Italkitchen808.com

Aloha,

Hope you are having a beautiful day. Just sharing this photo from Monday's shoot of Ital Kitchen. This is the series called, "Healthy 20 Minute Meals". I am really excited about this special episode because of all these precious little ones featured in this picture. I really am so blessed with be surrounded with such beautiful families raising their children to to be conscious, loving people. All of these bright faces make this episode of Ital Kitchen my favorite yet. I really want to do more shows that include the children. It will be airing soon, I can't wait for you to see it. Sending you an abundance of Love wherever you are. Love, Mama T 

Kale

Oh Kale how I love thee, let me count thy ways.

If you know me, you know that kale is a huge part of my life. I love all varieties, Lacinato (dinosaur), Curly, Red Russian, you name it, I love it. I am definitely not alone in this love. In 2011 Kale was named vegetable of the year. Here is a great article about all the nutritional benefits of kale, a great reason to start using it more.

Kale is amazingly easy to grow. From seed to full grown plants takes about 2 months. We have a few potted plants on our porch that continue to give and give. All you have to do is keep trimming the leaves and they keep growing back. It is so awesome! I use it to make:

• Kale Pesto- 3-4 cups of kale, 1 garlic clove, 3 Tbsp. olive oil, 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper.
• Kale Smoothie- Throw it in you favorite smoothie and greenify it.
• Saute Dishes- As a base, I toss it with onion, garlic, tomatoes and garbanzo beans and serve over quinoa or rice. ( You can add any vegetable you want with this saute).

These are just a few ways that I use my little porch kale plants. I encourage you to grow a little kale plant for yourself. You can even place your plant in very small spaces. It is such a fun project to do with kids. They feel so proud watching their living plant grow from such a tiny seed. Hey, it will make you proud too =).

I would love to hear how you use your kale. Also if you decide to grow a little kale plant, I would love to hear about it.

Here is a recipe for Kale Chips that I created for my Raw foods class at Down to Earth.

Happy Kaling.

Love you,
Mama T

Health is Wealth

Aloha Family,

I pray that you are well and full of vibrant health.

As I increase in age I find that sustaining health means always fine tuning and listening to my body. Currently this journey has adjusted itself to define me as a "Gluten free vegan, who is GMO free". Yowza, that's a mouth full! I have also learned that making these adjustments, as challenging as they may be at times, is worth every sacrifice. When I am able to feel significant changes in my health it solidifies my discipline and there is no turning back.

I recently had some scary intestinal issues that were unexplainable. I know stress was a huge factor, but my "livet" (not diet) was pretty clean. Something inside me kept bringing gluten and wheat into my thoughts. I decided to be very strict and go gluten free and see if helped my critical state. This was not easy because gluten is a huge part of my vegan life. I LOVE IT!!! I make mock meats with vital wheat gluten and it is so amazingly delicious. BUT... It has been a little over a month that I gave up gluten and I have never felt better. Within 2 weeks, my tummy soreness disappeared. Some of my very critical symptoms disappeared after 3 weeks. I lost 8 pounds with out doing anything different (except giving up gluten-that is) But my appetite remained the same, and I still lost weight.

I also have started taking some supplements. I am by no means an expert, but this seems to be working for me. I take 1 Tablespoon of flax oil in the morning. In the evening after dinner I take spirulina, vitamin C, oregano oil ,  and psyllium husk. It is important to choose organic variates of these supplements.

Our bodies are amazing. They are naturally healing machines that are constantly evolving and showing us what they need. We just need to listen. I can not begin to tell you how happy I am to be feeling better. Being sick is scary and painful. Health is our wealth. Choose wisely my dear friends, listen to your bodies. Every day we are given a free will to nourish ourselves to optimum health. Eat clean and let food be your medicine. I love you family, I pray you have a beautiful day.

Love,
Mama T

2013- Cleansing Time

Aloha and Happy New Year.

2013- Wow! It's goal setting time. I actually love this time of year for this reason. Right at the top of my list this year is to cleanse and simplify. I want to cleanse on several different levels; Mental, Physical (body and environment), and Spiritual.

• Mental Cleansing: Will be a concerted effort to be positive and make no more room for negative thoughts or actions. Let love be the ruler of all thoughts and actions.
• Physical Body: Will involve, exercise, clean eating (Vegan & GMO Free), juicing, green smoothies, and fasts.
• Physical Environment: Will involve getting rid of clutter. My best friend since we were 8 years old has always told me that no house should have a junk drawer. I've always had several, even a junk room, but my goal is to go through everything and de-clutter and purge. I've been deep cleaning like a mad woman and the results always make me feel so great. Clearing out dust and spraying essential oils to purify the air. Ahhhh!
• Spiritual Cleansing: The greatest of all. This will include prayer, reading, meditating, singing. I will start each day in reverent prayer and let it set the tone for the day, through the day. 

This is just the beginning of a new era. I am focused and willing and wanting to grow in love. I am blessed with what I need and want to always show thanks for this.

I want to share this simple Green Smoothie recipe that is tasty and so good for you.

• 2 bananas
• 1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries
• 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
• 1 Gala apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 2 cups kale, de-stemed
• 2 cups ice
• 3-4 cups water

1. Place all ingredients in a blender in the order that they appear.
2. Blend until smooth and creamy. 

Serves: 2-4 people

No added sweetener is needed for this smoothie. It is just delish as is =)

I love you family!

Mama T

He's Got The Whole World in His Hands

Aloha Loved Ones,

I pray you had a beautiful day. I was very thankful that I got to just be at home doing what I love best- cooking. I started off today making some vegan cinnamon rolls, and then made 3 different Jamaican dishes. Needless to say, one of my other favorite things to do is eat, and I did a lot of that today too.
I am as passionate about vegan cooking as I am about having my food be GMO FREE. Cooking your own food is one way to ensure that the food you are eating does not contain GMOs. If are new to this subject, I encourage you to look into this topic. A great resource to learn more is Project Non-GMO Verified, and the Center For food Safety. One of my hero's who speaks out against GMOs is Dr. Vandana Shiva- she will be visiting Hawaii 1/15-1/17. You can find a complete schedule of her talks at HawaiiSeed Please see her if you can- and Google her if you have never seen her speak. I love you family.

Merry Christmas,
Mama T

Opening Our Hearts

Today was a beautiful day full of surprise. I got 2 missed calls from a number that I didn't recognize. I Listened to the messages left and found out that it was Patricia Bragg, the renowned daughter of Paul Bragg. I called her back and we had he most wonderful conversation about life and health. I was so happy to let her know that her father's book, The Miracle of fasting basically changed my life. She said that she still fasts every Monday and 3 days once a month. She is full of life and just a joy to talk with. I am looking forward to interviewing her for a new show I am working on.
I am looking forward to making this blog outlet more of a priority and connecting with you all. Health is wealth. I love that we can always learn and grow when we open our hearts. This is my focus right now in my life journey. Open my heart, so I may learn and grow. Please join me on this journey. I will share what I learn and post as often as I can. I love you family.
   

Thankful

Aloha April.....
Hi family, it's been a minute, I pray all is blessed.
Earlier this year I had a life changing experience. It has really helped me to put many things in perspective. I think most of all it helped me to put time into perspective. Time is the precious gift that defines our PRESENT.
We spend so much time worrying about the future, but the present is our gift. I want to be able embrace this each moment.
Utilize your gift of time to feel joy, not stress. Feel love, not hate, and health, not pain. Embrace your present.
I love you family.
mama