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