Recipe:

*8 oz Coconut Milk (coconut butter + filtered water) or Almond or Oat Milk (can buy boxed)
*2 Tablespoons Cacao Powder
*2 Teaspoons Cacao Nibs
*1 scoop (2 Tablespoons) Protein Powder of your choice (Raw, Brown Rice or Whey)
*2 drops of chocolate stevia concentrate
*2 drops of vanilla creme stevia concentrate
*handful or two of ice

Optional:

*maca powder- 1-2 teaspoons
*banana or dates (take out the pit!) for sweetener instead of or in addition to stevia
**toppings: buckwheat grawnola, goji berries, cacao nibs

Perhaps you are burning the candle at both ends. Maybe you are a workaholic. Whatever the situation, you usually know why you are feeling fatigued.

We may not feel like getting out of bed because of factors such as nutritional deficiencies and imbalances, stress, jet lag, PMS, as well as a diet of too much fat, sugar and food additives.

You can experience fatigue in both body and mind.

You expect muscle fatigue after a hard work out. And mental fatigue is normal after a hard day’s work or after dealing with the typical emotional ups and downs of modern life. Usually, a good night’s sleep or a restful weekend will do the trick. But victims of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) experience endless, debilitating lethargy. Symptoms of CFS include swollen lymph nodes, low-grade fever, recurring sore throat, muscle pain, poor concentration and memory, headache and depression. The most debilitating is the relentless, uncompromising exhaustion.

If you’ve already done a Pure Philosophie Experience or Philosophie Cleanse, you have already experienced the feeling of raw juices instantly supercharging your body. Why do you get this quick jolt of energy? In addition to their bioelectric energy field, raw nutrients are more viable than cooked nutrients. Nutrients such as vitamin C, most B-complex Vitamins, and enzymes simply cannot survive the heat. Proteins may be altered in a way that makes them indigestible, and fats can degrade into carcinogenic forms.

When you consume these foods in a more natural state, you get nearly 100% of their nutrients, including the phytochemicals and enzymes that assist in their digestion. This increased digestibility means you get to use more of what you eat. Since it takes less energy to digest the meal, you have more left over and you feel it. You become more efficient! You need less sleep, have more energy, more stamina, less fatigues and do a better job of fighting disease.

Whatever the cause, good nutrition can reduce and possibly eliminate the symptoms. A high-energy diet that builds the immune system should include complex carbohydrates that stimulate the metabolism, whole grains and beans that add fiber and protein, low fat protein, fish and fish oils for beneficial fatty acids, and lots of water. Use the power of fruits, vegetables, and their juices to provide the vitamins, minerals and fiber to get you going. Start the day with a high protein, high mineral drink that rejuvenates your senses, vitalizes you spirit and sustains your body.

What about Coffee?

Avoid caffeine, as it is only a temporary boost, merely postponing fatigue. Put away the espresso maker and pull out the juicer. Juicing is the best way to get instant energy. Stock your fridge with organic fruits and veggies. Leave sugary foods and high fat, processed foods at the bakery and butcher shops.

See prior posts for raw recipes for energy and to blast exhaustion! (I’d suggest brain food, green smoothie, rocket fuel, bunny love or maca java)

Getting outside and breathing fresh air can do wonders. Take a blanket outside on a sunny day and lay on a patch of grass while stretching and breathing.  It’s incredibly grounding.

Brain Food!!!

• 8 oz Carrot Juice

• 2 oz Alfalfa Sprouts

• 1 tsp Blue-Green Algae, Spirulina or Chlorella

Carrot juice is renown for its abundance of antioxidants. Alfalfa sprouts are rich in phytochemicals and chlorophyll and increase oxygen in the blood and brain. Blue-green algae, in any of its varieties, is a superb brain foods for sharpening concentration and alertness. Use organic carrots whenever possible.

This amazing raw chocolate smoothie will leave you dreaming of it. (hence the name)

Raw cacao is the most abundant antioxidant in the WORLD, (far beyond blueberries and red wine) and will give you amazing energy and mental clarity. It also has a great amount of Magnesium in it, which most people are deficient in and don’t even know it. Make this as a caffeine free alternative to an energy boosting cappuccino or frappaccino, or a healthy indulgence…raw chocolate mylk-shake

ORAC scores for the Top 10 Antioxidants Foods (per 100 grams)

1) Raw cacao powder* 95,500
2) Raw cacao nibs* 62,100
3) Roasted cacao powder 26,000
4) Organic Goji Berries* 25,300
5) Acai Berries* 18,500
6) Dark Chocolate 13,120
7) Milk Chocolate 6,740
8 ) Prunes 5,770
9) Raisins 2,830
10) Blueberries 2,400

Source: US department of Agriculture/Journal of American Chemical Society

*Brunswick Laboratories MA, USA

Smoothie Recipe: Delicious Chocolate Dream

• 1 cup almond milk/oat milk/coconut milk or water -maybe more if you want the consistency thinner
• 1 Banana (Tip: I keep them frozen once ripe in a ziploc bag for easy access!)
  
• 1 small avocado (to make it creamy and for the good fats)
• 1/4 cup raw cacao nibs
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/4 cup agave (less or more depending on sweetness desire) or 1 packet Stevia
  
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (consistency and for the good fats)
• 2 tsp maca
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (lowers blood sugar levels)
• handful or two of ice
  (to make this a complete meal/more filling you could also add hemp, raw or brown rice protein)

This smoothie will give you an abundance of ENERGY! Forgot coffee, this smoothie will keep your energy high for hours with no “come down” like caffeine provides. Enjoy! It’s DELICIOUS!

Cacao Nibs

Many of my clients ask me what they can take for help with gaining more energy. First of all… Lets take it to the basics. What IS energy?
Energy: “the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.”
Obviously you need calories to exert energy. But WHICH calories you bring in is super important.

Before talking about what to ADD to your diet or routine, lets talk about what to TAKE AWAY. If you eat processed or sugary foods, you are sure to crash right after you eat. If you drink caffeine, you are also guaranteed to crash later on.

The first thing you should do is cut down on both these things and find healthy swaps for them. For example, instead of having soda drink water, instead of coffee try tea, a kombucha or a green vegetable juice for energy.  (more on these later!)

After making these changes, you will absolutely begin to feel a difference in your energy level.

Also, so vital…SLEEP! 

While people lift weights for muscular strength, do Yoga and Pilates for flexibility, spend hours a week for cardiorespiratory strength and endurance, and count calories for body composition—there is one thing that hardly ever gets named as part of a person’s fitness regiment. The irony is that one thing may very well be one of the most important components of health and fitness—that thing is sleep. Make sure you are getting enough for YOU and your body. Try and settle down an hour before you want to get to sleep, turn the lights down, turn the computer/tv off (stimulation for the brain) and read, meditate or take a bath. Make sure you have a routine and attempt to get to sleep around the same time each evening. 

If you still feel drained or low energy, you can begin to add healthy supplements and superfoods to your regiment.
Here are some of my favorites for natural energy:

• blue-green algae
• maca
• bee pollen
• ginseng and royal jelly

More to come about these!!!! For now… start on the sleep and cutting back on caffeine

one thing at a time…