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Friday, February 28, 2014

Vanilla Lime Green Smoothie!

Another Smooth Move


Today's smoothie is inspired by my Blender Babes.  I've changed it up due to not consuming dairy, and made my own vanilla chia pudding as a yogurt replacement. Which by the way, is a great breakfast treat, or snack alone with some fruit and/or nuts! Yum.


(The original Blender Babes recipe is at the end of this post, enjoy!)

Vanilla Lime Green Smoothie 

1/2 cup vanilla chia pudding
1 cup spinach leaves, packed
2 tsp honey
1/2 frozen banana (I always have many frozen on hand)
2 tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk, unsweetened
5 ice cubes

I placed all ingredients in my Vitamix, turned on the smoothie button, and let her rip!


Doesn't this look fabulous! 

This was so smooth and light, it deserved a fancy martini glass!  That's exactly how I devoured it this morning. Yum!  I wish I had made more, and probably will for later :) Thanks Babes!

For the Chia Pudding:
1/3 cup chia seeds
1- 1/2 cups of your choice non-dairy milk, almond, soy, coconut, etc.
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbs raw coconut nectar, maple syrup (Make thin to blend easier)

Put all ingredients together and shake vigorously.  Let chill for at least 4-hours, or overnight.

Here is the Blender Babes version:




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Thursday, February 27, 2014

Apple Dandelion Green Smoothie

I AM, a smoothie junkie. It's my morning tradition. I snack on them during the day when I'm craving a 'not so good' snack. Take them on the run. I make tons of this stuff!


Many friends have been asking for smoothie recipes.  Rather than bore them with my traditional, I went web searching for others to try, and share.  Today brings me to the Apple Dandelion Green Smoothie.

10 Reasons You Should Use Dandelion Greens 
Since I just introduced myself to dandelion greens, I thought this would be a good place to start. Don't get too mad at these pesky weeds, they do have a great health benefit.


This was delicious! 

Here are the ingredients that I found on Healthy Smoothie HQ. Check out the website for more info.

- 1 cup water (I used coconut water)
- 1 apple, cored and diced
- 1 cup dandelion greens
- 1/2 fresh or frozen banana
- 1/2 lemon, peeled and seeded
-  A little honey, stevia, or maple syrup to sweeten (I used fresh strawberries I had frozen)

Add some chia seed, flax seed, and/or hemp seed for more nutrition.  You can also add coconut flakes or more of your favortie green, as well as your protein powder.  

If you are new to green smoothies and just starting to test them out, you might want the sweeteners added.  I don't mind the green taste, but I do have my limits at times.  I prefer to use sweet fresh fruits for my sweetener.  When I run out, I'll use a few drops of liquid stevia.

Have a smooth day!


Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Dandelion Green Smoothie!

It has been for-ev-er since I've posted anything significant, or worth reading and tweeting and Instagram'ing. So today, I'm posting my morning tradition, My Green Smoothie! I haven't shared many, so I hope you try this one.  It sure is yummy!

Ingredients:
12 oz coconut water
1 cup water (optional)
2 stalks celery
1/2 a lemon (peeled, seeded)
4-6 stalks dandelion (new ingredient for me)
1/2 - 1 head/bunch romaine
1 small green apple
1 hand-full spinach
1 banana (frozen)
1 cup strawberries (frozen)
1 tbs flax meal
1 tbs hemp seed
1 tbs chia seed (the more seeds, the merrier :)



I always just throw things in. Never really measuring, so I put approximates up for you.  The greener the better for me, and I like to taste it before putting in the sweet stuff like banana or strawberries.  My fruit is frozen to give it the instant chill, otherwise I'll refrigerate for an hour or so.

The results, just YUM!

Smoothies are good to me if they're thick, thin, green tasting or fresh fruit sweetened.  As you can see, I always make enough for several snacks as well!



Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Spring Rolls In

Nope, sorry, not that Spring, but fingers crossed for a miracle soon! 




I have this recipe for these delicious Asian Cucumber Spring Rolls from my Beauty Detox Recipes book. You've heard it here before. My yum-yum guide. 

This needed to be tweaked a little because I didn't have all the ingredients. Though the hubster was kind enough to pick some things up at the store.

Instead of clover sprouts, I got a jar of whole cloves. I have noooo clue, you figure that one out.

Annnnd...instead of Raw Coconut Nectar, I got a bag of shredded coconut.  Have to give him some credit on that one. Oh, I'll use it…among the 5 other bags I have. Hey, the hubster tried, right? :)


So I used arugula rather than clovers, and a small amount of honey, rather than nectar. Could have used Agave, but I hear that's not so good anymore. I also shredded the carrots to make it a softer bite. The cucumbers sure were a challenge to slice thin, for rolling.  After a couple of tries, I made them like sandwiches.  Same end-result.  I made too much of the 'sauce', and it came out thicker than I'd like.  Probably because I doubled the ingredients, I always make too much, and I also let it mix too long in the Vitamix.  The outcome though, was yummy.  Great flavor for the roll-up! 

These are my results, not too shabby right?  They were very tasty.  The hubster even loved them.



Here's the full recipe and directions:

1/4 cup almond butter
1/2 Tbs grated ginger
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp sea salt
2 Tbs raw coconut nectar
1/4 cup raw macadamia nuts, pulsed in processor (do not over process, keep some texture)
3/4 Tbs sesame oil
2 organic cucumbers
A few handfuls of clover sprouts :)
1 cup julienned carrots (I shredded for softer bite)

Put almond butter, ginger, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp sea salt and coconut nectar in blender and process until smooth. Pour into bowl and set aside. (You can easily whisk, if you don't have a blender. Next time, I would just whisk.)

Pulse the macadamia nuts in processor and add to bowl.  Mix in the sesame oil and remaining sea salt, set aside.

Slice the cucumbers with a mandolin (I do not have one) into very thin, long strips.

Assemble rolls by adding a bit of the almond butter mixture about 1/3 of the way up the cucumber slice, and top with a bit of macadamia nuts mixture. Add a trace of sprouts and carrots, and just roll with it!

Yum factor!!

Note: If you are slicing cucumbers by hand and they are too thick, soak them in about 3 Tbs of lemon juice overnight, to help soften them for rolling.  I was too lazy to do that and wanted them NOW! 

Enjoy,




Sunday, February 09, 2014

Happy Birthday Giveaway!


Simple Moments Stick is Two


My friend Susannah, is having a BIRTHDAY! Well her blog is. Simple Moments Stick is two! Birthday parties are the best way to celebrate but, since we can't all get together to party, a group of twenty-three bloggers (and I am one of them!), teamed up to offer up an absolutely AMAZING prize!!!

It's a $200 Paypal Cash Giveaway!!!

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1.  Susannah from Simple Moments Stick
2.  Amy from The Silver Lining
3.  Kotryna from Girl with a Movie Camera
4.  Becky from Rebecann's Random Thoughts

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1.  Sarah from Life as Always
2.  Sybil from Peace it all Together
3.  Wendy from Effie Girl
4.  Elena from Cropped Stories

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1.  Jayda from Avocado Grove
2.  Erin from Simply Just Lovely
3.  Ginny from My New Favorite Outfit
4.  Kelly from Sparkles and Shoes

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1.  Jamie from Handling with Grace
2.  Charity from The Word of a Nerd
3.  Julie from Tidbits and Scraps
4.  Stephanie from Just a Little Bit Louder

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1.  Elizabeth from Oak and Oats
2.  Lisa from Mostly Lisa
3.  Caroline from In Due Time
4.  Stephanie from Army Crafter

Blogiversary 20Blogiversary 21Blogiversary 22

1.  Jenn from Quirky Pickings
2.  Amy from Taking Steps Home
3.  Ashley from Have Chashley, Will Travel

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