Smoothie Sundays~ Banana Coconut Pie

Mmmm mmm.. Smoothies this yummy are like having dessert for lunch!

I found a bunch of forgotten banana slices in the depths of our storage freezer. All of a sudden I had a huge banana craving! I don't have them all that often. Having your banana frozen prior to blending is crucial to the milkshake consistency that makes this amaaaaaazing.

You don't have to prepare the coconut milk ahead of time.. but it is 'best.'

Banana Coconut Pie Smoothie
1 Cup Frozen Banana slices
1 Cup Almond Milk (or whatever)
3 Tbs Shredded Coconut Flakes (I use the larger, but any work-unsweetened)
1/4 of scraped Vanilla Bean (you could use maybe 1/2 tsp of extract instead.. but the bean is so intensely flavored and you get all those pretty specks!)

Splash of coconut milk for blending (optional-I just happened to run out of almond milk mid-blend).

Blend it all! Add 1-2 ice cubes to get it extra creamy! So, so delicious!

Smoothie Sunday~ Pluot Juicy Pear

We are running a tad lower on produce than usual. I did have a couple perfectly ripe, gorgeous, fuchsia and sweet Pluots and a perfectly ripe Bartlett Pear!

So, into the blender they went! It's puky brown, once the spinach was added.. but at one point it was as bright as beet juice!

Pluot Juicy Pear
2 small Pluots with skin-no pit
1 large ripe Pear
2 C Spinach
1/4 C Frozen Raspberries
Coconut Water added until easily blended... started with 1/4 C

Blend it all together, enjoy a fruity green Sunday afternoon smoothie! Makes enough to share!

*I also added in 1 Tbs Chia & 1 tsp bee pollen .. add whatever superfoods you like!

Smoothie Sundays~Kiwi Arugula & Cantaloupe Strawberry

Put da Strawberry in da Cantaloupe

I drink a lot of smoothies. It's a great way to be sure you are getting your greens in. I try to get a variety and not use the same ol, same ol, but that is much easier in the summer.

Here are two of my favorites from last week!

With the first one, very basic, 2 fruits, one incredible flavor. Amazing health.

Cantaloupe Strawberry
1 C Cantaloupe (chopped, no rind) 
 5 Strawberries
Almond milk/water as needed (any milk/liquid you want)
 Lots of ice

I blended up the cantaloupe on it's own, poured it into a glass. Did the same with the strawberry. I just wanted to see the pretty colors on their own. Blend and Enjoy!

Kiwi Arugula

Next up Kiwi Arugula; if you are not familiar with the pungent spicy flavor or arugula, try it before tossing it in your blender.. or try adding mostly spinach and a touch of arugula to acquire a taste of this healthy green! Freeze your chopped fruit prior to blending for a thick smoothie.

Kiwi Arugula
1 C Arugula
1 Kiwi- skin on if organic
3-4 Strawberries
1/2+ Hazelnut Milk (anything works.. I just had this on hand to be used)
Ice to get it thick!

*Pear would be a great addition/substution!

Blend and Enjoy!

Smoothie Sundays-Blueberry Spinach & Chocolate Cherry!

I actually had this for dinner Saturday night. Still feeling a little icky, wanted to go with something liquid. Didn't feel like making miso.

This is pretty basic and delicious!

Blueberry Spinach Smoooothie
2 Cups Spinach
1 Cup Frozen Blueberries
1/4-1/2 Cold Apple
1/2 C Almond Milk (more as needed)
2 Tbs Chia Seed
2 Ice Cubes

I put the ingredients in the blender in that order. Blend away and enjoy!



 Post 9 mile run today, I made a smoothie that I can't believe I haven't though of before! Chocolate Cherry! I know, it seems obvious... buuuutt...

Chocolate Cheeeeery:
1 Cup Frozen Cherries
3/4 C, Almond milk (may need more)
1 Tbs Raw Cocao (although plain cocoa will work!)
1 Tsp Flax Meal
1 Tbs Chia
2 Ice Cubes

Blend away. Holy Schmoly, this was amazing! I made two in a row!

PLEASE, comment with your favorite smoothie recipe!

Tropical Popeye

One of my favorite spinach smoothies is pretty basic with a twist:
Popeye
2 C Spinach
1 Chilled Apple, chopped with skin
1/2-1 C Water or fresh apple juice
1 Tbs Honey
1 Handful Fresh Mint
(I always add in supplements, i.e. chia..)

This refreshing and delicious green smoothie is perfect post run or as a on the go meal. Apple and Spinach are pretty good friends. But Kale would be a tasty replacement. Pear definitely would be yummy in this too.

Today I needed and on the go, out the door, 5 minute meal and had some fresh pineapple to use up. Here is the Tropical Popeye:
2 C Spinach
1 Chilled Apple chopped with skin
1/2 C Fresh Pineapple
1/2-1 C Water or fresh apple juice
1 Tbs Honey
1 Handful Fresh Mint

Easy! And most certainly has been done before. The pineapple, mint and honey combo I wasn't so sure about, but the flavors complemented each other nicely. Tangy, sweet and minty.. perfect sunny day smoothie!

Breakfast Blueberry Smoothie

I change up smoothie recipes every few days.  Usually I can't get enough of one particular combo for two or three days, then I'm ready to change. Right now I'm making one I happened to make a lot last Spring. It's loaded with carbs, fiber and protein, so it makes an awesome post run meal. Oh yeah, and it's YUMMY!

Breakfast Blueberry Smoothie
1 cup of Blueberries (frozen)
1/4 cup Raspberries (frozen)
1 Heaping Tbs Flax Seed (ground into meal first)
1 Heaping Tsp Wheat Germ
1 Tsp Chia Seed
3/4 cup (or more) Almond Milk (homemade recipe on this blog!)
1 Tbs of your favorite protein powder (optional)

Blend and Enjoy! Nothing too special, just lots of blueberry love.

Back in school I was really into Spirutein. I still like it, I'd just rather have straight Spirulina. However,  I get tired of everything tasting like Spirulina, so sometimes I leave it out and use Vega or pea protein powder. But you can always just double up on the Wheat Germ, which is 28% protein.

Ch- Ch- Ch- Chia!!

Chia Gel

Ok, not the most original title. I can't help it. It's been burned into my brain since the 80s chia pet craze. Chia is part of my daily diet. I learned about it in 2006. I was traveling by air weekly for a couple years and one thing everyone knows about airplanes is the struggle to stay hydrated! Thanks to Google, I found the tiny little insect looking seed and never went back! There are so many benefits to chia, but I'll let your fingers do the work this time ;) I'm just poppin' in to share a recipe.  When I'm about to go on a run, I take 1 Tbsp of Chia, mix it with about 1/8 - 1/4 cup (I just pour it in) filtered water and let it sit while I get dressed. Then I suck it down with some additional water. This is akin to using an Energy Gel, but totally unprocessed/ natural. You can put this in a little pouch and bring it with you on a long run. I heard from my father in law, that the Aztecs used Chia's to run long distances. Just chewing on them or something. I direct you back to Google.

Anyway, in the morning, I always have juice and water first thing. I'm practically still asleep at this point, which explains why sometimes the juicer is missing a part when I try to use it. About mid morning (depending on when I run) I make a smoothie. I just throw whatever greens/fruit I happen to have in the house and always a combo of maca, spirulina, hemp seed, flax, pumpkin seed, chia, gojis etc. etc. I just throw whatever I feel like that morning. Sometimes, I throw it ALL in. It may be purply, poo brown and the hubs won't touch it, but that's OK! On a side note, hemp seed doesn't go too well with fruity stuff. It's better in salads, but unfortunately I have a lot to use up before it expires. Usually this is 30 minutes to 1 hour prior to my run. Occasionally I have another gel post run if I'm whooped.

For those of you not yet blessed with the ch-ch- chia... here is an easy recipe:

Booch n' Berry Lime Chia Power Awesomeness (haha)

1/2 cup Kombucha (you can sub with water or juice)
1/4 cup fresh apple juice (sub with whatever)
3 Tbs Chia
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (or as much as you can get from one lime)
1 date to sweeten (optional-it is a tart drink)
1 cup berries (I used Alaskan Nagoons here) Red berries go well with lime.

Combine liquid with chia. Let sit 10 minutes or so, until thick and jelly like.  Then, place all ingredients (please pit that date first!) in the blender and blend away!! Chug a lug and Enjoy!

Another delicious way to benefit from Chia is making your own power/energy bars or balls.
Just experiment. Here is a basic one:

Apples, Chia, Kombucha

Chia Choco Balls
2 Tbs Chia soaked in just enough water to get jelly coating
2-3 Tsp Cocao
3-4 pited Medjool dates

Process until you are able to form balls out of the mixture. Roll in coconut shreds or more cocao. Yummy!
To turn this into a bar recipe, add any of the following or something similar:
Sprouted buckwheat
Rolled oats
Pumkpin Seeds
Almonds etc.
Dried fruit
Coconut oil

Process all together, spread into dehydrator tray (if a moist mixture) and dehydrate until nice and firm.
 OR spread into pan, press well, score and freeze or refrigerate.
You can definitely add Chia to baked goods, as an addition or as a replacement for fat (or like a flax egg) I'm not sure if heat will destroy it's senstive omega's .. seems like it would.. but go for it!

Almond Joy

Fresh Almond Milk

Mmmmm... almonds. I'm allergic to cashews and brazil nuts (they contain urushiol, the same oil as poison oak, and ivy). So sad. But almonds to the rescue! Delicious, healthy, this nut is super versatile. I use it in some form almost every day and had to give it some props.
For those of you pulling away from soy (milk) and dairy milk, almond milk is a healthier alternative. It also tastes amaaaazing.

It is SO easy to make! Don't even think about buying premade!

Almond Milk
1/2 -3/4 C Almonds(soaked overnight-skins stay on)
3-6 C Water
Pinch of Salt

Optional:
1 Tbs dates/ syrup etc.
1/2 vanilla bean (or 1/2 Tsp extract)
2-5 cups of water ( I use 2 1/2-3)

*About vanilla- If I have leftover husks I use those. I usually just make it plain and unsweetened so it's more versatile.*

Sometimes you are in a hurry, but making practice of soaking all nuts and seeds will make them more digestible. Ever see whole sunflower seeds after you finish your business camping? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Here is more info. In this case, it also makes the nuts way more blender friendly!

1)Rinse Almonds well. I rinse 2 or 3 times.
2)Blend the almonds first, with a little water, adding as needed to keep it moving.
3)Add salt and water (and sweetener/flavor if preferred).
4)Blend for a few minutes on high until pretty smooth. You can drink it like this leaving the fiber in. It is thicker.

However, I like to strain mine to get a real milk consistency. I use a little cotton pouch (shown), the texture of a pillowcase. However, I have ripped a couple of these and I find a true nut milk bag, usually nylon, lasts longer (it's also a sprouting bag-so sometimes it's "busy"). You can buy them here and here if your local HFS doesn't carry them. They aren't always easy to find. Cheesecloth works in a pinch. 

I personally like a ratio of 1/2 heaping C almonds and about 4 cups water (thick and rich), but sometimes stretch it farther by adding water until it fills the blender.

It last about 5 days or so in the fridge (the salt helps I've discovered). You can flavor it with chocolate (cacao), strawberries, vanilla, hazelnut (hazelnut milk alone is delicious) use it in smoothies, puddings, baking, soups, ice cream... whatever you can think of. 

Now, you will open up your 'pouch' or whatever you strained with, and inside will be luscious, buttery smooth almond meal. You can do a lot with this. Use it on a sandwich, in raw breads,  crackers, cookies, pie crusts, freezer desserts and in baking. I threw in some cocao, maple syrup, and pecans with the pulp, rolled balls of this in coconut flakes, dehydrated for about 2 hours and voila! 

Brownie cookies! SO good. I topped some homemade coconut vanilla ice cream with them and it was a crazy indulgent (healthy!!) dessert.

Almond Joy Smoothie:
1 Cup Almond Milk
1-2 Tbs Coconut milk (meat blended with water or out of can)
2-3 Tbs Shredded Coconut

1 Tbs Cocao or Cocoa
a few almonds

Blend all ingredients. Pulse in almonds at the end for an extra crunch.. you could add in some chocolate chips too! Yum!

The wind chill is forecast at 35 below. So, another day on rest from running :( But that's okay. I'm training to keep my muscles ready!

Ani Phyo's Frosty Chai Shake

I just received the new Ani Phyo's Raw Food Essentials and today I've made two recipes. The first is Zucchini Bread. It is made of zucchini, almond meal, flax meal and olive oil. It's in the dehydrator. Post to follow!

Making raw bread made me thirsty and I flipped through the drinks section and this Chai frosty caught my eye. It's thick, icy and foamy and soooo delicious, I drank it too fast! It's (easy) homemade almond milk, though any would do, cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla (and ice).
If you'd like the recipe for one of these, I'd be glad to share it! Just ask!

Kickin' Kale Smoothie

 

Here's a recipe for a deliciously mutant green smoothie:

    2 to 3 leaves kale
    3/4 cup pineapple juice
    4 to 5 strawberries, grapes, or 1 small orange
    1 banana
    2 to 3 pieces of pineapple
    1 tablespoon chia seeds, soaked overnight

Directions:

I came up with this on my juice feast that I started specifically to get rid of poison ivy. The chis seeds are great for your skin and kale is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals, also good for healing.

1) First, blend the pineapple that you are using for your juice, or juice if that's what you are using. Then add the kale by itself to the pineapple juice and blend until smooth. Blending the kale first ensures that you don't get a big chunk while you're sipping later!

2) Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Enjoy!