Zoku Recipe and Review

July in the south is HOT! Especially in the Texas heat. While visiting friends and family there this month I got to play with the Zoku Quick Pop Maker and make some delicious frozen pops.

I had never seen one of these little cool freezers before and instantly began a love/hate relationship. Read more

My neighbor gave us some cucumbers from her garden. They were so beautiful and tasted like summer.

I grabbed one to cut up and put the rest (in the baggie) in the fridge.

I don’t know what your fridge is like, but I only have one refrigerator and it’s cram packed with fresh fruits and veggies, leftovers, milk of all assortments (almond, coconut and goat) and bits of milled grains (like flax, wheat, wheat germ), ingredients for bread making (Vital Wheat Gluten, yeast…) and of course the endless supply of condiments you use only a few times a year. But, most of all it’s full of fruits and veggies (lettuces, spinach, carrots, blueberries, celery, bell peppers…it’s an endless rotation of these items).

All of this to say…my fridge is cram-packed and it freezes often. Read more

I have posted a form of this smoothie some time back, but just had to do it again since this was our featured smoothie of the day!

It was requested by one of my children!

We drink a lot of smoothies in our house, but it’s on a rare occasion that one is actually asked for.

One of our first green smoothies, back when I was blending in my first blender…the Magic Bullet, was an excellent blend of lemon and fresh ginger. I had never used fresh ginger before blending it, by the way. And the Bullet did an okay job of blending the greens. It must have been more than okay if this smoothie recipe had such an impression on my children.

Lemons and ginger and greens are high in disease fighting nutrients and contain immune boosting properties. You can’t go wrong with this trio. Read more

Spring is upon us in the south and I love it! The colors are so beautiful and vibrant.

It got me thinking of these colors…

Pink Strawberries

Green Spinach

Purple Blueberries (yes, they blend up purple) Read more

This quick and easy Green Smoothie is full of vitamins, protein and nutrients. And tastes great!

So, what exactly is in this beautiful Smoothie?

Kefir:

• High in immune boosting B Vitamins.
• Contains an abundance of beneficial  bacteria and yeasts.
• Helps keep the digestive tract clean and healthy.
• Benefits are nearly endless for kefir.

Pineapple :

• Pineapple is high in manganese, a mineral that is critical to development of strong bones and connective tissue.
• High in Vitamin C
• Contains an important enzyme called Bromelain, a useful anti-inflammatory, assists in reducing swelling and assisting in the treatment of sinusitis, sore throat, arthritis and gout. Read more

I’ve had my kefir grains for several months now and they are growing well. I may have several tablespoons now.

I also have access to raw goat’s milk which is excellent for making kefir. My research has found raw milk to be the best for drinking homemade kefir (if you were going to drink animal milk) .

We began our kefir journey by purchasing kefir in the healthfood store, or where ever I could find it. Then I looked into making my own kefir so I would have complete control over the milks we were using.

Raw Goat’s Milk is more digestible for those who have problems with cows milk or casein. Add the millions (or billions?) of good bacteria to this (from the kefir) and it makes an excellent, nutritious drink. Because of the abundance of enzymes in kefir, the health benefits of this drink are tolerable for even the lactose intolerant persons and an indispensable aid in digestion.

How do I begin the Kefir Making Process?

Start by pouring milk onto your grains. The amount of milk depends on the amount of grains you start with, as does how long you keep the milk on the grains. I started with about 1 Tablespoon of grains and 1/2 cup milk. Increase the milk as the grains grow.

Below I explain the process:

I begin by pouring my kefir milk off my grains. Right here I am using the last of my raw Goat milk. (I will run tomorrow up to the farm to purchase more).

I have read you should use a plastic strainer, but my metal one works just fine. I don’t have a plastic one.

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Need a healthy pick-me-up? Try this great tasting Mocha Smoothie to kick start your morning or afternoon.

This sweet frozen treat is sugar free and sweetened with bananas. Read more

Kefir Smoothie

Today is a spring-like day in the south. Just normal for this time of year. Next week it will be winter again…then spring then so on until it’s hot! I love the South! The perfect day for a Spring-like Smoothie.

I found lots of beautiful ripe-red strawberries…among other goodies at the vegetable/fruit stand yesterday. Even the strawberry tops were pretty and green. So, I tossed the whole strawberry in my smoothie, tops and all. Did you know you can do that? I washed mine well, by the way … these were not labeled organic.

Beautiful Ripe Strawberries

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The pineapple on my counter had been setting there awhile. I know this, because once of my children warned me I need to cut it before it goes bad. It wasn’t until the next day that I took heed and cut up the pineapple. I don’t know what aversion I have to cutting up pineapples. I guess they are placed in stores quite green that it takes several days for them to ripen and they kinda get lost in the row of produce on my kitchen counters.  But, thankfully, I do manage to cut them when they are super ripe and oh, so juicy. This one was not exception.

To this smoothie I added Alfalfa sprouts. I am doing very well with using sprouts this month. I am nearly ready to begin another jar of sprouts soon.

This Pineapple-Orange Smoothie w/Alfalfa Sprouts got rave reviews from the kiddos. They said it was more like Pineapple Juice. I can go with that. They drank it right up.

Pineapple-Orange Smoothie w/Alfalfa Sprouts

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I was thrilled when I walked into our local international food store and saw the Young Thai Coconuts. I have read post after post and watched numerous videos on opening and blending these nutritious and delicious coconuts. But the only coconuts I ever found were the hairy brown ones, and those required my husband to open.

I bought two young coconuts the first time I saw them. The first I opened (by myself) had pink water and purple, slimey flesh.  After doing some research on this one I concluded it was not fit to eat. Read more

It’s fun to see a young athlete that has discovered the benefits of a raw/vegan diet.

In this post she shares her basic green smoothie recipe …

http://rawsoccerstyle.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-make-smoothie.html

Tis the season for fresh cranberries. With the holidays rolling around grocery store coolers are being packed with those beautiful red berries.

Cranberries are most commonly known for fighting off  urinary tract infections and are an excellent food for weight loss. Mix these precious berries with greens and you have a nutritious-packed fruit drink! Read more

Mid-morning smoothies are always a quick and easy way to get essential vitamins and nutrients in us with out opening a packaged box snack. This is a great way to get a real energy boost when our breakfast has worn off.

To make it fun we add colorful straws or use fancy glasses to drink our smoothies.

Lately,  my main ingredients for smoothies begin with water, spinach, carrots and bananas. From there the sky is the limit.

The colors of the ingredients are beautiful.

Read more

Easy Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe Using Homemade Yogurt

So as you can see in the picture below:

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe with Yogurt

• Strawberries
• Bananas
• Yogurt (just use whatever you have)
• Quantity of the above varies based on  your appetite and blender capacity.

Well, my yogurt is still coming out great.

Today, I blended some strawberries and banana with a cup of yogurt and made a wonderful creamy drink for the girls using the Magic Bullet Blender.  The Magic Bullet does a decent job for small servings list this when you are blending fresh and not frozen fruits.

Yummy! And the best thing is  …  I know everything that went into it.

Update: I am currently experimenting with different milks to make my own kefir, so let me know if you have any experiences to share with kefir. Kefir has a reputation as being a much better probiotic than “normal” yogurt.  Apparently the beneficial bacteria count found in kefir is much higher than yogurt.

Just today it was mentioned that this was the absolute best way to eat spinach. Spinach was actually requested in her smoothie.  All this came from our 7 year old!

Here’s the recipe:

• Start with blending 3/4 of your blender jar full of  spinach and 1 cups water
• Then add 2 bananas after the spinach and water are blended
• Next, add 1/2 tablespoon of fresh ginger (start small until you learn how much you like)
• Then, the juice of one lemon or lime
• If you have it 1 cup of apple cider to top it off (adjust the liquid volume as needed for your taste and blender capacity).

Kale is also a green we have tried in our smoothies, the taste is mild enough to not have that ‘green’ taste. Arugula is another mild tasting green … haven’t tried that yet.

This was the first time I used fresh ginger and it has now become a staple in my smoothie cabinet.  A hint on peeling ginger: use the edge of a spoon to scrape off the peeling. I found that freezing then thawing makes it soft. Another hint is to keep it in dry scotch, for those who have scotch just lying around the house.

I’d love to hear your comments and variations on this recipe.

I picked a small handful of blueberries off an early blooming bush the other day.

All year we have enjoyed blueberries in the form of smoothies (due to having a nice supply in the freezer). I thought I’d pass along our recipe for blueberry smoothie.

Fresh blueberry smoothies:

• 2-4 fresh bananas
• 1-2 cups frozen blueberries
• some fresh or frozen strawberries (if you have them)
• a pinch of stevia
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 2 Tblsp milled flax
• 1 Tblsp wheat germ
• 2 Tblsp rice protein
• Orange juice or soy milk if needed

Blend all until smooth and enjoy.

I have added sprouts and any other fruit that might blend well, like blackberries.  You may also be able to sneak in a few greens like kale or spinach when you are feeling really adventurous.

My Blendtec turns 300!!!

One of the cool features of the Blendtec Total Blender is its counter. It counts the number of uses, cycles run. I guess it’s like a blender odometer…pretty neat.

Well, I have had mine since February 8th, just less than 4 months! Wow, that is some serious blending!!! 300 and counting…

So, my 300th blend was an Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie. It is so yummy with oats and raisins and cinnamon…slurp! It was quite interesting drinking my oatmeal for breakfast…and very filling. It doesn’t have to be for breakfast, the first time I made this was 11pm.

Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

2 bananas (frozen)
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup milk (I used almond)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 T raisins

Blend Well … Live Well

I am currently reading Disease  Proof Your Child  Feeding Kids Right by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.   I think this book should be on the shelf of every house hold who has children.

Straight away Dr. Fuhrman says he will not sugar coat his message and so far he has held true to this statement. His message is “the modern diet that most children are eating today creates a fertile environment for cancer and other disease to emerge at a later age.”

I thought of this as I was reaching for the cereal for my children’s breakfast. I paused and decided to go with my gut and went to the fridge and pulled the following ingredients out for a healthy breakfast smoothie. I toasted a piece of homemade whole grain bread with honey and called it a successful heart healthy breakfast for us all.

It did take a moment longer to get prepared, compared to cold cereal and fruit, but I felt good about my choice. It’s these first 10 years of my children’s lives that are so important in creating a healthy diet for their young growing bodies.

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 fresh banana
• 1 handful of Romain lettuce (or spinach)
• handful of fresh blueberries (or frozen)
• 3 pitted dates
• handful of frozen peaches
• handful of frozen strawberries
• a few carrots
• heart healthy herbs (optional)

I stuffed all this in my Blendtec Total Blender and blended until all ingredients were smooth.

The key to making a great smoothie is not stressing about exact ingredients, but putting good stuff in your blender. If you don’t have dates, don’t worry, skip that and move on. If it’s not sweet enough for your taste, add concentrated OJ or honey or maple syrup.

The idea is to get the nutrients in  your child (or you) with the least pain. If it’s the green color that is scary (but so beautiful), add blueberries to turn it purple.

Then let your children help you. Let them choose the green, or the frozen fruit..or whatever it takes to get them involved. Have fun with it.

Let me know what your favorite ingredients are your children like in smoothies.

Live Well!!! Blend Well!!!

April

If you are just getting started blending greens … this recipe is for you.  And for those with 100′s of green smoothies under your belt then please comment below on your favorite variations of this smoothie recipe.

So let’s get to blending.

The ingredients are:

• 1-1/2 cups of cool water
• 2 large handfuls of spinach (or any greens)
• 1 banana

Blend well. Bananas are very sweet and over power the taste of the greens. If you still taste the greens, add another banana or some protein or berries.

Note: As with any recipe I encourage you to substitute and experiment as needed depending on what you have on hand.  In the beginning if you do not normally eat a lot of leafy greens you may want reduce the amount of spinach and slowly increase the dosage as you begin to crave it more.