Smoothies & Dots

After seeing it on Pinterest, of course, I wanted to try it ;) I was already growing green onion from scrap but never tried romaine lettuce and celery. It worked and pretty fast (on the first pictures the 2 smaller ones are only a few days old). After 2 weeks of growing in water on my kitchen's window I transplanted them in a pot. Can't wait to see how big I can get them ;) Updates to come...

N.b: I used only organic produces and changed water every day

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Update on my vertical garden (right after a thinning session), the arugula is getting out of control, time for a big salad ;-)

There is more herbs and lettuces and spinachs on the 2 other sides and some green onions and garlic chives on the very top shelves which we don't see.

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One of my favorite summer dressing. Goes well with any green salad, but specially great on a romaine/cucumber salad.

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Let's ditch the annual flowers!
Don't get me wrong I love the sight of pretty colorful flowers but after a few years of spending a few hundreds dollars (read here my wonderful boyfriend did) in the front yard landscape, I realized that they don't give me half the thrill, the fun and satisfaction that growing edible and medicinal plants gives me. So this year when the winter finally packed his bags and left, my wonderful boyfriend said: Why not! YAY!!! My inner girl did a few backflips and hop I was on the internet to plan all of this. Because hey, it's not because I'm growing veggies in the front yard that it has to look ugly, we live in the city and I've got some pride ;) I made a plan, keeping in mind that I wanted everything to be organic (of course, you know me ;p) I needed to make sure that our "Lanscaped garden" would also sustained itself. I tried to create spaces where my plants would become buddies and help eachother.

Today I'm sharing with you my 2 front yard edible gardens as they look on their first day of life. There's a few empty patches where seeds are germinating. You'll see also many little bunch of "ground cover" I can't tell you the name of it, but for the last 3 years I kept removing it like a w**d to plant the annual flowers (it's obviously a perennial), but this year I couldn't do it...this ground cover is so pretty with it's tiny white and yellow flowers I decided to repot everything to be able to work my soil and I replanted it (after dividing it) around my biggest plants. It should spread and cover the ground acting as live mulch to keep the soil moist in the hot summer days ;)

I'm very excited and I can't wait to see how this new experiment will turn out ;) I'll post updates as it grows...

Thanks to Guy (aka: my wonderful boyfriend) to be so open mind with my craziness and thanks to Les Jardins de l'
www.facebook.com/écoumène
for their wonderful service and precious help, an hour and a half from home but very well worth every km ;)

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This is a recipe to naturally feed your garden!
We often hear that we need to keep our terrain (gut) healthy to be able to fight viruses and bacterial infections. It's the same for your garden, the healthier your soil is the better will be the resistance of your plants to insects and disease pests. And as a bonus, with this smoothie your plants will grow bigger and faster ;)

I collect all my scraps in a big ziplock that I keep in the freezer until I'm ready to blend everything. If you don't have a high speed blender (like a blendtec or vitamix), I'd refrain myself from putting banana peel in the blending jar. Chop them in small pieces instead and mix them in your soil with the rest of the smoothie.

Happy gardening!

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If I had to pick one herb to have always on hand in my house it would be Slippery Elm!

This herb is versatile and powerful. Being a mucilagineous herb it has the capacity to coat and soothe mucus membranes while also absorbing toxins which cause intestinal imbalances. It is an effective remedy to treat ulcers, heartburns, diarrhea, constipation, gastritis, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, leaky gut (often the sources of allergies), hemorrhoids, bladder and urinary tract infection, coughs and sore throat.

It can also be use as a poultice to heal and soothe burns, wounds, folliculitis, ulcers, eczema, toothaches and any inflammed surfaces to reduce pain and inflammation.

It's also a very nutritious food in itself and can be consumed as a porridge making it an ideal food for infants and invalids.

And for those of you who have dogs/puppies like me, all those benefits also apply to them. I've stop many diarrheas and completely heal a bladder infection with it.

Slippery Elm is declared being a safe herb by the FDA, you can consult http://www.drugs.com/npc/slippery-elm.html for more information.

You can find it at any health food store, I buy mine in bulk from Mountain Rose Herbs
https://www.mountainroseherbs.com

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I've been making all my skin care products for a few years now and making a mask is probably the easiest way to start making your own beauty secret soldier ;)

This mask is specifically formulated to deep clean pores, deep moisturize and to be anti-aging (since I'm a little over 25 years old, anti-aging is a must, and I probably have about all anti-aging natural ingredients possible in my DIY arsenal, I might be a little obsessed but hey a girl gotta be prepared for the worst)

Ok here are a few of my secret weapons:

Bentonite clay: draws out toxins and impurities, shrinks pores and smooth and soften the skin.

Actived charcoal: draws out toxins and impurities, heals pimples and prevent future ones, thighten pores, smooth skin, reduces inflammation to leave an even toned soft skin.

We could stopped right there with those 2 ingredients and we'd have a wonderful mask, but I'm the ALL the way or Nothing type of girl so let's add even more goodness to this mask.

Kefir: help regulate the acid/alkaline balance in the skin cells (thanks to the lactobacilli in kefir). Kefir contains also alpha hydroxyl acid (AHA) – a form of lactic acid that help to reduce wrinkles and slow the aging process, YAY!. Lactobacilli also perfectly cleans the skin from toxins and dust, thus adding freshness and elasticity.

Vit C (acid ascorbic): the best anti-aging ingredient ever and it can even reverse signs of aging like brown sun spots. It helps boost the collagen production - hello firmer skin! Reduce redness, inflammation and irritation. Fades breakouts scars and marks. Boost your skin defense against UV and protect it against further damages.

I also add essential oils to the mix to push even further the benefits of this mask, but don't refrain yourself to make the mask if you don't have all the ingredients on hand. You'll have amazing benefits from any combination of those ingredients.

Recipe:

Make for 1 application face and neck or 2 faces if you have a girlfriend with you :) Do not mix bigger batch in advance, always make a fresh one for each application.

1 Tbsp Clay (I used bentonite, but it can be green clay too)
2 Actived charcoal capsules (opened)
Kefir or enough purified water to make a paste
Vit C (acid ascorbic) powder diluted completely in a bit of purified water
1 drop lavender essential oil
1 drop carrot seed essential oil
1 drop turmeric essential oil

Please don't share that ugly picture of me, it's a secret just between you and me... Ok only if it's for your girlfriends, I'm all about support ;)

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Yesterday's post was all about basil and it's virtues, now here's one of my favorite way of eating it. Bruschetta :)

Inspired from À la Distasio recipe:

2 cups (about) cherry tomatoes diced (I know it's a process but so much worth it)
A big handful of basil minced
A handful of parsley minced
1/2 crushed garlic clove
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper
Bread croutons (I use organic sprouted bread)
Fresh grated Parmesan to sprinkle on top (optional)

Cheers!
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Summer = Basil in my dictionary :)

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Refreshing, cleansing and detoxifying, this infused water is perfect for those warmer days and so easy to make, no excuses ;) Watermelon helps your body to flush out toxins and boost your liver and just FYI it's also "apparently" a natural Vi**ra, just sayin ;)

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Bon appétit!

Dressing:
https://www.facebook.com/SmoothiesDots/posts/579492055526671:0

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Left over hummus? Make a creamy dressing! Quick, easy, healthy and it will make every salad taste good ;)

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Left over spinach quinoa is a perfect salad topper! Of course a salad without a dressing is a little fade, so here is one I like and make very often with some variations depending on what I have on hand.

Homemade dressing:
1/2 cup homemade mayo
1/2 cup kefir
1 tsp Dijon
1 Tbsp lemon
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 drop of stevia or a few drops of liquid honey
1/2 garlic clove minced
Parsley or any other fresh herbs you may have and like
Cayenne pepper to taste
Salt & pepper

Bon appétit!

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Green Morning !

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This creamy salad is the perfect buddy to any fish and it's easy to pack for your summer picnics. It's so yummy and refreshing :-)

Here's a quick homemade mayo by Jamie Oliver: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/eggs-recipes/my-beautiful-mayo/ .97

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It's like a smoothie but thicker, especially if you leave it 15min in the fridge, the coconut oil will re-solidify. Can also be prepare the night before for a quick breakfast!

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Perfect for those morning in hurry, you can prepare it the night before!

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This fresh vitamins packed cleansing infused water is perfect to keep you well hydrated and you'll drink also more water because it taste good - if it doesn't taste good add stevia until it does ;)

Cucumber help flush out toxins from the liver and kidneys, and is very refreshing in the summer.

You can refill your jar with water as you drink it and use it for up to 3 days if you keep the jar in the fridge.

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One of my favorite breakfast featuring Mr. Kefir!!!

You can, of course, substitute the banana and raspberries with any fruits you like. You can also double the chia if you don't have psyllium. Want some nuts or seeds on top, go for it, unleash your creativity!!!

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Here he is, my star, Mr Kefir!
You want a beautiful acne free and eczema free skin? Or maybe you need to boost your immune system with a powerful probiotic? Want to sleep better and have more energy? Or improve your allergy and asthma? For all those jobs and even more Mr Kefir is your man, he's very versatile and work efficiently fixing the source of all those problems right where it all start, in your Gut!!!

Easy and inexpensive to make at home, all you need is about 1Tbs of kefir grains and whole milk (ideally organic milk, even better would be raw milk but that's not so easy to find).

Once your batch is ready (about 24hr) you can drink your kefir like you would a liquid yogurt, you can use it in your smoothies, in puddings, in salad dressing to replace yogurt, actually you can use it anywhere you'd use yogurt, sour creme and milk.

And you can give it to your dogs too and they will greatly benefit from the amazing power of kefir.

For those of you interested, I always have extra grains I can sell and ship for a little fee. It'll come with all the instructions and enough grains to make 1L of kefir every 24h or so. And those grains grow fast, so you'll never need to buy them again if you take good care of them. My grains have always been fed with organic whole milk only and they live in a smoke free house.

More kefir based recipes to come, until then,

Cheers!
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The star of this smoothie is kefir!
If you don't have any, you can still make a delicious and vitamins charged smoothie if you substitute it by filtered water. But here are just a few of the reasons why you should start making your own kefir and drink it:
Boost Immunity
Heal Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Build Bone Density
Fight Allergies
Improve Lactose Digestion
Kill Candida
Support Detoxification

*It's also very good for your dogs!

More on kefir tomorrow... Stay tuned!

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Green Morning!

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When Spring finally wins over the winter we see pastel and bright colors emerge everywhere and one of those beautiful color is Mint. But mint is not only pretty as a dress or an eyeshadow, it's also a powerful herb with many virtues, an energizing aroma and a delicious taste!
It's also very good in a mojito, just sayin!!!

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This morning green juice as shown on the picture:
1 grapefruit
1 lemon
1" ginger root
1/2 english cucumber
2 celery sticks
A handful of parsley
A handful of fresh mint
3-4 leaves of kale
Juice everything and then add:
Cinnamon powder (1/4 tsp)
Turmeric powder (1/4 tsp)
Cayenne pepper (1/8 tsp)
Few drops of organic stevia for taste

Note: the added powder herbs are optional, but they will kick your metabolism's butt like no others. I don't know about you, but I sure do want to kick his butt pretty bad right now ;)

Cheers!
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