It’s often been said that we’re prisoners of habit. That may be true, although habits can be changed, if you’re motivated enough and are patient. This means that you are not stuck forever, trapped in bad behavior you’ve allowed yourself to be in your life for years, poisoned by past mistakes, failures and setbacks. You alone have the power and the ability to create the life you want to live, including learning how to build new healthy habits and deleting old behavior.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a smoothie recipe. Today I was craving something with berries but not summer berries. As we are getting closer to Thanksgiving, many stores sell fresh cranberries so I decided to buy some and tried a few different recipes. This is my final version of a healthy orange cranberry smoothie and it would make a fantastic after-holiday drink in case you’d prefer something lighter.

Food is super important to us. We are not able to survive a long period of time without it. Our bodies need food and more importantly the nutrients that come with it. Nutrients keep our body healthy and functional, we need carbohydrates, proteins and fats, as well as vitamins, minerals and water. But why do we eat the way we do?

Matcha has a long history which dates back nearly a thousand years to the Tang Dynasty in China. The Tang Dynasty spanned the 7th – 10th centuries. During this time tea leaves were steamed and formed into some sort of tea bricks for storage and trade. The tea bricks were prepared by roasting and pulverizing the leaves and boiling the powdered form in hot water and adding salt. During the Song Dynasty preparing the beverage by whipping tea powder and hot water together in a bowl became popular. In 1191, the form of Zen Buddhism and the Chinese methods of preparing tea in powdered form, were brought to Japan by a monk named Eisai – who spend four years in China where he studied. Thanks to social media matcha seems everywhere these days and you can find it in almost any kind of food. The range for use is widely spread in the United States and ranges from tea and smoothies to drinks, cocktails and dishes including matcha powder. But what exactly is Matcha?