Pineappleberry Salad Smoothie

I haven't posted a delicious smoothie recipe in a while! During the winter I got out of the smoothie habit, usually opting for hot oatmeal or quinoa porridge - or last night's dinner leftovers - for breakfast. We've had a little bit of spring weather here in Kansas City, but so far it's mostly dreary and rainy and very cold - we even had snow a few days ago. But, I've been drinking a lot of smoothies lately. I have a wisdom tooth that is bothering me, and until it comes out I can't chew very well, so instead of eating a salad I've decided to make them into smoothies. This way I can still get all my nutrients and I can still be full with the minimum amount of chewing! Kinda sad, actually... LOL.

You may think that carrots, cashews and a mushroom are odd in a smoothie, but they are really good. The carrots are slightly sweet, the cashews add protein and thickness, and the mushroom has practically no flavor at all (but it does have nutrition). If you'd prefer a sweeter smoothie, add honey or agave nectar. I used coconut milk, but feel free to use your favorite liquid. Also, leave the skin and seeds of the apple - they both have valuable nutrients (and you will not be poisoned by eating a couple of apple seeds!) I just cut an apple right down the middle and tightly wrap the other half for another time.

I never post pictures of my smoothies because they are always a deep green color due to the Amazing Grass Berry Flavor Drink Powder I put in every smoothie. It's an extra shot of nutrients, antioxidants and probiotics that adds to the wonderful wholesomeness the smoothie has already. It's totally optional but I highly recommend it - it doesn't change the taste very much at all.

Pineappleberry Salad Smoothie

• 1 tablespoon raw cashews
• 1 small to medium carrot, roughly chopped
• 2 strawberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 an apple with skin and seeds, roughly chopped
• 3 one-inch chunks pineapple, fresh or frozen
• 1 button mushroom
• good handful baby spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar (optional)
• 1 scoop Amazing Grass Berry Flavor Drink Powder (optional)
• 1 1/4 cup vanilla coconut milk

Layer all ingredients in a blender in the order they are listed. Start blending at a slow speed and increase until you have a near-liquid consistency. You may have to stop the blender and stir a couple of times to ensure everything is being mixed. The smoothie is done when a whirlpool forms in the middle of the liquid.

Broccoli Pesto

This is the second left-of-center pesto sauce I've made in the last few days.


I've always lamented the loss of so much vegetable whenever I throw out broccoli stems. You can't really use them for stocks and they have a tough, fibrous peel. So I've been brainstorming ideas on how to use them so I don't have to throw away half of the weight of the broccoli, and one of those ideas was this pesto sauce.


I made this specifically to go with Cruciferous Rice and Quinoa, but I imagine it could be used wherever else you might use pesto. It has a much lighter flavor than typical pesto sauces, with bright tones of lemon and raw garlic. I'm imagining it mixed with mayonnaise, sour cream or plain yogurt as a dip for crudites, as a spread on a pita sandwich, or mixed into a hot bowl of plain rice or pasta.


If anyone else has any ideas for how to use broccoli stems, please let me in on your secret!

Broccoli Pesto
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 2-3 broccoli stems, florets removed
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1 clove of garlic
• about 1 cup of baby spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice 
• 2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cut off the ends of the broccoli stems and remove all branches until you have just the stem. Using a sharp knife (be careful!), remove the tough, fibrous outside layer of the stem. The inside should be a very light green color, almost white. You can test whether or not you've gotten off all the tough pieces by pricking them stem with a fork - it will pierce the fibrous skin but will poke into the inner layers easier. Repeat this with all large portions of the branches, using a paring knife if you'd like, discarding ones that are too small to safely cut. Dice the stems into smaller pieces.


Heat a quarter of a cup or so of water in a medium pan and add in the broccoli stems. Cover and steam until they are tender but not mushy - about ten minutes. Remove from heat and chill to room temperature.


Add the chilled broccoli stems, cashews, garlic and spinach to a food processor. Give it a few pulses to chop everything, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. Once it is chopped, set the processor to on and stream in the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil through the top. Let mix until a paste forms. If you desire a thinner sauce, add in more lemon juice, olive oil or water or vegetable stock.

Squash and Spinach Pesto

At some point last spring I bought a variety of squash for about twenty-five cents each. I bought so many that we couldn't eat them, and I ended up slicing them into half-moon shapes and freezing them. I don't remember what kind of squash they were, some were yellow and some green. They were just sitting in my freezer and I thought often of what I would do with them. Autumn has just passed, so I've grown a bit tired of pureed squash soup, but I was pretty sure the only way they would be good was to be pureed in some way.

I decided to use them as a sauce, making a sort of pesto. I let them thaw in the refrigerator and heated them slightly on the stove to make sure they were cooked. I made the pesto sauce specifically to go with Green Rice, but it could be used over any other rice or pasta dish, spread on toasts or crackers, or mixed into soup. Mix some pesto with your favorite tomato sauce or alfredo sauce for a fun kick.

Helpful tip for any and all pestos: place the sauce into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, store in an airtight container in the freezer. This way you'll have a couple of tablespoons of pesto whenever you want it, without all the fuss!

I hope you enjoy the unusual combination of flavors in this pesto.

Squash and Spinach Pesto
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 2 cups chopped squash - zucchini, yellow, pattypan, delicata, etc
• about 2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• sea salt and ground black pepper

Cook the squash until it is soft, by steaming, boiling or sauteeing - for zucchini or yellow squash this will take only a couple of minutes, for harder squash this will take longer. When finished, let cool slightly and be sure to squeeze out all excess water or oil.

Combine the squash, cashews and spinach leaves in a food processor. Pulse a couple of times to chop everything, scraping the sides of the bowl if needed. Turn on the blade and slowly stream in the olive oil until a thick, paste-like sauce forms, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Use more olive oil if you wish to have a thinner sauce.

Yummy green - reminds me of spring!

Potato and Vegetable Green Curry

I have a love/hate relationship with curries. I don't ever order them at restaurants because I often find curry seasonings to be unpleasant. I have found a few brands of powdered seasonings and pastes that I enjoy and prefer to make them at home so that I can be sure I'll enjoy them. However, curry is one of my husband's favorites, so we make it pretty often.

This is my first try at a green curry. I don't usually like using things like seasoning pastes, but I have used a prepared curry paste here - Thai Kitchen Green Curry Paste to be exact. It says on the bottle to start at 1/2 tablespoon and work your way up, but I ended up putting in close to 4 tablespoons and it was still not spicy. You know your tolerance for spicyness - add it to your liking, or add in extra hot peppers if you'd like it extra spicy.

I have used fish sauce in this recipe, making it not vegetarian. This could simply be vegan without the fish sauce, however it would take away quite a bit of flavor. Creative vegan cooks should know how to get around that :)

I like to serve this with hot brown rice. You could use jasmine or basmati rice, or get creative with noodles - or maybe add in some vegetable or chicken broth to make this a soup? This will make about two or three dinner sized portions.


Potato and Vegetable Green Curry

• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 3-4 small or medium red or yukon gold potatoes, cut into small chunks
• about 1 or 2 heads of broccoli florets
• 1 small red pepper, sliced thinly
• 1-2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 2 cups or so of torn baby spinach leaves
• 1-4 tablespoons green curry paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• optional garnish ideas: chopped fresh cilantro or mint, shredded coconut, crushed peanuts or cashews, fresh lime wedges
• hot rice or noodles for serving

Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the potatoes until almost done, about ten minutes or so. In a separate pan, saute the onions in a little bit of olive oil until they are translucent, about five minutes.

Once the potatoes are done, drain them well and return the pot to the stove. Add in the coconut milk and curry paste and let gently simmer for about five minutes or so. Stir in the potatoes, broccoli, red pepper, garlic, fish sauce and brown sugar. Stir and let gently simmer, covered, for about five minutes. Taste and add in more curry paste, fish sauce and/or brown sugar, if desired.

Let the curry simmer, covered, until the potatoes and broccoli are tender to your liking. During the last minute or so of cooking, stir in the spinach leaves until they are wilted. Serve over the rice or noodles.

Vegetables swimming in a delicious sea of flavor

Galaxy Udon

Noodles are one of my favorite foods. They are very versatile and delicious. One of my favorite ways to eat noodles is with a simple sauce and lots of fresh vegetables in all the different colors of the universe.

Don't let the ingredient list fool you - this dish is very simple to prepare. You can eat it hot or you can eat it cold - I like to eat it hot when it is fresh and eat the leftovers cold.

Galaxy Udon

• 12 ounces whole wheat Udon noodles
• 1 large red or yellow onion
• about 1/4-1/2 of a small red cabbage
• 2-3 large carrots
• about 6 ounces button or baby portobello mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup cashew pieces, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup Bragg Liquid Aminos (or 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce plus 3 tablespoons of water)
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground Szechuan pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cups minced baby spinach, kale, cilantro or parsley

Set a very large pot of water to boil. Drop in the noodles and cook for about 8-9 minutes, or until just tender but not mushy. When finished, drain the water and gently rinse the noodles.

Meanwhile, mix together the liquid aminos, sesame oil, balsamic vinegar and Szechuan pepper in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Heat about two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Thoroughly wash the carrots and peel them if they are not organic. Thinly slice the onion and the mushrooms. Shred the cabbage into thin strips and mince the garlic cloves. Add in the carrots and saute for about two minutes, then the onions and the dried basil for about two minutes more. Finally, mix in the cabbage, mushrooms and garlic at the same time and saute for two or three minutes longer.

Turn off the heat and add in the drained noodles and the sauce. Toss gently to combine the noodles and vegetables with the sauce. Mix in the cashews and minced greens. Serve immediately if you would like to enjoy this hot. If not, chill for a couple of hours before eating.

Udon noodles with a crisp, fresh crunch and a very pleasing look.

Green Berry Smoothie

I love smoothies in the morning. They're quick, filling and nutritious.

How is a smoothie filling? If you make smoothies like the ones I do, when you think about it, you're putting in a couple servings of fruit, two or three servings of vegetables, a couple of servings of nuts, and a superfood supplement. If you were to eat all of that separately it would be a pretty good meal.

I'm not a heavy eater at breakfast time... I used to be. At home, I would fry eggs and hash browns, make breakfast sandwiches, or put some fried eggs on top of rice. And I would always be super hungry again in a couple of hours, probably because my metabolism sped up super quickly to deal with the shock of all that food. In the past few years, I've weaned off of that. What good was it doing me to eat a fried meal in the morning and then snack all day until lunch? Now, I make a delicious smoothie about an hour after I wake up and I can keep going until lunchtime without discomfort from hunger. I made this transition slowly and I am glad I did!

That said, here's another smoothie I enjoy. The superfood powder that I list as optional really adds in a kick of healthy goodness and energy - I enjoy Amazing Grass Berry Flavor Drink Powder.

 When it's on sale, buy extra fresh berries and extra bananas. Slice the bananas into one inch slices and place on a piece of parchment paper in a single layer. Freeze them, and then place into bags - do the same with the berries. This way you always have frozen fruit for your smoothie and you don't have to use ice.

No picture because, well, the deep green superfood powder makes no smoothie look pretty ;)

Green Berry Smoothie

Layer these ingredients in the following order:

• about 1 cup frozen banana slices
• 4 frozen blackberries
• about 1/3-1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries and strawberries
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 10 fresh mint leaves
• 1-2 cups vanilla soymilk (depending on your blender and how thick you want the smoothie - just make sure the frozen fruit is completely submerged)
• 1 scoop Amazing Grass Berry Flavor Drink Powder (optional)
• 1-2 teaspoons honey

Blend, starting on a low speed and increasing slowly, until completely smooth. Give it some time - it takes a minute for the cashews and spinach to break up.

Green Fruit Smoothie

Smoothies have become my go-to breakfast and snack food. I can eat (drink) them while getting ready for school in the morning and I can put them in a cup and take them on the road. They are just filling enough to keep me going for a few hours until lunch, and I can make them as nutritious as I want them to be, with all sorts of flavors and endless ingredients.

Lately, I have begun adding a green super food powder to my smoothies. This instantly increases how filling they are, without altering the taste too much. I'm using Amazing Grass brand Berry Green Superfood - it's mostly organic, vegan, and contains not only nutrients but antioxidants, probiotics and enzymes.  Here's the nutritional breakdown (from the website):

And since the nutrients are all from whole food ingredients, and the enzymes are living, your body will absorb them better. It's better than a multivitamin in this respect.

One scoop in my smoothie, and I don't really notice a taste or texture difference, only that the color of the smoothie is always a dark green. Here's one I've been eating (drinking) a bit lately. No picture because I couldn't get the dark green color to look pretty :)

Green Fruit Smoothie

• 1 banana, sliced
• 10 frozen blueberries
• 2 frozen raspberries
• 2 frozen blackberries
• 1 cup loosely packed baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon walnuts
• 1 scoop superfood powder (optional)
• 1 cup vanilla soymilk

Place ingredients into a blender in the following order: frozen fruit, banana, walnuts, spinach, superfood powder, soymilk. Pulse a couple of times, then blend, slowly picking up speed, until very smooth - for about one minute. Be sure to blend for the full amount of time, or else the smoothie may not have a smooth-y consistency :)
 
Possible Substitutions

• Use any sort of frozen fruit in place of the berries. Using frozen fruit ensures you don't have to add any ice or thickeners like yogurt.
• Use kale in place of the spinach.
• Use almonds or cashews instead of the walnuts.
• Try a fruit juice instead of the soymilk.
• Do not replace the banana - it makes the greens, powder and nuts blend smoothly so you don't get a powdery end result.

Little Bit o Everything Salad

I sure do love a good salad! Well, sometimes. I go through phases. Sometimes I'll eat two salads a day for a week, sometimes the thought of a salad will repulse me. Salads are seriously the best way to get your vitamins and nutrients because the vegetables are all raw, but I can definitely sympathize with not always wanting cold, raw, crunchy vegetables. But, for when you do, this salad is one of my favorites!

For the best tasting salad, use organic produce! The chemical sprays and irradiation used on conventional produce greatly effects the taste and nutritional content. The skins of conventional produce are often tough, thick and very tasteless. This is unfortunate because the vast majority of the nutrients are located in or just below the skin. That is why I recommend to not peel the carrot, simply to wash it very well. The only thing you should be washing off your produce is dirt!!

This salad contains a little bit of every nutrient you could possibly need in a meal! To round it out, add a serving of a carbohydrate (half of a pita, a slice of whole grain bread, whole grain croutons) and have a serving of fresh fruit for dessert. The walnuts and chickpeas have a bit of protein but if you want more, add some baked boneless, skinless chicken or broiled shrimp!

Also, play around with the greens. I like to use one crunchy green (such as romaine) and one that's more tender, such as spinach, leaf lettuce or spring greens. If you have some access to frisee, endive or radicchio, throw that in!


Little Bit o Everything Salad

• 3 leaves romaine lettuce
• 1 cup loosely packed baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 carrot
• 1 inch section cucumber
• 2-3 florets fresh broccoli
• 1 mushroom
• ¼ red pepper
• 2 heaping tablespoons cooked chickpeas
• 3 heaping tablespoons walnut pieces
• 1 tablespoon raisins, dried cranberries or currants
• 2 tablespoons vinaigrette dressing, such as balsamic

Chop the romaine lettuce and spinach into smaller pieces. If they are not pre-washed, wash in cold water and dry in a salad spinner or with a clean kitchen towel. Place into a bowl and top with the parsley.

Thoroughly wash the carrot (preferably with Veggie Wash). Use a vegetable peeler to peel long strips of carrot on top of the lettuces. Use about 25 strips. Eat the rest of the carrot, serve it on the side, or reserve for another use.

Cut the broccoli florets up into smaller pieces, if desired. Thinly slice the mushroom and dice the red pepper. Thinly slice the cucumber and then halve into half-moon shapes. Add all to the bowl. Top with the chickpeas, raisins and walnut pieces.

Just before serving, drizzle the dressing around the top of the salad. Toss and enjoy!

Colorful - Beautiful - Textures - Nutrients