Ingredients:
-  1 bunch of kale
-  1 avocado
-  1 lemon, squeezed
-  1 teaspoon Sea Salt

Rinse the kale, remove the stems and chop. Combine the kale, lemon and sea salt in a bowl. Massage the kale with your hands for a few minutes - until the kale becomes tender. Chop up the avocado into small pieces and massage it into the greens.

Optional Add-ins:
− Grated root vegetables such as beet, carrot and daikon radish.
− Toasted sesame or sunflower seeds.
− Crumbled goat or feta cheese.
− Extra Virgin Olive Oil
− Quinoa

What greens should I eat?
This time of year it’s a good idea to add some of the bitter greens to your salad mix - arugula, dandelion, mustard and watercress. Sprouts are great too - you can even grow your own! Dark leafy greens such as kale, swiss chard, spinach and collard greens are a good addition any time of the year.

Kale
Sometimes called the “King of greens”, kale is a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory properties. Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and rich in calcium.

Kale tastes delicious!
My favorite way to cook kale is to boil it for 4 minutes in 1-2 cups of water. Yes, some of the nutrients are lost in the boiled water, but not if you keep the water and drink it or use it as a base for miso soup (just add miso and wakame!). Ume plum vinegar or a squeeze of fresh lemon taste delicious on kale. Kale can also be baked in the oven to make kale chips (rub with olive oil first)… a great way to get your kids to eat kale!

Here’s a super

Ingredients:
-  1 banana
-  Handful of berries or apple
-  Handful of greens such as kale
-  1 cup rice/soy/almond/hemp milk and/or coconut water
-  4 tblsp hemp or whey protein powder
-  1 tblsp flax meal
-  1 tablsp raw almond slivers
-  Several ice cubes

Blend!

Options:
− Start with a small amount of greens and gradually add more.
− Skip the protein powder if this is just a snack.
− Add maca for extra energy.
− Use hemp seeds plus water instead of rice/soy/almond milk.
− Peel, slice and store your bananas in freezer bags in the freezer - no need for ice cubes!

1. Cut back or eliminate dairy products - especially milk and cheese.This is a biggie for me. I love cheese, but unfortunately it leads to a lot of congestion and extra mucus production for me. I have found that while I can tolerate dairy at certain times of the year, spring is the time when I need to eliminate it.
2. Spring cleanse. This is the best time of year to cleanse and detox the body from winter’s excesses. Cleansing the body now will help your body deal with allergies.
3. Neti pot. The neti pot is a great tool for irrigating your sinuses. It is excellent for preventing and providing relief from allergies, sinus infections, and colds. 1/2 tsp. of sea salt is mixed with warm water. The spout of the neti pot is placed in one nostril. Tilt your head to the side and the salt water goes through your sinuses and drains out the other nostril. It is safe, simple and effective. Use it first thing in the morning as part of your bathroom routine, or more often as needed
4. Green Magma Barley Grass supplement. Mix 2 tsp. barley grass with 8oz. of water and drink it first thing in the morning. Besides providing allergy relief, it is full of nutrients that will give you an energy boost.
5. Local bee pollen* or local honey. Bee Pollen* reduces sensitivity to pollen allergies. 1 tsp. in the morning is sufficient after checking for allergic reaction (see below). It is best to start taking bee pollen one month before allergy season begins and continue taking it throughout allergy season.
6. Zicam Allergy Relief is a homeopathic remedy that is put in your nose several times a day. If you start feeling your allergies, use this instead of antihistamines.

Where can I buy this stuff?
Neti pot, barley grass and bee pollen can found at health food stores such as Whole Foods. Zicam Allergy Relief can be found at the drug store.

*Bee pollen warning - Before taking a full dose of bee pollen it is very important to test for a possible extreme allergic reaction by ingesting just one pellet. Then gradually build up over a week or so to the correct dose.

Write down your resolutions - Write them down and take a good look at them. If you have a long list, pick just one. Pick the one that will make the biggest difference in your life and is the most do-able.

Make a plan - If your resolution is a bit general, break it down into easy-to-do action steps. Decide when you are going to start the first step. Today? Tomorrow? Monday? Put it into your schedule right now.

Tell someone else - No secrets! Tell at least one person who will hold you accountable. Tell them what you’re going to do and when. Have them ask you whether you’ve done it.

Visualization - Sit in a comfortable quiet place for at least 5 minutes. Imagine yourself doing the first action step of your resolution. How does it feel? Imagine that you continue doing this for the next month, six months, year from now… how will you feel then? How will your life be different?

Write down 5 positive outcomes that will come from successfully implementing your resolution. Post these somewhere visible such as on your refrigerator or by your desk as a Reminder.

• Wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer if you are unable to get to the sink.
• Avoid touching your face with your hands. One of the biggest ways that we infect ourselves is by transferring germs from our hands to our mouth, nose or eyes.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow instead of your hands to avoid spreading your germs to others.
• Use a neti pot or sinus irrigation tool to rinse your sinuses with warm salt water every day. Gargling with salt water is a good idea as well. Don’t give the germs a chance to stick!
• Get enough sleep! This varies by person, but generally 7-8 hours is recommended.
• Stay off the sugar! Sugar depresses your immune system.
• Supplements: Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, echinacea and zinc are all helpful for your immune system. Experiment to see what supplements work best for you to keep your immune system functioning optimally.

• Eat Breakfast and Lunch - Skipping breakfast and working through lunch is a recipe for afternoon slumps and late night binges.
• Get your Beauty Sleep - Whoa, dark circles! Sleep 7-8 hours a night to look and feel your best.
• Active Relaxation - Take 5-10 minutes every day to meditate, do yoga, stretch or just breathe.
• Exercise - Getting your body moving and blood flowing will go a long way towards making you feel more energized. At minimum, aim for a 30 minute walk every day. Make exercise fun - take a yoga, dance or hooping class!
• Fresh Air - Get a dose of Vitamin D with your sunlight when you walk outside - two in one!
• Breathe - When we’re stressed or anxious, our breathing becomes shallower and weaker. Try taking some deep belly breaths to feel more calm and focused.
• Support - Who is supporting you? Do you have a friend or colleague that you can talk to about your personal or professional life? Are you making time for friends, even if it’s just meeting for a cup of tea?
• A little Pampering goes a long way. Make an appointment for a massage, facial or pedicure.
• Nurture List - What are the things that help you calm down and de-stress? Write a list of 10 quick things that you can do and post it on your refrigerator or by your desk to jog your memory.

Ingredients:
3 tblsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tblsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
Cayenne pepper to taste (careful!)
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
3 cups water
1 tart green apple, peeled, cored and chopped
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large soup pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add onion and saute until golden brown. Add garlic, curry powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper; cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Add squash, vegetable or chicken broth, water and apple. Bring liquid to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, 25 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove from heat and cool 15-20 minutes.Puree mixture in a blender or food processor and transfer back into soup pot. Season with salt and pepper.

• Refrigerate or freeze until ready to serve.
• To serve, warm over low heat, stirring until hot.

My current favorite:

Take 1-2 raw collard leaves with the inside facing up and fill with:

- Hummus, brown rice or quinoa, grated carrot, 1/2 avocado, dash of toasted sesame oil and tamari. Yum!

Collard greens are packed with nutrition! 

Like other vegetables in the cabbage family, collard greens provide anticancer properties. They offer an excellent source of vitamins B6 and C, carotenes, chlorophyll, and manganese.  One cup of collard greens provides more than 70 percent of the RDA for vitamin C. Collard greens are also a very good source of fiber, and several minerals, including iron, copper, and calcium. They also offer a good source of vitamins B1, B2, and E.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 4 tblsp hemp protein powder
  
• 1 tblsp cacao powder
• 1 tblsp almonds
• 1 tblsp flax meal
• 2 tblsp hemp seeds
• Splash of vanilla
• Splash of raw agave
• 1 1/2 cup of water
• 4-5 ice cubes

BLEND!!!