Do you know that leafy greens are the most nutritious food pound for pound? Yup, leafy greens offer a limitless pool of nutrition and healing benefits because they alkalize the body, which is why you’ll always catch me in the kitchen every morning making green smoothies and green juices. Here are 10 important reasons why it is so good for you to include greens in your diet everyday:

1. Purify the blood
2. Assist in improving circulation
3. Improve immune system and function
4. Natural energy
5. High in B-vitamins = promote intestinal health
6. Anti-aging
7. Lower cholesterol and inflammation
8. Boosts bone health
9. Improves elimination
10. Supports healthy vision

I recommend alternating the leafy greens you eat. Leafy greens contain a small minute amount of nitrogenous organic compounds called alkaloids, which in the plant world is a really good thing because they act as a protective mechanism against the the animal kingdom wiping them completely out. But in humans, too much of one leafy green on a regular basis can have a poisonous physiological effect. Plus, by alternating our leafy greens, we increase the range of vitamin and mineral benefits each offer us. You can have spinach for a few days, then switch to kale for a few days and onward with any from the range available.

Here is an awesome alkaline green drink (think healing) from Dr. Robert O. Young, author of “The pH Miracle”

• 2 cucumbers
• 8 kale leaves
• 10 Swiss chard leaves
• 5 celery stalks
• 3 large handfuls of spinach
• 4 Roma tomatoes
• 2 green zucchini
• 2 avocados

Juice all the veggies and add to your blender, add 2 whole avocados (meat only) 1 oz liquid chlorophyll, 1-2 oz. EFA oil blend, and a high-grade, very clean greens powder. I sell the one I believe to be the best on the planet. Why? It is sourced from very pristine, remote areas in South American, where the soils and air are clean and unscathed, unlike highly-industrialized countries. Check it out here >>

As everything I do, I made this recipe with big love for you, but this one I added a special twist of Jersey-girl “flava” for Marie Forleo, to celebrate her new season of B-School coming up in March! My first year with her in this program was second to nothing I’ve ever done – extraordinary! Oh yes, if it is true that we are the sum part of the 5 people we spend the most time with, I can assure you, you will join a tribe of 1000s of entrepreneurs that are up to “making money and changing the world” outstanding-style with Marie Forleo at the helm!  This recipe — a Chocolate Cashew Milkshake, is loaded with healing ingredients, love and wishes for your great success, to heal your body, so your Spirit can soar wildly, beyond the parameters you ever thought possible! Heck, maybe even with me and Marie Forleo in B-School this year!

I know, I know, with every recipe I say that this is the best recipe I’ve ever made, but this one, welp, it may be true with this one!

You want your healthy swagger back so bad, but you just can’t imagine giving up chocolate! This recipe is the perfect recipe. Thick. Creamy. And … with a very careful eye on the sugar content. Too much sugar is not good for us, right? Plus, I added all sorts of nutritional powerhouses! This ‘milkshake,’ rather ‘mylkshake,’ since it is a nut-based milk, is indescribably delicious. Creamy and just as thick as you remember your favorite milkshake, but healthy all day long, especially since I’ve added the special ‘shot’ of ginger! Sweet and spicy. Rich and creamy. Healthy and healing. C’mon, how could indulgence get any better? Just like one of the fine chocolates you specialty order, but this one won’t inflame your body!

Your welcome! You will love me forever for this one!

Here you go:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw Cashews
• 2 cups filtered water
• 1 cup ice
• 2  frozen bananas
• 3 Tbsp raw cacao
• 1 scoop vanilla plant-based protein powder
• 1 – 2 Tbsp flax
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp of EFA oil
• pinch Celtic sea salt
• 1 – 2 shots of fresh pressed ginger juice (optional, but oh so freaking good!)

Add all ingredients into your high-speed blender and whirl-away to a decadent mildly sweet and healthy, thick, creamy treat!

PS-that ginger juice? Oh, EM, GEE … think luscious specialty chocolate with little nibs of goodness, minus the nibs of course, but with the essence of sweet cacao and spicy ginger that blend together into an indescribable glass of goodness!

PSS- Do you know that you must “chew” your smoothies? Yes, please chew each mouthful to activate the first gastric juices of our digestive process, amylase, to make sure your body gets all the healthy goodness you take in when you drink your smoothies!

PSS- Join me in B-School and grab this amazing bonus!

Cheers!

Mediterranean Radicchio Salad: A Symphony of Flavors and Nutrients

The true delight of any meal lies not just in taste but in how it makes you feel. This Mediterranean Radicchio Salad is designed to leave you feeling light, energized, and deeply nourished. Packed with nutrient-dense greens, plant-based protein, and healthy fats, it’s both satisfying and satiating.

Looking to elevate the flavor? Lightly grill the radicchio and scallions for a smoky depth that complements the zesty lemon and briny olives perfectly.

Why Power Greens Matter

Processed foods bombard our palates with sugar, salt, and fat, leaving behind the other essential flavors our bodies are designed to crave—especially bitter. Bitterness stimulates digestion by encouraging the production of saliva, stomach acid, and bile, all of which are crucial for breaking down food and absorbing nutrients.

This salad reintroduces your taste buds to the often-overlooked beauty of bitterness while offering a delicious way to nourish your body:

• Arugula: Its peppery bite brings a delightful contrast to the plate, with just enough bitterness to spark your digestive system into action and awaken your appetite.
• Frisée: With its airy curls and gentle bitterness, frisée adds texture and balance, making each bite feel like a little adventure.
• Dandelion Greens: Their bold bitterness might surprise you, but they’re nature’s way of hitting the reset button—supporting your liver and helping your body feel its best.

Together, these greens don’t just balance your plate—they help you reconnect with the richness of natural flavors, reminding us that food can be as healing as it is delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 medium head radicchio, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 bunch arugula, frisée, and/or dandelion greens (or a mix), coarsely chopped
• 5 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans (optional for added protein)
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (ACV)
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 avocado, diced

How to Make It

1. Optional Grilling:
   • Lightly brush the radicchio and scallions with olive oil and grill briefly over medium heat until slightly wilted and charred in spots. This step adds a smoky depth to the salad but is optional (addictively delicious!)
2. Prepare the Greens:
   • Coarsely chop the radicchio and your chosen mix of arugula, frisée, and dandelion greens for a rustic, layered texture.
3. Combine Base Ingredients:
   • Toss the greens with apple cider vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, EVOO, and freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl.
   • Massage the radicchio gently with your hands to soften its natural bitterness and allow the dressing to infuse the greens.
4. Add the Extras:
   • Stir in the scallions, Kalamata olives, and garbanzo beans (if using).
5. Finish with Freshness:
   • Just before serving, garnish the salad with cherry tomatoes and diced avocado for bursts of juicy sweetness and creamy richness.

Why This Salad Shines

This salad isn’t just another recipe—it’s a vibrant invitation to rediscover the power of whole, natural foods. The combination of bitter greens, briny olives, and zesty lemon vinaigrette creates a harmony of flavors that delights your palate while supporting your digestion.

Bitter flavors stimulate the production of digestive enzymes and bile, helping your body break down food efficiently and absorb nutrients more effectively. This means every bite tastes good and works hard for your body.

With its bold ingredients, nutrient-packed greens, and balanced flavors, this salad reminds us that food can be deeply satisfying, nourishing, and incredibly delicious—all at once.

Serving Suggestions and Tips

• Make It Your Own: Swap garbanzos for lentils, add toasted nuts for crunch or sprinkle on nutritional yeast for a cheesy finish.
• Choose Quality Ingredients: Fresh, organic greens and cold-pressed EVOO will elevate this dish to restaurant-worthy status.
• Pair It Perfectly: This salad pairs beautifully with raw goat cheese and… a crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc if you are so inclined.

Let’s Talk

This salad isn’t just a recipe—it’s a celebration of how incredible clean, vibrant eating can be. Did you make it your own? Perhaps you swapped in grilled shrimp or added a handful of toasted seeds? Let me know in the comments below—I’d love to hear your creative twists!

Serve, enjoy, and savor every bite, knowing you’re nourishing your body with every forkful.

Sea Salt Body Scrub with Essential Oils

For centuries, and still today, many use sea salts and epsom salts for healing, wellness and detoxification. Sea salt body scrubs literally nourish, balance, soothe and heal our skin, while our body absorbs all the healing benefits of wide-spectrum of minerals in salt to promote deeper healing, balance and detoxification. Sea salt scrubs are long known to revive and moisturize dry, devitalized skin and considered a beautiful “spa” treatment any time of the year.

Sea Salt Body Scrub

1/2 cup Coarse Sea Salt

1/2 cup Coconut, Extra Virgin Olive, Almond or Sesame Oil

 

Essential Oil — preference

• Eucalyptus, energizing
• Lavendar, calming
• Rose – heart opener, with anti-depressive qualities

Mix all ingredients together and gently rub the skin with the sea salt scrub, to exfoliate and invigorate your skin. The abrasive action of exfoliation removes dead skin cells, improves circulation and leaves the skin healthy and glowing.

Tabula Rasa. Clean Slate. Hello 2015!

Tabula Rasa: ˈtäbyo͝olə ˈräsə, ˈräzə| noun (pl. tabulae rasae |ˈtäbyo͝olē ˈräsē, ˈräzē| ) an absence of preconceived ideas or predetermined goals; a clean slate: the team did not have complete freedom and a tabula rasa from which to work.
ORIGIN Latin, literally ‘scraped tablet,’ denoting a tablet with the writing erased.

What do you do at the dawn of a New Year?

Do you set new goals?

Create new resolutions?

When I crewed Anthony Robbins Unleash the Power Within one year, I became known as the “burn your fears girl.” My task of that day was to make sure all attendees had filled out a “burn your fears sheet” to toss into a fire before the nights event of walking on fire. Robbins believes “we” can’t face the fear of walking on fire, if we still hold so many fears within. He believes the act of writing them down, crumbling them up and burning them metaphorically represents a letting go, a releasing, an opening, a space, for the new.

I love that analogy. I loved my designation of the day as attendees would approach me and ask, “are you the burn your fears girls?” “Oh, yes, I AM the burn your fears girl,” I would think as I giggled!

But mostly, I love the larger metaphor this program-ritual offers, we’ve got to let go, to embrace the new.

Clean out to bring in.

Open, to let go.

Tabula Rasa. Clean Slate

I love this quote from the “father of the hero’s journey,” Joseph Campbell, “We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

At this time of year, at the dawn of a whole bright, new, shiny year, as you create your goals and resolutions, or whatever name or form that takes for you, I offer you a series of thoughts, ideas and questions to create completion with 2014, to create a whole new, open space for you, for your greatness, for your success and your greatest joys to emerge in 2015.

Tabula Rasa. Clean Slate. Fresh new adventures laden with endless possibilities, unburdened by dashed hopes and dreams of yesteryear. You want it all and you know that letting go to open to the new is essential. You know this on both an intellectual and intuitive level.

Questions to reflect on, as you bid adieu to 2014:

If you were to summarize 2014 into one word, what word would you choose and why?

What and who are you most grateful for this year?

What was your most powerful lesson of the year?

Your greatest success?

Your greatest risk?

What worked?

What didn’t work?

Who made the greatest impact on your life this year?

What did you accomplish in 2014 that you are most proud of?

What worked for you this year? What didn’t work for you this year?

What are you most happy about completing this year?
Like when the ball drops at midnight, this exercise is an emotional one — sort of bittersweet, but ah, oh-so-powerful nonetheless. You just gleaned powerful insights into what you want, and what you don’t want for the new year that rises. But oh, so exciting, you’ve cleaned the slate, you’ve celebrated, acknowledged and completed 2014 to open the space of tabula rasa for 2015! And with this whole new open space …

I offer you a few questions and thoughts to consider, as you plan for your BIGLIFE Project 2015.

If you were to choose one word to describe what you want to create in 2015, what would it be?

Where and who do you want to be at the end of 2015?

In what area(s) of your life do you want to create lasting success?

What top 3 actions can you take right now to ensure your success? Write these out and create timelines to complete these actions, “by when.”

What top 3 actions can you take every day to ensure your success? Write these out every week, and review them every night, so you know what to do the next day.

Who can help you advance your intentions and success?

What books can you read to ensure your success?

What groups can you join to ensure your success?

Who can you work with to ensure your success?

What will be the benefits if you stick to your goals?

What will be the losses?

You cannot change your past, but you can choose your future.

Happy 2015! Let go of whatever didn’t happen in 2014 — listen to the “burn your fears girl,” and create peace with what didn’t happen and gratefulness for all that did! This IS your year, IF you create it that way!

May vibrant health, soaring energy and unstoppable success be yours in this new year and every year hereafter!!

My 5 Top Healthy Holiday Tips

You’ve made your mind up. You’ve made the decision to indulge in things over the holidays that you don’t normally eat. And some of your choices may be downright “unhealthy.”

It’s all good.

You can indulge smartly.

As much as I help my 1:1 coaching clients level up their get healthy game, I firmly believe that “we zig and we zag” in life — that there are times in life that we deviate from our every day level of commitment to accomplish what we are most committed to… and just “cut loose,” and have fun! We zig and we zag.

Hans Christian Anderson said it best, “Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.”

And, if ever we are going to break from our “standard” healthy approach to eating and life, I know full well that the holidays are the time, so I created a short list of my top 5 healthy holiday tips, to help you balance out your commitment to be healthy and indulge.

START. Drink Lemon Elixir when you first wake up every morning now through the holidays, and thereafter if you’d like. I recommend it. Read more why here.

PREPARE. Drink a green juice in the morning is my first recommendation. If you don’t have a juicer, or just want something more satisfying, make a green smoothie. The green will help quell the inflammation you experience from those top 5 inflammatory foods you may choose to indulge in, sugar, dairy, coffee, wheat and, yup, alcohol. AND … eat a big salad before your guests arrive, or before you arrive to your holiday dinner. You may not deviate “too” far off your healthy track if you fill yourself up with greens before your dinners.

PLAN. Choose ahead of time what your “cheat” will be during your holiday dinners. By choosing ahead of time, you will feel empowered, rather than reactive.

INSPIRE. Bring something healthy with you to “inspire” and turn your family and friends on to your healthy recipes, especially if you know that healthy choices will be limited. Here are 2 ideas, Holiday ‘Nog, and Raw Bark, that I know 100% will NOT disappoint. I promise.

CLOSE. Complete your day with Cleanse Your Body Tea or Probiotic Lemonade. You can even offer this to your guests — they’re a perfect delicious “warm” beverage to help you digest, reduce inflammation and cleanse your cells

Holiday celebration is about family, friends and special times together, it doesn’t have to be solely about food. But whatever you do choose to indulge in, whatever you do choose to zag with, I hope you enjoy every single bit, with beautiful memory-making times together!

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Blessings and wishes of vibrant health and soaring energy to you and yours always! 

Matthew Kenney’s HOLIDAY ‘NOG RECIPE

Let me say this has to be one of the very best Holiday “Eggnog” recipes I’ve ever had! It is so delicious, and created by one of the very best “raw food chefs,” Matthew Kenney, who trained in Paris at the French Culinary Institute and twice nominated as a Rising Star Chef in America by the James Beard Foundation. I highly recommend Kenney’s Everyday Raw, or his most recent, Plant Food and Wine, and you can find both in my new Cook Book collection.

The Holiday ‘Nog Recipe:

½ cup soaked almonds
½ cup soaked cashews
1 ½ cups water
1 date
2 tablespoons maple syrup, coconut nectar or agave
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 inch vanilla bean, including pod
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon chia seeds or chia flour
pinch of salt

Blend well. Strain or sieve and serve.

Enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Bark Recipe

Everyone I know LOVES chocolate! And I LOVE to recommend everything healthy, so…. here is a raw chocolate bark recipe that I created to make you happy, and keep you healthy during this holiday season!

NOTE: It’s so good that you may want to double it up so you can share some too!

Basic Recipe
1 cup raw cacao butter (or coconut butter)
3/4 – 1 cup raw cacao
1/8 cup raw honey or maple syrup
1-2 vanilla beans, or 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Soften raw cacao butter, but do not liquify.

Combine all ingredients by hand or in a food processor and adjust the chocolate, vanilla and sweetener to taste.

Pour chocolate into a parchment lined baking sheet and put in the refrigerator or freezer to set.

Favorite “bark” combinations:

• Hand-stir in crushed almonds, pecans or walnuts and sprinkle with coarse pink Himalayan salt, or:
• Pistachios and Fruit-sweetened Dry Cherries, or:
• Pumpkin Seeds & Goji berries. or:
• Hazelnuts & Currants, or:
• Chili Pepper, or:
• Lavender

Enjoy! 

Top 2 Very Sexy Positive Psychology Exercises for Emotional Mastery

These are both probably worth implementing several times over before your holiday festivities begin, but are both versions of exercises I recommend my clients implement every day. Why? Because emotional mastery is sexy and magnetic and powerful and the force that makes everything else possible.

Three Blessings

Use Your Signature Strengths in New Ways

Three Blessings are when you recount the force of gratefulness in your life. The “hello” you are blessed wake-up call that many of us forget to remember.

• Before you go to bed, write down three good things that happened during the day.
• Then, write down why each of them happened.
• Think about the impact these positive events had on your day. How would your day have gone if they didn’t happen?
• Identify three strategies for continuing to live in a state of thankfulness, manifesting more positivity and improvement.
• Write down each time something good happens, or actions you take to make a bad situation good.

Use Your Signature Strengths in New Ways is the vehicle you use to create who you say you are, no matter what is going on around you.

• Review the list of 24 signature strengths listed below in 6 categories.
• Think of ways you already use your signature strengths.
• Brainstorm ways you can use them even more, writing down specific actions you can take.
• Commit to using your strengths in new ways this week.
• Carry a small notebook with you and write down each time you complete an action that utilizes your signature strengths. Share with a friend.

24 Positive Psychology Exercises for Emotional Mastery 

Wisdom and Knowledge
Curiosity, Love of Learning, Open-Mindedness, Creativity and Perspective

Courage
Bravery, Persistence, Authenticity and Vitality

Humanity
Love, Kindness/Generosity and Social Intelligence

Justice
Citizenship, Fairness/Equity and Leadership

Temperance
Self-regulation, Prudence, Humility/Modesty and Forgiveness

Transcendence
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence, Gratitude, Hope, Spirituality and Playfulness/Humor

Believe me, believe you.

Can you change your eating habits?

And more importantly, does it really matter?

I mean, you know the usual rational — your family and friends, your colleagues and neighbors don’t eat the way you’ve aspired to eat, and they all seem to be doing good and having fun. Does it really matter, this healthy eating thing?

You spend such an exorbitant amount of time and money in your endeavor to be “healthier,” it is important to ask, seriously ask, does it really matter?

Especially that we usually revert to our habituated ways of doing things — You know, that back-slide thing, when we try, and we fail.

Of course there are the oh-so-many reasons to justify why we “just don’t do it” too.

And then there are people like the gorgeous Kris Carr, NYT Best-Selling author of Crazy Sexy Cancer (and more), who stopped inoperable Stage IV cancer in her liver and lungs from advancing over 10 years ago, or the vibrant Jay Kordich, the renowned “Juice Daddy,” who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in his prime, who overcame the diagnosis of bladder cancer over 60 years ago, and even the beautiful Jess Ainscough who was diagnosed with cancer in her entire left arm & shoulder (a rare one called epithelioid sarcoma) — and that the only option (if she wanted to survive) was a full amputation.

Carr, Kordich and Ainscough and scores more chose whole, healing, plant-based diets, heavily laden with fresh pressed juices to heal their bodies, and in the process literally altered the whole course and quality of their lives beyond “the better” they ever imagined. They just wanted to save themselves.

Eating healthy was very important for them.

Change IS hard and often feels impossible. But even if just one person “made it,” made it in the way we want to make it, has dug down deep and created success in the ways we want to create success, well then, we know it IS possible.

Anthony Robbins says that success is 80% mindset, 20% mechanics.

Can you change your eating habits?

Depends.

Do you believe you can change your eating habits?