The mysterious purple cauliflower. The color has always intrigued me, but it wasn’t until my son requested we eat it did I bravely put one in my basket.  Trying the unknown is always scary but I suggest you take the purple leap too because as it turns out there is more to this cauliflower’s rad color than just being rad! The purple cauliflower has more vitamin A than his pasty white sibling and also holds an antioxidant called anthocyanin.  This is the antioxidant that is found in red wine that makes everyone drink more red wine for its “health benefits”.    However, the benefits of cauliflower no matter the color are impressive.  Cauliflower lives in the cruciferous vegetables  family and these vegetables are bad ass cancer fighters, so in the nicest way possible… fucking eat them.

While the Cruciferous group contains fiber, carotenoids, vitamin E,C &K they are extra special because they have something called, glucosinolates. For some reason I can remember this word by saying in my head, “I will get some GLU, at the COSINO, and some LATES”. Stupid but it is a hard word so it helps.

Glucosinolates contain a sulfur containing compound that is released through cruciferous vegetables (like cauliflower) but only through the process of chewing and digestion. So if you just go around smelling cauliflower you will totally miss the benefits of glucosinolates.   I find it fucking fascinating that we were so perfectly created to work with nature in such a marvelous way,  unlocking a plants magical properties through the magic key of chewing.  So cool.

I have found it hard to eat cauliflower, it honestly is not my favorite, but have found some ways I do like to eat it.  One is a recipe my friend Sarpreet created and the other is by ricing the cauliflower.

Here is the recipe from Sarpreet: https://myvegetariankitchen.com/2015/06/22/sauteed-cauliflower-with-roasted-red-pepper-sauce/

Here is my favorite cauliflower rice recipe: https://paleofoodandthebeveridges.wordpress.com/2014/01/23/coconut-lime-rice/

If you want to be super hip get a Golden doodle, walk the doodle to the store to get some zucchinis to make some Zoodles.   Don’t tell the kids they are not eating normal noodles, they wont know, zoodles are fucking a fucking awesome mom tool for getting good stuff into your kids tummies.  As they eat them up in my head I say, “hahahahah momma tricked you little stinkers.” SCORE!

Just look at all the health benefits a Zucchini has to offer:

• high in potassium
• Low calorie and high in fiber
• high in antioxidants
• no cholesterol or unhealthy fats
• B-complex vitamins
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Magnesium
• iron
• zinc
• Manganese

*** note that most of the fiber and antioxidants reside in the skin of the zucchini so try to keep the skin on.

Zucchini is technically a fruit but we all think of it as a vegetable, maybe because of its color and taste.  Whatever you want to categorize it, zucchini is good for you, fucking eat it.

To make Zoodles you need a spirlaizer, these are very easy to use and cheap to buy.  Once you spiral the zucchini just sauté it in a pan with whatever seasoning you would like. A favorite of mine is a home made vegan pesto sauce to pour over the noodles after they have been cooked.  I love Daniel Walkers recipe : DAIRY FREE PESTO

Really use zoodles just like you would pasta, get creative and have fun zoodling 🙂

Have you ever wondered or wished you could remember what it felt like to be in the dark comfort of your mother’s womb? I might be alone on this, but now that I mention it you probably are thinking about how that would feel.  I imagine it would be peaceful, warm, and calming. A place where you felt weightless and safe suspended in darkness without the heaviness of the world weighing down on you. A quiet place free of distractions where your mind is free to explore its own workings.  When I tried floating for the first time I thought this must be as close as you can get to being back in the womb, how radical!  The best part about floating however is when you are ready to get out you don’t need to be pushed through a vagina in some excruciating painful way,  you just step out of the pod! Maybe in a metaphorical way you are being pushed back into an excruciating hard and painful life, but hopefully the time in the pod has made it so that your world seems more manageable.  There really is no downside to at least trying this experience, I urge all of you to do it once. Maybe it’s your thing and you will thank me, or maybe you will say, “Why the fuck did I waste an hour of my life floating in a pod, should have known not to listen to that whacky granola lady” and in that case you obviously are not ready to be enlightened and are just too simple….NOT (remember when saying NOT was a cool thing, I am bringing that back).  Honestly, we are all so different, finding out our way to peace is unique and this might not be your way, but one hour is not really that big of an investment, so why not just give it a go.

Beyond magnesium there are other mind body benefits to floating.  When you step into a pod and turn off the lights you are in complete silence with a complete sense of weightlessness.  Your body is free to explore the silence and find a path to quiet reflection easier.  What I like about floating more than outside meditation is that it makes meditation easier.  For me I easily get distracted by a discomfort in my body, or by a phone ringing, but in a float tank you have nothing to feel, see, or touch so distraction is reduced a ton.  You are floating effortlessly in a dark body of silence, and it feels like your body knows this feeling and missed it.  Research suggests that such sensory depletion is very therapeutic by activating the parasympathetic system and dropping stress producing cortisol levels. (click here for related article)

Bottom line is we all wear so many hats these days and live in a noisy, busy, stressful world that is moving away from nature at warp speeds.  To focus on being alone in silence with yourself is a benefit I think we could all use and float tanks take you there.