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April King’s “Keeping It Green” podcast returns after a summer break with an episode on green gratitude and living in harmony with nature. She highlights Berkeley, CA, as a model for sustainable culture, praising its farmers markets, local herb shops, and environmental activism. April encourages listeners to appreciate their own local green resources to attract more positivity. The episode concludes with a quick recipe for a five-minute strawberry shortcake using plant-based cream cakes, fresh berries, and vegan whipped topping, offering a simple, delicious sweet treat aligned with her green lifestyle philosophy. Welcome to Keeping It Green with April King, the number one green culture podcast, where green cuisine meets real wellness, superfoods meet freestyles, and every episode is repping green culture for a green world. I'm your host, April King, mama, artist, flexitarian food alchemist, and your ultimate green lifestyle guide. This isn't just a podcast, it's a movement. We're talking truth, taste, and transformation. This is green innovation. And yes, we've got an original soundtrack curated just for you. Are you ready to live your best green life? Let's go. I play the green game cause I'm a green girl. Keep track of green trends cause it's a green world. Keep making green friends so that my green grows. My green never ends. I'm in the green zone. I love good food. Take pleasure in life. I'm in a good mood cause I eat what's right. Green cuisine in my kitchen. Green life is my vision. To be a green generation is my mission. We could all buy stock in green commodities. This is green culture doing green properly. I like my yerba mate from Yerba Madre. Check Amazon for my acai. Get my chi straight with my yogi tea. Vitamin C, acerola cherry, raw vegan bling. This is April King. Yeah, we keep it green. Hey. So fresh and so green, yeah. Living that good green life. Living that good green life. Hey hey, Earth Mother lovers. Welcome back to Keeping It Green. This week's episode is called Green Gratitude and Dreaming Green in New Evergreen. It's all about what it means to live in harmony with nature, to imagine better systems, and to give thanks for the green blessings already in our lives. We live in 5D green resilience. Yes, we are resisting in visualization and manifestation and co-creation of a harmonious planet Earth with health, freedom, collective liberation, joy, and peace for the planet and all of her beings and all of her family. So, whether you're out walking, making breakfast, or, you know, hiding out for a few minutes doing your thing, this one's for you. I want to start by giving gratitude for where I live, Berkeley, California. This place has shown me really what green living can look like. I'm talking about pollinator gardens on almost every corner, native plants, hummingbirds and bees doing sacred work. We've got multiple farmers markets every week with just the most delicious produce. I mean, I feel so spoiled living here in the summertime. The peaches, the little gem lettuce, my favorite orange yellow tomatoes that are just like candy popping in your mouth. The strawberries, the raspberries, it's just divine. I absolutely love summer farmers markets. It's my favorite. And one of my favorite places to shop, the legendary Berkeley Bowl markets that have incredible selections of products. But not only that, they actually stock a lot of produce from local farms and it's just delicious and fresh and there's so much variety. I love it. A veritable rainbow of obscure produce from around the world you can find there. I love, I'm grateful for Larkspur Herb Company, a beautiful old school apothecary where you can get wildcrafted herbs, tinctures, and teas. My family's been going there since, my mom's been going there, you know, since the summer of love. We love Larkspur. There's restaurants here like The Butcher's Son serving up decadent vegan comfort food. There's flexitarian, gluten-free, low glycemic options all throughout Berkeley. Berkeley's full of love. There's the Ecology Center, an environmental hub that's been walking the walk since the 60s, teaching composting, education, activism, food justice. You know, it's thanks to them that we've got all of these beautiful farmers markets. So, you know, we can always be greener. We can always be greener. But when it comes to green culture, this is a rich, a rich city in green culture. And so I'm so grateful to live in a place where sustainability is a lifestyle. It is important to the community and the culture here. And just check in wherever you are. What's the green culture like where you're at? What are you grateful for in your green life? Maybe it's your houseplants. Maybe it's your Trader Joe's or your filtered water. Maybe it's your farmers market. But green gratitude starts where you are. And one thing I know about gratitude is that when we practice gratitude, it makes, it makes things grow. Like what you appreciate, you attract. And so let's, let's activate green gratitude as a global phenomenon. Maybe the more we appreciate Mother Nature, appreciate the access that we have to whatever good green magic is in our lives, then we will be also the catalyst for creating and attracting more of it just by pausing to have some gratitude for it. You know, I love my son. He's almost two and we went to the park. We go to the park every day, but we're at the park this week and he's just running up to the trees to give them hugs. He loves to hug trees. He does this on his own. It's so sweet. It's so adorable. That's the kind of love, that's the kind of love Mother Earth needs from us right now. Radical, radical green appreciation. So what's green in your corner of the world? What's the good green where you're at? Hit me up on the socials. Let me know. I want to hear about it. I want to know what's happening in that good green life globally. And sending a big Earth Mother lover hug to the whole city of Berkeley. I love you, Berkeley. Yes, we do love you, Berkeley. Love Berkeley. All right, Earth Mother lovers. So we did take like a little week off. We had a little summer break. It just was how the flow was going. Summer 2025. But we're back and we're going to be glowing up the green way with you this week. I want to share with you one of my favorite summer sweet treats for this week's green cuisine, green cuisine recipe. It's my five minute strawberry shortcake. If you are not feeling like investing a lot of time, but you do want a big flavor and a nice sweet treat, here's something you can do. Grab some of Kat's Heavenly Cream Cakes. Okay, these are like plant-based Twinkies. They are gluten-free. They are delicious and oh so sweet. You can often find them in a freezer section of your health food store. You might have to check around. You can't always find them everywhere, but they are the bomb. Kat's Heavenly Cream Cakes. Take out a whole package, layer them in a small dish. They need to defrost, so that's the only part that's a little longer than five minutes. Go ahead and let them defrost. And then just top them with fresh sliced organic strawberries if you want to be quick and green about it. And then add some coconut whipped topping like Coco Whip or Ready Whip non-dairy, Trader Joe's brand, True Whip, vegan True Whip. There are so many delicious plant-based whipped creams out there. If you love dairy, go for an organic one. That's all I can say. And if you want to do a bonus upgrade, go ahead and mash the strawberries with a splash of lemon juice, maybe a sprinkle of vanilla extract. You could drop in a tablespoon of monk fruit and, you know, old school strawberry shortcake style, mash it up. It's only going to add a few minutes to your recipe. And use that and garnish with some fresh strawberry slices and enjoy it whenever you want a magic summer treat. It's a five minute strawberry shortcake. Mmm, I am, I'm gonna try that. I think I have some strawberries from the market last week. So yeah, that sounds good. April, what is this week's superfood superstar? Haha, such a good question. It's the summer, we got to stay hydrated out here. This week's superfood superstar, I mean, is it a superfood? I guess it's not exactly a food, but it's a super liquid. And it is just water. Yeah, water. Let's talk about the real MVP of your health. You are 70% water. So the quality of your hydration affects your energy, your skin, your digestion, your mood, and even your cellular frequency. You know, this is one of the reasons we got to have kind thoughts, speak kindly to ourselves, um, put some intention on your food, on your water before you put it in your body because water takes on the vibes that are sent to it. Isn't that wild? So, one of the best things that you can do for yourself, for your family, for your community is drink great water. So here's the breakdown. Like bad water would be like chlorinated tap water, water that's full of fluoride, microplastics, heavy metals, um, uh, chemicals, you know, plastic bottled water that's been sitting in the sun or absorbing microtoxins. Good water is going to be that filtered spring water, uh, alkaline water with a pH balance of 8 plus that helps balance acidity. There's structured water that mimics how water flows in nature. There is mineralized water that has like magnesium, calcium, potassium. So a few things you can try is add lemon juice to your water. It helps alkalinize it, it boosts the vitamin C, supports your liver, liver, your liver. Um, you can try cucumber, mint, or chlorophyll drops in your water. See how that helps your hydration. Um, you can also drink from glass or stainless steel, stay away from that plastic. You can set a cup of water in the sun and speak blessings over it because your water hears you. And so I think of water as a superfood because it is a carrier of nutrients, emotions, memory, frequency. Uh, there's a lot of great waters out there. Uh, you, if you are doing plastic bottled water, um, you want to look for water that's NSF certified. There's not a lot of waters out there that carry that certification, but look for it because that means that it was actually, um, analyzed, it was actually cared about, it's an actual certification process for the water. A lot of bottled water, just because it's bottled doesn't mean that it's good for you. So just keep that in mind and remember that the best water you can have is water that you are purifying yourself at home with a home filtration and purification system. If you can get your hands on an alkaline machine, that is incredible. Of course, with all things, check with your doctor, with your healthcare team. I am not a doctor or a physician or a nutritionist. I'm just sharing with you things that I've tried, information that I've discovered on my green journey, and I hope that it might be something that helps you, that you might want to check out. So stay hydrated and keep it green. Oh yeah, for sure, I'm keeping it green. I'm so green, I photosynthesize. But speaking of which, um, I do have a question. What the fuck is chlorophyll? Like, what is it? Yes indeed, what the fuck is chlorophyll? Let's break it down. Chlorophyll is the green pigment found in plants that allows them to absorb sunlight and turn it into energy through photosynthesis. So basically, it's plant magic, sunlight alchemy, it's um, solar sauce. Uh, chlorophyll is what lets plants eat light. And when we consume chlorophyll-rich foods, we're literally taking in that same light energy. See what I mean? Plant magic, sunlight alchemy, yes. So, now here's the kicker, liquid chlorophyll has been trending lately. Those little green drops you've probably seen all over TikTok and in health food stores. And here are some of the reasons that people like to drink it. They say that it helps with skin clarity, like clearing up acne, giving you that glow, that green glow. Um, it helps with detoxification, especially liver support. Um, it's even been known to reduce body odor because it is a detoxer. It can um, boost red blood cell production, and it can have an alkalinizing effect and support digestion. So with all of those wonderful qualities combined, it's also known as an energy enhancer because when you detox, you have more energy because your body is freed up to live its best life because it's being supported, it's it's being pampered, it's being given that eco-luxe shine, you know? So, um, you can get chlorophyll from so many things. You can get it from dark leafy greens like spinach, kale, arugula, parsley. And remember, the less cooked, the less cooked it is, the more bioavailable it is. So if you're eating it raw or having it in a juice form, that's awesome. Um, there's seaweed, there is liquid chlorophyll drops or capsules. But here's the thing, not all chlorophyll drops are created equal. So you want to look for ones that don't have artificial sweeteners or dyes. Basically, you want the real thing. You want something that's plant-based. You want something that's really made from things that come straight from the earth without other things added in. And you want to start slow, don't overdo it. Um, start with a really small dose and work your way up because it's a detoxifier. You don't want to detox all at once. Detox gently, detox gently. So, um, basically, chlorophyll is liquid sunshine. That's it. So now you know, that's what the fuck chlorophyll is. Yeah, okay, I get the gist. Chlorophyll, sun, chlorification. I I like that, I get it now. I'm feeling uh, chlorophyll. It's a chlorophyll life. Hmm. April, can we dream green? I heard that you may take us all to New Evergreen. I heard that it is like the most like vibey green place to be. Can we go there now? Oh yes, we definitely can. Oh, I'm so excited. Are you ready to join me? Let's take a trip to New Evergreen. Close your eyes because we're going on a quick journey to the future. Let yourself relax. Take a deep inhale and a deep exhale. Again, fill up your lungs, fill up your belly, then let it all go. Let your shoulders drop. Relax all the muscles in your face, in your spine, in your legs. Let your hands rest just where they are. Welcome, welcome to New Evergreen. It's a city designed in perfect harmony with nature, in perfect harmony with you. There are free bikes and protected bike highways lined with native herbs, lavender, fruit trees, and edible greens. The air smells like mint and jasmine. There are butterflies and bees, birds happy in the sunshine. In the clean air, the sky is crystal blue, absolutely beautiful. And it's one of the most exciting days in New Evergreen. It is the big farmers market day where all the vendors are there, and not only vendors, but musicians and community and eco-lux businesses. There's fresh peaches, golden tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, squash. You hear drumming, you hear the kora player, you hear people's voices singing, laughing, enjoying the beauty of the day. There's fresh bread, there's reusable bags and baskets, and people living their best lives, getting ready to prepare wonderful cuisine. There's sprouts, there's raspberries, wonderful artisanal treasures like honeys and baked goods, and just everything your heart could desire. A lot of people walk or bike there, but there's also zero emission public transit. It's silent, clean, it runs on time. And in addition to the farmers market, every neighborhood has a community garden plot. The city gives every resident access to grow their own food, no matter where you live. When you're a citizen living in New Evergreen, these are just the perks of the life. Within the city limits, GMOs and synthetic pesticides are banned. The city council is led by scientists, artists, and healers, working together to create new forms of green utopia, new ways of honoring the earth and thriving, ensuring the needs of all citizens are met, ensuring health freedom for all. You hear that song, that special song? It means the green truck is coming. It's a solar powered, zero emission mobile wellness station. You can walk right up to it and get fresh smoothies, cold pressed juices. They have organic meal kits, salad bowls, protein bowls. They have glass bottles of alkaline water infused with minerals. They have starter plants, organic seed bank, and they even have plant-based ice pops made from coconut water and fruit, no added sugar, just pure joy. They also have decadent coconut milk and cashew milk ice cream and sundaes. They've got all the good green things. Kids line up, parents line up, elders line up. There's screens on the truck sharing local green events, eco classes, and information on food justice. Because in New Evergreen, wellness is the culture, and access is non-negotiable. This is what it means to dream green. How does New Evergreen feel to you? Hmm. Take it all in. It's yours. It's yours to experience. It's yours to create. Thank you for dreaming green. I like New Evergreen. Yeah, this is where I want to live. This is... this is the future. Huh. New Evergreen. Yeah, we're dreaming green over here. We're living our life in 5D. Oh, it's time for shout outs. Yeah. Shout out to New Evergreen. Shout out to you, Earth Mother lovers. Shout out to the city of Berkeley, Berkeley Bowl, the Ecology Center. Shout out to my little cutie pie, Vayu King Jop, who just woke up from his nap. Shout out to farmers markets everywhere, we love you. It's your season to shine. To Berkeley Bowl, all the Berkeley Bowls, east and west. Shout out to La Carnac, the Ecology Center, Berkeley's farmers markets. Shout out to Kat's king cake. Mmm, delicious, delicious, delicious. Shout out to all of the 5D dreamers, all the green life lovers and livers, Earth Mother lovers. It's about you. It's about us. Our time is now. The earth needs us, the world needs us. How are you showing up in New Evergreen? What is your new New Evergreen? Dream it to be. Be it to dream. All right y'all, we'll catch you next week. Until then, keep it green, Earth Mother lovers.