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!

Ice Cream in Your Blender

Dairy Free!

You'll never look at ice cream the same way again if you try one of these recipes! Healthy, dairy free, and no ice cream maker required! The flavor possibilities are endless! You'll be an ice cream connoisseur before you know it!

Funny enough, I made the following recipes over winter of all seasons. I made notes and took photos. There isn't a whole lot to do here in the winter! So, we eat. The planes don't come over much (little daylight) so groceries are even more limited and we get creative.  I posted these on Vegweb.com  in January.

My hubs loves dairy ice cream. Except for the occasional sprinkle of feta/greek yogurt, I can't indulge in dairy anymore (bloat/digestive issues). One night I was watching him thoroughly enjoy his pint of Greek Gods and it looked so good that I became determined to recreate something for myself, so I tried to make my own Luna And Larry's Coconut Ice Cream (sold here in town for almost $8.00 a pint)! All you need is a bowl, spoon and your freezer!

Vanilla Coconut

I'm not sure where I got the idea for the banana ice cream. Maybe I Googled homemade ice cream? I can't remember. All I know is I was so impressed and immediately concocted a zillion flavors. Now we don't even buy the $5.00 pints that my hubs was eating (toooo much of I dare say). They are so good, they converted an ice cream fiend. All you need is a freezer, and a blender or food processor.

A couple notes on the coconut ice cream. It is best in my opinion to use fresh, whole coconuts. Which can be a challenge. In a pinch, or just to try it out, you can use a can of good quality coconut milk however, please keep this in mind about canned goods, especially coconut milk. Gosh, I use to use canned coconut milk ALL the time. :( I still do sometimes. But I don't feel as good about it.

How to make your own fresh coconut milk here.

An alternative to BOTH, making milk with dried coconut flakes is here. I find bobs red mill large flakes are best.

Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream
1-2 C Coconut Milk (choose your method above)
1-2 Tbs Yacon, Maple Syrup, Honey, Agave (I was using this at the time.. check here)
1 Vanilla Bean or 1-2 Tsp Vanilla Extract (bean makes the pretty speckles)

Chocolate Sauce:
2 Tbs Cacao
2 Tbs Liquid Sweetener
(1 Tsp Coconut oil-optional)

1. Coconuts: Open 1 to 2 coconuts (depending on size) and pour coconut milk into a blender. Remove the meat and add to blender; blend until super smooth. Strain if needed (I do). If your milk is purplish, throw it away! It's bad! If you are desperate to try this and do not have coconuts, see info above recipe.

2. Transfer 2 cups of blended coconut into the bowl of a food processor. (I use a food processor for the rest because it's easier to scrape etc.)

3. Add agave syrup and vanilla bean (I also throw in the husk after it's been scraped); process until smooth. Taste along the way, this will only take a minute or two to blend.

4. Pour in large glass bowl (anything may do) and place in freezer. Stir well every 30 minutes or so, making certain to scrape the sides and don't leave the spoon in! That is it!

5. Chocolate Sauce: In a bowl, combine cacao and sweetener; mix well (it takes a minute or two to get them to blend). Drizzle away!

Variations:

Blueberry Colada

Blueberry Colada
Add 1/2 extra cup of Coconut milk and 1/2 Cup of frozen blueberries, process until smooth (unless you want chunks) and mix in 1 Tbs or so of Shredded coconut.

I made this next one up especially for my mom who loves coconut/almond/chocolate combos. If you are like minded here is an Almond Joy smoothie recipe also.

Almond Joy
1-2 C Coconut milk
2-4 Tbs Maple Syrup
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 C Almonds
1/2 C Chocolate/Carob Chips
1/4 C Shredded Coconut
Pinch of salt

Process Coconut Milk, Maple (the maple is important for this recipe!) and vanilla. Pulse in remaining ingredients. Freeze, stirring every 30 minutes or so. Once fully hardened, let sit out 10 minutes or so for easier serving.

You can take it from here. Obvious delicious add ins would be berries, chocolate, pineapple, pecans, cinnamon etc. etc.

Now, 1 ingredient soft serve ice cream!

Basic Banana Ice Cream
1 chopped, then frozen banana

Place in blender/food processor. Process until smooth. Enjoy!

Choco Banana (sauce recipe above)

Choco-Banana
1 banana, peeled, sliced into rounds, then frozen
2 tablespoons yacon or agave or maple to taste
2 heaping teaspoons cacao or cocoa powder

1. In a blender or food processor, place frozen banana slices, yacon syrup, cacao (or you could skip this and add one half vanilla bean, scraped, then include husk); process until smooth, scraping the sides a few times while blending.

2. You can eat it at this point, but if it started to melt during processing- pour into a large container, place in freezer, and stir every 30 minutes or so until totally frozen and ice cream like. (It will freeze pretty hard, so you'll want to leave it out 5 minutes before eating.
Top with your favorite goodies! Enjoy!

 This wasn't a favorite of mine. But I used an ultra ripe banana. And I'm not an ultra ripe banana kind of girl. I'm like 'em on the green side.

Variations I've tried (per 1 banana):
Strawberry-Add in 3 Frozen strawberries (chopped if you can) per 1 Banana Pulsing in last one for chunks.

Cinnamon-Add in 1/2-1 Tsp Cinnamon and 1/4-1/2 Tsp Vanilla

Masala Chai- My sister in law and I worked to get this one right.. but I can't find the notes.. here is my guess from memory: Add in
1/2 tsp+ Cardamom
1/4-1/2 tsp Ground ginger and Cinnamon
1/8 Tsp Cloves
Pinch of white pepper
1 Tsp of some kind of sweetener, Add vanilla if you want Vanilla-Chai

Ginger Lucuma Add in 1 Tbs Chopped Candied Ginger and 1/2 Tsp powdered Lucuma (I like 1/2 Tsp honey in this)

Almond Butter-Banana

Almond Butter-Banana 
Add in 1 Tbs Almond Butter per 1 Banana

Enjoy your healthy creation!! Share with a friend.. a little.

Summer Solstice Hummingbird & Rhubarb Spritzer

Tonight a (juvenile-see his coloring is not complete) male Rufous Hummingbird was trapped in my sunroom! I thought it was a Ruby Throated at first, I'll have to double check their range. The gorget was SO bright, it glowed! I didn't get a great picture of that (3rd photo).

The hummingbirds are all over, but I've never had one get inside. The other day I saw what at first looked like huge hummingbirds, and they hovered. I got so close to one (hovering right in front of me, SO cool) and saw that they were actually sparrows. Absolutely gorgeous.

I took these pictures very quickly as my husband walked him to his freedom. Didn't want to stress the little guy out anymore, but what luck to get a photo and see one up close (and still)!

Then, for a summer solstice party we are about to head out to; I made a Rhubarb Spritzer to bring.

Happy Summer Solstice!

Rhubarb Spritzer:
A bunch of chopped rhubarb (guessing 6-8 cups)
Honey(agave, simple syrup etc) as needed (or whatever you want)
1 C Frozen Strawberries
Q-Tonic Water or Club Soda

I tried Juicing Rhubarb the other day, it was fine in my Champion juicer for 2 stalks. After 4-5 the fibers clog it up. So, I switched to the blender. I filled the blender with chopped Rhubarb, used the juice (from the previous attempt-you can use water) to help move things along. Once blended well, I strained the pulp from the juice with a nut milk bag, but a colander will work fine.

Complete this same juice and strain method with the cup of strawberries ( I used frozen).

Place Juice back into blender, add Strawberry Juice and Honey to taste (I did 1/2 C).

This is also good with pineapple or apple juice as a sweetener. Or add some lemon/lime!

Blend. Then chill before serving.

I poured mine into a sun tea jar, it filled it about half.. then topped it off with Tonic Water. I love how this green foam floats on top of the pink liquid. So pretty.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Smoothie

Homegrown Alaskan Rhubarb (2nd year)

While in the backcountry I developed an allergic reaction. The first night I woke with angiodemia (facial swelling) which I'm all too familiar with. I figured it was the dried fruit someone shared with me. There was mango in the package, that I avoided, but it was IN the package... soo. This continued every morning, in gradually lessening degree, even with the elimination of the dried fruit. By the end of the trip I was having a photovoltaic reaction on my hands and lips. It was pretty painful and I simply could not stay out of the sun. There was no escape.

 Not the best timing for a detox because I'm doing a large grocery/ supply shopping trip (in Alaska, that's a huge deal) in a few days and I'm going to feel like crap before I feel better. It is also going to interfere with my running. Detoxing is not fun. Afterward I feel like a new womyn though. It has to be done. I'll blog about it to show the incredible changes that occur. I'd like to do a week long cleanse. I'm going to start with 2 days. It's been a while since I cleansed and I'm feeling impatient. My mother in law brought me some Calli Tea. It sounds like a wonder tea and I've never tried it. I'll drink this, kombucha, and fresh juice. Until I return from my shopping trip, I'm going to prep for my detox with juice, smoothies and tea.

I'm a tall person.. Some of these pieces were more than ready to pick.

I harvested a bunch of Rhubarb today. Strawberries will be ready soon and I plan to make lots of goodies. Most recipes involving rhubarb are heavily sugared desserts. Fortunately I LOVE the tangy flavor of Rhubarb and don't feel the need to eat it sweetened. Well... I'm sure a Rhubarb dessert is in the works. I'm already working on changing up my salsa recipe; Rhubarb wine (I'm totally allergic to grape wine), Rhubarb Stew... trying to think of more savory ideas. I'd also like to try to invent a Rhubarb tea. Hmmm... I juiced some with apple this morning and WOW!

Wrestling the Rhubarb outside was a chore and I was pretty thirsty. So I made up a smoothie using some young Rhubarb and it was deeeelicious. Almost forgot to add that Rhubarb is pretty dern tootin' healthy too! It's actually a vegetable, quite high in Vitamin A, Vitamin K... is an Okay source of Vitamin C, pretty high in Potassium, low in calories, high in fiber. Oh yeah and deeeelicious! Nutritional Info here.

Go get cha some Rhubarb!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Smoothie

2 small stalks of Rhubarb chopped
2 Strawberries(frozen or fresh)
2 Tbs Date Syrup (soaked dates blended with soak water)
Dash or two of Cinnamon
Water as needed

The color was gorgeous and it tasted like pie! I'm sure that was the cinnamon... but maybe it was the tangy sweet thing going on too. Because (similar to celery) Rhubarb has such a high water and fiber content.. it's pretty filling too! I bet cayenne would be an awesome addition to this. But I add it to almost everything soo..
Oh! And just in case; if you are picking your own, please remember the leaves are toxic! They contain Oxalic acid (the same foe on Quinoa, Buckwheat..). Besides being poisonous, Oxalic acid can interfere with the body's calcium absorption. If you are interested in eating more raw fruits/veggies juices.. here is a list for you.

Strawberry Shortcake, Deep Chocolate Cookies & Tahini Zuke Wraps

Eat me!

Oh my! Haha Just watched Wizard of Oz. No. Really. I've also been meaning to post about my new ~Yoga Room~ !! So, while I don't post daily, I do make food and run (pretty much daily). Let's start out with my morph of Ani Phyos Strawberry Shortcake and Strawberry Kream Pie (out of the new Ani's Raw Food Essentials). I try to stay away from raw desserts that are so heavy on nuts/seeds. But I needed to use some almond pulp, and I already have more raw bread than I need right now.
I used to love, love, crave, obsess over raw strawberry parfaits that were made with cashew cream. Then I realized the poison-ivy-on-my-lips reaction wasn't a look doing me any favors and I dropped a favorite dairy free dessert. Since then, I've used macadamia's, a delicious but pricey alternative. Now I use hazelnuts! If you'd never made raw 'cream.' I recommend using macadamia's or cashews so you get the absolute "OMG this is so good I'm gonna die" flavor.

Filling:
1 Cup Frozen/thawed Strawberries
Crust:
1 cup Medjool Dates
1 cup Almond Pulp (or meal)
 Pinch of salt
Cream:

1/2 cup Hazelnuts (soaked/drained)
1-3 Tbs Yacon Syrup (or substitute)

1 Tsp Coconut Oil
1 inch Vanilla Bean scraped (or 1 tsp extract)

1st,  the filling: I thawed some frozen strawberries purchased in town, but brought here from WA. It's not often I get really good organic 'big' strawberries, so I froze some. And, I'm out of those tiny cuties from the beach here. So, thaw, then slice.. frozen then thawed works great because you get this 'cooked' consistency and a natural 'sauce.'  Mash up 1/8 cup. Set aside.

2nd, the crust: I took 1 cup of leftover almond pulp from making milk and processed it with 1 cup of pitted soft medjool dates (mmmmm). Almost a cup. I ate two dates while processing. Whoops

3rd, I made Hazelnut Cream... blend soaked hazelnuts, 1 inch vanilla bean (scraped-or 1 tsp extract), 1 tsp coconut oil and 1 good squirt of Yacon syrup. If you wish to omit the oil, that's okay. I did it because it helps give a creamy consistency and when chilled, it's a firmer 'cream.'  Fun Fact: The pattern of amino acids present in hazels makes them a source of high quality protein (about 13 grams in every 100 gram serving).

Strawberry Madness!

Assembly:  press crust into tart dishes, small pie pan, or plate or individual serving dish. Spread mashed strawberries on top, then place sliced strawberries onto crust, then spoon the cream over the top. I garnished with sliced pear and a dusting of cocao powder.

Ani's recipe(s) calls for sweetener in the strawberries, 2 additional Tbs of sweetener on top, and chocolate fudge sauce. Also, for assembly, she puts the cream in first, and the strawberries on top.. which I do think would be pretty. I just looked at the individual recipes and modified them to my liking and threw it together. It actually tastes similar to cheesecake. So good! I might even save some for my sweetheart! I had to post two photos.. don't you want to make it now!?

Easy lil' Almond Pulp Chocolate Cookies

Next up, I needed to use the rest of that almond pulp! I took 1 cup of it, processed with 1/4 cup of dates (about 4) and 2 heaping tsp raw cocao and pressed the dough into little cookies on a dehydrator sheet. Dehydrated about 2 hours on mesh. Delicious, easy and nutritious!

And lastly, Ani Phyo's Apple Crepes. Basically, 1 cup chopped apple, 1/2 cup flax meal, 1 1/2 (she calls for 2) Tbs agave, 1/2 cup water or as needed. Blend until super smooth.
I used these wraps to try for an alternative to my old favorite coconut/banana/flax wraps, since I'm trying my dang hardest not to buy banana's here and coconuts are impossible to get unless I'm in Juneau and even then, um.. just how far did that coconut travel? Anything in Alaska usually comes a long way, period. How I love you state of Washington! 

So, I made Ani Phyos Tahini-Zucchini Wraps and of course, tweaked it 'cause I'm too cool for school. Ani's Lemon Tahini dressing is so good. I only had Santa Cruz Lime, so:
a squirt of lime, a squirt of braggs, a tsp of tahini and stir.

Tahini Zucchini Wraps

Now, I spread some dressing onto an apple crepe, added a few leaves of bebe spinach, julienned zuke, & ribboned red pepper. Rolled it up, and drizzled hot pepper oil (that I posted the recipe for somewhere on this blog). Yum! SO, good.

A Room of Her Own (get it Woolf Fans?)

And here is my Yoga Room. I've been meaning to go get fully into Crane pose (knees are higher, this is Crow-bakasana) and get the hubs to take a better photo, but it's way to cold to use the room. I've only used it twice. Once the stone flooring is in (we are scavenging for!), that should help regulate the temperature. It is downright blazin' in here during summer. Makes a great place to harden off seedlings. So excited to have a room for this! Before the wood flooring I had chairs and a mini library and plants... ahh.. and I love reading in here so much, I may put some of that back.. hmmmm so hard to decide. I can do both! By the way.. can you see those kick ass yoga socks I'm wearing? This talented artist Tinque, made them for me and I bet if you contact her, she'll make you a pair too! Amazing fiber artist!

Blah, Blah, Blah, what a long post! Running update; I post it all on daily mile sooo....this may turn into a strictly food blog? Nah...

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!

I Made a Baby!

The Momma Scoby Day 1

My Scoby had a baby that is! S.C.O.B.Y stands for: Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast and is the living culture at the root of Kombucha, which you may have heard of. Kombucha is a fermented drink that touts many health benefits, including the ever elusive amino acid crew.

The Baby is Floating on Top

 There is a lot to learn about it, so I won't bore you with the details. Google is pretty helpful. I also recommend contacting Leslie at KombuChick, who is the know-all- queen of the Kombu and helped make me (finally!!!!) a successful Kombucha homebrewer! I got my Scoby from her. She sells everything you need to get started + fun and creative additives like Strawberry Galanga chips (the flavor I'm brewing in swingtops).

Ready to be Flavored (or Enjoyed!)

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!