I *heart* Mushrooms

I had a funny thing happen to me yesterday.  I handed samples of my new favorites, reishi coffee and tea, to friends of ours, not to be sales-y, but just because I honestly wanted to share, which I love to do with anything that I am passionate about.  Now, for anyone who knows me, I have been a lover of mushrooms for some time now, and have been deepening my knowledge more recently. Well, apparently, lack of sleep and moving myself and 4 children out of a timeshare that we exploded into for a week, had me a bit  discombobulated, so when she asked me what it was good for I drew a complete blank.  As I walked away, the myriad of reasons that I love mushrooms and consume them daily came flooding back. If you would let me,  I would love to share them with you.

Just off of the top of my head...

Why I Love Mushrooms

1. Mushrooms are awesome for your immune system.  Whether your immune system is low or you have an autoimmune disease, mushrooms will support you.

2. Mushrooms are classified as adaptogens, recharging your adrenals, helping your body handle stress, remain in a calmer state, and use your energy for more productive purposes.

3. Mushrooms protect against radiation from cell phones, computers, the summertime sun, and other environmental forms of radiation.

4. Mushrooms inhibit blood vessel growth into fat and cancer cells, preventing our bodies from feeding them and enabling their growth.

5. Mushrooms work to clean toxins. In fact, I've heard that you could literally grow mushrooms on toxic waste and not only will they clean the toxins, but they are safe to eat afterwards!

6. Medicinal mushrooms are an excellent source of antioxidants.

7. Medicinal Mushrooms are anti-inflammatory.

8. Mushrooms are a great source of micronutrients.

9. Mushrooms grow in a network.  When you are taking mushrooms, you undoubtably feel more linked in to the universe. (Laugh if you will, but try it out and see for yourself!)

10. Medicinal Mushrooms are incredible for the whole family.

Please contact me if you would like to chat more about the power of mushrooms, and join in on our "Fungi For Forty" Experiment!  There is no time like the present to take control of your health!

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Frosty Orange-Mango-Kefir Soda

After the family spent some serious time on a hot and humid Fourth of July weeding the garden, we needed a serious reward, and I was happy to oblige.

Frosty Electrolyte Mango Soda
2 oranges, juiced
The meat of one mango
1/4-1/2 C coconut water kefir
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp MSM powder (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tray ice

Blend together and Enjoy!

Emelia's Birthday Cake

Lying in bed thursday morning my mind wandered to the upcoming birthday party that we were cohosting with friends. My oldest daughter's sixth birthday is coming up next week and my friend's son was turning five that very day. We decided it would be fun to work together on a party.

Dessert is a big occassion in our family. We are pretty much what you might consider foodies, food snobs, or just plain food obsessed. Whatever you call us, we love our food, especially raw food, but most importantly raw desserts. A party is our excuse to pull out all the stops. We love raw cookbooks, we have loads of them and literally sit around as a family studying recipes. We like to get ideas from them, but we LOVE to create our own. And so do the kids. I cuddled up with my daughter and together we began mentally creating her birthday cake.

The cake was delicious with individual

mini cupcake holders filled with a raw, chocolate, coconut cookie, all pushed together and frosted with a vanilla, coconut, cashew cream and covered a with pink chocolate flower and a chocolate birthday inscription, all raw, mostly organic.

The tastiest part of the whole experience was the fact that the cake was the brainchild of my daughter and I, created by the two of us along with my son and savored by the family right down to the very last lick off of our cupcake wrappers.

People have been asking me a lot how I get my kids to eat raw food. We make it exciting, we put our passion into it, and we make it a family event.

Oh, but the coolest part of the day? I went outside to check on the kids later that afternoon, Emelia says "Look ma!" and procedes to effortlessly ride her two wheeled bike, all on her own. Neither my husband nor I had any idea. Kids are amazing!