This was one of the creamiest, most chocolatey thickshakes I've ever made. So much so that it blew my mind.

My mind was blown even more by the fact that it contained two massive handfuls of greens from the garden, as well as antioxidant-rich nasturtium flowers and leaves which by themselves can be just a little bitter.

This recipe was inspired by Dr. Libby's Real Food Chef, a fantastic wholefoods recipe book my friend Naomi gave me as an early birthday pressie (you rock Naomi!)

On my road to headcold recovery and in an attempt to go heavy duty on the greens, I whipped up this stunner this morning and can honestly say I am now a religious woman (if the chocolate green smoothie goddess does indeed exist).

Ingredients

* 2 handfuls organic green leaves - I used fresh tuscan kale, red silverbeet, nasturtium leaves and flowers from our garden. Warning - nasturtium is slightly bitter on its own so use only a little, or a lot if you're bold and a little daring!
* 1/2 cup filtered water, or coconut water
* 2 medium bananas, chopped and frozen
* 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
* 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
* 1 tablespoon raw cacao nibs - I like Loving Earth's cacao nibs. The Cacao Power nibs are also good.
* tiny pinch stevia powder (my sweetener of choice), or 1/4 cup agave, raw honey or maple syrup

1. In a high powered blender, blend the greens first in the water or coconut water. This is crucial for a smooth, creamy thickshake as opposed to a chunky glass of something reminiscent of lawnmower clippings that have been left in the rain.

2. Add banana and continue blending, until smooth.

3. Add remaining ingredients until it reaches a creamy, smooth consistency.

4. Drink it down like a man or be dainty and use a spoon. I find it incredibly satisfying to consume a thickshake so thick it necessitates spoonage.

If I had children I believe I could comfortably trick them into thinking this was a perfectly innocent, rubbish-filled sugary chocolate shake, rather than a superfood-packed, naturally sweetened and oh-so-good green shake. It was that good. I think I'll have kids just to try my theory.

Happy blending cacao kings and queens! Now you can eat your greens and bear a suspiciously chocolatey grin.

I have a confession to make. I'm sick (omg!)

I've spent the last two days in bed resting, getting over a stuffy head, runny nose and, ok I'll say it, a cold.

Just saying that brings up feelings of confusion and disappointment in myself. I mean, I look after myself! How could this happen?

In reality, it does happen. And it's not fun when it does. I had a wonderful long weekend swimming at Natural bridge, Broken Head and well, everywhere your mother would ordinarily tell you not to swim because "it's too cold and you'll get sick!"

Well, she was right.

As someone who can't sit still for two minutes without feeling the need to accomplish something, sitting in bed blowing my nose and trying to alleviate a cottonball head has been a HUGE challenge!

In addition to that, I like to think I am some kind of superwoman, an impeccably healthy being who shoots vibrancy-enhancing goodness out of her eyeballs and never ever gets sick.

How wrong this belief is!

I guess this goes to show that no one is invincible.

At least in bed I've had time to slow down, answer dozens of emails, do my tax return, write up a 12-week healthy eating program for Mums, and write a few articles (I wish I was kidding).

Seriously though, sometimes we need nature to hit us hard on the head to realise that we need to slow down.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, I suggest heeding the stop sign and giving yourself time to rest and recover.

Look after yourself using these 10 tips, and keep smiling :)

* Loads of green juice, green slushies, green smoothies, green ANYTHING (kale mash anyone?!) to boost antioxidant and organic hydration levels

* Zinc

* Vitamin B6

* Echinacea

* Big cups of hot herbal teas - caffiene-free chai and ginger-lemon have been my favourites!

* Thieves essential oil -  a potent mixture of lemon, rosemary, cloves and cinnamon that obliterates sore throats

* Garlic and onion overload - another reason it's a good thing I've been staying home!

* Epsom salt baths to restore magnesium levels

* Sunlight, fresh air

* Once you start feeling better, handstands, headstands and other yoga inversions, ideally outdoors! Start to move the body so you don't end up stiff and sorer than necessary.

Thank goodness I know what to do to get myself back to a healthy state in 2-3 days rather than 7-10 days!

I'm feeling much better already, and it's been a whopping two days since symptoms began. (So I'm enjoying the rest while I can!)

And that's a relief because we have quite a few demonstrations, workshops and a retreat coming up in the next 2 weeks:

Fast & Healthy Snacks demo (Nerang, Oct 8)
Natural Nutrition Workshop (West Burleigh, Oct 9)
Palasis' Mexican Wholefoods @ Miami Marketta (Oct 12)
1-Day Spring Detox Retreat (Maudsland, Oct 14) - all spaces filled, waiting list available
Raw Dessert Workshop (Robina lululemon athletica, Oct 15)
 
So to all the other supermen and superwomen out there, I say: keep the above ingredients on hand, take time to slow down, and pay (some) attention to your mum's voice in the back of your head when faced with the question of diving into that inviting yet very VERY cold freshwater pond!

On a final note, due to annual leave and overseas work, I'll be away from the Burleigh clinic from early December until mid-February. I'm available for skype consultations in that time but I'd like to look after you as best as I can before I leave. So if you've been meaning to come in and see me, now is the time!

Kale mash, cartwheels and tangelos,

Casey xxx