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!
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.
Glad to see you all have been enjoying our million different variations of avocado pudding! Love recipe Friday!!
Avocados are the one thing that does not upset our stomachs ; ) so we tend to indulge in them often! I wish I could grow my own avocados that would be more of a money saver
Onto our new workout…
You all know we love working out just as much as we do eating We tend to keep our blog to recipes, food, and any other health related issue we are dealing but we also plan on sharing more about our workouts.We hope you like it.
Okay so for these past few weeks we have been doing a new thing for our workouts. Ever since we finished Insanity, we have been doing our own high intensity workouts, with a little walking and yoga, and some Tracy’s exercises. We have been loving them, but one day I spent way to many hours surfing the internet and ended up finding something that sparked my interest.
Zuzana is awesome. We love her and her style of workouts!! And we find her videos to be very motivating that it pushes us to workout hard every time!
We have already done many of her workouts and love them all.
Here is why we like high intensity ‘home’ workouts:
they are short and sweet
they leave us sweating like mad
we feel amazing after wards
each day we feel stronger
great for people with busy schedules
no special equipment is needed
and well… basically just love short intensity workouts right now.
We tried getting back into running and just was not feeling it. These workouts have really kept us loving working out which is key to success in our opinion Also, with our busy schedule we do not have a lot of time to workout. By working out to our max for short period of time works for us!
Here is Lori just finishing an exercise. Getting a little tired I just finished now time to stretch.
Here is a short video of us immediately after our intense workout this afternoon. (It is not our best video, sorry, we will do better next time)
Enjoy!
Zuzana is doing a 2 month challenge of clean eating and hard intense workouts before she heads to Spain and we are doing the challenge with her. We might be going to Vegas in October so we decided this is great timing and why not give it a try? We are always up for something different
Hope you like our new workout and have a fun weekend.
Other news:
We are offering $6 shipping in the US for a limited time only on our online bakery store. Thanks to those who already ordered… keep up to date with our bakery specials on facebook and twitter. Help spread the word! Thanks!!!
Michelle and I wanted to announce something new we are going to try here on our blog. Every Friday we plan to share a recipe. Now we still will probably share recipes throughout the week here and there but Friday we will try to do something fun
First up for our first Recipe Friday is a recipe we have already made on the blog before and have seen some of our favorite gals make it at home too But this time around we pulled out our Vita-mix and made it a little different! Plus we did a video of me making the recipe! I hope you all enjoy it!
Without further due…here is the video. *note: this video was shot while we were home in Florida
used 2 cups soaked cashews instead of cashew butter
used maple syrup instead of agave nectar
added in 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp cardamom for a new flavor
made it crust-less
Sorry for the bad picture, we were a little impatient to let it come to room temperature.
Lori enjoying her gluten-free dairy-free soy-free living chocolate cream cake. The flavors of chocolate with cinnamon and cardamom were perfect!! To die for ; )
Ok now go out there and treat yourself to a delicious guilt free gluten-free dairy-free dessert! It is easy to make and taste HEAVENLY! Great for those who love rich chocolate for dessert
So what do you think of our new idea for Fridays? Do you like the idea of Recipe Friday?
What type of recipes would you like us to show? Do like to have videos of us making some of the recipes?
If you make any of our recipes remember to send them to us at twins at pure2raw.com and we will share your pictures here on our blog
Michelle and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. We are busy here baking away in the kitchen making some gluten-free vegan treats for our farmers markets tomorrow!
Michelle and I finally did a video together.!!!! We hope you enjoy it. We did not really have a set topic for the video we just wanted to say hello! **now please keep in mind we are not actors or professional speakers
Cheryl Richardson- Self care cards – available off Amazon
Glad to see everyone was liking our lime and carrot combo ; ) Well last night we decided to go see Green Zone…and we loved it. It was very intense and kept our hearts racing the whole time! Matt Damon did an amazing job…although we still love our Bourne.
Today we are showing our few last videos on fermented foods. If you missed any you can see them here:
As you all know we love our probiotic filled foods and drinks ; ) They are a great way to get your good bacteria into your diet. They are all easy to make and you can save money but not having to buy them at the store ; ) Plus they are fun to make too!
Here I am answering some questions:
I hope I answered all your questions, if not ask us and we will be glad to answer them!
Well things are getting pretty busy for us over here. We getting things ready for FitBloggin, which is this weekend ; ) We are so excited to meet everyone plus our sister is coming too!! Going to be a fun weekend for sure!! But we got some guest post lined up so please stay tuned for that, lots of wonderful things coming!
We wanted to give you an update on the kraut we made with you all last week.
Check out this quick video:
Raw sauerkraut is easy to, just make sure to keep the liquid above the kraut. When done just transfer kraut to smaller containers and enjoy at your leisurely. Store in fridge.
Update on how we are doing:
Lori had another breakout last week, got a little depressed again, but things are turning up again. We are starting to keep a food journal, finally! We have been doing it for a week, so we will keep you updated on that as once we start to see patterns. Mainly we have been keeping track of our fat and fiber and our water intake. Also when we eat things and when we workout. You may be thinking, I did not think raw foodist cared about calories and stuff. Well this is true but for us to really understand what is going on with each of our own bodies, we want to see what works and what does not. Food journal is the best way to find results for us.
Although our schedule varies everyday so it is hard to keep a routine, but we are trying to find our routine that works for us. Hormones seem to be better for both of us, as least emotional wise, but Lori still has not gotten her period. Michelle will know if she gets her period again next week, so we will let you all know.
Hope everyone is doing good with your hormones and such.
We have to remind ourselves everyday that this is a journey and our body takes time to heal. Stay positive! ; )
But to end on a positive note as we mentioned yesterday we are running a St. Patty’s Day special starting today till Wednesday, so get your orders in!! Our online store has been updated with our specials (our green line is on sale plus some new items for a limited time) and new t-shirts are available, $5 off!!!! The shirts are very high quality, custom designed, some our organic cotton and some our made out of bamboo!!! One of a kind ; ) And you do not have to a raw foodie or vegan to wear these shirts. The shirts are made for anyone looking for a high quality shirts that do good for the planet!! Also the shirts can be translated into your own personal meaning, for instance the Raw t-shirt could mean you enjoy things in the raw, pure state, no bulls**t, so to speak. It does not necessarily only mean raw foods, but it can if that is what you want it to mean. So have fun shopping!!!
Note: the shirts are women sizes again, run a little big.
We have had a busy day…farmers market then had a meeting all afternoon.
Hope everyone has a great Saturday everyone!!
And good luck to our sister tomorrow in her race!! She is running in the Disney Princess Half Marathon. She begged us to do it, but we just could not leave work! ; (
It makes us so happy that everyone is loving our t-shirts!!!!! We are so excited for them and think they will be great for everyone to wear and enjoy Hard to believe the Fitbloggin is only a few weeks away. Michelle and I got so much work to do from now till then.
on our blog a few times or two.. we like to call it our favorite cocktail Synergy is the brand, and you see it out in your stores and if you do not have the time to make kombucha yourself. But I promise making your own kombucha is not that hard! And makes it more affordable when you make it yourself!
There are just so many great health benefits about drinking this fabulous drink! I really think incorporating this drink into one’s lifestyle would not hurt because many people lack ‘healthy’ bacteria in their diets! A simple natural fermented aged culture, made with pure water, sugar and black or green tea. Kombucha is a probiotic. Pro = in favor of; biotic = life. Kombucha balances the pH naturally. Pro-biotic drinks are good for us, they aid digestive health and they give our digestive system balance. Probiotics – means “for life.” It is used to describe products which include microorganisms that are beneficial to health.
And once you drink kombucha a few times you will start craving the flavor and taste. It is sour and can be fizzy!
We find it a much better choice over regular sodas on the market because of the health benefits from drinking kombucha! So go give it a try if you have not already!
Now we are not experts but we have been making our homemade kombucha for a few months now and absolutely love it and know that if we can do it anyone can do it!
Here is the video of Michelle showing how we make our kombucha! Enjoy!
Now we purchased our Mother Scoby from Cultures of Health. They also sell kits that includes mason jars and strains!! But the Kefir lady sells them too. It comes with directions. And the mother comes in a packet on ice. Just place the mother in the fridge till you are ready to place it in tea. Only use pure black or green tea nothing with flavors.
As you will see in this video Michelle splits a baby from the mother, you do not do this with the one you buy. After your first batch you separate the two to make two batches, and the cycle continues with each scoby.
Like the music??? We are getting fancy over here, haha.
Have fun making your homemade Kombucha!!! You can flavor any way you like once it is done fermenting.
Recipe:
For One quart you will need
1 1⁄2 t. loose tea or 2 tea bags
1/4 c. sugar
3 1⁄4 c. (approx.) water
some starter tea from your previous batch (or first kombucha does come in tea)
For Half- gallon
1 T. loose tea or 4 tea bags
1⁄2 c. sugar
6 1⁄2 c. (approx.) water
1 c. starter tea, although we never do that much
Brew the tea with sugar to dissolve. Let it cool to room temperature before adding scoby. Put scoby in mason jar, with whiter side up, and cover with cheesecloth. Leave on counter at room temperature, out of direct sunlight for at least 5 days. We let ours ferment from 10 to 30 days. The longer it ferments the less sugar.
News:
St. Patty’s day is coming fast. And in honor of the great fun holiday we are going to be offering sales on our ‘green’ product line and offering some special extra treats for the holiday like mint chip macaroons and green cookie!
We will posting those new items up on our store here soon and we will let everyone know when the sale on our green crackers and flat breads will be going on for.
We were blown away by how many people requested our recipe for our chocolate chip cookie pie. We have to thank Jessica again for inspiring us to create it, man she has much more amazing goodies we have been dreaming about to make ; ) We are thinking about sharing it.As you all know we are a business, so some things are special to us (and took a lot of time and work), but we are working on a cookbook!!!
But as I mentioned we are considering sharing it…we will see ; )
Today’s video is our first attempt at making our first compost! Our friend Mike, who by the way has 4 great blogs that cover all great topics and tips, so go check them out. Mike did a post recently how to make compost, so we thought why not give it a try.
Lori and I are always looking for ways to be more “green”. Mike is always sharing great tips for helping out the planet. What do you do that is green?
Here are just a few things the Twins do:
enjoy a raw food vegan lifestyle
bring our own bags to the grocery store
shop locally
use glass over plastic, when possible
turn off lights when not in use
unplug electronics, etc
energy efficient light bulbs
use towels over paper towels
keep thermostat at lower during winter and high during summer (off most of the time)
have bamboo and cork flooring in our house
reuse, reduce, and recycle everything we can
Now we made our first compost:
- large bin
- organic soil
- coffee grounds
- juice pulp/food scraps
- shredded paper
Yay we have no idea what we are doing, but it was fun. The best way to learn something is to just do and learn as you go. We challenge all of you to make your own compost if you do not already do so. Let us know if you do!!!
We will see how this goes
Following the gardening trend Mike again inspires us with his homegrown vegetable garden out of pots…in NY…off his balcony. He is truly an amazing person!
So look what we did
Bought an aloe leaf plant from a local farmer! Instead of buying the leave from Whole Foods (which is the one on the right). We are going to try to grow our own plant. The farmers said they are easy to grow.
And
Bought cabbage from the farmer as well to start growing our own cabbage. Since we go through it so much from making our sauerkraut! We see how to do with our garden and compost! Only time will tell.
Do any of you grow your own food, or have you thought about growing your own food?
Till next time… got exciting news we will share later!
And our latest kraut meal is paired with another favorite
Kelp Kraut Noodles
All we did was take our sauerkraut blend in blender with some spices and tahini to make an easy and poured over some kelp noodles. And add in some arugula! Easy and delicious We just love pretty much anything with kelp noodles
Here is how we make sauerkraut (sorry for the blurry video – not sure why it is so blurry, ugh)
Now go buy some cabbage and make yourself a nice, easy and healthy homemade sauerkraut. Please let us know if you make and report back! We love to hear from you!
Take Care. Thanks for joining us again for another Pure2raw lesson!
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!
A great way to end the weekend!
