Naturally Ashley

07/15/2019

Heart melting spending time with these sweeties yesterday at Free to Be Me Animal Sanctuary. April couldn’t get enough of drinking from the hose! 😍

05/07/2019

I’m really looking forward to speaking at The yoga loft in Moose Jaw on June 1st about all things juicing and eating for energy!

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FREE WORKSHOP FOR YOU & BRING A FRIEND (Just bring a donation - all proceeds will be given to the "Free to Be Me Animal Sanctuary” !!!🐴🐮🐷🦆

Read on for all the details and how to sign up to save your spot!! ** (we encourage registering so we know how much food to accommodate for)!**

Juicing & Eating for Energy Workshop🍏🥦

Spring is here, and Summer is around the corner. With all the fruits and veggies coming into season, Ashley wants to help you take advantage of their nutritional and healing benefits with a Juicing & Eating for Energy Workshop at the Yoga Loft.

Ashley is going to cover topics like how to juice, what juicer is right for you, how to juice without a juicer, eating for energy, and talk about why the heck this celery juice trend is so popular! Plus! She will be doing food demos and sharing recipes for you to enjoy - so you don't have to worry about eating before arriving! 🍉

Maybe you are on a roll after getting a juicer for Christmas and want some fresh ideas, or maybe you have already stashed it at the back of the pantry (gathering dust?!). Let’s bring it back out!

Don’t have a juicer? No problem – Ashley will teach you how to juice without a juicer. She is here to help! 🥕

Ashley Lauren is passionate about eating a plant-based diet rich in fresh, raw, whole foods. She is a Health Coach certified by the Institute for Integrated Nutrition and currently lives in Moose Jaw, Sask.

We at The Yoga Loft look forward to having Ashley share her wisdom of hydrating and nutrient dense plant-based foods and juices with you all! 🙏

SIGN UP NOW to save your spot for this AMAZING workshop!! ☺️

https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=22721&stype=-7&sView=day&sLoc=0&date=06/01/19

04/20/2019

When you’re grain free, avocado toast becomes AVO-TATO toast. Mashed guac and cashew cream cheeze on top of oil-free baked potato slices. Topped with fresh cherry tomato, dill and green onion. Not a bad dinner tonight at the lake.

04/20/2019

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𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥.
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⁣⁣I’ve been doing seed cycling (for hormone health) and experimenting with new recipes that contain sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds. You take 1 tbsp of each pumpkin and flax daily once you start your cycle. And switch to sesame seeds and sunflower seeds during your leutal phase (post-ovulation). I’m in my leutal phase and enjoying sesame and sunflower seeds right now. ⁣
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If you currently aren’t tracking your cycle or not having a cycle/menstruating - you can follow the moons cycle starting with the full moon. And that’s happening right now!🌙 ⁣
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You might start to notice that my recipes contain more of these seeds as I play with this. Enjoy! ⁣
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𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:⁣⁣
1. Sauté onions and red pepper in a frying pan, adding small amounts of water as needed, until the veggies brown and soften. ⁣⁣⁣
2. Add broccoli, bok choy and carrots, along with some fresh grated ginger, garlic to taste, 1/2 tsp onion powder and continue to sauté 5 minutes. ⁣⁣⁣
3. Add 1/4-1/3 cup of coconut aminos/coconut sauce. Stir in and let it coat the veggies. Sauté until veggies are desired softness. (You can enjoy them al denté or fully cooked.) If you want to thicken the sauce you can use 1 tbsp Tapioca starch or arrowroot powder. I find it helps to mix it first in a cup with a little water. ⁣⁣⁣
4. Right at the end toss in zucchini noodles. Just to warm them - I like them crunchy and not too soft. ⁣⁣⁣
5. Transfer to a bowl and top with toasted sesame seeds! ⁣⁣⁣
Enjoy! ⁣

04/02/2019

Since Monsanto was officially charged in court, GUILTY of Glyphosate causing cancer, you might want to check out this list of the top 70 foods that are sprayed with it.

*Keep in mind that if you still wish to eat these foods, non-organic, that washing them with baking soda has shown to be the best solution for getting the most pesticide off the surface. It can’t however clean out the chemical that has leached in through the skin.

Everyone has a right to know what’s going in their body.
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Figuring out what crops are sprayed with glyphosate can be helpful when trying to decide what foods you should be buying organic. Keep this list on hand.

04/01/2019

My first attempt at roasting a whole cauliflower was a success. And I totally winged it...⁣
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I used the leftover red pepper pumpkin seed dip recipe from yesterday’s post as a marinade/sauce, spreading it medium thick on top and sprinkled it with more spices (salt, pepper, garlic, parsley). ⁣
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I finished by spraying it with some brags soy/aminos sauce for flavor and moisture. ⁣
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I then baked it in the oven at 425F for 50 minutes, in a baking dish with an inch of water in the bottom (to keep it moist). ⁣
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It turned out incredible! I cut it into slices and served it on shredded lettuce with cashew garlic cream sauce, diced red peppers and red onion. ⁣
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I’ll be making this again for sure and playing with different flavor combos and marinades. I’ll let you know how they go! ⁣
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@ Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

04/01/2019

Raw Wrap with Red Pepper Pumpkin Seed Hummus. ⁣
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I’m not sure I can call this hummus as there are no chickpeas in it. In fact, it’s entirely bean & legume-free! ⁣For the base I use a combo of pumpkin seeds and zucchini. ⁣
This is a great recipe if you’re trying to incorporate more raw foods into your life, or need a new dip or dressing to try! ⁣
Ingredients:⁣
2 red peppers, chopped ⁣
1 small zucchini, peeled and chopped⁣
1/3 cup raw pumpkin seeds ⁣
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice ⁣
1-2 tsp garlic powder ⁣
1 tsp onion powder⁣
1/2 tsp himalayan salt ⁣
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Directions: ⁣
Place all ingredients in a food processor, or a high-speed blender, and blend on high until smooth. If it’s not thick enough, add 2 more tablespoons of pumpkin seeds and blend again until smooth. ⁣
Use as a dipping sauce or add to salads and wraps. ⁣
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Optional: ⁣
You can roast the red pepper before blending - 400F for 15 minutes. ⁣
Try it as a dressing by thinning it out with more zucchini and/or a little water.
Enjoy! ❤️
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04/01/2019

My ‘How I Became Vegan’ story:⁣
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This is an old pic of me before I ‘went vegan’. I believe I’ve always been vegan at heart, I just didn’t align with my true values until 7 years ago. ⁣
I became vegan trying to simultaneously heal my Candida & Gall Bladder attacks.⁣
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I used to be a junk food queen. Sugar cereal for breakfast, bag of 5-cent candies for a snack, Doritos & a Gingerale pop for lunch, more candy in the afternoon, and then a standard ‘balanced’ dinner (meat, starch, veg), followed by binge drinking at night time 2-4 nights a week, waking up with taco-in-a-bag in my hair. ⁣
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Not a shocker that I developed all sorts of health issues resulting from my lifestyle choices. I eventually was diagnosed with celiac disease & that forced me to smarten up - learning how to cut out gluten & to read food labels. I also learned something very important - that the food we eat effects the body & how we feel, physically and mentally. I started to clean up my diet & felt better but I had a battle with leaky gut & Candida. I went to a naturopath & he prescribed a Candida diet. ⁣
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With the Candida diet I couldn’t eat sugar from starchy carbs, grains or fruit- with a focus on high fat and protein foods... which led to gall bladder inflammation & attacks that landed me in the hospital. The doctor said that they would eventually just cut out my gall bladder, that it was a simple routine procedure and I thought, ‘no way man!’ I did the research to help support my gall bladder & found that a low fat diet could help. But I was already avoiding all carbs/sugars, so when I cut out fats too I had zero calories/energy coming in. All I could eat were veggies and was fading fast. ⁣
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So I kept researching and found that a fruit-based, low-fat diet could heal Candida, & I was sold. I love fruit and knew I wanted to give this a try. I read the 80/10/10 book by Dr Doug Graham, hired a heath coach, & after a month felt like a new human - mind body and soul. After two months I was pretty much symptom free from both aliments. PLUS healing other health issues in my body that I thought were just ‘normal’ or have to deal with the rest of my life. Nope! ⁣.. continued in the comments ...

03/30/2019

We all love that divine smell of air sprays, but that sweet smell could lead to a whole range of health issues. One of such products is Febreze. According to EWG the Febreze products score