My Green Diet

5 awesome online organic grocers

Mary Jolley — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:18:28 +0000

I am going through a "I hate going to the grocery store" phase. Which isn't like me because I usually love walking around perusing the produce. That relaxing stroll through the market is a long lost memory for me most days. I am now accompanied by a 2 year old with lungs and an attitude. Forget the child seat in the cart- he does an acrobat move and flings himself out head first. We walk through those automatic doors and the race is on; he grabs as many snacks for the bulk bins as he can while I pretend I didn't see and grab as much food from the shelves as I can. Forget reading labels, I just trying to remember everything on my list. So, for the sake of my sanity and the sanctity of dinner, I have reached out to online grocers and been pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity. Here are some of my favorites: 1. Green Polka Dot Box. I know, the name isn't great, but it is kinda fun to get an enormous green polka dot box filled with all natural groceries. I have been shopping here since they opened about a year ago. The prices are good, the selection keeps growing, and the shipping is FREE. Yippee. Only thing is you do have to sign up to get a membership, but it has been worth it for me. 2. Tropical Traditions. I love love their Gold Label Coconut Oil, but they sell lots of good stuff, including grass fed organic meats. I get their emails and watch for free shipping and other promotions, which are often. 3. Amazon PRIME. How can I not mention Amazon? I have the prime membership, which I love because you get 2 day free shipping on most items. The membership is $80 a year, but you can share with 5 people so for me it's worth it just for the last minute birthday gifts. I do include it on my list because sometimes they have good pricing on some great staples. I came home one day to find a large box from Amazon. It was full of my husband's favorite cereal. Poor guys had to take matter's into his own hands. 4. Backyard Farmer. This is a shout out to the people living in the Greater Phoenix Area, but I include it in this list because it is amazing. Best farm delivery I've seen, yet. You go on to the website by Sunday night, pick out your items, and on Wednesday morning, a very nice farmer delivers them to your door- FREE! Amazing, and the produce is fantastic. I love that it is all local and organic. They have chicken run eggs and meat, too. Going to miss this one. 5. Local Harvest. This is a great website to see all the local organic food online and offline in your area. It has great info and is a good source for things like CSA's and farmer's markets. I would love to know if you have an online source for organic groceries that you love. And if not, put your feet up, sip some herbal tea, and enjoy browsing my favorite "aisles".

tomato basil quinoa

Mary Jolley — Tue, 14 May 2013 21:01:21 +0000

I love the flavors of tomato and basil together. I really love it over pasta with lots of parmesan cheese. That my friends, it not the most friendly recipe for a beach-ready bod. So, I have been enjoying those same classic flavors with incredibly nutritious quinoa instead. Fortunately, it's still delicious! [yumprint-recipe id='9']

how our gut microbes contribute to heart disease

Mary Jolley — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:05:08 +0000

Two research studies came out a couple weeks ago both implicating TMAO (trimethylamine-N-oxide) as a biomarker of cardiovascular risk. One study was in the New England Journal of Medicine and the other in Nature Medicine; they can also be seen at Medscape. Now, that may sound boring, but interestingly, both studies show the major dietary source being RED MEAT. What happens is the choline and carnitine in the red meat is converted by the intestinal bacteria to TMAO. Note that carnitine is also a common additive to energy drink and diet supplements. The important point is our gut microbes are the biggest endocrine organ in our body. They can make biologically active compounds (in this instance, TMAO), and they contribute to disease processes. Millions of healthy bacteria colonize our guts from the moment we are born. Changes in the composition and abundance of these bacteria affect the entire immune system and can predispose us to a variety of diseases. It seems that the type of gut bacteria that converts carnitine to troublesome TMAO, flourishes with the more red meat you typically eat. So, remarkably, vegans and vegetarians, even after consuming a large amount of carnitine, did not produce significant levels of TMAO, whereas omnivores consuming the same amount of carnitine did. This leads us to conclude, the bacteria living in our digestive tracts are dictated by our long-term dietary patterns. Healthy guts are so important! We decide what we put in out mouth and it has such a huge impact on our health. I am not telling you to never have another hamburger again, course if you don't, good for you. But, for the rest of us, I hope this is a good reminder to eat red meat sparingly. It matters far more what you eat on a daily basis than what you have once in a while. with love for your guts, Mary

is a football helmet all the protection you’re using?

Mary Jolley — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:48:03 +0000

Warning: This post is not about eating Green... but it is about health... and football... and because my husband is the expert on sports at our house, thanks to him for this... Congrats to Ziggy Ansah for being the 5th pick of the NFL draft! Ezekiel Ansah hails from Ghana, where he was baptized by a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). He later ended up at BYU majoring in actuarial science. Ziggy wanted to become the next Lebron James, but was cut from the basketball team twice. He ran track instead until he was convinced to walk on to the football team. Ziggy had never seen American football while he lived in Ghana. His first day of practice, 3 years ago, he didn't even know how to put his pads on. The first two years, he primarily played special teams. He didn't even start this year until about the fourth game and ended up being the 5th pick in this years draft and is instantly a multimillionaire. More on his cool story here. Friends ask us a lot when we are going to start our boys in football. My oldest isn't even 6, yet, and I sometimes I feel pressured to put him on everyone's team. However, my husband didn't play until freshman year of high school and neither will my boys. Doug put pads on at 14 years old and got drafted in 2002. I personally think that is a big part of the reason the most serious injury he sustained in his entire career was a torn groin muscle. Ziggy is example number 1 that kids don't need to grow up playing tackle football. I think playing football at a young age puts kids at an unnecessary risk for injuries. Concussions being the most serious of these. Also, intense early play can potentially burn them out on a not so fun game (I will concede that some may think this is the most fun game ever. Doug is not one of those people). So, if you want your son to play in the NFL, put him in other skills that will develop his athleticism like soccer, basketball, and baseball. If your child is a good enough athlete, he will make it in high school football, even if he's never played. Ziggy is a great athlete, but got cut from the basketball team twice. Basketball is a skill and needs to be practiced. Football is a game for athletes. Young children should spend their time developing their athletic ability, not banging their heads against each other. They need those brains very much! Speaking of those precious brains, I hope you are feeding them lots of healthy fats! What do you think about children playing football? PHOTOS CREDIT

honey sweet iced herbal tea

Mary Jolley — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:58:38 +0000

It is getting hot here in Arizona. After an amazing winter, it seems the lovely days are diminishing. Now I love a nice hot cup of herbal tea, but lately, the last thing I want is to get warmer. So, I've been making my own brew that is cool and refreshing. I found on pinterest a recipe from a southern gal (being from the south means she must know about iced tea, right?) with a secret ingredient, I incorporated into mine, and she's right, it's so silky smooth. That's where I stopped, though. My tea is herbal, I actually don't drink any real tea. I also sweetened my iced tea with raw local honey, not sugar. Good honey that is local, raw, and minimally processed, has lots of antioxidants and minerals. It has even been touted to help with local allergies. My kids love this tea so much. It seems they think it is cranberry juice cocktail or something. [yumprint-recipe id='8']TEA NOTES: My very favorite tea is Teavana. It is amazing, but also expensive. For this batch of tea I used about 2/3 Teavana's Sweet Fruit Garden Blend and 1/3 of a hibiscus blend. I did find on Teavana that they are having a promotion. Get FREE SHIPPING Sitewide & a Free Sample of Youthberry/Wild Orange Tea Blend on all Orders at Teavana.com! *Valid only 4/29/13 until 5/01/13! If you want to give this tea a try, that would be a great way. I only go for the herbal teas. I don't drink any black, white, green, red, or oolong. There are also lots of other good brands and sometimes I order some with my Green Polka Dot Box. Yes, I totally order groceries online and love it.

how to successfully do a juice cleanse

Mary Jolley — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:19:33 +0000

Happy Spring Cleaning! Of course by that I don't mean vacuuming your mattress (a good idea, though). I am talking about getting your body feeling great and looking great and charged for swimsuit season. I read on one of my favorite blogs, my new roots, that the best time to do a juice cleanse is during the change of seasons. She says,"This is a good time of year to go on a juice diet because the weather is warming up so our bodies can take more raw foods, fruits and veggies are coming into season, and as the seasons make their transition outside, it feels so right to make one inside." It's not scientific, but it sounds nice and I'm going with it. ;) Why Cleanse? Well, many claim that during a juice cleanse, you ease the digestive process by replacing regular meals with delicious, cold-pressed vegetable and fruit juices, raw coconut water elixirs and silky smooth nut milk blends. Consuming only liquids for a few days frees energy in the body, which can then return to the essential jobs of deep inner cleansing and healing. When you feel better on the inside, you look better on the outside. Glowing skin, bright eyes, the disappearance of hard-to-lose pounds, as well as a newfound sense of optimism and enjoyment of life, are all common results of juice cleansing. Disclaimer: this is only my second juice cleanse. I posted here about my first one back in 2011. I don't know why it took me so long to do it again. I really enjoyed it (esp as soon as it was over) and I know it helped me cut back on sugar and meats. For me it felt a bit like recalibrating my appetite. I posted a picture on Instagram today of my juices and realized from the comments, a blog post might be helpful. Today is my 1st day of my 3 day cleanse. To be honest, I'm feeling it. I'm a bit tired and distracted. At least I'm not hungry, yet and the juices are yummy. If you decide to try it out, and I hope you do, remember to start small and be kind to yourself, always. A good way to start might be to do 1 or 2 days and see how you like it. Since I have done this cleanse before, I knew I loved the taste of their juice, but there are lots of other good looking cleanses out there. I really want to try the yummy looking Suja Cleanse. All their juices are different and they are more reasonably priced. So pretty! Any other good ones you love? Preparation for the cleanse is important. In fact, Blue Print sent me a helpful email a few days ago: PREPARE FOR YOUR CLEANSE Prepare, prepare, prepare - we can't stress this enough. The more prepared you are before your cleanse, the smoother your transition will be. This means: starting today, cut down on all those delicious indulgences we love to love… phase out the coffee, the sugar, the meat and the dairy, and add fresh fruit and veggies at every meal. LISTEN UP! NO farewell-to-solid-foods-with-a-steak-and-martini dinner the night before you start. You will NOT be a happy camper by the end of Day One. And that's a promise. So start now! A sample prep menu: Think raw. Think vegan. Think fruits & veggies.

- Breakfast: Fruit - melon, mango, watermelon or other fruit (try not to mix fruits as it gives your digestive system extra work!).
- Lunch: Fruit again or any combination of the following: cucumber, avocado, leafy greens, celery - add some lemon juice & olive oil to make a salad.
- Dinner: Warm vegetable broth (low-sodium!) cucumber or avocado salad, mixed greens salad, arugula or spinach salad, lemon juice, olive oil (you get the picture).

Now tell me, what do you think of cleansing?

banana bread with coconut oil

Mary Jolley — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 03:20:11 +0000

I had the good fortune of going to New York this last weekend. It was wonderful. The weather was great. The shops were beautiful. And, the food was amazing! I have limited self control when it comes to amazing food, so I will be doing a cleanse over the next week or so. It is time for a body systems spring clean. However, before I get to excavating my bad eating habits, I had to do something with the bananas on the counter when I got home. I love banana bread and this recipe is delicious. I love incorporating the coconut oil for added health benefits and a rich velvety flavor. [yumprint-recipe id='6']

spinach quiche with a hash brown crust

Mary Jolley — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 01:45:12 +0000

Quiche goes back a long time for me. My mother used to make traditional spinach quiche with the pie crust and I loved it. This is a tribute to that childhood favorite, but without the pastry. My kids prefer the savory potatoes to the sweet pie crust, anyway. This tastes a lot like what some might call an egg casserole. I suppose you could add bits of bacon or onion or mushrooms, anything you like really. I love the spinach. I don't use much cheese, but feel free to do as much as you like. I use whole milk because I think it's healthier than lower fat varieties. It's more a "whole food". It's less processed and we've already discussed how important fat is! This can be made a bit ahead. I like it warm, but traditionally, it is served at room temperature. [yumprint-recipe id='4']

raw chocolate bars: the best way to eat your coconut oil

Mary Jolley — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:38:31 +0000

Hello, Hello! I am back, finally! It was a wonderful trip to Italy, but as expected, it is very good to be home. As penance for eating so much gelato, pastries, and pizza (no regrets), I am really cracking down on my eating right now. No more sugar or junk for me for a while. It feels so good to be waking up to either green juice or a green smoothie and sprouted wheat or homemade granola for breakfast. It's veggie sandwiches and salads for lunch and simple vegetable heavy dinners for me this week. Since I'm not allowing myself any sugar, I wanted a little something to take the edge off while my cravings go away. These are the perfect thing to satisfy and they are full of the healthy coconut oil we all should eat plenty of. I know I have really been pounding the table lately about coconut oil, but I really can't say enough good about it. I hope you have all purchased a jar by now. If you are looking for a good brand, I really love Tropical Traditions. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is fantastic. No chemicals or heat are used on these organic coconuts. You can get the coconut creme concentrate from them as well. They are a great company with lots of natural and healthy products (they even sell grass-fed meats). Anyway, what ever brand you like, you will love this chocolate. [yumprint-recipe id='7']Proof that I was really out of the country and not just neglecting you...

st. patty’s bean dip

Mary Jolley — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:21:56 +0000

While I am in Italy eating more gelato and pizza than I care to admit, I wanted to share this yummy St. Patrick's Day post I put together before I left. I'll share more about my trip, and how I undo the nutella overload when I get back. In the meantime, enjoy. Ciao! Don't miss out on the opportunity to serve green food and have it welcomed. I don't want to hear of anyone using food coloring this St. Patrick's day. Green up that food with the good stuff. Here is the perfect recipe to get you started, and it is delicious. Serve it up with all the green veggies you can find, cucumbers, celery, broccoli, and since they are just so good- tortilla chips. [yumprint-recipe id='5']They literally won't be able to wait to start at it.