this time of year, I am craving warm and satisfying meals. If you know me, I am such a sweet tooth. My days are usually filled with fruit and acai bowls. However, this snowy and cloudy weather has me freezing. I am trying to warm my insides with hot tea and home-cooked meals. I have been seeing acorn squash recipes for a while now on Pinterest and have been dying to try one for myself. Since acorn squash is in season, I decided this would be the perfect time to create a nice healthy recipe with it! It is nutritious, filling, and very tasty. I cooked this for myself, my brother, and my mom and we all thought it was delicious. Feel free to change up this recipe to satisfy your own taste buds. You can add in veggies such as green beans or chopped carrots, or change the quinoa to wild rice. Taste as you go to see if you want more spices, go crazy! This recipe does takes a while to cook, but it is not difficult at all. Since the dish looks very fancy, it is...