Fuzzy Wuzzy Kiwi Lovlies!

Kiwifruti all day! Photo by: sundaynitedinner.com

Mmm, yum. Tell me who doesn't love a petite tart kiwi lovely? They travel easy in your pockets, can be snacked on the go, and they pack a delicious tart punch! Kiwis are used in fruit salads, green smoothies, eaten fresh as tasty RAW snackies, and are even used for medicinal purposes. For a new twist on a fruit that packs a high volume of fiber and Vitamin C in one golf ball - sized treat, look no further than to the fuzzy wuzzy kiwi lovely!

It's kiwi time! Photo by: simplegreensmoothies.com

Known in tropical regions as the kiwifruit, these little suckers pack in MORE Vitamin C than your average orange AND contain about 8% daily intake of fiber, plus a bit of potassium. So what does that mean? It will likely only cost you three inches of pocket space and 4 ounces weight to carry one of these tiny vitamin rich snacks with you...well worth the haul if I do say so myself.

Oh I love me so kiwifruits! You should too! Photo by: www.webyte.vn 

We all know well that diets HIGH IN FIBER help to combat diabetes, colon issues and heart health because they keep the mucus, plaque and cholesterol (which are actually each just different forms of the same thing: mucus) from clumping together and causing problems. Adding kiwis to your daily diet regimen is a fun albeit tantalizing way to increase your daily fiber intake and have fun while doing it! Who says being healthy has to be dreary and boring! Not I!

Fun tips for adding kiwifruit to your life: 

Make a Honeydew-Kiwi smoothie!

Create a tropical fruit salad!

Fresh Kiwifruit popsicles! Seriously!?! Photo by: www.nourishingmeals.com

Banana Kiwi Breakfast Toast! 

Slice them up and add to your favorite chia pudding!

Tropical Kiwi Chia Pudding! Try it today So easy to make! Photo by: almondsandavocados.com

Freeze them in slices and float them in your lemonade! Yum!
Make Kiwi Sorbet! 

Create kiwi art ...then eat your masterpiece!

Cored cantaloupe with kiwi, strawberry inside. Tasty! Photo by: wholeplantbasedfoods.wordpress.com

Keeping our diets high in fiber will help to combat the onset of high blood pressure, aid in sound and stable cardiovascular health, regulate our blood sugar, reduce the chance for heart disease and heart attack by keeping our cholesterol in check and keep our colons clean, happy and free of excess waste! All that awesomeness in just a teeny weeny kiwi...? Yup!

Kiwis on a tree! How cool! Photo by: kiwifruit.net.nz

Who are kiwis good for? Well, everyone of course! BUT especially diabetics, small children, those with asthma conditions, mid-aged people, and anyone at risk for degenerative heart conditions or respiratory health problems. Kiwifruit helps diabetics regulate their blood sugar, small children kick up an extra dose of Vitamin C to protect their immune system and aid in brain development, they help those with asthma by demonstrating antioxidant activity and keeping the roadways free of mucus.

Don't' they just look like little sweet sunshines :-D
Kiwis may naturally lower blood pressure...Article here.
 Photo by: www.huffingtonpost.com

Kiwifruit also is essential for the middle-agers in maintaining keen eyesight as the Vitamin C neutralizes free radicals that can cause cell damage. 

At only 45 calories per little guy you seriously can't go wrong!

Mango Kiwi Salsa! Recipe here: www.recipe-diaries.com

Add them to your daily greens salad! 

Mash them up with pineapple and and orange to make a smashing chutney!

Kiwis, baby tomatoes, evoo, lemon and chopped parsley. Easy goodness! Photo by: http://newfinmysoup.blogspot.com/

Use them to creatively decorate fruit tarts! 

Blend them with cantaloupe to make a tasty chilled soup!
Make Kiwifruit Popsicles! 

And you know the way we like them...eat it RAW!

Kiwi delights! Yum!

Be sure to go for organic kiwifruits wherever you can! The stuff they spray on fruits and veggies nowadays is dreadfully harmful.

Did you know, you can even eat the skin!?! 

Call me crazy but when it's that good you don't want to waste a bite! :-) 

Kiwifruit smoothie with almond milk, banana and spinach. Whew yeah! Photo by: homefries.com 

Here's the thing, eating just a few kiwifruits daily can significantly lower the amount of triglycerides (fats in the blood) in your body and  thereby decrease your risk for blood clots, inflammation and intestinal bleeding and protect your cardiovascular health!

Kiwi, lime, ginger...you know what's up. ksarahdesigns.typepad.com

Let's all do our digestive tract a favor and add some teeny weeny kiwi lovelies to our grocery carts today! Your taste buds will thank you later. :-D

Mango Kiwi Quinoa Tomato Salad with fresh parsley! Taste the goodness! Hold the feta. Photo by: iowagirleats.com

How to eat a kiwi raw:

1) Cut in half and scoop out the bright green flesh with a spoon. Devour on contact. 

2) Slice with a pairing knife and enjoy on salads or in deserts. 

3) Slice with skin on and gobble down. Enjoy an extra dose of fiber!

P.S. Kiwis should be eaten shortly after cutting (like most fruits) as they contain enzymes that act as a "tenderizer" and make the fruit start to soften.

Blackberry Kiwi Pear Pineapple Mint Coconut Water Smoothie! Ahhhh...Photo by: crazyrawvegan.com

So there we have it. As a transitioning raw vegan I LOVE foods that require minimal to no prep, taste great and provide my body with natural vitamins it needs to keep on keepin' on! I hope you have been inspired to add some kiwifruits to your diet today! Bless!

Live. Love. Well.
~h

Leggo my Mango!

Mangoes come in all shapes and sizes, just like me and you! Love them! Photo by: www.mango.org 

That's right, you heard me! Get your own! Silly

I have loved mangoes since first taste. The adventure, the thrill, the challenge, the taste, the mess...a kid's dream of how life should be when it comes to eating! Sweet and sticky and so much FUN!

As grandma would say: "Go for what you know!" There's no wrong way to eat a mango! Photo by: darlinggourmet.com

Mangoes come in many shapes and sizes and can satisfy even my most desperate of hungers.

"Why would I want to eat a mango?" you might ask...glad you did. Here is vivacious vegan to spell it out for you:

M: Memory. Mangoes have been linked to increased concentration and memory due to the glutamine acid in them. Don't forget to eat your mangoes!
A: One word: Antioxidants. Mangoes contain tons of antioxidants like quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat. These hard-to-pronounce elements protect the body against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers.
N: Neutralizes! Mangoes are fantastic at bringing balance to a highly acidic body, as they have wonderful alkalizing properties.
G: Low glycemic levels. Mangoes are great for diabetics, especially the leaves! You can boil the leaves, then let them soak overnight in the same water, drain and drink in the morning for a natural way to regulate your insulin levels.
O: Open your EYES! Mangoes are well known for high levels of Vitamin A and C. Just one cup of mangoes can provide up to 25% of your daily Vitamin A intake and 76% of your daily Vitamin C intake. Eating one mango a day can help you see better at night and help prevent dry eyes.

Mangoes make such lush smoothies! Makes you want to get one RIGHT NOW! 

The best way to know if a mango is ripe and ready for eating is two ways (in my experience):
1) Check the firmness of the mango. Squeeze it gently and assess: is it hard as a rock, toooo soft and squishy or a bit pliable to the press yet you couldn't make a thumb print in the skin even if you wanted to. This business of fruit picking can certainly seem tricky, but as with all things, practice will bring progress.

So venture out on your first 10 for $10 mango spree and test out your skills!

See the little knob at the top? (bottom left of the fruit) That's what you'll pop off to check for ripeness.
Photo by:  www.veganyumyum.com

2) Press right at the top of the "stem" or at least where one once was. There is often a small knob that can be plucked off, if this knob is next to impossible to flick with the tip of your thumb, it's not ripe enough. If it is easy to pull off, that is a good sign the mango is ripe.

Now there are as many ways to EAT A MANGO as there are households in my neighborhood so I won't go into detail here...but like my grandma always said..."Go for what you know!"

Delicious, sweet and nutritious! Photo by: www.wearenotmartha.com

Whether you slice them or peel them with your fingers...eat them in neat chunks or suck all the juice from the top...get you some mangoes in your life TODAY!

*TIP: If they do not carry them at your local grocery, check your local Hispanic/Mexican market or Asian market. Also here's a great post on how to cut a mango. Show them some love!

BONUS: Mango Salsa Recipe:

Mango, Avocado, Lime, Red onion, evoo, sal, peppa, cilantro, jalapeno, tomato, garlic....YUM!
Click the link for the mind blowing recipe! Photo by: www.makeitnaked.com

Easy Mango Salsa recipe!

Live. Love. Well.
~h

Zip-Zap-SMOOTHIE!

The wonderful carrot-filled rainbow! Photo by: blog.bountifulbaskets.org

While in transition to a raw vegan diet or even just thinking about it...there are alot of easy meal ideas you can use that will be beneficial for your mind and body.


Here is are some great starter recipes to get you on the move! Photo courtesy of  http://douladivinity.tumblr.com/, one of my FAVORITE tumblr page's of all time. :-) Show her some love.

 One of the easiest and dare I say, most nutritious meals a human can feed it's body is JUICE!

Baby's love it, grandparents love it! IT'S EASY TO DIGEST AND GOES DOWN SMOOTH. Great for moms and dads and kids on the GO! I mean, seriously who doesn't like a nice refreshing juice at almost anytime of the day!

Baby's love GREEN SMOOTHIES! Photo by: www.greensmoothiegal.com

What I love about these recipes is they are properly combined for best absorbtion and digestion (yes, your body "digests" juice) and they really taste great.

I have a very basic juicer myself and have been able to enjoy many of the amazingly tasty benefits of juicing and make AT LEAST ONE MEAL A DAY a smoothie or juice feast meal.
*NOTE: This is one of my tips on how to lose 20 pounds in 3 months...stay tuned!

Vitamin A-Z can be found in these suckers! I love eating fruits! Photo by: mr-ginseng.com

As a natural vegan it is IMPERATIVE that I get certain minerals, vitamins and live ingredients in my diet at as many meals as I can. Smoothies/juices do it all.

Love. Love. Yum. Photo by: www.plantpoweredliving.com  

APPLE SNAP
3-4 apples (any sweet or tart variety), 7-8 carrots, 1-2 inches of ginger, 1-2 whole lemons = light sweet JUICE with a little KNUDGE! :-)

If you don't have the time/resources or interest in juicing...start small. Use your blender and try some of these recipes:

A little seedy, tart and summer time sweet! Photo by: www.thedevilwearsparsley.com

BERRY BERRY TASTY SMOOTHIE
1 cup strawberries, 1 cup raspberries, 1 cup blueberries, 1 cup orange juice, 1 banana, 2 tbsp ground flax seed, 1 cup ice (or use frozen fruits) =- YUMM!

Ingredients: Banana, mango, pineapple, spinach. Photo by: dontwastethecrumbs.com

HAPPY GREEN MACHINE SMOOTHIE
1 large banana, 1 can of pineapple with juice (or 1/2 live pineapple sliced), 1 handful of raw spinach, 1-2 large mangoes (to your taste) = my favorite GREEN SMOOTHIE

Ingredients: Kale, almonds, banana. Simple and easy living! Photo by: blog.vellumandvogue.com

ALMOND JOYFUL SMOOTHIE
1 cup almond milk (or coconut or goat's or rice milk whatever you like), 1 banana, 1 handful of kale = TASTY STARTER smoothie

Ahh yes...a staple on the run go to smoothie. Great trusted brand! Photo by: www.tumblr.com

Last but not least...when I'm on the super-go-go and I know I need to get my smoothie or juice in for the day...I breakdown and buy it. I know this may seem not that awesome...but honestly I pay around $6-10 for the average "meal" on the go...so why not spend $5.99 on a 64 oz. Bolthouse Green Goodness smoothie and still have some change to spare for an extra 20 oz juice? Savin' dollars and livin' easy. :-)

I hope you will be inspired to add a smoothie to your day today! Post your very own smoothie/juice recipes below! Good health CAN BE YOURS!

Live. Love. Well.

~h