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How to Make A Green Smoothie

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green smoothie

These days, all you hear about in the health world is how delicious green smoothies are and how good they are for you. Ok, awesome. But how do you make one? What may be a seemingly simple task can intimidate those who have never tried them before. Never fear! Follow these steps and begin your brand new creative health venture!

It’s best to use a high power blender for these drinks. Oftentimes, conventional blenders simply don’t have the strength to get through everything inside. I personally use a Nutribullet (best purchase ever! You can find them at the Nutribullet site, Amazon, Bed, Bath & Beyond, etc.). Vitamix is another popular blender, as well.

HOW TO MAKE A GREEN SMOOTHIE

Your smoothie equation should be approximately this:

1/2 greens + 1/2 fruits + liquid + superfoods

Your “1/2″ amounts should be roughly 1-2 cups a piece, and you can absolutely put more/less fruits or veggies, depending on what you’re craving. This is simply a baseline from which to start.

GREENS
Spinach
Kale
Chard (Swiss or Rainbow are both stocked full with nutrients)
Romaine lettuce

Top off or compliment with: celery, mint, arugala, cilantro

FRUITS
Bananas
Pears
Blueberries
Raspberries
Blackberries
Apples
Mango
Pineapple
Strawberries

Experiment with different fruits. More fruit will result in a sweeter smoothie!

LIQUIDS
Non-dairy milks: soy, almond, or coconut
Green Tea (iced)
Coconut water
Water

One of my favorite milks is Silk’s Non-GMO Dark Chocolate Almond Milk. Mmm!

SUPERFOODS
Chia seeds
Flax seeds
Maca powder
Goji berries
Spirulina

Also try: raw cacao powder, pumpkin seeds, cashews, almonds

Some suggestions for your green smoothie:

  • Get creative! I love adding a scoop of chunky peanut butter to my green smoothies with chocolate almond milk, or vanilla whey protein powder to my green smoothies with vanilla almond or coconut milk.
  • Sneak some extra green in there: a scoop of spirulina is oftentimes hardly noticeable. Get those bonus nutrients!
  • Bananas and avocados make a smoothie extra creamy.
  • Want more of a milkshake than a smoothie? Throw in some extra ice cubes.
  • Freeze those banana! They thicken (and cool!) a smoothie.
  • Compact your greens after you put them into your blender to fit even more.
  • Make smoothies fresh for the best flavor and optimal nourishment.
  • Come up with smoothie concoctions that appeal to YOU! The last thing you want is to force yourself to chug down a glass of ugly goop.

MY FAVORITE RECIPES

  1. 1/2 spinach, 1 frozen banana, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, vanilla almond milk, chia seeds, flax seeds (the recommendation is 1 tablespoon of each, but I love them so much that I just end up free-pouring), handful of ice cubes
  2. 1/2 spinach & kale, 1 frozen banana, chocolate almond milk, chia seeds, flax seeds, 1 teaspoon spirulina, raw cacao powder, handful of ice cubes
  3. 1/2 spinach or mixed greens, frozen fruit (mango & pineapple, strawberries & bananas, or mixed berries), green tea, chia seeds, flax seeds

After your first nutrient-pumped green smoothie, you’ll feel brighter, healthier, more alert, more energetic, positive, and satisfied (not to mention you will sleep so well). Turn green smoothies into a regular habit, and watch your health evolve!

Raw Cookies

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raw cookies

These days, going raw is all the rage. Aside from all of the hubbub around it though, eating a diet comprised of mostly raw foods is very beneficial for your body. Not only do you get more nutrients, your body is able to process and digest the food better. That results in more energy, a better immune system, efficient digestion, and a healthier you!

But what about those of us that have a sweet tooth (and let me tell you… I don’t need to be asked twice when offered sweets)? Well if you satiate your sweet tooth with natural sugars that are present in nutrient dense foods, then your body is satisfied more simply and efficiently (this also equates to a consumption of less calories). Sound good?

I snagged this recipe from Nadia Petrova over at MindBodyGreen and tested it on my family over Christmas. Proud to say it met the approval of Mom, Dad, Brother, Grandma, AND Grandpa!

raw cookies

My cookies ended up with a unique shape!

RAW COOKIES

1 1/4 cup of raw pistachios (I purchased organic raw pistachios from Whole Foods and shelled them myself. You can buy them pre-shelled, but they’re much more expensive. 1 1/4 of shelled pistachios looks something like 2 1/2 – 3 cups in the shells)
2 tablespoons coconut flakes
1/3 cup of melted coconut oil
1/3 cup of honey or agave (I used 1/4 cup of honey the second time around because the first batch was too sweet for me. The rest of the family enjoyed it though, so sweeten to your tasting!)
1/4 teaspoon of salt

  1. Shell the pistachios and blend them until they are a powder. You are essentially creating “flour” by doing this. (I use a Nutribullet, but any standard blender should work.)
  2. Combine all ingredients into a bowl and stir. It will become sort of a cake batter consistency, if not a little bit more runny.
  3. Roll the dough into sausage form. Depending on how big or small you want the cookies will decide if you should split the batch between two foil squares (smaller cookies) or one (larger cookies). I laid a piece of foil out, then laid a piece of wax paper over it. Pour the batter on to the wax paper, then proceed to roll it up, tucking both ends in as you go along. The square of foil should secure the dough after it’s rolled up all the way.
  4. Refrigerate the dough for 24 hours.
  5. Unroll the dough, slice it into cookies, and garnish with coconut flakes. Enjoy!

70% Green

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That’s my lunch!

I recently read an article that said 70% (not 50%!) of your plate should be greens, then the other 30% can essentially be whatever you want (breads, grains, nuts, fruits, etc.). So, with that in mind, I am trying to up my intake of greens. The above was my result. Looks tasty, doesn’t it? I promise it is!

TRY IT:

Make a bed of kale (or another leafy green you love). Put 1 cup of a gluten-free grain, such as quinoa, buckwheat, or millet. I used Trader Joe’s Quinoa Due with Vegetable Melange (completely delicious in and of itself. While it’s always best to cook grains fresh yourself, this is a nice break on those crazy, hectic days). Sprinkle some goat’s cheese (or feta) crumbles and you’ve got yourself a nourishing meal full of greens, protein, and energy!

Cinnamon Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding

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chia seed pudding

With the heaviness of all the GMO and Proposition 37 news, I felt it would be a good balance to add something fun.

AND delicious.

Chia seeds are considered a “superfood.” They are incredibly, incredibly healthy for you, full of omega-3s, aiding in digestion, as well as helping you feel fuller, faster. They were used by the Mayans and the Aztecs as an energy food, and they can easily be added to any smoothie, bread, salad, or, in this case, dessert!

Its texture is similar to that of tapioca pudding, so if you don’t like that, avoid this recipe. Otherwise, it’s pretty quick and easy to make!

CINNAMON VANILLA CHIA SEED PUDDING

1 cup of milk (any kind. I like to use vanilla almond milk)
3 tablespoons chia seeds
1-2 packets of stevia (just to taste. Not necessary if you are using sweetened soy or almond milk)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 ground cinnamon (I threw in a little extra)
1 small pinch of sea salt

  1. Stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl and stick it in the fridge. Refrigerate until it reaches your desired thickness (anywhere from 2-4 hours), stirring occasionally.

And that’s it! Easy, huh?

Recipe from the blog “An Edible Mosaic“

Do The Earth: Cupcakes!

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For my birthday, I hosted a small gathering at my house. Clearly, I needed something that had to do with the earth there, right?

Enter Earth Cupcakes. They’re fun, little, blue-and-green cupcakes that look like the earth when you bite into them. Prep is super quick, especially when you use an organic box mix (I’m sure they would taste incredible homemade, I simply didn’t have the time to do that).

EARTH CUPCAKES

Organic white or vanilla box cake mix (I used the Arrowhead Organic Vanilla Cake mix from Whole Foods — the mix will require oil (I used olive), an egg, and either water or milk)
Food coloring (I’ll be honest, I used Jewel’s store brand. I don’t recommend it because artificial coloring is linked to cancer since the colors are petroleum based. Whole Foods carries a natural food coloring, but it’s $16.99 and I didn’t have that money at the time. Natural food coloring would be a great investment if you bake often, though. Care2 provides some ways to make food coloring if you’re feeling creative)
Cupcake pan
Cupcake papers 

  1. Prepare the cake mix according to the box directions. After all ingredients are mixed, divide the wet mixture evenly into two different bowls.

  2. Add blue food coloring to one bowl, and green to the other. If you add a couple of yellow drops to the green bowl, the color will brighten significantly. Stir the coloring in so that each mixture is colored throughout.
  3. Place cupcake papers in the cupcake pan and scoop the colors, one spoonful at a time. One spoonful of blue, one spoonful of green, etc. until the cupcake holders are about 1/2-3/4 of the way full. (I found it easiest to put one colored spoonful in all of the holders, then switch colors to minimize some of the back-and-forthness.) No stirring is necessary.
  4. Place cupcakes in a preheated oven to 350 degrees. The cupcakes should take about 22-26 minutes to bake. You can stick a toothpick in the middle to check — if it comes out clean, the cupcakes are done.
  5. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, let the pan cool for 5-10 minutes, put the cupcakes on a rack to finish cooling, and enjoy!

Recipe from Stephanie Lynn’s blog “Under the Table and Dreaming.”