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Cocao is known to be superfood! There is something to chocolate and women craving it at certain times of the month. I found myself just last month eating 1/2 a cup of cocao nibs 1 day before I “started”. Now…. cocao nibs are not sweet, at all! They are pretty bitter so I know I wasn’t eating them for the sugar factor. My body really did crave an element in the nibs that helped with hormonal levels, I truly believe.
OK, on to the Great video! We are going to add a decent amount of sweetener to liven up our taste buds. So that’s why this is a treat to have once in a while or after a hard workout at the gym. Not something we have everyday.
Chocolate Recipe
1/2 Cup Raw Cacoa Powder
1/2 Cup Raw Cacoa Butter (optional/my preference- raw coconut oil)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/8 tsp Stevia
1/3 Cup Agave Nectar or Honey
dash of salt
Step 1. Melt the Raw cacoa butter or coconut oil in a pan over very low heat. constantly stirring.
Step 2. Measure 1/2 cup of butter/oila fter it’s melted and put in the blender.
Step 3. Add the remaining ingredients to blender
Step 4. Blend for 10-15 seconds.
Step 5. Pour into molds or dish
Step 6. Put in refrigerator or freezer to harden chocolate
Step 7. Take chocolate out of frig or freezer when firm. (if you used coconut oil, you need to leave chocolate in frig since it may melt at room temperature). Cocao butter will stay firm at room temperatures.
In the future I’ll show you ways to make really fun exotic, sassy chocolate! You won’t believe the flavors that go well with chocolate, like Chipotle? Who knew?!
Live a Beautiful Life!
Kardena Pauza
We Start out with a recipe from my Fun and Fit Hubby Mark who dishes out the inside Knowledge on this Yummy Smoothie filled with Nothing Less than a Sharp, Twist of Wheatgrass to Get your Body Ready for the Workout…………………. So, for you Healthy Foodies, the Recipe for Mark’s Delicious Smoothie are below.
Work-out Smoothie
Touch of Wheatgrass
Plant Fusion Protein Powder
Dash of Vanilla Extract
Sliced Almonds
Dash of Stevia
1/2 Sliced Banana
Big dash of cinnamon
Water
Then we’re off to the gym! Check out Mark getting a beaten while doing abs!
Look at my little guy! This video was taken about 4 months ago. He’s much bigger and animated now!
Wishing You Vibrant Health,
Kardena Pauza
Our good friends the Kandu Family were over for a nice summer pool side dinner the other week. We had such a great time swimming, eating and visiting. They posted a video on their YouTube channel of our evening together. We made this amazing decadent raw chocolate dessert for them and once that video hit YouTube, their viewers wanted the recipe, so here it is for all to enjoy! They are such a fun family and fun to watch on YouTube. If you want to check them out here’s their channel. http://www.youtube.com/marin8d
This is one of our secret dessert treats. There’s no processed sugar, no dairy, it’s vegan and all natural healthy ingredients.
I will admit that this is not a weight loss recipe because of the amount of fat. BUT because of its natural wholesome ingredients, it is a better alternative to desserts filled with junky ingredients.
Here’s how you make it and the ingredients you’ll need. You will also need a high powered blender. If you don’t have one, your dessert will be chunky but still taste amazing!
3 Tb Cacao powder
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 cup Almonds (soaked almonds for 12 hours makes them soft and easier to blend in a regular blender)
8 dates or use agave nectar or stevia
Salt and cinnamon to taste
1 Young coconut and its meat or 1 Tb coconut oil and 1-2 cups water
If you are experienced in the safe use of a meat cleaver, you can use it to open your coconut. Make four cuts in a square along the top of your coconut and pour the coconut water into your blender. Scoop out the meat with a spoon and add it to the coconut water in the blender. If you do not have a coconut, coconut oil and water will do just as well. Add your fresh dates, cacao powder, and vanilla extract. Sprinkle cinnamon and salt to taste. Blend your mixture into a smooth drink.
We hope you enjoy our recipe as much as we do. Until next time, watch for more videos from Kardena and family. Cheers.
Kardena Pauza
Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plan– 90 day done-for-you vegetarian weight loss program
Personal Trainer- Edge Personal Trainers
Subscribe to my Youtube Channel for other fun videos not posted on my blog! http://www.youtube.com/user/KardenasKitchen
]]>Today I’m going to be making a healthy vegan Italian meal, Rosemary Alfredo sauce with super Low Carbohydrate Noodles. For the sauce, the main ingredient is going to be cashews and the noodles that I’ll be using are kelp noodles.
Benefits of Cashews
-Cancer prevention
-Hair, skin, bone, heart, and bone health
-Contain iron, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus, which are all minerals that your body needs to function properly.
-Healthy monosaturated oil similar to olive oil, so they are great for weight loss as well.
Because cashews are contain quite a bit of fat, the meal will have more fat than I normally recommend, the good news is, it’s a healthy fat. It’s okay to have a fun, indulgent meal once in awhile.
It’s a Super Easy Recipe!!!
For the sauce, I’m going to blend only 5 ingredients in the blender and poor the resulting sauce over the noodles. It s so easy!
Alfredo Sauce
3 cups raw cashews (optional macadamia nuts)
2-3 cloves garlic- can press through a garlic press
1 Tbl rosemary- fresh/dried
salt to taste
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 cup water or enough to blend in to a thick cream
1 tsp. nutritional yeast (optional on top)
Throw all ingredients in the blender and blend on high. Blend until thick and creamy and sauce is done. Isn’t that amazing?!
Poor sauce over 1-2 packages of rinsed & chopped kelp noodles. (Kelp noodles are raw and crunchy, and you can just pull them out of the bag,rinse& they are ready to go)
Purchase at kelpnoodles.com, or you can purchase them at your local health food store.
Alternative noodle- shredded zucchini which I show you how to make in this video. raw spaghetti
This is a healthy alternative to a heavy, creamy, dairy-rich Alfredo sauce. If you want, you can add vegetables such as broccoli. If you sprinkle on nutritional yeast it will produce a flavor almost like parmesan cheese.
Add this to a meal with vegetables and a salad. I dare you to try it on any of your friends, even if they are not health-conscious. They’re going to like the gourmet flavor.
Let me know how you like it! Keep the comments coming!
At the end of the video I introduce my son Landon and my husband!! Until next time, bye from the Pauza family!
Kardena
Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plan– 90 day done-for-you vegetarian weight loss program
Personal Trainer- Edge Personal Trainers
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To our Beloved Friends & Family,
Miracles and magic and dreams come true cannot describe our joy. With radiant smiles and sparkling hearts we welcome our little BOY!
We joyfully announce the birth of:
Landon Pauza born on March 1st 2012, 7:28pm
Weight: 7 lb. 4 oz. Length: 20 inches
Everything went just perfect for the natural birth of Landon at the Birthing Center. Before going to the birthing center I was home with mild contractions throughout the night and woke up to make a yummy green smoothie. While I was in the kitchen, my water broke and immediately intensified my contractions. It was time to head to the birthing center! Yeahhhhhhh!
I had a team of people supporting me including my wonderful husband, sister, my mother, 3-4 Midwives, my doula Nicki Ryan, and brother in the waiting room.
I never took any pain medicine or epidurals, just natural laboring in the birthing-tub, sitting on a physio ball, standing/walking, and on the bed.
My Doula Nicki was amazing! For those of you who may not know what a doula is, she’s a coach and support for the mother. She was by my side for the entire 9 1/2 hours of labor, encouraging me, pressing on my back to lessen the labor pains, and anything else to help me be more comfortable and help progress labor along. I would not have done as well as I did if it wasn’t for her support, thanks Nicki!
After 9 1/2 hours of labor, Landon was born and the midwives and our doula commented on how alert, calm, and wide-eyed he was. After Landon laid with me for about 10 minutes and allowed the placenta to continue to feed Landon every last drop of blood and oxygen during his transition, Mark cut the umbilical cord. Once baby & I got some bonding time and a chance to recover from the big event, Landon successfully fed to my delight. The loving and powerful women who were my birthing team gave him an exam and yep, he’s incredibly healthy!
4 hours after Landon was born, we headed home to sleep in our own bed that night!
All of the horror stories and challenges that people loved to share with me along the way, I didn’t experience at all while Pregnant. In fact, I felt soo good, I kept training my clients all the way up to week 40, full term. My lovely clients begged me to please rest and take it easy, thanks guys! It was nice to relax for the big day.
I feel the work I did pre-pregnancy, like testing and cleansing, and using all the powerful principles I have learned from years of education and experience during my pregnancy made all the difference in having a pleasurable pregnancy and delivery. During my pregnancy I also worked out 4 hrs a week all the way up to week 40, 2 hrs of weight training & 2 hrs of cardio, no silver-bullet or shortcuts, only the best for baby and me! It wasn’t easy some days when I was yawning up a storm but about 15 minutes in to my workout, my energy kicked in.
Yesterday at my 2 week exam, I weighed in only 10 lbs from my pre-baby weight. I had gained a total of 31 lbs. during my pregnancy so I’m down 21 lbs already! Woohoo!
Thanks soo much for keeping us in your hearts and thoughts during this time, we totally felt the love.
We can’t wait to do his first video!
Lots of love and sending hugs,
Kardena and Mark Pauza
]]>I’m over half way through my pregnancy and I have learned a lot through this process about diet, lifestyle habits and exercise. Even though I already train clients who are pregnant, being prego gave me a whole new appreciation for what they are going through when they train with me. Thanks for all your love and support Ladies!
I avoided the deficiencies that can be linked to pregnancy and I have had a very comfortable pregnancy overall. I did feel the nausea most women feel in the 1st trimester, but I did learn some secrets about how to lessen it, but luckily I got through it pretty quickly also. It was still tough though, so again I have such an appreciation for other women who have had children and of course my Mom and Grandma!
Since I didn’t get a chance to make another holiday recipe this year yet, here’s the link to one I made in the past that’s super yummy and healthy! It’s my holiday cranberry orange scones. They are flourless and sooo yummy with agave coconut oil spread. Your family will love them and not even know you are feeding them something healthy! A little trickery never hurt any one! Have a wonderful Holiday Season with your family and look for more recipes and Health tips soon!
Wishing you wellness,
Kardena
Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plan– 90 day done-for-you vegetarian weight loss program
Personal Trainer- Edge Personal Trainers
]]>**Fiber is also filling and can make you feel full so it promotes weight loss by helping you not over eat.
When you use my vegetarian weight loss ebook for weight loss people tell me that they can’t finish the entire meal because they are full. When Craig Ballantyne eats a veggie diet he said he almost forces himself to eat to get in the calories he needs because it’s so filling from the large quantities of fiber.
Here’s some important details about fiber. What is fiber, why is it so important, what does it all mean to me? Be sure to check out the list of high fiber foods at the end of this article and you’ll be surprised which foods are high in fiber.
1. What is Fiber?
Fiber is the indigestible part of carbohydrate foods. Fiber gives foods it’s structure like in celery, beans, lettuce, etc. Most plant based foods contain two types of fiber in different portions.
These 2 types of fiber are called soluble and insoluble fiber.
Soluble: fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active by products.
Insoluble: fiber that is metabolically inert , absorbing water & toxins as it moves through the digestive system, easing ones ability to have a bowel movement.
What’s the big deal?!
**Very important to know and this is so helpful in weight loss. Fiber increases food volume with out increasing caloric content. Giving you the feeling of being full and satisfied. This is only one amazing benefit, I’ll go in to more cool benefits later.
It is difficult to eat excessively on a “healthy” vegetarian diet. The amount of fiber in a healthy veggie diet fills you up making it difficult for you to over eat. Yes, there are unhealthy vegetarian diets and I’ve seen unhealthy, overweight vegetarians. In fact you’d be surprised how common it is! Please make sure you’re eating high fiber not low fiber processed grains and sugars is key.
The good news is vegetarian diets are typically higher in fiber than a meat eaters diet. Now if you are a meat eater, not to worry! Incorporating in some vegetarian meals throughout the week has been shown to be a healthy addition to a clean and healthy colon. Vegetarians and vegans are typically likely to meet the FDA’s daily requirement of 20-35 grams of fiber a day versus a meat eater who typically only consumes 12 grams of fiber a day. Now, if you are one of these super health conscience meat eaters than you probably include a high amounts of healthy high fiber foods in your diet so these statistics don’t pertain to you.
The biggest and most recent study on the effects of fiber on the body was published earlier this year in the Archives of Internal Medicine included more than 388,000 adults, who participated in a diet and health study conducted by the National Institutes of Health and AARP. The results concluded that people who ate the highest amount of fiber were 22 percent less likely to die from causes such as cancer. Who doesn’t love that?!
Here’s the benefits of adding more fiber into your diet above and beyond just having a healthy colon and cancer prevention.
– Normalizes bowel movements (keeps you “regular” If not, this has been linked and is a root cause of sickness and disease)
– Helps control blood sugar levels, thus control diabetes
– Prevents diverticulitis, lower your risk of hemorrhoids
– Lowers blood cholesterol
– Lowers inflammation in the body
– Help prevent heart disease
Check out this high fiber recipe I made- raw granola
How much fiber should I be eating?
The typical adult male should consume approximately 35-38 grams a day and the average woman should consume about 25 grams a day.
Change your life- High Fiber Foods List
Flax Seeds- 2 Tbl = 4 grams fiber
Split peas- 1 cup= 16 grams fiber
Lentils- 1 cup= 15 grams fiber
Beans and legumes of all kinds- 1 cup = approx 16 grams fiber Wow!
High Fiber Cereal (Kashi Go Lean)- 1 cup= 10 grams fiber
Broccoli- 1 cup= 5 grams
Fresh Carrots- 1 cup= 2 grams fiber
Raspberries- 1 cup= 8 grams Surprisingly High!
Pear- 1 medium= 5.5 grams
Bran flakes- 3/4 cups= 5.3 grams
Sweet corn- 1 cup= 4 grams
Psyllium Husk- 4 tspn= 8 grams
**Very Important- slowly increase the amount of fiber in your diet or else you will feel uncomfortable gas and bloating so slowly work up to the daily amount over a week or two.
Share with us what high fiber foods you enjoy eating. What benefits have you noticed from adding more fiber in to your diet?
Kardena Pauza Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plans– 90 day Done for you diet
Personal Trainer and owner of EdgePersonalTrainers.com
]]>Here are the winners, in no particular order-
Diane Pinho-Arcaro, Holly Moran, Jim Toner, Sandy, Sue, Bev Budig, Sandra Moses, Lisa Moose, Rozelyn, Donna Maginley, Garrett Hildebrand
I need your physical address so Redmond can directly mail you your prize. It will be coming from Utah so give it time for shipping.
I will attempt to contact you on Friday if I have your email address from your comment. Feel free to email me/leave a comment with your address and I will get it.
Clay is pretty amazing stuff and it sounds like you learned alot from the article. If you did not win I just want to say thank you for truly participating and wanting to make a healthy change in your life and your families life. Remember these products are pretty inexpensive compared to other supplements and found easily or online if you want to also try them!
Wishing you wellness!
Kardena Pauza
Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plans 90 day done for you vegetarian meal plan
Owner & Fitness Trainer Edge Personal Trainers
Redmond Int. offers a variety of natural mineral salts and clay products for a variety of health purposes. I recommend them for optimal health, for athletes and for detoxification so I’m excited to be sharing them with you. I love and use their products and have them in my house at all times. I’m not getting anything from them in return for sharing this information with you, it’s from my heart.
It’s an all-natural mineral salt that comes from an ancient seabed and contains 60 trace minerals that are essential to hundreds of our bodies functions. Think of these minerals as electrical conductors that help charge your body. Salt and minerals are necessary for hundreds of functions in your body and is even more important for active people, since it replaces electrolytes lost through sweating & drinking loads of water. RealSalt helps build up the bodies store of essential minerals that so many of us are deficient in because of eating over processed foods that are stripped of minerals.
“The salt contains dark specks in it, is it dirty?” Some people think the salt wasn’t washed well but really the specks are the naturally occurring minerals from the earth. Realsalt is healthier because they leave it in it’s naturally occurring state containing 60+ minerals that are bio available to the body when ingested.
**FYI– I prefer mineral salt like RealSalt instead of processed table salt because of it’s higher trace mineral count and taste! I like it for the health of it, haha
TASTE TEST! Try this at home- put mineral salt in your hand and taste it on your tongue, then taste table salt immediately after. You will notice the mineral salt has a more well rounded flavor and table salt is a sharp almost poison type flavor. Try it! You will never eat table salt again.
HEALTH TIP: Drink up to 1 gallon of water a day and put a pinch of RealSalt in your water to help naturally increase electrolytes and help with the bodies ability to absorb the water by giving it “structure”.
is used for hundreds actually 1,000 of uses according to Redmond Inc. including relief from internal & external maladies. Because of its alkaline pH, Redmond clay helps with upset stomachs, heartburn, arthritis, colitis and even diverticulitis. Its alkalinity also helps to draw lactic acid from the muscles after workouts and I use it in higher doses when I do a bowel cleanse twice a year.
Clay has been used for centuries to detoxify internally since it has an amazing absorbing ability, pulling towards it positively charged elements like heavy metals, parasites, reduces inflammation and viruses.
With over 70 trace minerals in the clay, it provides supplementation for charging every cell in the body, similar to the benefits of the mineral salt.
The body is like an electrical machine, which needs to be charged to run smoothly.
HEALTH TIP: Take one teaspoon loose clay mixed in water or two capsules daily. That’s all you need for gentle cleansing.
Redmond Clay can also be used externally for facials – clay paste is applied to the skin, where it works by drawing out impurities and increasing circulation to help improve complexion and acne. After it dries it can be gently washed from the face. Another use for Redmond Clay is to sooth bee stings and spider bites, improve burns, boils and infections.
Check out their website for updated research information & their blog where they answer all your difficult questions about salt.
RealSalt OR Facebook and find out the 14,000 uses for salt!
Redmond Clay
Look for Redmond’s products at your local health food store.
First, the goodies that you will receive are:
1. 9 oz shaker RealSalt Mineral salt
2. 1 bottle Daily Detox capsules
3. Redmond Clay Facial Mud
All packaged together and shipped to you free of charge at a retail value of $30! You are so lucky!
1. Answering the question below in the comment section of this post
2. Leaving a comment on my Facebook Fan page
3. Or posting on your blog linking back to this post and leaving me a comment letting me know you did so!
Rules:
This giveaway will be live from Monday June 20th- Wednesday June 22nd midnight. Thursday afternoon we will pick our winners at random and announce it here on our blog and on our Face Book page.
Giveaway!
***Before I get in to that, be sure to come to my website next Monday June 20th. That’s when I’m having a giveaway to 10 lucky readers valued at $30 each! Free! Shipped to you directly with no strings attached. Each person will receive 3 items in their gift box. Find out what the gifts are on Monday when the give away begins. The contest will be for 3 days only, so be ready!
On to the secret! You don’t have to slave for hours in the kitchen to make healthy food that tastes gourmet.
Chefs make food taste magical and it seems like a mystery on how they make it taste so amazing! Well, not anymore! Now you can prepare simple, nutritious, scrumptious foods in very little time and still have your food tasting like a gourmet chef prepared it.
I must give credit and thanks to the person who taught me what I know. Her name is Elaina Love and she taught me advanced techniques in preparing raw food including this technique you’re about to learn. Thank you Elaina, you’re the best!
GOURMET SECRET REVEALED!
In order to get a balanced well rounded foundation of flavors in any dish you are making whether it’s salad dressing, soup, a vegetable dish or bean dish, you need to have these elements/ingredients.
When we taste food that we think is amazing, it’s hitting these 4 elements possibly the 5th & 6th element also. That’s what makes us like it so much. Once you learn this you will be able to pick out what’s missing in your dishes that you need to add to get that wow effect from your family and friends.
Here are the 6 Elements and options for each category
Avocado oil or meat
Cold Pressed Oil: Macadamia nut oil, Sesame, Grapeseed, Olive, Hemp, Flax
Nut Butters or Whole nuts & seeds- Peanut Butter, Almond, Sunflower, Cashew
Raw Butter- if you are vegetarian
Raw Coconut Oil/Butter
#2 SALT: Salt’s not bad for you.
Sea or Mountain Salt- I’m not talking about regular table salt, I’m talking about mineralized “REAL SALT”. Stay tuned for an interview from REALSALT.
Miso Paste- the darker the miso the richer the flavor. lighter it is the sweeter it is.
Nama Shoyu- unpasteurized soy sauce
Tamari – wheat free
Brine from olive
Olives
Sea Vegetables/Seaweed
Dishes typically need more salt than you first might think. My husband always comes in, tastes my food and adds more salt. He was right! It always tastes better!
#3 TART/SOUR: Brightens up the dish. Start small and add more.
Citrus- lemon, lime, grapefruit
Vinegar- apple cider, white, red
#4 Pungent: doesn’t have to be much, just a little. Adds depth
Fresh Garlic
Fresh Onion
Fresh Ginger
Dash Cayenne Pepper
Mustard
#5 SWEET: Optional depending on the dish you’re making but typically balance out the flavor especially the acid and tone down the heat.
Dried fruit- raisins, dates, pineapple, banana, cherries, coconut
Fresh Fruit: apple, pear, banana, peach, orange
Vegetable: Carrot, Beet, Bell Pepper
Stevia
Raw Honey
Agave Nectar
#6: Spice, herbs or seasoning: This will give your dish an ethnic flair and is optional
Mexican: cumin, cayenne pepper, cilantro, or Mexican seasoning mix
Indian: Curry, coconut, cardamom, garam masala, black pepper, chili paste,
Thai: lemon grass, cilantro, lime, mint, basil, chili paste, curry
Italian: basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, sun dried tomatoes, Italian herb mix/seasoning
Whenever you’re making a dish use this check list and make sure you are hitting all the elements! You will be amazed at the difference, pat yourself on the back chef!
Author of Easy Veggie Meal Plans- 90 day vegetarian weight loss plan
Certified Personal Trainer- Edge Personal Trainers