Green Smoothie Goodness!

I’ve introduced something new into my life this week- thanks to my dear friend in Montana who is also a brilliant holistic nutritionist. I’d seen her mention these concoctions on her Facebook page and wondered…what is this delicious sounding smoothie she speaks of? So I asked…and boy am I glad I did!!

Apparently Green Smoothies are pretty popular- and there are many different ways to make them but I adhere to the guidelines my friend sent me since I trust her nutritional knowledge far more than random articles found through a Google search. I’ve followed her guidelines all week (4 days so far) and each time the result has been a delicious, nutritious, filling, and fun creation!

So the point of doing these smoothies for me personally was to pack in some nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and energy that I am not getting enough of through my current diet and that my body is depleting more now that I run. I imagine most people would cite a similar reason. I see them also as a tasty way for picky eaters (or children) to get certain foods. I also think a smoothie form is much easier for digesting and absorbing all the goodness found in these foods.

Okay- on to the guidelines and a recipe to try!! All you need is a simple blender to make these smoothies- nothing fancy. You will want to cut pieces up and introduce them slowly so you don’t overwhelm your blender though. And as my friend pointed out, you will want to blend, blend, and blend some more and then blend more on top of that!

To start: Begin with a cup of filtered water in your blender. Add to it some kind of water-based food such as cucumber, melon, or celery and blend it up. This is like your base that the rest is built on top of and provides you with a nice liquid start.

1st Round of Ingredients- The Greens: Choose 2 1/2 –3 cups from the following: Kale, Collards, Beet Greens, Dandelion Greens, Parsley, Mint, Fennel, Avocado, Cucumber, Zucchini, Spinach, Romaine Lettuce, Green Cabbage, Turnip Greens, Celery, Sprouts (Pea Shoot and/or Sunflower sprouts recommended). Any green in season or growing in your garden will do!

2nd Round of Ingredients- Fruits/Sweet Veggies: 1 fruit/sweet veg or about 1-1/2 – 2 cups from the following: Apples, Bananas, Pear, Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Pineapple, Papaya, Mango, Pomegranate, Cranberries, Kiwifruit, Figs, Watermelon, Lemon, Carrots, Sweet Potato, Beets, etc…

3rd Round of Ingredients- Superfoods: 1 tsp – 1 Tbs of 3-4 of these:
Raw Cacao, Flax Oil, Hempseed Oil, Walnut Oil, Almonds, Goji Berries, Dates, Coconut oil, Bee Pollen, Coconut (fresh or dry), Hempseeds, Chia Seeds, Spirulina, Ginger, Cayenne, Raw honey, Sesame Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Nut/Seed Butters are good options if you have a weaker blender.

Optional Additional Liquids: Ice (if you like it cold), Vegetable Juice (100% veggie), Coconut water (not to be confused with coconut milk), Nut or Seed Milk, or Herbal Tea (such as peppermint or ginger tea). You can also add water to create a consistency you prefer- I have never had to add to mine but it’s a personal preference of course!

Day 1 Easy Green Smoothie Recipe:

1 cup of filtered water

Cucumber (mine was a small one, 3 inches in size)

BLEND BLEND BLEND

Handful of Spinach

Leaf of Kale

Couple leaves of Chard

BLEND BLEND BLEND

1/2 cup of frozen Raspberries

BLEND

1 banana

BLEND

a few slices of carrot

a few chunks of diced beet

BLEND BLEND BLEND

1 T coconut oil

1 T hempseeds

1 capsule Bee Pollen (*allergy precaution!)

1 T honey (raw, local honey)

1 T almond butter

BLEND BLEND BLEND

crushed ice

BLEND BLEND BLEND

ENJOY!!!

That first smoothie I had was absolutely delicious! I hope you try it and become as hooked as I am! I’ve since made a different one each day this week and I’ve loved every single one. That one was pink/red in color due to the beets and raspberries. Today I had one with blueberries and pomegranate so it was purple in color. Others I’ve had and used Apple and Lime which turned out a perfect green like the photo at the top of this post. You can really get creative- and as my friend pointed out, if you concoct something that isn’t so yummy, just feed it to your garden! It has a less discriminating palate! 😛

I encourage you to try the sample recipe and then have fun experimenting to create your own favorites…and most of all, share the smoothie joy with others!! In the short time I’ve been doing these I’ve already had about 4 or 5 people contact me asking me how to do it! Look for natural food stores in your area as well- it’s important to use organics if at all possible. And, I would suggest keeping your ingredients to RAW foods…no canned fruit (eek!), no milk products, no sugary juices, etc. Trust me, the recipe above is DELICIOUS without any of those products.

Good luck- HAVE FUN and feel free to come back here and share some of your favorite ingredients or mixtures you discover!

Perfect for Fall- Homemade Body Butter!

I recently found an enticing recipe for homemade body butter and HAD to try it! The description “body butter” has always tempted me but I haven’t found any that was free from chemicals that I try to avoid. This recipe was sure to be chemical free- and it sounded delicious!

The “Luscious Pumpkin Body Butter” recipe was posted recently on Care2.com which is one of my favorite websites for everything green-living!! You can also follow them on Twitter- @Care2 or @Care2Green or @Care2Causes. The simple recipe is as follows (Full article here: Luscious Pumpkin Body Butter)

1/2 cup pumpkin puree, preferably organic
1/2 cup solids from a can of coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Mix ingredients in a bowl. Apply generously to clean skin (standing or sitting on a towel, if you like), massaging gently to work well into the skin.

2. Allow to remain on for 10 minutes or so, then rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Some comments on the original article mentioned how “weird” or “difficult” it would be to sit with pumpkin all over yourself…here’s how I dealt with that. I did a quick shower so my skin would be “clean” as specified in the recipe instructions. Then I sat in the empty bath tub and applied the body butter and sat there reading for the specified “10 minutes or so” – making it then easy to rinse off under the shower and not making a mess on anything. It worked great. Now, for my review…

PHENOMENAL. Truly- it was SIMPLE to make, smelled heavenly, and really did moisturize my skin! Not to mention- it was absolutely well, intoxicating, to sit with fresh food rubbed all over! It felt so natural and nourishing- not like rubbing some mass-produced, chemical-laden, over-priced lotion all over. It not only made my skin feel great- it made ME feel great. It made me want to toss all my products (even those claiming to be “safe”) and turn to purely natural fruits and veggies for my all my skin and beauty care. Seriously.

Now, there is one caution I would mention that is NOT mentioned in the original article. Cinnamon CAN burn the skin or cause sensitive skin to react- so do NOT overdo the amount of Cinnamon in this recipe- especially if you have sensitive skin. It felt terrific- and warming- as the recipe promises, but I would be careful putting it on your face if you know you have sensitive skin. It wouldn’t do any horrible damage, but it might make your skin a bit red. It can be combated by taking an anti-histamine (if extreme) or probably by applying witch hazel to the skin. I did not experience this anywhere on my body except slightly on my face and the slight redness quickly disappeared.

Enjoy! Please try it- and come back and let us know what you thought! Any recipe variations you would suggest? Any similar concoctions you’ve tried and loved?

Tuesday TidBit- Salad Dressing Recipes

My fiance and I are getting more and more into growing and making our own foods. In most cases it saves us a lot of money and spares food spoilage. It also reduces the amount of unnecessary ingredients we consume which may not be all that good for us. This includes sodium, sugar, dyes, and other bizarre substances that show up on ingredient labels.

I love salads- and all kinds of salad dressings. There are such interesting flavors to choose from these days! So, for Christmas last year I asked for an emulsifier– or, in other words, a thingie to make my salad dressing in that comes marked with measurements and recipes! Excellent and useful gift…but, you can also use a glass jar! 🙂  It is so easy to use, makes the perfect amount, and all the recipes use simple ingredients!

I wanted to share with you a couple of my favorites. You can easily pour these ingredients in a glass jar then tightly screw on the lid and shake. Viola! Your salad dressing is ready! You can also adjust amounts to suit your quantity needs- just maintain the correct ratios. I would recommend using these within a couple days- and keep refrigerated after use- since they are homemade they lack any added preservatives for extended shelf life!

French Herb Vinaigrette

Combine 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/8 cup red wine vinegar, 1 Tbs. lemon juice, 1/2 Tbs. chopped rosemary, 1/2 Tbs. chopped thyme, 1 pressed clove of garlic, dash of pepper. Optional: 1/2 tsp. sugar. Shake and serve!

Dijon Vinaigrette

Combine 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 1/2 Tbs. red wine vinegar, 2 tsp. dijon mustard, dash of pepper. Shake and serve!

I like to experiment with the olive oils and vinegars I  use. I found a very nice Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar I like to use. These are your main ingredients – an olive oil, a vinegar of some type, and herbs/garlic/onion. Simple!

Enjoy- and feel free to contribute any recipes you use or have found along the way!