Thanksgiving Lunch at Kid's School

Today was hectic, but oh man, how it paid off! I'm so grateful for our health! I ought to knock on something, but I feel so blessed that our sickness has been so limited since we changed the way we eat. The kids rarely complain of stomach problems (in fact, usually it's after we eat meat, interestingly enough!), and we just feel good! Now, we aren't perfect in how we eat, but we take it a day at a time and have found joy in the smallest improvements.

So today was the kids Thanksgiving feast at their school. We could either pay $6 a person (or $3 a kid) and get a styrofoam tray of sugared up, chemical laden stuff (I'm not sure that I could actually call it FOOD!)....or bring our own! We brought our own, had so many folks stop and comment on how delicious and colorful our lunches looked, and one little boy sat with us, staring at our food until I offered him some. Needless to say, most of his bought lunch went into the trash.

What did we have, you ask? Salad. Yep, a humongous plate of salad, filled with fun toppings. We also had Black Bean Brownies for dessert.
Here is what we did:

a mix of romaine and spinach topped with any or all of the following:
pomegranate seeds
mandarin oranges
diced apples
raisins
sliced raw almonds
diced orange pepper
diced cucumber
raw shredded coconut

It was a beautiful salad. 2 of the kids opted for no salad dressing, which was fine by me. They loved the juice that the fruit left on the leaves, but everyone else had the following dressing:

1⁄2 C extra virgin olive oil 
 2/3 C orange juice
1⁄4 C agave or raw honey
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar 
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1⁄4 tsp. dried oregano
1⁄4 tsp. black pepper
1 T poppy seeds
Blend in power blender until smooth, then stir in the poppy seeds. (This makes a lot, we only used about 1/4 of the dressing!)


Let's talk about pomegranate for just a minute. First of all, watch this! It shows how to cut and de-seed a pomegranate. Super easy!  Why eat pomegranate? This seasonal fruit is rich with antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C and vitamin K.  It keeps blood platelets from clumping together and forming unnecessary clots.  It is great for those at risk for heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, prostate cancer, Alzheimer's disease and high blood pressure as follows:
-it raises the good cholesterol while keeping the bad cholesterol from oxidizing in the body
-reduces plaque in arteries
-may prevent and slow down the growth of breast cancer and prostate cancer
-can prevent heart attack and stroke
-can lower blood pressure 
-can prevent and slow down Alzheimer's
-helps prevent cartilage deterioration


I love learning about how our bodies can heal itself through eating the right things. Of course, this is best done by eating it in it's most natural state-fresh and RAW! Best yet, they taste yummy! In fact during lunch today the kids kept asking for more of those beautiful jeweled seeds! Thanks, Jess, for reintroducing me to pomegranate! Mwah!

Should you drink the popular POM juice? No!!!! Juice begins losing it's nutritional value 15 minutes after juicing! Yep! It's true. I no longer buy juice in the store. The only juice that I don't do fresh is lemon and lime juice. I juice them and then freeze in ice cube trays for when I need them, which is better, but not the best. Tangent, I know, but anyway, be careful what juice you buy and ingest. Most juices are pasteurized (meaning most of the good enzymes are killed by heat!!) and then filled with added sugar or chemicals to keep it fresh. Ew, right? C'mon, folks, let's take good care of our bodies: it's the only one we have!