Real Fruit-Flavored Vitamin Water!

My favorite beverage on a hot summer day? Real fruit-flavored vitamin water! They are easy to make, and I get the added bonus of knowing exactly what's in them. No added sugars, artificial sweeteners, harmful food dyes, or other chemical additives, plus I get to eat the fruit when I'm done! I make them the night before in a mason jar or glass pitcher. I like the mason jars because they are 1L with a tight-fitting lid, so I can just grab and go.

It's really important to me to stay hydrated throughout the day to feel my best. Our bodies are made up of 60-75% water and drinking too little can leave us feeling tired, cause headaches and other symptoms. It's also important to stay hydrated for proper digestion.

How do you know if you are getting enough water? On average women need at least 2.2L of water a day and men need around 3L. I personally need a minimum of 2.5L everyday to feel my best, more if I am active, working up a sweat, or spending the day in the sun. I also eat plenty of water-containing fresh fruit and veggies, so if I was eating a typical diet, I would probably need even more. Drinking enough water in a day can be difficult at first, but making fruit-flavored vitamin water makes it fun and tasty! Bonus tip:  Start out each day with 1L of water first thing in the morning, before breakfast - It's energizing and gives our body a nice hydrating flush.

What kind of water do I use for my real fruit-flavored vitamin waters?

I used to buy Prairie Spring water in the blue jugs, a filtered spring water that retains the minerals, before that I used a Brita, but now I have a Northern Water Cleaners filtration system hooked up to my entire house. It filters the water for my showers, baths, garden, turtle aquarium, the taps in my kitchen...everywhere! My three dogs and I enjoy chlorine-free, lead-free, flouride-free, pharmaceutical-free water everyday. I encourage you to research the water in your area and decide which option is right for you. 

So here's the fun part! My favorite fruit-flavored vitamin water recipes:

1) The Original: Lemon Cucumber Lime:

Mix in a pitcher: 10 cups of water + 1 cucumber, 1 lime and a lemon, thinly sliced. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

2) Cucumber Melon Mint

Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 1 cup of watermelon cut into cubes + 2 mint leaves + 1/2 thinly sliced cucumber. Leave in refrigerator overnight before serving.

3) Funky Strawberry Lime

Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 6 strawberries and one thinly sliced lime + 12 finely chopped fresh mint leaves. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

4) Raspberry Lemon

Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 1 cup of raspberries and three thinly sliced lemon. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

5) Citrus Boost
Mix in a pitcher: 10 cups of water +1/2 Grapefruit + 1/2 Freshly squeezed Grapefruit Juice, 1/2 Lemon thinly sliced, 1/2 Lime thinly sliced, 1/2 Valencia Orange thinly sliced. Juice grapefruit and add to a large 1 litre glass or mason jar, add remaining ingredients and stir. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

6) Cooling Pineapple Mint

Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 1 cup of pineapple cut into cubes + 12 fresh mint leaves finely chopped. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

7) Sweet and Spicy: Apple Cinnamon

Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 1 cup of apple cut into cubes + 2 cinnamon sticks + 2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

8) The Zinger : Lemon Ginger

Mix in a pitcher: 10 cups of water with 4-5 pieces of fresh ginger cut into cubes + 2 thinly sliced lemons. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

9) The Holiday: Cranberry Ginger
Mix in a pitcher: 10 cups of water with 4-5 pieces of fresh ginger cut into cubes + 2 thinly sliced oranges and a handful of fresh cranberries. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving. Great to serve your guests over the holidays. 

You can also make these recipes in individual mason jars and refrigerate overnight. Play around with your favorite fruits and come up with your own fabulous creations! 

***Thanks again to Heather and the lovely ladies on the Regina Global Morning News Show for having me on the set today to share my favorite vitamin water recipes. It's always such a fun treat to talk and share with you all!

Thanks for reading/watching!!

Lots of love and fresh squeezed hugs,
Naturally Ashley

Holistic Health Coach
www.naturallyashley.com
www.facebook.com/naturallyashleynutrition

*For more information on Northern Water Cleaners check out: http://www.northernwatercleaners.com/

*Dietary reference intakes for water, potassium, sodium, chloride and sulfate.Institute of Medicine.http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/DRI//DRI_Water/73-185.pdf. 

Where Has The Good Bacteria Gone? Yogurt and Probiotics

I don't watch TV often but I have noticed that I can't turn it on without seeing an advertisement for yogurt. They are also in a lot of women's and health magazines too. I think of the Activia song and the belly wiggling with the yellow arrow when I think of yogurt. I personally do not eat yogurt because I choose not to eat dairy. But for people that do, it can be quite confusing looking at the MASSIVE selection of yogurt in the grocery store. Which one do you pick? And which yogurt is the healthiest?

We know from the commercials that probiotics are good bacteria that help with digestion. (Insert Activia song and belly wiggle here.) We have 1000 trillion cells in our body and a healthy digestive system has 100 trillion good bacteria. So I asked myself, what is killing all the good bacteria that I have to add it back into my body? Why do i feel the push to eat yogurt and consume probiotics? Even some naturopath doctor's recommend eating yogurt and they usually advise us to cut out dairy products. It could be because we are killing many of our good bacteria due to one or more of the following: 

Common killers of good bacteria:

Antibiotics - when taken kill both the good and the bad bacteria in our bodies

Chlorine - the chlorine in our tap water kills harmful bacteria in the water supply, but when we drink that water it kills the good bacteria in our digestive system as well. 

Meat and Dairy- antibiotics are found in most non-organic meat and dairy products, and these end up in our bodies. Also, meat and dairy can be really difficult for our bodies to digest, sitting for long periods of time in our intestines allowing bad bacteria to grow. 

Alcohol, drugs, smoking - these can all contribute to good bacteria loss as well as negative thinking and stress! 

Junk Food like soda doesn't help either. 

If you eat a whole food, plant-based diet and avoid certain things like chlorinated tap water, junk food, and antibiotics, your good bacteria might be just fine. But if you are ingesting at least one of the above, you may want to look at taking probiotics in some form. Some options are:

Regular & Greek Yogurt

Dairy-free Coconut Milk and Almond Milk Yogurt

Fermented Foods: like miso, tempeh, sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha and kim chi

Probiotic supplements from the health food store. 

There seems to be a big push for Greek yogurt at the moment. Each major brand is coming out with their own brand of greek yogurt to keep up with the competition. But is Greek yogurt really any better for you? The main difference between it and regular yogurt is that is goes through a more extensive straining process to remove some of the liquid whey, sugar and lactose. They say that by doing this it makes it easier to digest for those that are lactose intolerant... I say for those that are lactose intolerant - try coconut milk yogurt! It's dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free and vegan. Both contain helpful probiotics. 

Greek yogurt might have more protein than coconut milk yogurt but this coconut brand has 8 grams of fibre compared to Greek's 1 gram! Greek is lower in sodium and calcium. (But I wouldn't let this influence your decision, if you are eating yogurt for calcium I would suggest trying a kale salad instead.) Both yogurts are high in fat but the coconut milk yogurt has less sugar, and when comparing sugar the Greek one used vanilla flavored syrup as a sweetener as opposed to coconut milk's organic cane sugar. The cane sugar is going to be a better choice in this situation. 

And I think we can all agree that the sugar-free yogurts with artificial sweeteners are not going to be good for our health. Be careful though, even though a package says aspartame-free doesn't mean that they haven't snuck another artificial sweetener in there like sucralose or sorbitol. If you want to eat the regular yogurt and are worried about the sugar, buy plain organic yogurt (regular or coconut) and add fruit like strawberries or stevia as a sweetener. 

I just want to make sure to mention that you can make your own coconut milk yogurt or sauerkraut at home! Making your own fermented foods has been gaining popularity, and some argue it's the best source of probiotics that you can get. If you would like to learn how to make coconut milk yogurt, check out my friend Whitney's website Grounded Nutrition for the recipe --> http://www.groundednutrition.com/raw-coconut-yogurt/. 

And finally -Why not just take a pill for probiotics?

You can. They have pills, powders and pastes ranging from 5 billion cultures to 50 billion. When purchasing one online or from your health food store, look for a 5-strain enteric cased probiotic. Enteric means that it has been encapsulated to resist stomach acid so that the live cultures survive through to the intestines where they can work their magic. Take as directed on the bottle. **Always consult your health-care provider about whether or not probiotics or any supplement is right for you.

Thanks to Rustie Dean and the Regina Global Morning News Show for having me on the set this morning to talk about yogurt and probiotics.
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO WATCH THE TV SEGMENT!!

http://globalnews.ca/video/704660/yogurt-benefits-and-disadvantages


Please leave any comments or questions you have below!

Thanks for reading, 

Lots of love and fresh squeezed hugs, 

Naturally Ashley

xo

5 Steps to Self Love and Sweet Vanilla Lavender Smoothie Recipe

“No matter how hard one searched one could not find anyone in the Universe more deserving of love than oneself.”

 ~Buddha

(A drawing I did in Kindergarden)

My friend Jillian and I had a really interesting conversation about self love the other night. We were pondering- at what point did we start not loving ourselves fully and how did this happen? I have noticed that I often judge myself, my actions, my thoughts, and my body image especially, whether I'm 140lbs or 100lbs, I don't think I've ever looked in the mirror and been pleased with the whole package. And this is silly because I KNOW that I am perfect and exactly where I need to be in this moment... so why do these thoughts still pop in my head? 

I don't know exactly how or when this started for me but looking back at this drawing from kindergarden I do know that at one point I honestly loved myself, so I must be able to get back there. I have been on a journey of self-discovery over the past year, obsessed with self-growth books and quotes, cleaning up my diet and relationships with others, meditation and breathwork, past-life analysis, even travelling solo to Sedona on a spiritual journey... anything positive and explorative where I can get to know myself better on all levels, mind, body, spirit. We have to know oneself to truly love oneself, all of our blessings and gifts as well as our flaws. It's a little harder than I thought it would be, it seems like such a simple concept....to love oneself. So why is it so difficult?...  

I have found that there are many factors, my limiting beliefs, past experiences, and the EGO to name a few. From time-to-time the Ego twerps in and tells me that I am being conceited, 'Who do you think you are?' 'Do you think your better than others?'  I have felt guilty, as I have pulled away from some of my friends and isolated myself at times. But I am striving to dedicate myself to to an honest self-evatluation with a goal of self-acceptance, recognizing both my blessings AND my flaws, acknowledging and working on both equally. Working on both, I reassure myself that I am not being conceited and that I should probably let go of what others may think of me anyways. The more I love myself and my decisions the less it matters what others think of them. 

I'm nowhere near complete and total self love, but I'm working on it. Everyday. This is what I have learned and been working on so far:

1.  Focus on your positive attributes. Release any judgements or negative thoughts you may have about your mind, body, or spirit, finding any way you can to fall in love with yourself. *Example: you can't look in the mirror and say I am the perfect weight if you don't believe it. The twerps in your head 'yeah right' and you believe you are lying to yourself. But you CAN choose to focus on things that you do love about yourself and believe to be true, like 'I have beautiful eyes.' And be grateful for your beautiful eyes that can see the beauty in this world. Focusing on these positives help lead you towards the goal of total self love. 

2.  Know that you are here for a reason. Each one of us was put on Earth for our own individual reason. No one else can do what you are meant to do, or be as amazing as you are. So rock it! If you don't know your purpose - follow your passions, what makes you happy, what makes you loose track of time - this will lead you to your purpose. You don't have to be able to articulate it or put it into a sentence,  just know that what you are doing makes you happy and you are on the right path.  

3. Accept and love others.  Someone who cannot accept and love themselves will find it challenging to accept and love others fully and sincerely. We are all One. We are not separate from anyone or anything else. The process of loving yourself includes knowing and feeling yourself as One with all 'others', and loving all 'others'.  Be aware of where you place judgements upon the people in your life as it is a reflection of something you may fear or need to work on within yourself. At the same time don't be too hard on yourself for these thoughts/feelings of judgement - simply take note of your thoughts and direct them inward to see where you may need work on your personal journey. 

4.  Self-forgiveness.  We all know that we should forgive others but what about ourselves? It can be one of the hardest tasks to truly forgive oneself and let go. But know that you are perfect and exactly where you need to be right now in this moment. All things have led you here to be your best self and if you are facing a challenge/crisis, know that within every challenge lies opportunity to grow and expand. Think about what you may consider to be past mistakes and find the good, the lesson within and that will help you let go, forgive and move on.  

5.  Ask yourself: What would someone that loves them self do? 

I got this from a video by Ask Teal and it has been an amazing tool. It has helped me in all sorts of situations- dealing with food, relationships and life in general. Asking what would someone that loves them self do is the easy part - following through with the answer from your inner guidance may take some practice, buy hey, you've got to start somewhere right?!

Check out Ask Teal's video on how to lose weight here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzJiMp-P_lY

Sweet Vanilla Lavender Smoothie

I was so excited to find lavender growing at the lake, so I brought a bunch home. The lavender pairs really well the vanilla in this heavenly smoothie. It was my first time using dried lavender in a recipe and I am very pleased with the aromatic taste. Lavender is good for relieving anxiety and stress, and can be beneficial to the respiratory tract in particular coughs, colds, and influenza. 

Sweet Vanilla Lavender Smoothie
Ingredients:
3 bananas
1-2 frozen bananas
1/2 cup of filtered water
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
1 tsp dried lavender leaves

*Blend all ingredients together and enjoy sipping your sweet, relaxing smoothie. 

**Optional, you can also add frozen blueberries but I find they slightly overpower the taste of the lavender.

Thanks for reading lovelies!

Lots of love and fresh squeezed hugs,

Naturally Ashley

www.naturallyashley.com
www.facebook.com/naturallyashleynutrition 

Cajun Roasted Cauliflower Salad

I was inspired to make this salad after seeing a recipe for BBQ Cauliflower Salad this weekend. I made a few changes, like keeping the corn raw and changing up the BBQ sauce for coconut oil and cajun seasoning, and it turned out great! The perfect summer salad to enjoy outside on the patio. 
For the original recipe click here --> http://www.forkandbeans.com/2013/06/10/bbq-cauliflower-salad/

Cajun Roasted Cauliflower Salad

Vegan & gluten-free

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 ear of raw organic corn, sliced
• 1/4 of a red onion, diced
• shredded carrots
• 3 c. lettuce
• 1 medium tomato, cut into cubes
• 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsps coconut oil melted
• Optional: 1/2 cup black beans

Cajun Seasoning 

1 tbsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp (or up to 1 tbsp) cayenne - depending on how spicy you like it

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp sea salt (optional) 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil.
2. Toss the cauliflower florets in coconut oil, add spices and toss again.
3. Place cauliflower florets on the sheet and bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven.
4. Assemble all of the ingredients together for the salad.
5. Squeeze fresh lemon on top, toss and enjoy! 

Looking for a salad dressing?? For a fresh dairy-free ranch dressing click here --> http://dawnjacksonblatner.com/recipes/raw-cashew-ranch-dressing/  

Thanks for stopping by, 
Keep it fresh and fruity!
Naturally Ashley
xo

Check out my other recipes at  --> www.naturallyashley.com
Find me on Facebook! --> www.facebook.com/naturallyashleynutrition 

Banana's for: Banana Blueberry Soft Serve Ice Cream

I've been on a bit of a banana ice cream kick lately! Partly because I had lots of ripe bananas left over from the expo last weekend that went into my freezer, partly because it's so quick and easy to make, and partly because it tastes amazing!!! It has the exact same creamy smoothness as soft serve ice cream. Nikki and I made this yesterday afternoon as a treat - I usually make straight up banana ice cream but I had already had that for breakfast!

I have three dogs and am babysitting two real sweethearts for the weekend so I thought a puppy play date would be fun!  Nikki came over first with her two dogs Lucy and Rouge. She was hungry and all I have in the house is bananas so the choice was clear - Banana ice cream! I also had some frozen blueberries so we added them to the mixture. It was the perfect afternoon snack and really hit the spot. If you haven't tried banana ice cream yet I suggest you try it! It's super easy and simply delicious! (RECIPE BELOW)

Chelsea came over shortly after with her dog Ollie. There were 8 dogs in my backyard and they had the time of their lives running and playing together. You can just imagine how tired they were after! 

     

Now back to the ice cream! I used both frozen blueberries and frozen bananas to make my ice cream and I added a handful of fresh ones to it after I blended it too! You can do this with almost any sweet fruit. Blended frozen mango is delicious too! 

Here is the recipe for

 Banana Blueberry Soft Serve Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS:

Frozen BANANAS and BLUEBERRIES!

Slice bananas 1/4-inch thick. Make sure they are ripe with lots of brown spots!!

Freeze in a single layer on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper — or in one layer in a resealable freezer bag, laid flat — until solid, at least 6 hours. (I usually freeze them overnight)

Take out 3-5 bananas and measure 1/2 cup frozen blueberries 

Transfer to food processor OR Vitamix/high powered blender and blend. 

The Vitamix works wonders for making banana ice cream. But you can use a food processor too! When you use a food processor the bananas will first go sort of granular, then you’ll start to notice it going a bit creamy near the edges. Once this happens, scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue to blend, scrape, blend, scrape, etc. until the whole thing is a smooth, silky, creamy, moussey dream. This whole process should take 3 to 4 minutes in the food processor and 1- 2 minutes in the Vitamix. 

I don’t suggest doing this in a blender unless you have a Vitamix or a Blentec high powered blender. The blade isn’t big enough to properly chop the bananas. That being said: My sister makes hers in her Magic Bullet adding some unfrozen banana or almond milk to get things moving along. 

Variations: You can switch up the flavour by adding another frozen fruit, just as long as at least half of the mixture is banana. Some great mixtures I have done are: 

Banana Strawberry
Banana Mango
Banana Cherry
Banana Pineapple and Dates
Banana Chocolate (carob/cacao powder) and Fresh Mint

5 Tips for Great Tasting Green Smoothies

Thanks again ladies for having me on the Global Regina Morning News show this morning! I had so much fun sharing my healthy tips for making great tasting green smoothies! We didn't get all the way through to tip 5 on the show but I have listed all of the steps below for you follow.
If you follow these steps you're sure to end up with a great tasting green smoothie!

(click here to watch the VIDEO CLIP--> http://globalnews.ca/video/611497/health-coach-ashley-clark

Don't be scared of the green color, green smoothies can actually taste great! Green smoothies are a super-nutrient-packed beverage made of raw leafy green vegetables blended with fresh and/or frozen fruit and water. Typical greens used in green smoothies include kale, spinach, swiss chard, cucumber, celery, collard greens, bok choy, parsley, cilantro and more. I drink a green smoothie for breakfast almost every day as a way to get more greens in my diet. 

Greens are important because they are the most nutrient dense foods, meaning that they contain a high amount of vitamins and minerals, fibre and antioxidants that help strengthen the blood and respiratory system. They are also high-alkaline foods. The alkaline minerals in our bodies are used to neutralize acidic conditions caused by the environment. Nutritionally, greens are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and vitamins A, C, E and K. They are loaded with fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. 

Blending your greens helps your body with the absorption of all these great vitamins and minerals found in them by busting open the plant's cell walls exposing these nutrients. The amount of greens in a large salad takes me an hour to properly chew them to break open the cell walls. *It's still important to chew your green smoothies for proper digestion! 

I've played around with different combinations, finding that not all green smoothies are created equal in taste so I've created a list of 5 tips for beginners to achieve great tasting green smoothies!

5 Tips for Great Tasting Green Smoothies

1. Start small - a typical green smoothie is 60% fruit and 40% greens, but you don't have to start out using this much. Start with using one small handful of spinach or one big leaf of kale - de-stemmed - and gradually adding more in until you are using 40% greens. De-stemming the kale is important for great tasting green smoothies as the stem makes the smoothie bitter and unpleasant.

2. Stick to one green - When starting out, it's best to stick to one green at a time for a great tasting green smoothie. I recommend spinach and kale to beginners and you can use baby kale if you like. I find spinach especially blends well and kale has little taste when blended well with sweet fruit.

3. Use sweet fruits - sweet fruits like banana, mango, cherries, pineapple, grapes, peaches, blueberries and pitted medjool dates taste great in green smoothies. They will make your green smoothie naturally sweet and help mask the taste of the greens. Fruits like strawberries, raspberries, apples, lemons, and grapefruit are not as sweet and are best used in combination with sweeter fruits if you would like to add them. You can also use a combination of fresh and frozen fruits depending on the availability but I always stick to fruits that are in season as they are more nutrient-packed and cheaper to purchase.

4. Try coconut water - substituting coconut water for water adds so much sweetness and flavor to your green smoothies as well as electrolytes like potassium which are essential for proper hydration. I definitely recommend cracking up a young thai coconut or buying organic coconut water from your local health food store. (Taste Nirvana and Harmless Harvest are my favorite brands!) Coconut water taste especially great with tropical fruits like banana, mango, pineapple and oranges.

5. Keep it simple - You don't have to throw in ten different things to get a great tasting green smoothie. Some of the recipes on the internet might be intimidating using ingredients like maca powder, spirulina, raw cacao, chlorella and other fancy superfoods that you don't necessarily need. I actually find that the simpler the ingredients- the better my green smoothie tastes! Some examples of great tasting, simple sweet green smoothies are:

Simple Green Smoothies using kale or spinach:
-Bananas, coconut water and greens
-Mango, cherry, coconut water, greens
-Bananas, blueberries and greens
-Mango, banana, coconut water and greens
-Frozen banana, pineapple, dates, coconut water and greens
-Blueberry, banana, mango and greens
-Mango, peach, coconut water and greens
-Mango, blueberry, cherry, coconut water, greens

More adventurous green smoothies:
-Mango, coconut water, lime and cilantro
-Cucumber, mint, pear, spinach and dates
-Apples, dates, coconut water, spinach and cinnamon
-Strawberry, pineapple, orange, coconut water, kale
-Bananas, celery and coconut water
-Peaches, dates, coconut water, kale, cinnamon, ginger

* Bonus tip - adding blueberries turns your green smoothie into a purple smoothie - which is great if you have picky eaters in your family and are trying to get them to eat more greens. Also, if you like to add milk to your smoothies, try substituting regular milk for almond milk. Almonds are a natural source of calcium and almond milk tastes great when added to green smoothies.

Thanks for stopping by, 

Lots of love and fresh squeezed hugs!

Naturally Ashley, 

xo

www.naturallyashley.com
find me on facebook! www.facebook.com/naturallyashleynutrition

Top 5 Benefits from the 10 Day Juice Cleanse & Frickin' FruitLuck!

Hi Everyone! Today is day 4 of re-introducing foods back into my diet!

 I broke my fast on Friday with....

DATES! 

Surprise Surprise!

I have been eating mostly fruit so far. Yesterday I incorporated some fruit veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini. My sisters and I went to Chris Kendell's Frickin' FruitLuck in Saskatoon- sooo much fun! I loved meeting new fruity and furry friends and sharing mangos, watermelon, bananas, oranges and smiles. 

(No durian - I might have to bring one next time!) 

WATCH FOR A FRUITLUCK COMING TO MOOSE JAW SOON! 

We went to the farmers market after and scored some of the most amazing mini-cucumbers, tomatoes, and chard. I think I ate a whole bag of cucumbers on the way home...and a bag of tomatoes! For supper I made zucchini noodles with a simple marinara - fat free. I haven't added fats back in yet. I'm going to add in greens today and make a green smoothie for lunch! 

                                                     Farmers Market in Saskatoon

I believe that re-introducing foods is the most important part of the juice cleanse. You have the chance here to learn so much about your body. I have been introducing in foods slowly to listen to how each one effects how I feel. I will listen to how I feel right after eating, then I check in again about two hours after and ask myself: 

*How is my body feeling now?

*What is my energy level at?

*How is my digestion?

*Do I notice any headaches/other aches or pains?

*What kind of mood am I in?

Doing this you can learn what foods irritate your digestive system and your mood. 

FOOD AFFECTS YOUR MOOD! 

Here are the top 5 benefits I noticed on my juice cleanse:

1. Clear skin - Oh my gosh, my skin is glowing - with not a blemish or pimple in sight!
2. Amazing reduction in allergies - I cannot believe how clear my sinuses are. Especially in the morning. I even went to help a friend paint her new house and it didn't even bother me. I am usually so sensitive that being in a house with paint fumes would have knocked me out for a week! I even sat by a campfire Saturday night!
3. No scalp irritation! - Those pesky flakes and itchy scalp disappeared on my cleanse! I was thinking it was due to overt fats and I am so curious to see if they return when I add nuts and seed back into my diet!
4. Detoxing physically and emotionally - I was able to let go of some emotional baggage that I was carrying around. The cleanse forced me to slow down and relax. I had the chance to sit with my thoughts and emotions instead of distracting myself with keeping busy! I lost about a pound a day - I look and feel great about my body. And I feel stronger durning my workouts at the gym now! I could do way more reps at TRX on Saturday - Bonus!
5. Enhanced senses - like mental clarity and a super sharp sense of smell! I could smell every single odour in a room - I still haven't decided if this is a good or bad thing yet! Haha! ...It's actually a great thing because with the enhanced sense of smell comes an enhanced sense of taste - fruits and vegetables have so much more flavor! It has helped huge so far with reducing my cravings for salt. 

A popular question that I was asked was, 'Where do you get your protein on a juice cleanse?'

Answer: The same place that I get them when I'm not juice fasting - from GREENS! 

Green juices in particular are rather rich in protein – 10 grams per serving (16-20 glass). To put it in perspective, 1 ounce of meat, fish or poultry, 1 egg, 1 cup milk each have 6-8 grams of protein.

Here’s a list of several raw sources of protein you can juice:

• Asparagus
• Beet Greens
• Broccoli 
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Collard Greens
• Kale
• Mustard Greens
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• Sprouts 
• Tomatoes• Turnip Greens

If you have any questions, please comment below! I would love to hear from you!

Until next time, 

Lots of love and fresh squeezed hugs, 

Naturally Ashley
xo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NaturallyAshleyNutrition
Email: naturallyashleynutrition@gmail.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/naturallyashleyNASH 
Twitter: Naturally Ashley @bananaavenue

Four Dogs and One Long Weekend

I hope everyone had a great long weekend!  I did! Lots was happening, I did a newborn photoshoot Sunday morning, my girlfriend from high school got married on Saturday, I worked the Carrie Underwood concert Friday and went out dancing with my sisters afterwards. All of which took it's toll on me, especaily because I am juice cleansing right now. I do not recommend staying up late while juice fasting! Sunday I felt hungover even though I didn't drink anything but water and pure grapefruit juice.

I did a video on Saturday about how I was feeling after getting annoyed at the dogs.
(Click here to watch -->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJdxsg2BTR8)
I have three dogs and I was babysitting my sister Nikki's Pyrenees/Shepard Lucy. Look at how pretty she is!

This is Chase. He is 17! 

 Gabby Girl 

Sir Winston Crumb  

With four dogs, I bet you can imagine that if one started barking all of them did- not great for nap time! I felt bad for my neighbours. And I wound up getting pretty mad a frustrated with them, opening the screen door to yell. When I did I noticed that my intestines became instantly inflamed. And since I am juice cleansing (and feeling great intestinally so far) I immediately knew there was a connection between the emotions I was choosing and the way my body felt. I was agitated and inflamed and so were my guts. It actually makes perfect sense now that I think about it and I am grateful for the lesson here - The next time my digestive system feels irritated and inflamed, I will not only stop to think about what I have ate, I will stop and think about what I am thinking, how I am feeling and check in with my emotions. Are these thoughts serving me? Or are they taking away from my inner peace and happiness.  How could I look at this differently? I could be grateful for the protection and unconditional love from 4 awesome pooches.

Just be LOVE people! Love yourself, Love your body, Love each other. And pay attention to your thoughts. If you find yourself in a challenging situation, turn around and ask what is the lesson here? What is the universe trying to teach me to help propel me forward. I am definitely more in touch with how my emotions and thought effect my body because of this cleanse.

Today is day 7 of 10! It feels great to get through a whole week and know there's only three days left. I have been sticking to Orange Juice, Green Juice and Coconut water but yesterday decided to make a sweet-treat juice out of longan fruit! It was tedious peeling and deseeding them but it was sooo worth it to get this sweet and silky juice. I used a whole bag with 1/4 cup of water blended in the Vitamix and strained with a nut-milk bag.  

Longan Juice!

I will be posting a wrap-up video on or after day ten to share my full experience with you! 

Lots of love and fresh squeezed hugs, 

Naturally Ashley

xo 

Check out my YouTube channel for more videos: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/naturallyashleyNASH

Find me on Facebook for inspiration and recipes: 

www.facebook.com/NaturallyAshleyNutrition