Kale definitely lives up to its “super food” title:

One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. (from WebMD)

 ←even my dog loves kale!

Kale Chips are a fantastic snack food – especially if you’re vegan/raw vegan and you’re missing that salty crunchy snack. not only is it nutritious, the recipe for basic Kale Chips seems SUPER easy:

• kale, de-veined
• salt
• pepper

i mean, can’t beat simple ingredients. but after making a few batches at home, here are some helpful hints from a kale chip addict that will hopefully make your DIY Kale Chips easier:

• Cleaning: kale has so many beautiful folds & curly-ness — but that just means you have to be SUPER thorough when you clean it. dirt/mold/bugs tend to get stuck in the folds.
• De-veining:  they always tell you to “de-vein” the kale, which usually means you pull the stem/spine away from the leaf.  i don’t know about anyone else, but that always results in me tearing the kale leaf – not cute.  SO, rather than de-veining (pulling the spine away from the leaf)  – just de-leaf it instead (pull the leaves away from the stem).  this is far more manageable and this way, you have more control to make sure each “chip” piece is of equal size (see next tip)
• basic cooking principle: make sure each piece is the same size to ensure even cooking. we should never forget basic principles of cooking – even when making something as simple as chips.  as best as possible – try to make sure each chip/leaf is of equal size so your batch cooks evenly

• coat evenly:  whether you’re making a simple Olive Oil/S&P Kale Chip recipe, or you’re doing a more fancy version with a nut-mixture, you must make sure that each chip/leaf is evenly coated. this will also help ensure it cooks evenly

whether you bake or dehydrate your Kale Chips, the above tips should always apply.  personally, i prefer dehydrating — even though it takes longer, i feel it retains more of the green kale flavor in the chips.  but either will do!

• for dehydrator: lay out on dehydrator trays, dehydrate for minimum of 8 hours at 115°F.
• for oven: bake at 300°F for approximately 20 minutes (or until crisp). let cool

hope these tips are helpful for my fellow Kale Chip Addicts!

mood:  cautious. it was a monday, so the first day i truly needed to be an active member of society. also, it was the first day of my 2-day conference on learning to “lead with presence”.  scary on more than one level.

activity level:  full day of a leadership conference + a yoga class at night.  i have to admit, there were moments during my yoga class where i was feeling light-headed.  maybe after 2 days of fewer calories, i didn’t have enough to push through a really challenging yoga class.

The Menu: total calorie count (minus the Coconut Mylk) = 715 calories.  i figure the max the Coconut Mylk could be is around 700…if so, we’re talking about 1400 calories.

• CHLOROPHYLL SHOT (0 calories)
• COCONUT WATER (86 calories)
• PEAR JUICE (209 calories):  one of my favorite juices, probably because it’s so sweet and palatable.  but absolutely delicious.  apparently pear is a hypo-allergenic fruit that is high in fiber but less likely to produce adverse reactions
• MASTER TONIC (108 calories): the very typical idea of a “cleanse” with the cayenne pepper.  not as sweet but very delicious nonetheless
• VEGGIE VIBE (146 calories): my absolute favorite “good for you juice”. it doesn’t taste (or look) that green, and it’s quite delicious!
• GREEN LOVE (166 calories):  my 2nd favorite “good for you juice”. while it’s definitely green, i think the lemon and parley cuts through it a little
• COCONUT MYLK (Org Ave won’t really tell me how many calories are in this, which leads me to believe that it’s really high — also not listed on their website. very suspicious…):  it literally tastes like you’re eating a coconut. delicious!

the verdict:  by the end of day 2, i had a bit of a lull in energy — especially after the yoga class.  but was hoping that it was the worst of it!

Thanksgiving look:  NARS Single ES in Mekong + Cairo, Zen blush (my new EVERYTHING).

today’s:  NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Iceland, Laguna Bronzer on the apples of cheeks, NARS Funny Face Lipstick

on the iPhone – not so much, since the battery is a permanent part of the device.  unfortunately, for a girl like me who is always on-the-go + addicted to her phone, this posed a problem.

the more popular option: the mophie juice pack air. it’s received nothing but rave reviews from everyone i know, but the one major issue: i have a real issue with how bulky it makes the phone.

(photo from intash.com)

enter the mophie juice pack powerstation. what is it? a portable, external battery that can charge any iOS device. so not only is it great for iPhone, but for iPad as well.  then i read this rave review from The Next Web and I was sold!

SIZE:  size is great – compact, about what I reckon an old-school iPod was. extremely lightweight.  it also has this great, rubberized texture to it.

there are two ports: a micro-USB + iDevice port.  and it also has a “power on” button – standard to all mophie devices, which is what will start charging the device, once plugged in.

GRIPES:  gripes about this — it only comes with a USB-microUSB cable to charge the powerstation, so no outlet plug-in.  it also doesn’t come with a Apple Dock Connector, which is a bit of a pain.

PERFORMANCE:  great! i can fully charge my iPhone from around 10% battery to 100% THREE times before having to re-charge the power station! for a person like me who is rarely sedentary…it’s perfection.

highly recommend this for anyone who is on the go!  well worth the price!

mophie juice pack powerstation, $79.95

baseline:  despite being vegan this past year+, i’ve definitely let some bad habits slip in: two fully-caffeinated sugary Starbucks drinks a day, tons of cooked stuff, candy galore and…oh hi, carbs!

mood:  apprehensive.  based on the above, i was expecting Day 1 to be painful: headaches, moodiness and major bitchiness.  oddly enough, none of it. which leads me to believe the worst is still to come. (yikes!)

activity level:  day 1 was a Sunday, so tried to keep it low key. went to a 90-minute Jivamukti yoga class before i started my cleanse, then lounged around the rest of the day watching bad-but-good movies (Miss Congeniality, Titanic, Twilight)…and also squeezed in a massage. anticipating the worst, i decided to take it easy.

the menu:  i specifically asked for there to be “more” calories, since i wanted to continue my daily workout regime during the cleanse.  today’s total calorie count: 1,054

• CLOROPHYLL SHOT:  this is included every day. just tastes…GREEN (0 calories)
• COCONUT WATER:  86 calories
• GRAPEFRUIT JUICE:  145 calories
• GINGER LEMONADE:  168 calories
• VEGGIE VIBE:  146 calories
• GREEN LOVE:  166 calories
• COCONUT MYLK:   343 calories

the verdict: loved the flavor of every single juice today. in the past, i’ve had not-so-great times with some of the green soups, but thankfully, no green soups on this menu! energy levels are decent…but we’ll see what happens tomorrow when i have to go to work and be functioning member of society!

www.organicavenue.com

after my first time cleansing, i went a bit extreme — became 100% raw vegan for a good 6 months.  i’m not going to lie — i felt GREAT! but at the same time, it made me into a social leper — less because of me, but more because everyone else felt like they needed to be more accommodating because i’m a “special needs” eater.  fast forward to today, when i’m more VEGAN than anything else, trying to be as raw as i can.

why a cleanse?

2 weeks of eating crap + thanksgiving holidays + no chance to go to yoga = blah Heather.  so as soon as i got back to my apt, i signed up for the 5-day Organic Avenue Love Deep Cleanse: all juices, no solids for 5-days.  i don’t know what the hell i was thinking, but i know this will give me a jump-start into resetting myself!

there are PLENTY of cleanses to choose from, but i’m down with Organic Avenue. Why?

• they use glass bottles – they’re committed to reducing waste
• they use organic ingredients (duh)
• they are really accommodating with any special requests: if you don’t like the taste of something, just let them know and they’re happy to adjust
• they are truly committed to this lifestyle — this isn’t about a quick weight loss mechanism, it’s about living a healthier, cleaner existence

will be keeping you posted on the progress!

so today’s inspiration for the FOTD: STRESS.  so when i’m stressed out, i have this horrible habit of picking my lips.  for someone who LOVES a strong, matte lip…this is probably the single worst affliction, because this ultimately means any lipstick will look a bit gross on flaky lips.

so i turned to the NARS Larger Than Life Lipgloss in NORMA today. now i’m normally a jelly-lipgloss gal, i don’t fare too well with glosses that are more opaque.  but there is such a healthy dose of pigment to these, that i would say this is more like a glossy Lipstick as far as coverage.

now, the first thing you’ll notice about this product: the wand is itty-bitty.

at first, i was scratching my head at this, but after using it…i totally get why. the small brush allows you to get the PRECISION when you apply this. because it’s more like a glossy lipstick in opacity, the tiny brush allows you to really define the lips in a very defined way to get a really beautiful, polished look.

final look (sorry, my photo taking was SO shaky today)

i’m not one to be matchy-matchy, but sometimes it works.  (it also works when you’re getting dressed at 5am and trying to pack your makeup look at the same time….ah, the perils of going to yoga before work)

my logic for this one was simple: i had a chambray shirt.  therefore, i did chambray-ish eyes.  (it even SOUNDS dumb….cringe).  in any case, i used NARS Eyesahdow Duo in Underworld.  this is one of the classic “smokey eye” duos — it’s a very true Grey palette, both dark and light.  no undertones (not too cold or warm) — JUST grey.

finished look:

tried the NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Tokyo…a really subtle “everyday” kind of palette, for someone who doesn’t necessarily want to wear brown neutrals all the time.

really wanted to try a strong, dark lippee (and scare all the suits in midtown, muahaha).  i pulled out the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Train Bleu, but felt it might be a little too “bleu” for me…so i warmed it up by putting Lip Liner Pencil in Borneo all over the lips before applying.

final look:

and of course, he created this iconic Nars Single Eyeshadow shade in DAPHNE, exclusively after her.  it’s a stunning purple/blue MATTE shadow.

the texture is very matte and the color is highly pigmented.  you can layer it on for a really concentrated finish, but it also sheers out nicely.  just a suggestion: if you’re planning to work it around the lid, avoid using the base on the bottom, otherwise it will anchor too quickly and won’t be able to move.

on the lips: Larger Than Life Lipgloss in Como.  more on the product later, but in short: it’s a gloss that packs a lot of pigment punch! almost like a glossy lipstick.