Chocolate Acai Chia Pudding
Author: Rachel Gutierrez
Serves: 1-2
 
Ingredients

• ¼ cup chia seeds
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 frozen Sambazon Unsweetened Acai Smoothie Pack (3.5 oz), thawed
• ½ Tbs. cacao powder
• ½ tsp. powdered stevia
• cacao nibs for topping (optional)
• shredded coconut for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. Pour the chia seeds into a bowl.
2. Blend the almond milk, acai, cacao powder, and stevia in a blender or food processor. Pour over the chia seeds and stir well.
3. Cover and store the pudding in the fridge for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. When ready to serve, remove the pudding from the fridge, stir well (add more almond milk if you prefer a thinner consistency), top with cacao nibs and shredded coconut (or any other toppings you may love), and Enjoy!

Source: http://almondsandavocados.com/chocolate-acai-chia-pudding/

In herbal medicine, spices are used often to treat health ailments. Here are a list of nine every day spices that have positive health benefits that you can add into your diet and favorite dishes. 

1.) Cinnamon
- helps stabilize blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, diabetes, helps burn fat, digestive problems

2.) Turmeric
- contains active ingredient curcurmin
- high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
- help heal ulcers including infections with Helicobacter
- improves liver detoxification pathways
- cancer prevention
- Alzheimer’s disease 
- cardiovascular disease 
- helps reduce cholesterol levels

3.) Saffron
- contains many plants derived chemical compounds that are known to have been anti-oxidant, disease preventing and health promoting properties.
- The active components in saffron have many therapeutic applications in many traditional medicines as antiseptic, antidepressant, anti-oxidant, digestive, anti-convulsant.

4.) Ginger
- stomach, gas, bloating, nausea, motion sickness, morning sickness, nausea and vomiting
- reduce pain and inflammation such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis & rheumatism. 
- reduce exercise induced muscle soreness
- helps in treatment of common cold and respiratory inflammation such as bronchitis & asthma

5.) Chili
- relieve pain, improves circulation
- enhances memory, used for coughs and colds 
- anti-cancer properties
- weight loss
- reduce blood cholesterol & triglyceride levels

6.) Cardamon
- reduce cancer development 
- increase cell death of cancer cells in the colon
- mild diuretic 
- useful for high blood pressure

7.) Cumin
- lowering blood glucose levels
- natural anti-bacterial effects in the digestive system
- Contains a phytonutrient called apigenin, which has been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth

8.) Paprika
- anti-oxidant give away
- very high in Vitamin C 
- improves iron absorption 
- help digestion
- act as an anti-bacterial in the digestive tract
- improves circulation

9.) Clove
- Contains eugenol
- reducing intestinal worms, digestive discomfort such as nausea, colic, bloating 
- toothache, and as a gargle for pharyngitis , laryngitis and halitosis

Source:  http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/nine-spices-that-benefit-your-health/

How to cook quinoa
By Erika Yigzaw

For two cups of cooked quinoa, simply:

• Rinse one cup of dried quinoa well (this removes the bitter saponins that coat the seeds). Most quinoa is pre-rinsed, but another rinse doesn’t hurt! And, if you get a foamy reaction when you rinse your quinoa it usually means it wasn’t pre-rinsed, so just keep rinsing until that soapy looking stuff is all gone. (Its not really soap – saponins are simply a class of plant constituents that lather.)
• Place your rinsed cup of quinoa in a non-reactive saucepan with two cups of cold, purified water. Never use aluminum cookware, which leaches into food and is an accumulative toxin. Our favorites are enamel, then stainless.
• Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until the water is absorbed and you can see the little white line curling in the seed. This takes 10-15 minutes. Then turn off the heat, put the lid on the pot, and leave it to sit for a few minutes. Then serve!

Source: http://info.achs.edu/blog/bid/277869/Holistic-Nutrition-Quinoa-Gluten-Free-High-Protein-Vegan-Superfood