Category Archives: Anti-Cancer

Cherry Orange Soup

Flathead Cherries are sweet and heavenly!
Every year we pick and pit cherries when they are in season. I freeze them, I dry them, we eat them! We are so lucky to live in an area that supplies us with fresh sweet cherries every year!
This is a great soup to make just before a doing a juice cleanse, it is also a good soup to make during a whole food or a raw food cleanse.
Since, Saturday is the start of our 7-day juice fast, I decided to make Cherry Orange Soup!

Cherry Picking

This soup is like having dessert, its so delicious and the kids love it too!
  • Cherry Orange Soup
  • 1 pound sweet cherries, pitted (Flathead cherry’s are the best!)
  • ½ cup black cherry juice
  • ½ cup almond mylk
  • ½ cup coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange peel, top with orange slice
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • pinch cinnamon
  • Directions: Blend and Chill. Top with orange slice. It doesn’t get more simple than that!
Cherries are relatives of the plum, and sweet cherries are much more difficult to produce than sour cherries because, not uncommonly, a late spring frost can devastate a crop. Most cherries are produced in Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, and Utah. But here in the Northwest Montana we are blessed with the Flathead Cherry!
Woo Woo!
cherry picking
Sweet cherries are a warming food that increases vital energy and tone the spleen-pancreas, liver, and kidneys. Also astringent, they remove excess body acids and blood stagnation when eaten regularly, and are therefor therapeutic for gout, paralysis, numbness in the extremities, and rheumatic pain in the lower half of the body.
Sweet cherries reduce vata and kapha and can be used in moderation by pitta.
Cherries are an excellent source of iron and contain some phosphorus, potassium and calcium, as well as vitamin A.
Nutrition info was obtained from The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia, by Rebecca Wood.
 Pitting Cherries
To be healthy: eat right, walk right and talk to yourself right!
Cheers to a beautiful day!
Blissfully,
Michelle

Walking Lightly Soup

It’s that time of year, when I love to eat tons of soup! There is absolutely nothing like soup! By nature its eccentric, in the fact that no two are ever alike!
Make this soup as part of your 3-Day Cleanse!

This is the soup I used to make most often out at the ranch I occasionally cater retreats at. It is derived from the basic soup recipe (see below). Create something new every time!
Walking Lightly Soup:
 
  • 1 whole apple
  • 1 whole avocado
  • 1 bunch greens (mustard, arugula, collards, broccoli, spinach, baby lettuces, or other favorite greens)
  • 1 bunch herbs, (basil, parsley, cilantro, or other favorite herb)
  • 1 whole zucchini
  • 3 tablespoons miso
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 inch ginger
  • dash cayenne pepper
  • 2 to 3 cups blessed water or more if needed
Place all ingredients in a blender, blend and serve!

Basic Soup Recipe:
  • 2 cups non-sweet fruit
Choose between cucumber, tomato, zucchini, pepper, or tomatillo. You may choose to use one or more of these.
  • 1 to 2 cups liquid
Use one cup first. Then if needed, add more liquid at the end. Choose between blessed water, coconut water, or vegetable juice.
  • 1 to 2 cups greens
Vegetables or herbs. Choose between kale, parsley, spinach, arugula (also a spice), celery, and your favorite herbs and veggies!
  • 1/2 to 1 whole avocado, meat of one young coconut, or 2-4 Tablespoons of tahini.
  • 4 Tablespoons olive oil, or other cold pressed oil like flax or hemp.
  • 2 Tablespoons Miso
  • 1/2 to 1 whole apple
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or 2 tablespoons nama shoyu (or Bragg’s for gluten sensitive)
  • 1 inch ginger (optional)
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
Blend all ingredients. You may choose to create a chunky soup by dicing some of the vegetables, or adding some. Warm it up till it feels warm to the touch! But not over 120 degrees so that you may preserve the enzymes and keep the soup ALIVE!
Some other great additions are kelp noodles or zucchini noodles, marinated or grated vegetables, chopped avocado, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, olives, or sprouts.
 
Be creative, have fun and enjoy!
“Good Soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite then any other one dish.”
~Louis P. De Gouy, The Soup Book (1949)
 
Many Blessings!
~ Michelle

Kiwi Apple Spinach Smoothie

My daughter and I were in the grocery store the other day and she found some organic kiwi. Its so funny that we can get organic kiwi in Montana in the winter but she really wanted some. So we bought some.

Kiwi’s are a fun little green fruit with dramatic black seeds in the center. You can eat the skin but I find its fuzzy texture to be not so appealing. Its like trying to kiss you husband who has stubbles on his face and then really all you get is whisker burn, only with a kiwi you are eating it. So needless to say I like to peel my kiwi.

kiwi

Kiwi actually has amazing health benefits:

  • Kiwi’s Phytonutrients Protect DNA – Fascinating. Anti-oxidant properties of the kiwi fruit have the ability to protect DNA from oxygen-related damage.
  • Premier Anti-Oxidant Protection – An excellent source of vitamin C that helps neutralize the body of free radicals. Free radicals might sound cool, but they actually cause damage to our cells and lead to problems with inflammation and cancer (which is not so radical if you know what I mean). And since vitamin C is so good for the immune system, kiwi may be helpful in preventing recurrent ear infections.
  • Fiber for Blood Sugar Control Plus Cardiovascular and Colon Health – Pretty loaded but the fiber in kiwi has been shown to reduce high cholesterol levels, which in turn may reduce the risk of heart disease and heart attack. Kiwi is helpful in keeping blood sugar levels of diabetic patients under control. As an added bonus, fiber is good for binding and removing toxins from the colon, which is helpful for preventing colon cancer.
  • Protection Against Asthma – Eating vitamin C may be effective in protecting against respiratory symptoms associated with asthma like wheezing.
  • Protection Against Macular Degeneration – I remember my Great Grandmother telling me I need to eat my carrots to keep my eyes in tip top shape, but it looks as though eating kiwi might be even more important than carrots because they are high in anti-oxidant vitamins A, C & E that protect agains vision loss.
  • Cardiovascular Health – Eating kiwi everyday may significantly lower your risk for blood clots and reduce the amount of fats (triglycerides) in your blood, therefore helping to protect cardiovascular health.

Have you had your kiwi today?

garden spinach

Kiwi Apple Spinach

  • 2 kiwis
  • 1 chopped apple
  • 1 cup spinach
  • sprinkle of cinnamon
  • 2 Tbs walnuts
  • 3 pitted dates
  • almond milk, tea or water

Place all ingredients in blender. Feel free to use fresh or frozen fruit. If you are like me, you can add some extra protein like spirulina or another green powder. Have fun with it, blend it together and enjoy!

organic apple

As we continue into into the New Year with new intentions and dreams for a brighter, happier, more prosperous future, take a minute to think about these seven beautiful ideas to ease your mind and anything you maybe struggling with along the way.

7 beautiful ideas to ease life’s struggle when taken to heart:

  1. Make Peace with your Past so it doesn’t spoil your Present.
  2. What others think of you is none of your business.
  3. Time Heals Almost Everything. Give Time Some Time.
  4. No one is the reason for your happiness except you.
  5. Don’t compare your Life with others; you have no idea what theirs is all about.
  6. Stop thinking too much, it’s alright not to know all the answers.
  7. Smile! You don’t own all the problems in the world.

Lots of smiles and green smoothies!

Michelle

Parsley Pear Smoothie

Pear-Balsamic Dressing

Parsley Pear Smoothie

  • 1 pear
  • 1 banana (fresh or frozen)
  • 1/2 bunch parsley
  • 2 Tbs walnuts or 1 Tbs coconut oil
  • almond milk or water

Blend together and enjoy! you may also choose to add one tsp spirulina or for a little extra sweetness a couple of drops of stevia.

parsley

Parsley is one the most popular herbs in the world, and although many chefs use it as a garnish, parsley promotes optimal health because it is a rich source of anti-oxidant nutrients that are great for our heart! Parsley helps protect against rheumatoid arthritis, with its amazing anti inflammatory properties.

Parsley is also easy to enjoy by combining with quinoa or bulgur wheat, chopped green onions, mint leaves, lemon juice and olive oil to make a delicious tabouli dish. Add parsley to pesto to add more texture and green color. Use parsley in soups and sauces or add to salads for extra vibrant flavor & beautiful green color!!!

Hope you are all having a healthy & safe holiday season!

Love,

Michelle