Showing posts with label blueberry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blueberry. Show all posts

Thursday, June 23, 2011

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.


Sunday, June 19, 2011

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!

Friday, May 27, 2011

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.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Running Silent & Vegan BlueBerry Oat Bars

Fresh Snow this Morning Knee Deep
A few days ago my Ipod battery died 2 minutes into a 3.17 mi run.  A run that normally takes me about 29 minutes.. but it seems I run much slower without distraction! Running silent in the snow was actually very soothing. It was really quiet, but pretty noisy too with each step a satisfying crunch! I've always said people that can run miles and miles silent are amazing. And they are. But now, I understand a little bit better. I have been in the habit of pausing my Ipod every other song to practice getting silent. But, the big difference is I left the ear buds in! So the breath is very loud and you can still hear the electric whirring of the Ipod. Needless to say, I don't do pause my Ipod much. Taking it out entirely a whole other experience!

The other night I had my *monthly* oat craving. I don't eat very many cooked grains, but I do make sure I get enough carbs for fuel through raw breads and dates (love!) etc. However, around that time of the month I get crazy fruit or carb cravings. It's usually around this time I eat 4-5 apples a day or 8 kiwis, 20 dates, etc. Maybe it's the snow, but I was craving oats. There is a fabulous recipe for raw oatmeal I'll have to post. Also see the porridge in a previous post. However, this craving hit at 9pm.. my usual bedtime. I was eating a handful of plain uncooked barley oats while I searched for a healthy recipe as my tired mind was a blank. Thank you Fat Free Vegan Kitchen! This lady R O C K S vegan cooking/baking. I did use her recipe. Not to mess with perfection, but I also changed a good bit to fit my personal needs.

Yummy!
Fat Free Vegan Kitchen Blue Berry Oat Bars
1 pint blueberries
1/4 cup agave nectar (I juiced two granny smiths-and doubled the juice-omitted agave)
1/4 cup apple juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with enough water or juice to form a smooth paste (I used arrowroot)
3 cups oatmeal* (regular, not instant)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces unsweetened applesauce (I used fresh pulp from the juicer)
6 tablespoons (3/8 cup) agave nectar (again-subbed juice)
6 tablespoons (3/8 cup) water
1 teaspoon vanilla

I didn't have an issue as I thought I would subbing in extra liquid. The batter was actually perfect. Once baked, the crust was thick and had bits of beautiful green apple skin throughout. They held together wonderfully once cooled. I ate four, cured my craving and the hubs demolished the rest. I must admit he made most of these, while I delegated instruction! :) They aren't very sweet.. so the blueberry filling really pops. They are perfect. Amazing recipe  Susan V!

Click on the links for the full recipe. She has an amazing blog and many recipes.. you are sure to find a healthy substitute for your craving!

What do you get cravings for? Do you think your mileage can determine what you crave? Do you ever run *silent?*

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Goji-Blueberry Porridge

I started a batch of raw cocoa 'puffs' (buckwheat crispies). They are inspired by Ani Phyo's plain buckwheat crispies. I did a few things differently. Post to follow~

This made me hungry for something that could be eaten right now and I invented a little 'porridge' cereal.

Magic Berry Porridge (1 serving)
1 handful (total) of the following mix: almonds, pecans (you can substitute and play)
1 tsp dried blueberries (trader joes for example)
1/8 cup of Goji berries (soaked overnight then drained)
2 pinches shredded coconut
1/2 tsp of flaxseed
1/2 apple chopped large
1 tsp agave nectar

Pulse all ingredients in food processor at once, then add apple last. Pulse to chunky or mushy consistency. I like something in the middle. Place in bowl and you can add an extra drizzle of agave!

Easy! And you can soak the goji's for much less time if you want, or sub cranberries. Enjoy!

Today is a run rest day... grrrr.. I hate saying that.. because I might still run later. I get itchy when I don't. I'm having a swollen/bruised foot issue. Not sure of the cause.
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