Mason Jar Meals Make Easy Lunches with 3 Healthy Recipes!

One of the questions I get asked often is 'What are healthy lunch ideas?' Most people want something that is fun, quick and easy to take to work, and mostly healthy too! While there is nothing easier than taking 10 bananas or 2 lbs of grapes to work for lunch, my advice is usually to take a big green smoothie in a mason jar. Mason jars are great for hauling your water and smoothies around but they are also a part of a fun new lunch trend called Mason Jar Meals. They became really popular this summer and now you can find tons of ideas for healthy and tasty mason jar meals on websites like Pinterest. These self-contained entire meals are way healthier and tastier than a frozen dinner and won't get soggy like a sandwich. The key is in the layering. Dressing on the bottom, with layers going up from more dense to less dense. Example: Dressing, chickpeas, carrots, red pepper, leafy greens. Most recipes tend to yield 4-6 meals so you can make your lunches for the week ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator.  Just grab and go in the morning!

Tips For Making Mason Jar Meals:

• Be sure there is no gap between the lettuce and the jar lid or the lettuce might go bad (when prepping for more than a day or two in advance). 
• If it's a meal that needs to be mixed and eaten in the jar, leave some room at the top for mixing. 
• Make sure the dressing is at the bottom to keep the veggies crisp.
• Take a bowl (and a fork) to dump the salad in. You can easily wash the bowl and keep it at work.
• Turn the jar upside down 10-15 minutes before lunch time.  This helps get dressing out of the jar if you do not have a spatula or a spoon to scoop it all out. 
• You can mix the dressing with cooked quinoa before adding it to the jars. 
• Use quart size jars for meal-sized salads. (I could personally take 2-3 for one meal! I eat a lot of greens!) 
• For recipes that call for tomatoes- use cherry or grape instead of chopped! 
• Red leaf lettuce wilts more quickly than Romaine and green leaf.
• Wash and DRY the ingredients before filling your jar. 
• If you can find them, get the large mouth jars. They will make it easier to fill and remove your meals. 

I love mason jars is because they are relatively cheap. You can usually buy them at Superstore here in Canada and get a case of 12 for around $10. That's less than $1 a jar. I bet your fancy tupperware and glass containers cost at least $5 or more.  Also, mason jars are made of glass so no chemicals leaching from the plastic. The lids also fit on securely so you do not have to worry about leaks in your bag. (If you find that your lids start to rust there are plastic lids you can purchase online at Amazon.ca) 

Pictured from left to right:

-Mango Curry Kale Salad 

-Black Bean Fiesta Salad

-Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

RECIPES!

Mango Curry Kale Salad

Mango Curry Dressing:
1 cup mango cubed (Defrost if using frozen)
1/2 pint whole cherry tomatoes
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
a tiny chunk of ginger, pinky finger size
*Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or high speed blender.

Layer in Mason Jar in order:
1. Mango Curry dressing (use as much as you like in the bottom, I like my salads saucy!)
2. 1/2 pint whole cherry tomatoes
3. Red Onion, Red peppers
4. Chopped Kale
5. Small handful of fresh cilantro

Black Bean Fiesta Salad 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 can black beans
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
3/4 cup organic corn
Romaine lettuce
1/4 cup chopped Cilantro
1/2 Avocado or 1/2 cup fresh guacamole
Optional:
Tortilla chips

Layer in Mason Jar in order:
1. 1/2 cup of fresh salsa (or organic store bought)
2. 1/2 can of black beans
3. Red onion, and a handful of red pepper
4. 3/4 cup of organic corn (I use fresh raw if I can, if not you can find organic corn in the frozen section) You can heat it up in a pan to get rid of any moisture before adding to the jar.
5. Top with chopped romaine lettuce and chopped cilantro
6. Bring 1/2 an avocado with you to slice into your salad for extra yummyness. You can also add crushed tortilla chips or fresh guacamole. <Click here for fresh tortilla chips and guacamole recipes>

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad 

Ingredients:
1 garlic clove chopped finely
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 can chickpeas
1 large lemon
1 cup red pepper chopped
1 cup cucumber chopped
1/2 cup black olives
handful of raisins or chopped dates
Spinach

Directions for chickpea marinade:
1. Cut the lemon in half and juice one half
2. Mix chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice and red onion in a bowl

Layer in Mason Jar in order:
1. Marinated chickpeas
2. Red pepper and cucumber
3. Olives
4. Raisins or dates
5. Spinach
Bring the other 1/2 of lemon to squeeze on salad at lunch.

Don't forget to bring a bowl to work and enjoy these yummy recipes! 

-- 

Lots of Love and Fresh Squeezed Hugs!

Ashley Clark

Holistic Health Coach

Naturally Ashley Nutrition

www.naturallyashley.com

www.facebook.com/NaturallyAshleyNutrition

www.naturallyashleynutrition.blogspot.com

Email: naturallyashleynutrition@gmail.com

Vegan Thanksgiving and Raw Pumpkin Pie Recipe

I had such a great time on Global Morning News Show today talking about healthy Vegan Thanksgiving recipes! I love the morning news team, always so welcoming and sweet!! When they asked me to do a Vegan Thanksgiving segment I jumped up and squealed with excitement and immediately thought of two recipes: Raw Vegan Pumpkin Pie and my sister's Quinoa and WIld Rice Stuffing - it's a hit at all of our family get togethers. My sisters and I all eat vegan, plant based diets so meal times are a blast when we all bring our favorite dishes to mom or dad's. 

I am so thankful for my sisters. Nikki came over last night to help me prep for the show today and make her delicious stuffing! My favorite part of Thanksgiving is getting to spend time with my family. We are all getting together at mom's this year and we're going to cram 20 people into her little condo so it should be cozy and fun! And my Grandma is coming! Last year Grandma tried a raw vegan pie for the first time - we were all a little scared for her reaction but I will let you see for yourself: 

This year I will be bringing a big beautiful salad and a Raw Vegan Pumpkin Pie! My sister Chelsea will be doing the mashed potatoes and homemade cranberries. And Nikki will be bringing her famous stuffing and vegan mushroom gravy! 

For Nikki's Thanksgiving tips and recipes go to her blog Food&Fabric: http://foodandfabricmjc.blogspot.ca/2013/10/a-very-vegan-thanksgiving-as-seen-on.html

RAW VEGAN PUMPKIN PIE

The Crust
Ingredients:

  1 cup raw shredded unsweetened coconut flakes 

  1 cup packed, pitted soft dates

 ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds (optional—toasted pumpkin seeds for extra yummy flavor!)

1.     Process ¼ cup of the pumpkin seeds into a powder in a food processor. 
2.  Sprinkle it on the bottom of your pie pan, so the crust is easier lift in the end.

3.     Put the remaining raw (or toasted) pumpkin seeds and coconut in the food processor and pulse a couple times, add the dates next and process until it becomes a large ball. 
4.  Press this mixture into the pie pan starting in the center and work your way out to the edges of the pan until it's even and flat. 

The Filling

Ingredients: 

2 cups carrots, chopped

1 cup raw pumpkin chunks from a fresh pumpkin

2 teaspoons cinnamon powder

1 teaspoons ginger powder
½ teaspoon nutmeg powder
2 tbsp raw hemp seeds

10 medjool dates

1.    Blend everything together until it’s a smooth creamy texture. Pour into the pan onto your crust. 

2.  Decorate the top with dried mulberries, your favorite nuts and seeds or vegan whipped cream. 
3.  Chill in the fridge or freezer for easy slicing! 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy spending time with your loved ones this Thanksgiving! 

And check out Bustle.com for the most amazing collection of vegan Thanksgiving recipes I have seen, featuring my pumpkin pie at the end! So cool! 

Lots of Love and fresh squeezed hugs, 

Naturally Ashley

xo

https://www.facebook.com/NaturallyAshleyNutrition

www.naturallyashley.com

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