Author

Mandi Gould

Mandi is a bird-brained health foodie. Her best friends are a green Quaker parrot named Gaudi and a blushing yellow lovebird named Lindy. Together, they start every day with a green smoothie or juice and pump her husband, Geoffrey, full of nutrients to help keep him cancer-free.

Green Smoothies

Hunka Hunka Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

by Mandi Gould January 21, 2018

written by Mandi Gould

This smoothie is an Ode to Elvis and a real treat!

You may have heard that Elvis’ favourite sandwich was peanut butter and banana… Specifically, he loved butter-soaked grilled banana and peanut butter sandwiches. Well we can do without the heavy butter and bread and just take the super flavourful match-made-in-heaven combination of peanut butter and banana.

Recipe – 2 servings

18 oz. of almond milk (or 10 oz. of almond milk and 1 cup of ice cubes if your bananas aren’t frozen)
1 large banana or 2 small ones (preferably frozen)
4 tbsp of peanut butter
1 scoop of your favourite vanilla protein powder (optional)
pinch of vanilla bean powder (optional)
2 cups of spinach to make it a green smoothie! (optional)

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients in a high speed blender and blitz!
Put on your favourite Elvis tune, drink, and enjoy!

January 21, 2018 0 comment

Green Juice

Beet, Red Cabbage, and Carrot Juice

by Mandi Gould January 20, 2018

written by Mandi Gould

This vibrant red juice is a great example of why colour grouping works so well when you’re juicing.

One of my big tips for juice newbies is to use colour groups. When you’re creating your own juice combinations, it’s a good rule of thumb to pair juice ingredients by colour. Vegetables in the same colour-group are more likely to taste good together. The juice will also be more visually appealing when it doesn’t turn out a muddy colour, but most important the flavours do tend to balance out better together when you stick to the same family of colours.

Beets are so good for you and so tasty! They’re full of vitamin C, fibre, potassium, maganese, and B vitamin folate. They’re great for your nerve and muscle function, bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas.

Red cabbage is full of vitamin C and heps to fight inflammation and arthritis. It’s also great for your bones and reduces the risk of arthritis. It’s great for gut health and helps to combat chronic disease.

And then there’s the humble carrot. Of course it’s a high source of Beta Carotene and it’s also rich in other antioxidants. It decreases the risk of heart disease and stroke, protects against cancer, and did you know that carrots help to promote a healthy mouth?

Recipe

2 medium beets
3 cups of purple cabbage
3 carrots
thumbnail size nub of ginger (optional)
1/2 a lemon (optional, good if you’d like to cut the sweetness of the beets and carrot)

Directions

Chop up your vegetables to a size that will fit your blender. I like to alternate vegetables as I run them through the blender.
Strain your juice.
Drink immediately or chill in an air tight container like a mason jar filled to the very top in the fridge for about 24 to 36 hours.

Enjoy!

January 20, 2018 0 comment

Green Smoothies

Matcha & Pear Green Smoothie Recipe

by Mandi Gould January 18, 2018

written by Mandi Gould

Energizing! Stimulating! This smoothie is very different from my “usual” green smoothies. Matcha is very stimulating and not something that I consume every day, but it’s delicious and really peps you up if you’ve had a late night the evening before. I also like to have it as a proactive option when I know I have a high demand day ahead.

Ingredients – 2 Servings

1 cup/8oz. heavy coconut milk + 10 oz. water OR 18 oz. of light coconut milk
1 big handful of spinach
1 pear (cored)
2 tbsp of chia (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of matcha tea powder

Directions

Easy breezy, put it all in the blender and zip it up! Enjoy!

January 18, 2018 0 comment

Health Tips

How to Beat the Winter Blues

by Mandi Gould January 16, 2018

written by Mandi Gould

Do you struggle with the winter blues?

It’s that time of year. The holidays have passed and we’re deep in the heart of winter. The days are short and the warmth of April (or more likely May) seems like years away. It can be tough to wake up in the morning and even harder to drag yourself out to do anything fun. It’s enough to really get a person down. So what can you do about it?

Here are some scientifically proven ways to perk up your mood this winter:

1. Exercise… Even if you don’t want to!

Time and time again, studies show that exercise is good for your emotional well being along with your physical health. Walking briskly for 35-minutes/day 5X/week OR 60-minutes/day 3X/week can improve symptoms of mild to moderate depression. Whenever I’m feeling down or depressed, I hit the gym and always feel better. Even if I’m feeling totally lazy and unmotivated all lI do is watch TV while riding the stationary bike, I always feel better afterward.

2. Seek the LIGHT

Your body craves light, and at this time of year you aren’t going to get enough natural light from the sun. Luckily, artificial light can help to satisfy what your body is craving. When you brighten your environment, your body will notice. You can get a light therapy lamp and it will do wonders! Even if you’re not using a special light, turn the lights on at maximum in whatever room you’re in to make up for what isn’t coming in naturally through the windows.

3. Eat your greens!

Obviously, I was going to say it–this is a healthy food blog after all. Eating veggies and fruit improves your mood! And guess what; greasy fried food makes you feel worse. Starting your day with a green smoothie is a great way to get in vegetables and fruits straight out of the gate and will help you feel better the whole day through. Green juice is obviously fabulous too, but if you’re in a hurry or wanting to make baby steps, start out with green smoothies which are quick, easy, satisfying, and will definitely help your mood.

Don’t forget that good quality dark chocolate is also a mood enhancer. Just stay away from the sugary stuff.

4. Get social

It’s way too easy to hybernate at the time of year and put off doing anything fun until spring. Big mistake! And a mistake I personally struggle with, I might add. Seeing friends and family and planning fun activities together definitely helps the winter months to fly by. Whether it’s a simple group movie night, a tea party, or a visit to your favourite restaurant, seeing the people you care about will definitely help you to feel more fulfilled this winter.

5. Create a soundtrack for a happy life

Music is good for your mood! Set up a soundtrack to a happy life by having music you love playing in the background whenever it won’t distract you.

6. Plan a vacation

Did you know that planning a vacation can be as good for your mood as actually going on your vacation? It gives you something to look forward to and dream about and the act of planning will help you to feel less trapped in winter-mode.

7. Get outside!

I’m so bad about this. I even wrote a blog post specifically on this topic. I don’t get out of the house as much as I should, especially since I work from home, but getting outside can make such a difference in how you feel! The great outdoors definitely helps with symptoms of seasonal affective disorder and will help to reduce tension and improve your mood.

With all that said, your mental health is something you should pay attention to and if you’re dealing with more serious mental illness, these suggestions may not be enough to help. Here’s a helpful article about identifying and coping with more serious mental illness.

Do you have any tips for improving your mood in the winter? I’d love to know about them!

January 16, 2018 0 comment

Green Juice

Refreshing Cabbage & Sauerkraut Juice

by Mandi Gould January 13, 2018

written by Mandi Gould

This nutritious green juice is refreshing and invigorating! The addition of the sauerkraut makes it full of probiotics, which makes it great for your digestion. It’s also tangy and very yummy–quite different from the usual green juices that include lemon.

Ingredients

3 cups cabbage, washed & sliced to fit your juicer (green cabbage of choice; classic, savoy, etc.)
1 cucumber
2 stalks of celery
.33 cup of sauerkraut including the juice

Directions

I have an auger juicer and I like to alternate between the more wet vegetables like the cucumber and the dry vegetables like the celery to keep the juicer from plugging up.
Strain the juice and enjoy!

January 13, 2018 0 comment

Green Smoothies

Yummy Blueberry Banana Smoothie with Almond Butter

by Mandi Gould January 12, 2018

written by Mandi Gould

Satisfying, creamy, nutritious, delicious!

So here’s the thing about the photo I used for this blog post. The colour is so beautiful, but usually I change that colour by adding a bunch of spinach WHICH DOESN’T CHANGE THE FLAVOUR AT ALL. Just the colour and the nutritional value. It’s super yummy!!

Ingredients – 2 servings

1 banana
1 cup of blueberries (I like frozen)
4 tablespoons of almond butter (raw is great for you but roasted is ok too)
Big handful of baby spinach
18 oz. of water

Directions

You don’t have to get fancy about the directions. Just blend it up and enjoy! The almond butter and banana make it creamy so you don’t need any kind of milk or protein powder unless you really want to. Enjoy!

January 12, 2018 0 comment

Green Smoothies

Super Creamy Avocado Smoothie

by Mandi Gould January 10, 2018

written by Mandi Gould

If you’ve never had a smoothie with avocado, you’re in for a real treat!

I don’t think there’s any way to create a more perfectly smooth smoothie than to include some avocado. The texture is sublime! I don’t do it often because avocados are way too expensive where I live, but boy is it a treat when I do. Nutritious, satisfying, sublime.

This is a smoothie inspired by one of my favourite bloggers on the internet, the Minimalist Baker. I’ve added a little more fruit to mine as well as some spinach to take it to the next level.

BTW! I recently saw some avocado in the frozen section of my grocery store. I was intrigued and gave it a whirl… Yuck! It had citric acid added to it as a preservative. Stay away!!! It was totally gross.

Ingredients – 2 Servings

1 banana
1/2 a ripe avocado
1/2 cup frozen mango
1 scoop of your favourite vanilla protein powder (optional)
2 cups baby spinach
18 oz. of water

Directions

Add ingredients to a blender, whip it up, and enjoy!

People always ask me why I use water in my smoothies. Honestly, you don’t need any milk and definitely not juice if your other ingredients are creamy enough… and believe me, with the avocado and banana, you definitely don’t need any kind of milk!

January 10, 2018 0 comment

Healthy Recipes

Who’s Kale? Best Creamy Kale Salad Recipe

by Mandi Gould January 8, 2018

written by Mandi Gould

If you’re looking for the best kale salad, this is it! I became hooked on kale salad when I first discovered this recipe at the Whole Foods near a dance event in Washington, DC. It was so good, I ate it for 3 days in a row.

I immediately looked it up on the internet and was not surprised to learn that other people were as keen on the same kale salad that I was. I found the recipe, though I’ve since made my own tweaks to improve it. Credit to the original internet source: http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/2011/02/garlicky-kale/

How this salad got its name

Last Sunday at Niagara VegFest I picked up a couple of I “heart” kale pieces of merchandise–a bag as well as a couple of buttons. Two days later, I was riding the subway in Toronto late at night and a guy asked me, “Who’s Kale?” which became a running joke among my other kale-loving friends. The name stuck.

Who’s Kale?

The Kale Recipe everyone’s talking about – Who’s Kale?

Serving Who’s Kale at the #TOLindyHopReunion
1 bunch raw curly kale, washed, de-stemmed and dried
2 Tablespoons tahini
4 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons coconut aminos, tamari, or salt to taste (I actually use soy-free miso to taste lately)
6 Tablespoons nutritional yeast (or more – yum!)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (1 – 2 cloves of garlic, when I’m lazy I use garlic powder)
1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard (optional)
a couple of tablespoons of water to thin it out to the thickness of your choice

Wash, dry and remove the stems from your kale. Rip into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl.
Puree all ingredients (except kale) in a blender or food processor to blend the dressing.
You can make this dressing thinner by adding more water in which case you can pour it directly on to your kale and massage it in. However, I’ve since changed to keeping my dressing thick with only a couple of tablespoons of water so it’s more like a paste, and then adding my kale to it and massaging it in that way. It gives more flavour punch and sticks to the leaves better.
Eat it right away, or let the salad sit in the fridge for an hour or so to marinate. You can skip this step if you need to eat right away, but allowing some time to marinate will wilt the kale a bit and make it a little softer – particularly for those who are skeptical about eating raw kale.

Who's Kale? Heading to the Niagara Lindy Hop potluck with my favourite salad. #30daysofgreen #greenchallenge #whoskale
A post shared by Mandi Gould (@mandigould) on Aug 18, 2017 at 2:51pm PDT

My favourite: Who's Kale? With a little green onion. #30DaysofSalad #salad #raw
A post shared by Mandi Gould (@mandigould) on Jul 10, 2016 at 10:26am PDT

Wikipedia has this to say about kale:

Kale or borecole (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group) is a vegetable with green or purple leaves, in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbagethan most domesticated forms. The species Brassica oleracea contains a wide array of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts. The cultivar groupAcephala also includes spring greens and collard greens, which are extremely similar genetically.

Want to know more about the various varieties of kale? Check out ilovekale.com.

January 8, 2018 0 comment

Healthy Recipes

Cozy Sweet Potato Soup Recipe

by Mandi Gould January 4, 2018

written by Mandi Gould

What’s your favourite kind of soup? I love orange vegetables in soups. LOVE. I find them to be very creamy and cozy with a lot of natural flavour that lends itself well to the foundations of a fall and winter soup. This particular soup uses sweet potatoes, and I honestly can’t wait to have another bowl full again for dinner tonight.

I’ve adapted this recipe from a great immunity boosting soup that I found from Lisa Lin. As she’s said, it’s great for keeping the sniffles away.

Ingredients

4 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
3 cups water
¼ cup of miso (I use soy-free miso made from chickpea or adzuki)
1 TBS ginger root, minced
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp cumin
1 cup coconut milk or adjust according to how thick you want the soup (choose light or heavy coconut milk depending on your preferences)

Instructions

Place everything except the milk in a pot over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce to a medium heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
When the vegetables are tender, use an immersion blender or transfer it to your regular blender and blend until smooth.
Return it to the pot and add the milk.
Optional: Sometimes I like to sprinkle something crunch on top, like some pumpkin seeds.
Enjoy!

Source of inspiration: https://healthynibblesandbits.com/carrot-sweet-potato-immunity-soup/

January 4, 2018 0 comment

Health Tips

Why Reishi is the Best Superfood in the World

by Mandi Gould January 3, 2018

written by Mandi Gould

Reishi mushrooms are a powerful superfood that have quite possibly saved both my husband and my father from fatal illness. In this post I’m going to look at the incredible reishi mushroom and why it’s the most powerful superfood in the world and how my family takes reishi every day to keep both my husband’s cancer as well as my father’s prostate and blood pressure problems at bay.

There are a lot of amazing superfoods out there including a variety of other medicinal mushrooms like chaga and cordyceps, but if I had to only pick one superfood to take it would be reishi mushroom. It has the power to boost our immune system which protects us from illness. Reishi contains chemicals that fight against the formation of tumours and cancer. The following illnesses and conditions can all be treated by taking reishi:

Altitude sickness
Asthma
Avian flu
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
Bronchitis
Cancer
Chronic bacterial prostatitis
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
Chronic prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS)
Clogged arteries
Colorectal adenomas
Diabetes
Fatigue
Flu
Heart disease
Herpes
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
HIV/Aids
Influenza
Insomnia
Kidney disorder
Liver disease
Lung cancer
Lung conditions
Poisoning
Prostate cancer
Prostate problems
Shingles-reated pain
Stomach ulcers
Stress
Swine flu
Tumors
Viral infections

Reishi also:
Alleviates allergies
Has anti-inflammatory effects
Helps with pain relief
Immune enhancing
Inhibits Bacteria
Is a strong anti-oxidant
Is also anti-ageing
Is anti-arthritic
Oxygenates the blood
Provides liver protection
Reduces blood fat levels
Reishi Contributes to Pain Relief
Reishi has Anti-Inflammatory effects
Reishi relieves Chronic-Fatigue Syndrome

You can get reishi in a variety of forms. There are powders, tinctures (drops), and dried chunks of the mushroom available to brew into a tonic or a tea. I like the powders and tinctures because you can easily add them to your green smoothie. Also, many forms of very potent reishi powders are very strong in flavour but disappears completely when combined with delicious banana and fruit.

Because reishi is rather expensive, particularly when you’re taking it every day, until recently I wasn’t taking it myself but was just putting it in Geoff’s green smoothie every morning to help ensure that his testicular cancer doesn’t return. However, recently I started to take reishi myself as well to treat my vocal nodules. Even though they’re calluses and not tumours, I’m currently working to heal my vocal nodules naturally and I’m using reishi as part of my healing regime. Geoff’s been taking reishi daily for a couple of years now and his health has been excellent. People are always shocked to learn that not just that he’s a cancer survivor but that he’s also 51. No one can ever guess his age. They’re always off by 10 years or more. Here’s a recent photo of him, happy and healthy:

GeoffTrain

With Geoff visiting Istanbul, happy and healthy.

I like to rotate the type of reishi and the source of reishi to make sure that Geoff’s getting as much of the available concentration of cancer fighting properties as possible. I do this because there are several kinds of reishi mushroom, and because every source is different. One morning I’ll include a tincture, then the next it will be a powder, and so on. I don’t really make the tea any more because I found it to be a bit impractical and not as strong.

At any given time I have at least 3 types of reishi in my smoothie cupboard, and sometimes as many as 5 or 6 different kinds. While it’s hard to know how strong some of the sources of reishi really are, we’ve tried and compared a lot of reishi products and I have no doubt in my mind that the strongest reishi product available are the ones available through Raw Food World. That stuff is potent! I’m not kidding. I’m not only saying that because the flavour is so strong and bitter (it is) but also because when we first started using it, it was like rocket fuel. Now we’re both accustomed to it so it doesn’t blast us the same way, and neither of us is actually sick, but I’m sure that if you took that stuff while you were sick with something you would get visible results. They have some pretty incredible statements and testimonials on that page about it. I highly recommend that you read through all of the information that they’ve provided.

No, the reishi spore oil, spore powder, and reishi triterpene crystals are not cheap, but what is your health worth to you? Not to mention the fact that the reishi is so highly concentrated that you don’t need very much. We take other, less expensive, kinds of reishi and we have to take 2 tablespoons of it where with the reishi spore oil, spore powder, and reishi triterpene crystals you only need a very small amount for it to be effective. They have a deal if you buy all 3 types of reishi products together and it’s really worth it. Click here for all of the information. Raw Food World also has amazing at-cost specials every month:

Not as incredibly potent, but still a very good product, I’d like to mention for fellow Canadians that Giddy Yoyo offers a good reishi tincture. That’s also one of the items that’s always in my smoothie cupboard that I take in rotation with the other reishi, and I also recommend their chaga mushroom tincture. Plus, they have great cacao products. Click here to visit the Giddy Yoyo store.

I’ll continue to add information here as more discoveries are made about reishi. For now, these are a few of my favourite go-to links for information about the benefits of reishi:

Sources:

January 3, 2018 4 comments

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