Please keep in mind we are not nutritionist or doctors. We recommend checking in with your doctor before making any changes to your diet and exercise routine. Most of our information is based upon our own experiences and research, although we do hope you keep an open mind.
Today we have a short video of Lori making a green smoothie. We have at least one green smoothie everyday with some sort of green and fruit. We love all types of dark leafy greens in our green smoothies. We aim to get a different one almost everyday we believe in variety because each dark leafy green provides different nutritional value
We challenge you to step outside your comfort zone and use different greens! Promise after you make some for awhile your taste buds will learn to love them like we do!It took us a few times to make really good green smoothies with kale, collards, swiss chard, bok choy, etc. but kept up with it and now we crave them!
Today’s green smoothie: Grape and Fig Kale Green Smoothie (made with local grapes and figs)
Pure2Raw Recipe: Grape Fig Kale Smoothie
Ingredients:
2 cups water (you may use any liquid of your choice like any nut milks)
A few stalks of green kale ( I did about 4-5 kale leaves)
1 juice of lemon
1 packet stevia
1 pint of green grapes
1 pint of frozen figs
Additions I added: these are optional but they provide great flavor to smoothie
2 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp vanilla bean powder
Pour 2 cups of water in blender along with kale. Blend till combined.
Next add remaining ingredients and blend till WELL blended and smooth. I usually blend for a good 1-2 minutes
Enjoy!
Remember when making green smoothies add any flavorings you like to help make the smoothie taste great. Example, if you do not like cinnamon than do not add it, instead use another spice like nutmeg. I usually do water in my smoothies but feel free to use any liquid of your choice. But remember you do not always have to add fruit like we did the other day, using protein powders can help with providing great texture and flavor. Play around and have fun!!
Now go make a creamy green smoothie for your morning to give you all the fuel and nutrition to get through your day Green smoothies are great for quick, easy to digest, nutritious meal!
This week Lori and I have been running around like crazy… have some big projects we are working on for our company! Hopefully we can share more with you soon!
Till next time, we have a great recipe to share with you all tomorrow for Recipe Friday! Can’t believe it is Friday already!
Now on our video yesterday we forgot to mention what exactly we did for our workouts so I wanted to give you what Lori and I have been doing!
On Monday when we shot the video we did one of Bodyrock TV workouts called the Sexy Body Breakdown.
As we mentioned in the video we did about a 10 minute jog for our warm-up. The workout took us about 25 minutes to complete. Lori and I could only do 18 rounds. We tried to do 20 rounds but had no more energy or power left so we stopped. Since we did not have the weighted bag like recommended in the workout we used our own body weight! And let me tell you I am still sore today from that workout! It was tough
Yesterday we did another one of Bodyrock TV workouts called Booty Firm Up. Don’t you just love all the names of these workouts? I do Again the legs were dying from the previous workout! Loving it!
Our warm-up today was just a mix of jumping jacks and jump rope. Followed by another one of Bodyrock TV workouts called Epic Sexy Abs.
Since Lori and I are still extremely sore from Monday’s workout it was hard to really push ourselves to the max during today’s workout. But we did our best never the less! We really love Bodyrock TV workouts, love the burn and intensity they provide our at home workouts
To recover after our workout this morning we made a little different kind of smoothie. We did not have any greens or fruit on hand to make our usual green smoothie.
Therefore, this morning our smoothie was a mix of:
2 cups water
2 scoops, vega protein powder
handful of purple basil
1head romaine
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp cardamom
1 tbsp yacon syrup
Blend and enjoy.
Glorious! I think this smoothie will be great for replenishing my body
Mid-morning snack was
A new flavor of our flatbread (recipe for cookbook). Loved it! So unique and loved the texture of this one!
Which by the way about the cookbook, you all might be wondering how it is going? Well, to be honest it is taking longer than we thought. We have way too many recipes, so taking us some time to sort them and figure everything out. So please bare with us, we will keep you all updated ; )
Check out our dinner last night, a return of a long lost love:
Kelp Noodles
We have not had kelp noodles in a long time now, so it was a nice change!
YUMMMMMMM
Kelp noodles along side a new flavor of cracker.
We have been trying to make a more ‘plain’ flavor gluten free cracker lately and came up with this. We liked it because it has more of a neutral flavor than our other crackers for people who do not like real bold flavors, and a little more kid friendly
We are getting other people’s feedback, and hopefully it will be added to our bakery store soon! We have been giving out samples of this new cracker to everyone’s online order this week!
Lori on the porch enjoying her kelp noodles and crackers
What is everyone looking forward to for fall? Cooler weather, pumpkin?
We have been thinking of fall and hoping for cooler weather Though this summer has been a great one!
Thanks for all the sweet comments about what a day in the life of pure2raw twins is like Hugs to you all!
Ever since we had our first beet smoothie, thanks to Katie, we are in love. The last few weeks it seemed like we were enjoying one a few times a week!
Here are some pictures of the ones we have been enjoying!
Pardon our twin Vita-mix’s in the background ; )
Love the thick texture the beets can provide ; )
The smoothies shown above were a variety of different combinations but with the one key ingredient… beets! I have been noticing that my tummy really loves beets both in smoothie form, roasted or steamed
Today I present you…
Pure2raw recipe: Plum Beet Smoothie
Ingredients:
2 cups water
3 plums
1 grapefruit
1 small red beet
1 grapefruit
Juice of one lemon
2 tbsp hemp seeds
3 stalks of greens (I used amaranth greens)
1 packet stevia (optional)
1 spoonful sunflower lecithin (optional)
This smoothie for me made about 6 cups!
Now if you do not like grapefruit then you will not enjoy this smoothie. So feel free to put in your favorite fruit : )
What about you, have you ever tried beets in your smoothies?
Well Michelle and I have been working on a fun video for you all! We hope you like it
We have received a lot of questions about what do we do exactly during the day. Well we decided to make a little short video of it. We tried to show ‘fun’ things Now keep in mind each day for us is DIFFERENT. Some days we are on the computer more than others and than other days we are in the kitchen fulfilling orders.
We aim to get up at 6am (though lately we have not gotten up till 6:45am).
We head to the kitchen to make some warm hot water.
Sit on the couch and try to wake up!
Next we discuss what needs to get down for the day. And try to start our day around 7:15am. Sip on another glass of water while we get things going in the kitchen (make raw desserts) or checking emails, etc.
Our unbaked mint brownie bar.
Around 8 or 9am we will have a little pre-workout snack. Thirty or so minutes later we will do our workout.
Our typical workout lately has been:
5-10 minutes warm-up
15-25 minutes of hard high intensity workout (Bodyrock tv workouts)
5 minutes cool-down
Next we shower and make our post-workout smoothie (usually a green smoothie). This happens around 11am or so.
Next we either go back in the kitchen, return phones calls, respond to emails, blog, or run errands.
About 2 or 3pm we make another meal. This meal varies.
Random meal: A small banana pudding with spirulina and cacao nibs.
More work on computer is done and a round of cleaning.
Around 6pm dinner is being made.
Dinner was some steamed beets, squash, fresh rosemary, some raw and steamed leeks, topped with a new spread we made (recipe coming soon) and sea salt.
All mixed around! Glorious!!! There are no words to fully describe this meal Out of this world good! Love it, love it, love it
Some days we have little snacks (usually something for twin cakes bakery).
We usually do more blogging in the evening along with more computer work till about midnight or 1am. Sometimes we are even in the kitchen till very late!
Ok now for the fun video! We tried to keep it short and not too boring Therefore we did not show exactly everything we do because that would be boring, haha.
We finally got around to trying those lovely hemp products we received samples (we did not pay for these samples) from Living Harvest.Thanks again!
As I mentioned before we have used Living Harvest Unsweetened Vanilla milk in the past and loved it (which we bought with our own money). Living Harvest non-dairy milks have always been the brand we have used.
Although we do not drink much “milk” anymore (because dairy does not do well with us). Not even non-dairy alternatives, no real reason, we just don’t crave it or use non-dairy alternatives that often.
Though we thought about trying out these dairy free milk alternatives in our smoothies since we have never really tried it before. We have seen many others put some sort of milk or non-dairy alternative in their smoothies, so we thought lets try it too
Last week, after our workout we made a delicious chocolate shake with hemp protein.
Looks a little different the most hemp proteins we have tried. I know it is not raw, so I guess that explains it.
Did about 1 cup of the chocolate hemp milk to 3-4 scoops of hemp protein powder. Blend in blender!
Results: We loved it! It was smooth and had a decent flavor and texture to it. The chocolate hemp milk has a good flavor although it does contain sugar! We prefer the unsweetened hemp milk!
Is this something we would eat everyday? No
As we do not have a lot of “protein powders” in general. They do not sit well with us, but we do like to have them a few times a week : )
Last week while I was in Charlotte I made Gary a hemp based smoothie every morning and he loved them!! YAY!
Here is what I did:
Banana Vanilla Tropical Smoothie:
1 cup hemp vanilla milk
1/2 -1 cup water
1 frozen banana
2 handfuls of spinach
1/2 bag of frozen fruit blend (mango, pineapple, strawberry) (it was a small bag)
3 scoops of hemp protein
Blend in blender **note I did not really measure the fruit I just threw some in there till I got the texture and flavor I wanted!!
Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie:
1 cup chocolate hemp milk
1/2 cup- 1 cup water
1 1/2 frozen banana
1 – 1/2 cups strawberries
3 scoops hemp protein
2 handfuls of spinach
Blend in blender!
You can use whatever dairy alternative you like and add less or more liquid depending on your desired thickness of smoothie. Also add more or less fruit depending on your level of sweetness.
We really like Living Harvest non-dairy hemp milk for our dairy substitutes! The hemp protein powder also had nice texture and flavor. Great for those who like protein powders!
Thanks again Living Harvest for sending us the samples. We still have to try the hemp ice cream
Hopefully later we will have a fun video for you all to watch! It is still in the works
Twins question: Are you a milk person?
If you are sensitive to dairy like us, what is your non-dairy milk alternative you like? Why? Do you go by price or flavor when choosing a non-dairy milk alternative?
Or are you a person who always makes your own ‘milk’?
Well I am back in Raleigh with the sis getting ready for our weekend farmers markets plus going over a million business ideas.
Last night I had my first blogger meet-up with the Charlotte group! The group met at Luna’s Living Kitchen which is a great restaurant for some one like me The restaurant menu was based around raw living foods and majority of everything is gluten free!
I was excited to try this place out! And it did not disappoint!
I ordered the zucchini pasta with a mushroom sauce.
One thing that I just love about raw living foods is how colorful and vibrant everything looks. You just know what you are about to eat is going to make you feel alive and glowing! Almost too pretty to eat
Love this meal! It was so light and refreshing and full of flavor! I am usually not a huge fan of mushrooms but this dish really hit the spot for me It is sooooo nice being able to go to a restaurant with friends and not have to worry about anything. Am I going to get sick from this? How am I going to feel? What is in the food?
I didn’t have to worry and I really could just enjoy the food! What an amazing feeling!!
After dinner most of us went to a local pub to get some drinks and chat.
I got a glass of Savignon Blanc, one of my favorite white wines.
Jessie and me.
Caitlin and Megan.
After some drinks we walked over to Yoforia to grab some yogurt. I did not get any since dairy and me do not get along! But everyone else really enjoyed their yogurts. All and all it was a great night I am really looking forward to spending more time with these lovely ladies
Next morning I made Gary a green smoothie (all week long I made him smoothies for breakfast and he loved them all, yay!)
Upon arriving the sis sliced up some fresh watermelon from a local farmer and we sat on porch to get our Vitamin D as we devoured the plate
After a quick little snack we ran some errands and came back to workout
Had a local peach before working out
Workout: 25 minutes of high intensity at home workout (again we will share our new workout soon)
Afterwards I was craving Vega and that is what I had
I just scooped some Vega protein powder into a cup and stirred with water (yes there is a junk of powder at end of spoon guess I did not mix that well )
Thanks for all the sweet comments about my bakery and the event I just did. It was a lot of fun! I am glad I did the event.
Yesterday my day started with a glass of water followed by my pre-workout snack - blueberries.
Workout was a new workout (Michelle and I have been trying out a new workout for a few days now and absolutely love, we will share more on this later) followed by 10 minutes of yoga to cool me down Though my yoga session had to wait till I got back from dropping Gary off from work. I am so nice!
I was very productive during the day and got a lot of business work done Gary got home and it was time for me to make some dinner. I wanted to keep my dinner simple.
A bed of mixed greens with roasted sweet potato, golden beets, garlic
Sometimes I just love a real simple dinner. My tummy does too! I forgot how much I enjoy sweet potatoes. It is funny though because it wasn’t till a few years ago that I really started eating sweet potatoes. I love them roasted like this. I topped my roasted veggies with some cardamon and cumin (my two favorite spices lately). When I eat sweet potatoes it reminds of the holidays for some reason, maybe that is because that is typically when I would eat them
Does that ever happen to you? You eat something that brings you back to a certain point in your life or reminds you of the holidays?
Gary’s dinner was a pan grilled sandwich.
I just took some whole wheat bread put some ghee on the pan and on the bread slices. Grabbed the toppings: romaine, tomato, daiya cheese, and avocado. Layered the bread slices up and pan grilled them on my cast iron skillet for a few minutes on each side.
He really enjoyed his simple yet tasty sandwich. So simple and easy to prepare. Love that
Sorry to start the Monday with this but I wanted to clarify something in terms of my previous post. I feel like I need to explain something a little bit better. It bothers me some that something that brought me so much joy also brought me frustration.
In terms of my post yesterday: My breakfast socca was a treat for me because I do not do well with sugar. Not my choice…I just try to listen to my body. Yes, I get a little sick if I have too much sugar. I have a sensitive stomach, which is why I have to be careful of what I eat.
Please understand that I know that my mix of socca and maple syrup was not bad for me. I was just referring to the sugar (aka maple syrup) as my treat.
Second, when I said do not judge me. I was being sarcastic. I did not mean it literally, I am sorry for any confusion I might have caused. I know it can be hard sometimes to understand my humor through words, because I am not the best writer. I apologize.
Yet, here I am having to explain myself. Explain why I eat this. Explain why I enjoyed my treat, which now is not looking so much like a treat anymore. I guess I will have to be more careful if I use that word.
Just as my friend Averie mentioned before, why do we have to justify what we do? Just because we have a blog? We are still human…and what is a treat for me, will NOT be a treat for you. Everyone is different! Please understand that I never want to come off as naive or anything, but I just wanted something different, something fun for breakfast, so I did.
Okay enough of me venting.
I started my Monday morning like all my Mondays….with a great workout! I love the feeling I get from a good hard workout!!!
And now I am enjoying a delicious green smoothie ; )
Lori will be back later with a recap of her Gluten-Free event in Charlotte.
Michelle and I are running around like mad women crazy today I am doing a gluten free expo in Charlotte this Saturday, while Michelle is going to stay here and do one of our Saturday markets. And the expo is expecting over 450 people! So let’s just say we are planning on getting no sleep these next few days.
Our workout today was 20 minutes of walking plus 15 minutes of high intensity calisthenics followed by 10 minutes of yoga! Felt great!
Our breakfast was a delicious smoothie.
Local baby chard, frozen local peaches, granny smith apples, lemon juice, hemp seeds, and sunflower lecithin.
Creamy and delicious just the way I like them
On a side note: we added some new dry mixes to our online store (pizza and pretzels) both are easy to make and freeze well.
Earlier this week Michelle’s best friend was here for a business trip and he loves our pizza!! Therefore Michelle made our Twin Cakes Bakery gluten free vegan yeast free pizza crust.
May I present you with our yummy allergy friendly pizza that is full of flavor! And taste just like the real thing
We topped our pizza with a basic gluten free tomato sauce and DAIYA cheese!! We love this cheese!!
PURE HEAVEN! Wow this was a real treat for Michelle and I. We typically do not eat pizza that often but it sure is nice to enjoy every once in awhile. Nothing beats good pizza and good company
Michelle eyeing enjoying her slice of pizza!
As I mentioned we are getting things ready for the expo this weekend and farmers markets, as well as keeping up with online orders!
Vanilla kreme bites before going into the dehydrator.
One dehydrator full of snack bites, flatbreads and crust of our cranberry layered coconut bar.
Made four rounds of our fudgy chocolaty brownie bites… and a round for us to enjoy These are sooo good straight from the dehydrator because they are a little warm and taste just like ‘baked’ brownies
Now if you follow us on twitter you would have seen our tweet about us making a mistake with creating a chocolate dessert but realized we might have created a whole new recipe for unbaked Hershey kisses
Now the look of these cute little guys still needs some work but the flavor and texture are to die for
Ok back to business.. enough chocolate and pizza talk
Time to finish packing and getting ready for my gluten free event in Charlotte.
What is your favorite type of pizza? Deep dish or thin crust? Lots of tomato sauce or little sauce? Lots of toppings or plain?
Happy Monday to you all I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
Here we are at a beginning of another week. Michelle and I have been busy getting crackers and flatbreads into the dehydrator for orders. This morning our workout was a mix of some exercises we liked from Insanity along with some Tracy Anderson’s videos. About 40 minutes, we focused on a lot of core exercises.
Post-workout shake is our typical blueberries, chorella powder, and a scoop of hemp seeds.
My mouth always get stained blue and purple from drinking this… lovely
Breakfast was a delicious and probably my favorite green smoothie yet.
Smoothie was grapefruit, hemp seeds, water, lemon, a new green from a farmer called amaranth greens (who said it is similar to lambs quarters), sunflower lecithin and one packet of stevia.
Seriously loved it! The green color was so beautiful too, I could not stop staring I really enjoyed the amaranth greens. They have a great flavor to them. Michelle and I love the amaranth as a grain but having it as a green was even better! I love the farmers in my area because some of them are always growing such unique produce. I love trying new things especially vegetables
Have you ever heard of amaranth greens? If so, did you try them? What did you think?
Amaranth might be one of my favorite greens.
What is your favorite dark leafy green?
I love it when I make something that not only taste great, looks great, but is great for me! A great way to start the day and the week!
Passionate about fitness, nutrition, health, un-baking, high-intensity workouts, yoga, wine, traveling, certified chefs and making delicious food! We hope to inspire others to appreciate food as nourishment to the body.
Our blog shows our journey of finding balance between food, fitness, and life!
Borrowed picture from 
