Spirulina Berry Smoothie

I am always looking for new smoothie combinations and this is my latest one I have been hooked on.  I recently bough some Spirulina and have been trying to figure out ways to integrate it into my supplement repertoire.  Spirulina is an algae that is incredibly high in protein and is a good source of antioxidants.  It is a great addition to anyone who is limiting their meat consumption as it is comprised of essential amino acids, B-12 and is naturally high in iron.  It definitely has a required taste and one of the ways I have found to make it palatable is to mix it into the smoothie recipe below.  Another option I have concocted that works for me is  I mix 6 ounces of coconut water, 1/2 of a frozen banana and a 2 teaspoons of Spirulina into my Nutribuilt for a great post-workout drink.  

Approximate time: 5 minutes

• 6 ounces of almond milk 
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries 
• 1 tsp coconut oil 
• 1 tbsp hemp seeds 
• 2 tsp spirulina 

1.  Combine everything together in your blender of choice.  Enjoy! 

Berry Baked Oatmeal

I love breakfast, especially on the weekend when you can take a little more time to prepare something for yourself or your loved ones.  I recently made this recipe over the 4th of July for a group of us who were staying at my friend house for the long weekends and it was so good I made it again the following weekend for another different group of friends.  The original recipe is a Martha Stewart recipe, but I modified it based on the way I like to eat and I don't think you miss anything in the final dish.  First, I didn't use dairy milk.  I try to avoid dairy as much as possible (with the exception of the occasional cheese or yogurt).  I used almond milk, but you could also use cashew milk or even coconut milk.  Second, I cut out the sugar.  To Martha's credit there wasn't that much in the recipe to start with, but I don't think you need any added sugar between the sweetness of the bananas and berries.  Lastly, I cut out the butter.  Again, there wasn't too much in the original recipe and I did make the first bake with the butter; however, I just didn't feel it added that much to the recipe and was just a simpler easier recipe without it.  This recipe is really easy and so yummy.  You can certainly make it ahead and reheat it.  I will be definitely making this recipe just for myself and enjoying a square all week long! 

Approximate time: 50 minutes 

Serves 6 

• 8-inch baking square dish
• 2 cups of gluten-free oats
• 1/2 cup of walnuts or almonds (ground in a food processor or chopped rough by hand)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups almond milk or any other non-dairy milk of your choice
• 1 large egg
• 2 bananas sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 2 cups of mixed berries (I used a combo of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries) 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Coat the bottom and sides of an 8-inch baking square dish.  I used an olive oil spray.  

2. Combine oats, cinnamon, baking powder and half of the chopped nuts in a bowl and stir together. 

3. Whisk egg into milk and add vanilla extract and mix well.  

4. Line bottom of your 8-inch baking dish with the banana slices.  Sprinkle 2/3 of your berry combo over the banana slices and then cover the fruit layers with the oat mixture.

5. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats.  You can tap the baking dish on your kitchen surface if you need to distribute the milk mixture easy.  

6. Spread the rest of your berry mixture and nuts over the top.

7. Bake the oatmeal for approximately 35 to 40 minutes.  You want to let it cool for at leas a few minutes before serving.  You can serve this in a bowl with a scoop of plain yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup for extra decadence, but the oatmeal bake is delicious on it's own.  

Coconut Rice and Veggies

Approximate time: 30 minutes

Serves 2

• 1 bag of spinach (5 ounces)
• 1 head of broccolini trimmed and cut into thirds
• 9 shiitake mushrooms sliced
• 1 zucchini cut in half and then sliced into half moon shapes
• ½ of a lemon or lime
• 2 shallots diced
• 1 inch piece of ginger minced
• 2 tbsp of coconut oil
• 2 tbsp of white miso
• 1 tbsp of tamari
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 cup of brown rice

1.     Place brown rice or grain of your choice into a small saucepan with half of the can of coconut milk and water.  For example, I like the Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Medley.  Bring to a boil and then cover and simmer for approximately 35 minutes.

2.     While rice is cooking prepare the rest of the veggies.  In another saucepan, steam the broccolini for 5-8 minutes and set aside.  Broccolini should not be too soft.

3.     In a sauté pan, heat up coconut oil under a medium flame.  Once hot, add shallots and ginger and cook until fragrant. 

4.     Once the shallots and ginger have become fragrant, add the mushrooms to the pan.  Cook until mushroom soften and then add zucchini. 

5.     Add the miso and tamari to the sauté pan.  Scrape up any sticking shallots or ginger from the bottom of the pan.  Cook until miso dissolves.

6.     Once miso dissolves, poor the remaining half of a can of coconut milk into pan.  Add steamed broccolini and stir to combine all ingredients.  Squeeze half of lemon or lime into pan.

7.     Serve in a shallow bowl with the coconut rice on the side.

Chop Chop Salad

Full disclosure when I try a new recipe and I like it, I end up craving it and eating it for a couple weeks straight.  What can I say?  When I fall, I fall hard.  This happens often times with me for example having the same favorite green smoothie in the morning (recipe below!) or there was the time I was obsessed with this broccoli bread from Green Kitchen Stories and had it everyday for lunch for weeks.  Lately I have been crushing hard on what I like to call the Chop Chop salad.  I call it the Chop Chop because all the veggies are chopped very small.  I love the consistency this creates, plus because we are using kale as our greens here, the smaller pieces allow them to be easier to chew as raw kale can be hard for some to digest.  Full disclosure it's a little labor intensive.  Cutting up and steaming the veggies take some time, but the nice thing is that if you make a big batch of it and don't dress the veggies it will stay fresh for days in your fridge.  I like this salad with the Green Goddess Dressing from Clean Eats cookbook from Dr. Alejandro Junger.  I am a big fan of his books, Clean and Clean Gut.  Clean Eats is a great compliment to these as well as a fabulous edition to anyone's healthy cookbook collection.  I have tried many of the recipes, many of which I make time and time again.  Sense a pattern here?

Approximate time: 60 minutes 

Serves 6 as a side, or approximately 4 portions if making individual portions as a mail meal

For the salad dressing:

• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup miso
• 3 tbs. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbs. lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 scallion, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves 

1. In a food processor, combine the tahini, olive oil, miso, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic cloves.  You can use a blender if you don't have a food processor.  The original recipe actually calls for using a blender, but I have done it both ways and I like the food processor best.

2.  Add all the fresh herbs, scallion and salt and blend until the herbs are combined and the dressing comes together.  If the dressing looks thick to you, then you can always add between 1/4 cup to a 1/2 cup of warm water.  I do this often as I like the dressing a little on the thinner side.  This dressing will store great in a glass jar for a week in the refrigerator.  

For the chop chop:

• 1 head of kale - preferable dinosaur kale 
• 1/2 head of purple cabbage
• 1 bundle of asparagus steamed 
• 1 cup of sugar snap peas
• 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes if making one portion at a time or 1 cup of cherry tomatoes if you are making the whole salad for a group 
• 1/2 cup of shredded carrots - you can easily buy these pre-shredded to save on some time
• 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
• 1 small cucumbers 
• 1/4 avocado if you are making one portion at a time or 1 whole avocado if you are making the whole salad for a group 
• 6 radishes 

1.  Trim the asparagus bottoms and cut them into thirds.  Place in a steamer and cook for approximately 5 minutes.  I like my asparagus on the crunchier side.  

2.  Cut the kale into very small thin slices.  I find the easiest way to do this is to roll two to three kale leaves like you were going to cut them into a chiffonade.  

3.  Shred the purple cabbage.  You can do this with a knife or with a mandolin.  Whichever is easiest for you.

4. Cut the sugar snap peas and radishes into small slices. 

5.  Combine the kale, purple cabbage, carrots, sugar snap peas, radishes and sunflower seeds into a large bowl if you are making it all at once or Tupperware to keep fresh if you are just going to make one serving at a time.

6.  Depending if you are making the salad for a group or if you plan to eat it throughout the week cut up the all the tomatoes, avocado and the asparagus or only the portions of each outlined for one serving.  I keep the asparagus separate and cut them as I go when I am just making myself a serving of the salad  The asparagus will stay much fresher if kept separate and cut when right before you are ready to assemble the salad.  

7.  Either in a large bowl if making the whole salad or if making one serving in a shallow bowl, dress the salad and mix all the veggies together.  I like to put the avocado on top and not toss with the rest of the salad but that is just a personal preference.  

Favorite Green Morning Smoothie

In my previous blog post I wrote about Green Blender and it's weekly smoothie delivery service so I thought I would blog about my ultimate all-time favorite smoothie as it is my breakfast of choice.  I have a major obsession with Juice Press.  By far they are the benchmark to what all other juice companies should aspire to be.  Their juice is fresh, organic, delicious and they are always coming up with new formulations and tasty additions to their menu.  One of their most popular smoothies and a personal fav is The Clean Green Protein.  To me this smoothie hits every note you want in your first meal of the day.  It's especially great post-morning workout as the hemp seeds and chia seeds are both excellent sources of plant protein and healthy fats to replenish your body.  Unfortunately I can't guarantee I can get to Juice Press every morning so I decided I had to recreate at home.  Now it’s not exactly the same and it will never be – I am convinced they put some type of magical fairy dust in theirs that makes it taste so amazing, but it is a really good substitute and is the perfect way to start your day!

Approximate time: 5 minutes

• ¾ Cups almond milk – you can use more if you like but I like a slightly thicker smoothie and using less almond milk helps you achieve that
• Handful of greens your choice – I like the organic baby kale mix from Trader Joe’s
• ½ of a frozen banana
• 1 tbs. Hemp seeds
• 1 tbs. Almond butter
• 1 tsp. Maca powder - You can omit this but I am a firm believer in the properties of this Superfood and the amazing effects it can have on your body
• 1 tsp. Chia seeds
• 1 tsp. Coconut oil

1.     Combine everything together in your blender of choice.  I use the Nutribullet for my morning smoothies and shakes.

I tried Green Blender for a week - here's what I thought...

Back in early February, I attended the launch of Robyn Youkilis' Go With Your Gut book release party.  She is a graduate of the same nutrition school I went to IIN and I have been following her on social media for awhile now.  Robyn gives great advise on how to heal your gut through pre and probiotics, fermented foods and most importantly chewing you food!  I decided to go all in and purchase a VIP ticket to the event, which included Robyn's book as well as a goodie bag filled with tons of swag.  The goodie bag was amazing and I couldn't believe all the great items in it and one of the give-aways was a voucher to try Green Blender.  I have been following Green Blender's Insta account for awhile and love all the different smoothies they come up with.  I decided to take advantage of the offer and had my box delivered last week.  All of the smoothies were really yummy and I was impressed with this service.

Green Blender sends you a box of 5 already portioned out, labeled ingredients to make the smoothies with a recipe and information regarding each drink i.e. if it helps fight inflammation, is detoxing or builds up your immune system.  The recipes are seasonally rotated and take in to mind what is fresh during that time of the year.  I think this service is great for anyone who is new to blending as you get to try a variety of flavor combinations and superfoods that you might otherwise shy away from.  I also like this service for someone like myself, who starts off most days with a smoothie, as an option if you couldn't make it to the grocery store that week or just board of your usual go-to's and looking for some great inspiration.  Green Blender is an easy subscription service so if you fall in love you can set to receive your box on the regular.  It is also very easy to skip a week if you are going to be away or just would like a break.  

If you have tried Green Blender before, I would love to hear from you in the comments section below!

Smoky Chipotle Salad Dressing

I love Mexican food and all the flavors.  I often find myself making some version of a Mexican bowl for dinner and when I do this Smokey Chipotle Salad Dressing hits the spot!  I like to mix it up in my Vitamix, which gives it a thicker consistency without adding any yucky thickeners to the dressing itself.  This dressing is great over greens mixed with black beans, fresh corn, tomatoes and some avocado.  You could also use it as a marinade on chicken, salmon or shrimp.  Enjoy!

Approximate time: 10 minutes

• ¾ cup of Olive Oil
• ¼ cup of Vinegar - I prefer to use either White Balsamic or I really like the Orange Champagne Vinegar from Trader Joe’s
• 1 whole Chipotle in adobe sauce
• 2 tsps. of Adobe Sauce - You can certainly only use one if you like but I like a little extra heat
• Handful of Cilantro leaves – You can use stems and all since you are going to be using a blender or Vitamix
• Juice of 1 Lime
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1.  Put all the ingredients into your blender or Vitamix and blend until smooth.  Dressing will stay fresh in a glass jar refrigerated for 7 to 10 days.  If it starts to separate a little just re-shake to mix. 

In the Mood for Pasta?

Try my favorite veggie substitute!

I find myself often craving a warm bowl of pasta during the colder months and spaghetti squash is such a great alternative for a healthier option.  It takes almost no prep to make just some time in the oven.  I often like to make this for dinner for myself on a Sunday night as I have probably spent most of the day doing meal prep and the last thing I want to do is cook another meal! 

Approximate time: 55 minutes

• 1 Spaghetti squash
• 2 tbs. of toasted pignoli (pine) nuts
• ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper – I like things spicy but you can certainly cut back on this
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

1.     Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2.     Slice spaghetti squash in half; remove seeds with a large spoon.

3.     Place halves cut side up on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4.     Place in the oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes. Depending on the size of the squash you might need to bake it for longer.  You will know it’s done as you can easily pierce the flesh of the squash with a fork.

5.     Remove squash and use a large fork to pull the squash away from its shell creating strands like spaghetti.

6.     Place squash from one of the halves in a bowl and top with pignoli nuts, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to taste and another drizzle of olive oil.

Banana Ice Cream

I LOVE ice cream especially in the summer so I am always looking for healthier nondairy alternatives and this is the best and easiest option I have found.  I always have frozen bananas on hand for smoothies so for me this is especially easy to whip up.  Best to use one frozen banana per serving or per person.  There are a bunch of different versions of this recipe calling for adding coconut oil or peanut butter to the bananas before you process them, but I have tried it both ways and it’s not necessary to get a wonderful consistency.

Approximate time: 2 minutes

• 1 banana per servings of “ice cream”
• Coco nibs
• Pistachios
• Equipment needed: Food Processor

1.     Place a cut up frozen banana in your food processor. 

2.     Pulse until it’s the constancy of soft serve.  If you prefer the consistency of hard ice cream you can put it back into the freezer in a freezer safe container for 30 minutes. 

3.     Top with whatever you prefer or nothing, but I am partial to coco nibs and pistachios sometimes drizzling almond butter on top making it a heavenly but health “ice cream” sundae.