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Spring Salad with Lemony Turmeric Yogurt Dressing {Paleo, Dairy-free, Whole30, Vegan}
This Spring Salad features a vibrant Lemony Turmeric Yogurt Dressing that is creamy, tangy, fragrant and bright! It’s aromatic and complimentary to so many dishes, from grilled or roasted veggies, potatoes, crudite, or even chicken or fish – but it’s especially perfect with a seasonal salad with bright, spring veggies.
This gorgeous Spring Salad with Lemony Turmeric Yogurt Dressing features Silk Almondmilk Yogurt Alternative. A great option for those that have to eat dairy-free. In addition to being dairy-free and plant-based, Silk’s Almondmilk Yogurts are free from high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives are verified by the Non-GMO Project, they are responsibly produced and are free of gluten, casein, peanuts, egg and MSG. Now available in NEW Almondmilk 24oz tubs (Plain & Vanilla), if you wanna give it a try, grab a coupon for Silk’s Almondmilk Yogurt Alternative here.
This beautiful, golden Lemony Turmeric Yogurt Dressing comes together in minutes using the blender. It’s rich, creamy, thick, tangy and vibrant and it can be used in so many other recipes, beyond your standard green salad. Try drizzling over roasted veggies like cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or bok choy or grilled eggplant or asparagus. It would also be lovely over chicken or fish or overtop your cauliflower rice.
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Dark Chocolate Peppermint Vegan Cheesecake {Gluten-Free & Paleo}
This Dark Chocolate Peppermint Vegan Cheesecake is a holiday dream! Beside being naturally vegan, it’s gluten-free and grain-free, paleo-friendly, yet still epic enough to please the masses. Coated with a layer of peppermint-infused dark chocolate to bring the holiday vibes, this creamy, rich, decadent treat will be a show stopper at any holiday gathering.
Right, so I am not vegan and nor is this website, but as I prefer to limit / avoid cow’s milk dairy as much as I can, over these many years I have developed a plethora of naturally (read also: inadvertently) vegan recipes, in the process. Beyond that, I know that so many of you struggle with dairy allergies, lactose or casein intolerances or maybe like me, just prefer to avoid most dairy so as not to send your autoimmune disease or digestion into a massive tailspin.
One of my most favorite dairy alternative dessert recipes my No-Bake Vegan Cheesecake was created nearly 5 years ago now and there have been many, many varying iterations of it here on Tasty Yummies, since. From Pumpkin to a Mint Chocolate Chip to these little cereal crusted cuties, among others.
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Coconut Chai Fig Smoothie
If you have been reading Tasty Yummies for sometime, you know since moving to California 3 years ago, my
infatuationlove of figs runs very deep. The beautiful, big fig tree that we were blessed with, when we moved into this home, is one of the most magical gifts mother nature has ever given to me. The fig tree is a actually a long-standing symbol of abundance, fertility and sweetness, which is obviously quite fitting. Boy, does this tree produce in abundance! The only bad thing however, is just how short the season is. It’s over in a flash. Middle of the summer and that’s it.While we are still a month or so off from fresh figs, it doesn’t mean that I don’t crave those lusciously sweet fruits. Which is why California dried figs are the very next best thing. Available year round, from Valley Fig Growers, you can stay stocked up on your California dried figs throughout the off-seasons and continue to reap all of the many benefits of this super fruit.
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Orange Pomegranate Smoothie
The name of the game right now is simple and sweet. Easy peasy. The new year has kicked off strong with lots going on, I’m 5 days into a 3 week healing protocol (more on that at another time) and school is back in session for me. I am learning to balance and find comfort in the slow and steady and quick and easy. Both have their much needed place in my life right now. This week I swapped my fast paced vinyasa flow yoga classes and my intense time at the gym for yin yoga, gentle yoga and longer walks. This is what my body is crying out for. Many of our meals have been slow cooked, braised or roasted but naturally, I would run out of time if I followed this path all day every day. So whenever appropriate I have been shifting focus to easy and quick meals and snacks that are still nutrient dense and of course, yummy!
No matter the pace, just as any other time of the year is concerned, I am all about celebrating what is fresh and in season right now, even smack in the middle of winter. There is always so much abundance to focus on, no matter where you live. We have a huge orange tree in our yard that is covered in gorgeous, vibrant juicy oranges. More than two humans could ever dream of eating. So, I have been juicing many of them, giving them to friends and neighbors and getting very creative in the kitchen, with them.
I also love the beautiful fresh pomegranates in season here in California, right now. They’ve been making appearances on nearly every salad I serve and yet I still want more. Since it has been some time since I have shared a smoothie recipe here, I give you the first Tasty Yummies smoothie of 2016, in all her beautiful winter glory!
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Green Mojito Smoothie
It’s pretty typical of me to start every day with a smoothie. It’s a big part of my morning rituals most days. On a typical morning I kick off my day with some sort of movement, whether that be yoga, the gym, a bike ride or a long walk. Smoothies are the best post-movement meal, they are the right amount of food to refuel and recharge me, they just get me and they work seamlessly with my lifestyle! Typically, I have my staple base ingredients that I always start with, but generally I let what is most in season and what I happen to have in my kitchen guide my smoothie adventures. It’s rare that this methodology fails me, but it is also definitely easy to get stuck in a smoothie rut, too.
Sometime last year I met the firecracker of a woman, Tess Masters. Tess, AKA “The Blender Girl”, is my smoothie guru, my smoothie sherpa, she is my smoothie Jedi Master and I, her young Padawan. OK you get it, Tess knows her way around a blender. (But you probably remember me telling you all that last year). Without exaggeration I can tell you that any time I have tasted a smoothie Tess has made or whenever I have recreated one of her recipes, I always find myself thinking ‘Ahhh! This is so good and so simple, why didn’t I think of this?’ I have learned some of my favorite smoothie recipe tricks from her. Basically most of Tess recipes come with a built in hand to forehead whack – each one just so brilliantly simple, yet so creative, that you too will be thinking ‘DUH, what haven’t I been doing this all along?’, as you sip on one of the tastiest smoothies you’ve ever had.
If you hadn’t guessed it, she’s at it again. My friend, Tess, has put out another incredible collection of recipes: The Blender Girl Smoothies – 100 Gluten-Free, Vegan, and Paleo-Friendly Recipes. The Blender Girl Smoothies book is based on The Blender Girl Smoothies app that launched in October 2014.
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The Perfect Green Smoothie Formula
In an effort to simplify and demystify the ever-popular Green Smoothie, today I am sharing my simple formula to The Perfect Green Smoothie! This simple approach works every time. I promise. The nice thing about this formula is the long list of possible flavor combinations and the ability to completely customize your green smoothie to what you have on hand and what you like best.
I like to think of my green smoothies as a chance to add some extra nourishing goodies into my day. Nutrients, vitamins and minerals, fiber, healthy fats or protein – the Green Smoothie is a great vehicle. The wonderful thing about any smoothie is, depending on the ingredients you choose, you can create a quick and simple on-the-go snack or if you choose to add more protein and healthy fats, you can create a more complete meal.
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Vegan Eggnog
This time of year I feel like as much as I am craving holiday flavors and traditional recipes, I am also looking to keep things as simple as possible and I really look to and work hard to stay on track with my eating. No reason to throw everything I work so hard for all year long, right out the door for a month of terrible choices. Between holiday parties and gatherings, events, my yoga teacher training coming to an end, mass amount of holiday orders from our websites, gift shopping and everything else, time is of the essence right now. There hasn’t been much extra time to bake cookies or to make homemade everything, like I always try to. When I was approached by Silk about their new Cashewmilk, I was super excited at the opportunity to try it and report back to you guys.
We all know that I am the queen of homemade nut milks, but I am always on the lookout for store-bought alternatives, both for myself when life gets busy, but also for those of you that don’t have the desire or time to make homemade nut milks. For me, the important things I look for look for are brands whose nut milk products are certified non-GMO, certified gluten-free, are minimally processed, free of artificial flavors and preservatives and don’t contain carrageenan. I also prefer unsweetened nut milks, so I can control the amount and type of sugar used.
Silk’s new Cashewmilk is a really great alternative to both homemade nut milks and if you are looking to make the switch, it is a great substitution for regular dairy milk, with 50% more calcium than dairy milk with only 25 calories per serving (25% less than skim milk)*. It’s so irresistibly creamy and delicious, it’s great over cereal, in your favorite recipes or just on it’s own. The moment I poured the first glass and saw just how thick and luscious it was, I immediately was inspired to recreate my favorite classic holiday drink, eggnog.
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Green Monster Smoothie
Kitschy halloween-inspired recipes aren’t exactly my thing. No judgement on those who dig it, I just personally don’t like food to look “gross”, even if it’s fake. So, while I think bloody witch finger cookies or a pumpkin puking up guacamole are kinda funny and probably great for a spooky, halloween-themed party, it doesn’t exactly make me want to eat. A lot of that stuff just turns my stomach a little. That’s just me. Maybe if I had kids I would feel different or maybe it’s just that I am the Halloween equivalent to Scrooge or the Grinch. I mean, I honestly can’t even tell you the last time I dressed up for Halloween. Bah humbug!
Either way, my good friends at Vega asked me to make a Halloween-themed smoothie using their amazing plant-based protein powders and I couldn’t say no. So, I took my simple, modern, toned down (see also, lame-o) approach to this challenge. This Green Monster Smoothie is about as “creepy” as I get, since I don’t do blood or guts as a meal, almonds as finger nails, brains on a plate, or rats and spiders crawling on my flatware.
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Creamy Power Greens Smoothie
In case you haven’t heard, it has been unbelievably hot here in Southern California, as of late! I know, I know, for those of you already dealing with overnight frosts and possibly even snow, I know you don’t want to hear about it. But, with temperatures near (and over) 100º for what seems like nearly two weeks – I am pretty much over it.
The worst part is that I have absolutely zero desire to eat or cook in this heat. Nothing is appetizing to me and in turn, when I am not properly nourishing my body with the healthy nutrients and other good things that it needs, I am left feeling tired and totally lacking in energy – it’s a vicious cycle.
Since a couple of scoops of freezing cold ice cream, as good as it sounds, isn’t an appropriate meal nor does it contain a bit of anything healthy, I decided to come up with a green smoothie, on the fly, that would satisfy those cravings but actually provide some sustenance.
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Zucchini Fig Smoothie
I was trying to come up with a clever name for this smoothie that would sound less, I dunno, intimidating or strange. But in brainstorming kitchy smoothie names I came to the realization, that I want the world to know how amazing zucchini is in smoothies. It provides a creaminess that is so conducive to a smoothie and it also gives me that green that I like to start my day off with – from something other than the same ‘ol greens like kale or spinach. Plus, it’s a really great way to use some of those HUGE over grown zucchini that just get all strange to cook with. I scoop out the seeds if they are big and seedy and I just chop up a cup or so. skin included and throw it in.
We have soo many figs coming from our tree and so many beautiful large heirloom zucchini from the garden, that this Zucchini and Fig Smoothie has become a regular around here. This smoothie is creamy, a little spicy, sweet, filling and sooo totally addicting. You gotta trust me on this one guys, just put some zucchini in your next smoothie!
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Summer Berry Probiotic Smoothie
I am sure you have read plenty of articles and posts about the many benefits of probiotics by now. Rather than carrying on about their many wonderful benefits and why you should be including them in your daily life, I though it better to just share a delicious Summer Berry Probiotic Smoothie that is sure to make your belly happy.
If you do want to read all about how wonderful probiotics are and all of their many incredible benefits, I encourage you to check out this great post: 3 Tasty Ways to Heal With Priobiotics. I also encourage you try your hand at making your own probiotic-rich water kefir or my simple homemade coconut milk yogurt – two wonderful ways to easily include more of that beneficial bacteria in your life.
This smoothie is not only rich in probiotics, from the yogurt and probiotic drink, but I also included other super-food ingredients sure to please your tummy! Ginger, which has long been known to alleviate symptoms of gastrointestinal distress, and provide calming, anti-inflammatory and immunity boosting properties. Cinnamon, another digestive aid, known not just for it’s comforting, warming, aroma, but for it’s powerful anti-bacteria properties, its help with reducing bloating, and its help in improving circulation and digestive discomfort. Finally, I added some chia seeds, which is a great way to include healthy omega-3 fats and of course, one of your digestion’s other friends – fiber. Plus, I really love how thick chia seeds make my smoothies!Read the rest of this entry »
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Peaches and Cream Smoothie (Vegan)
Smoothies are seriously my favorite, easy weekday breakfast. I wake up, practice yoga and immediately head into the kitchen to throw together a delicious, nourishing smoothie made from whatever I have on hand and it always keeps me full till lunch!
I almost always have a quart or two of my homemade almond milk on hand for just this reason and I let the fruit and veggies we get from our CSA box determine what the flavor of the day will be.
We’ve been getting these beautiful, organic juicy, sweet peaches from Tony, our farmer, and they have been an absolute treat, while we are waiting for our own peach tree to do it’s thing.
This Peaches and Cream Smoothie is creamy, rich and so easy to throw together. I add a small amount of raw honey when I make my almond milk and the peaches we have been getting are quite sweet, so I find no additional sweetener is needed, but you can use your own judgement.
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Carrot Cake Smoothie {Gluten-free and Vegan}
After moving out here to California, from New York last year, the list of things that we love about living out here just continues to grow and grow. There really isn’t much to complain about when you live less than a mile from the ocean, the sun shines every day and you are living the life you always dreamed of. That said, the one major draw back to being here in California, is being away from family. After living 15 miles or less, away from my family my entire life, being roughly 2,500 miles away from them this past year has been the only thing I don’t love about being in California.
This is something that bothers me most of the time, but for obvious reasons with the holidays it is the hardest. Even the smaller holidays, like memorial day or labor day. Because I know if we were living at home in New York, no matter what we had going on, we would all take a break from our busy lives to get together at my parents house for an entire day, brunch in the morning, cocktails and snacks in the afternoon, playing with the kids and of course, a huge dinner. Since living in California, Mark and I haven’t gone home for any of the holidays and we have done out best to make the most out of them together. Both Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years were full days, planned with friends and majorly delicious meals and we made brand new traditions and memories. Walking barefoot on the beach on Christmas day, definitely didn’t suck. That said, both last year and now likely this year too, we didn’t plan a thing for Easter. It kinda crept up on us.Easter isn’t a big holiday for my family, by any means, but we would always get together with the family, the kids would have some sort of easter egg hunt, we would often times have brunch with the extended family and then we would have a traditional dinner or ham or something similar back at my parents house.
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Snickerdoodle Smoothie {Gluten-free and Vegan}
I am not above having cookies for breakfast, I may have done that a time or two. But, generally I prefer smoothies in the mornings. They are so quick to put together and the variations on flavors and add-ins are really endless. So, why not combine the two and make a smoothie inspired by a cookie? This Snickerdoodle Smoothie is everything!
Up the street from my house is a smoothie/juice shop that is pretty amazing and so convenient. Meg and I love taking walks there to grab a couple smoothies and to catch up since we saw each other last. Most of the time, I have instant guilt when I spend $7 – $10 on a smoothie that I could easily make myself at home, but it’s a great convenience for when I don’t have the desire to or when I want something a little different.
In early February the smoothie shop featured a Snickerdoodle Smoothie that I had to try and I instantly both fell in love and also realized that I should be making something similar at home. My version is made with different ingredients, but that same flavor is there. Theirs included Maca which I can’t seem to consume at all and I think they may have also added hemp seeds to it, I honestly can’t recall what was in there. I decided to simplify it to what I had on hand and what I like best. I am just gonna go ahead and say it, mine is way better! There!
To me, the best part of this smoothie is the flavor and texture from the rolled oats, not something I usually put in my smoothies (since I prefer to limit my grains whenever possible) but a really nice addition. The oats really brings the cookie flavor to life, the texture makes it different from other smoothies and it ends up being a bit more substantial.
Of course the spices are what really bring the Snickerdoodle flavor to life. I put a lot of cinnamon in this smoothie, both for the flavor and all of the amazing benefits.
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Energizing Green Smoothie – Gluten-free and Vegan
I am not one for coffee much anymore, now-a-days I only have it when I am craving it, when we have an insanely early morning of travel or when I am somewhere with an exceptional brew – but generally that’s only about once or twice a month, at most. I used to drink it regularly, an every morning ritual type of thing. It was more of a habit than anything. Though, I really didn’t like feeling like a slave to my habit, getting a headache if I just wasn’t in the mood to drink it. These days, I prefer to start my days with a mug of warm lemon water, usually followed by a hot tea with my breakfast, after my morning yoga.
Last month during my yoga teacher training, by around the second week – the 3 hours of driving to and from Venice Beach during rush hours and the 12+ hour days of being gone, then getting home to cook dinner, study, and get my work done – started really taking their toll on me. It was wildly different than my usual days of working from home, staying in my PJs until 2pm, if I chose. I was trying to take hot tea with me on the drives in the morning, but I realized we didn’t have any good travel mugs and I find drinking scalding hot liquid from glass jars while driving in heavy traffic to be insanely stressful. Since I was also making a smoothie every day for breakfast and drinking that on my drives, I decided to combine everything into one. An energizing green smoothie to help get my day started right. A little boost of caffeine before our daily 3 hour morning yoga practice and our 6 hours of lectures, was just what I needed.
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Spiced Apple Smoothie – Gluten-free & Vegan
Good morning! We are onto day 4 of the 5-Day Fall Cleanse. I am feeling great today! How are you feeling? When Sherrie and I talked about creating this short and simple cleanse, we wanted to be mindful of and gentle on our bodies to soothe our digestive system, instead of disrupting it and upsetting it. We wanted to create a simple plan that would continue to connect us with our food, but while slowly purging the toxins that like to hide out in all the little cracks and crevices. We weren’t looking to shock our systems with anything drastic like a juice-only cleanse, we simply wanted to get back to eating intuitively, to check in with our bodies, to return that conscious awareness back to what our bodies truly need right now, to reset any bad habits and get ready for the seasonal changes that lie ahead.
Cleansing and detoxifying can be quite challenging and difficult depending on your mental state at the time. It can not only bring on physical symptoms of the cleansing, but often times it can bring emotional imbalances to the surfaces, as well. I have cleansed in the past when I wasn’t quite ready for the full extent of it all and it wasn’t pretty. I simply felt deprived or left out the entire time, even angry at myself for choosing to do something so limiting and challenging to my own self. It is with so much gratitude this time, that I can honestly say the experience this time has been peaceful, to say the least. I honestly was worried that I would experience some amount of side effects/detoxing symptoms with how I had been eating leading up to this cleanse, but with how good I am feeling throughout this process, I think I can thank my general everyday clean diet for that. I possibly don’t give myself enough credit. With eating a clean diet, at least 95% of the time, it is easy for me to focus on the 5% when I am not at my best and beat myself up for it. I can tend to do that sort of thing, I am hard on myself. This cleanse has been a gentle reminder that I have been quite good to my body and that I want to continue to be as good or better to it. There truly is no greater reward than feeling good!
On the evening on day 2, I did experience some minor sweet cravings and Sherrie made the suggestion of stuffing a few dates with coconut oil, so I did just that and added some shredded unsweetened coconut on top. It felt like I was cheating. It was so delicious and rich. The next morning, I was looking for something a bit more substantial than a juice so I made this simple smoothie for breakfast. It really set the tone for my amazing day yesterday and it was perfect given the beautiful Autumn day that it was here in Southern California.
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Strawberry Coconut Frozen Fruit Pops / Smoothie – Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free
This week as part of my ongoing Restricted Diet series with Free People, I created a simple Strawberry Coconut Smoothie recipe featuring the beautiful fresh strawberries that are in season here in California right now. I still cannot believe how much earlier in the year they are in season here, they are everywhere and so delicious.
When I made the smoothie to photograph it, I wasn’t in the least bit hungry so I didn’t want to drink it, but I obviously also didn’t want to just pour it out, so I was thinking of what I could do with the mixture. Then I recalled the popsicle molds I got for Christmas from my mom and dad. Perfect!
I just poured the mixture in and let it freeze up. Later that night I was ready for a treat! Here’s the original post on Free People highlighting the smoothie, but I couldn’t let these frozen fruit pops go ignored!
Since there is no sugar or sweetener in these, when they freeze up they aren’t overly sweet. Just the perfect amount sweetness from the bananas and strawberries and just a little tartness, too. If you like things to be a bit sweeter, you can add a little honey or maple syrup, or even try blending 1 or 2 dates into the mixture. Also, depending on how much coconut you add to the mixture, if you decide to, you will see pretty white flecks of coconut in the pops. I didn’t think to add any until it was too late, but next time I certainly will.
[print_this]Strawberry Coconut Frozen Fruit Pops / Smoothie – Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free
makes 6 frozen pops or 1 large smoothie
1 cup fresh organic strawberries, hulled
1 frozen organic banana
3/4 cup Unsweetened Organic Coconut Milk(light or full fat)*
1/2 cup ice cold cold water
1 tablespoon Chia Seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, optionalAdd all of the ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into a glass and serve for the smoothie. If you are making the frozen fruit pops – pour the mixture into your popsicle molds and chill for a minimum of 4 hours or until completely solid.
I use these popsicle molds – Tovolo Groovy Ice Pop Molds
*Note – Look for a non-BPA containing canned coconut milk, if you can.
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Spring Cleanse – Asian Pear Green Smoothie – Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free
Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Happy Cleanse Day 5 to me!! I am feeling super great today. Tons of energy, my skin is clearing up and I just feel lighter and more grounded, all at once.
I am never one to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, honestly I don’t think I ever have outside of possibly a grade-school classroom shindig. Since everyone was posting photos of their green clothes, green beer and green-filled parades and whatever else green you can think of, I was inspired to take a run first thing this morning enjoying all of the beautiful greenery around Southern California right now. The grass is vibrant, the trees are blooming and there is a wonderful aroma in the air. I am trying to get into a regular running routine, now that I have such incredible views to keep me inspired. Even though it will be a slow start getting my body used to the idea of running and everything that goes with it, I have to start somewhere.
After this morning’s run, I was craving another green smoothie. I was super happy with the green smoothie I made the other day, but wanted to play with some of the other amazing ingredients I picked up at the farmers market earlier this week. There is a local organic apple farmer that had tons of delicious apples, but he also had some beautiful and super flavorful Asian pears, the large round yellow skinned ones, I believe they are Hosui. I grabbed a couple of those and anticipated adding them to a fresh crisp salad, but then was inspired to add some to this morning’s smoothie.
Besides the beautiful green hue, this smoothie was full of flavor and was nice and creamy, with just the perfect amount of sweetness. If you don’t have an Asian pear, just go with a medium apple, of your favorite variety. If you wanna add 1/2 an avocado instead of the banana, like my last smoothie, go for it, you may just want to add another date. if it is lacking sweetness.
Are you celebrating (did you celebrate) St. Patrick’s Day? If you are on the cleanse, did you eat something green today? Hope you have all been following along with my cleanse on my Facebook page, where I have been sharing what I am eating for each meal.
[print_this]Spring Cleanse – Asian Pear Green Smoothie – Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free
makes 1 large serving or 2 small- 1 cup organic non-dairy milk or water (I used 1/2 coconut milk and 1/2 water)
- 1 cup organic baby spinach
- 1/2 large organic Asian pear, cored and diced (or 1 whole small/medium, mine was pretty big)
- 1/2-inch piece of organic ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 organic banana (preferably frozen)
- 1 organic Medjool date, pitted
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- A few ice cubes
Add all of the ingredients to your blender (in the order above) and process until smooth and creamy.
* I know it is repetitive on the “organic”, but it is especially important to consume organic produce when cleansing. All of my ingredients, included the flax and cinnamon were all organic.
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Spring Cleanse – Creamy Green Smoothie – Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free
Today is day 3 of my 7-day Spring Cleanse and I have to be honest that the second half of yesterday just kinda sucked. I had a terrible pounding headache, that started out not so bad and just got worse as the day went on, then my tummy got involved a little, too. I just felt crazy worn out. Oh yeh, and there has definitely been an excess of mucus. (sorry, gross I know, but I am all about sharing) However, hubby and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather here in Long Beach last night and we took 2+ mile walk around out new neighborhood, down to 2nd Street and I got myself an iced herbal tea unsweetened. It feel great to get out and move and I needed that, but boy when I got home was I ready to hit the hay. I was in bed and ready for sleep before 10pm. I didn’t sleep super great since I was dealing with the headache, but when I woke today at 6am I was feeling a lot better.
Since we took that long walk last night, I decided to skip a morning workout today to give my body the rest I think it is craving right now. I may try to get a run in later today depending on my energy level. Cleansing and detoxing is a lot for your body to go through and you have to read your body’s cues on what it is craving (besides the sweets and salty snacks). This morning I was craving rest and something very green! With St Patrick’s Day just two days away, I found myself inspired to make the first smoothie of the cleanse, this creamy green smoothie! Since I am consuming most of my fruits and vegetables cooked, the only time I will eat raw is first thing in the morning, when I feel like my digestion hasn’t been taxed yet and can take on the task of breaking it all down. Since a smoothie basically does a lot of that for you, I felt like that was an even better way to enjoy some raw.
From what I know of cleansing and what I have personally been through, I know that once (if) you can get past day 3, the worst is over. Your body will have detoxed from many things by the end of 72 hours and you shouldn’t be going through withdrawals or any of that sort of thing. So hopefully today is a little easier than yesterday.
Feel free to change this up however you’d like. Any apple type will do, but please only include the skin if you are using a certified organic apple. And please still wash it well. You could also use kale in place of the spinach if you wish. Also, I included ground flaxseeds to help with the thickness of the smoothie but also for their many benefits, like omega-3 essential fatty acids and fiber. If you don’t care for avocado, go with 1/2 banana instead. Have fun with the recipe and make it your own.
If you have been joining me on this cleanse, how are YOU feeling? Experiencing any detox side effects? Hope you have all been following along on my Facebook page, where I have been sharing what I am eating for each meal.
[print_this]Creamy Green Smoothie – Gluten-free, Vegan + Sugar-free
makes 1 large serving or 2 small- 1 cup organic unsweetened non-dairy milk or water (I used almond milk)
- 1 cup organic spinach
- 2 organic Medjool dates
- 1 organic medium apple – cored, skin can be left on, if organic
- 1/2 organic avocado
- 2-inch organic piece ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 or 4 ice cubes
Add all of the ingredients to your blender (in the order above) and process until smooth and creamy. Serve with an apple slice and a sprinkle of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick to get real fancy!
* I know it is repetitive on the “organic”, but it is especially important to consume organic produce when cleansing. All of my ingredients, included the flax and cinnamon were all organic.
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Gingerbread Smoothie – Gluten-free + Vegan
With the lack of time to play in the kitchen right now, I am certainly feeling the loss of certain seasonal flavors and tastes that are quintessential holiday treats for me. So, I have been getting creative when the time allows and enjoying the flavors of the season, however I can.
I had dreams of creating grain-free gingerbread cookies this year, but there just hasn’t been the time to experiment and play, so instead I created a simple and super tasty gingerbread smoothie to celebrate all of those same flavors, but without all of the mixing, cutting out and baking! It turned out great. The aroma from this simple treat alone is enough to satisfy that holiday hankering for those cute little cut out dudes.
Plus, you get to really enjoy some health benefits with this smoothie. Blackstrap molasses is just one type of molasses, the dark liquid byproduct of the process of refining sugar cane into table sugar. Blackstrap is my molasses as choice because of the variety of great nutritional benefits that comes with it. Blackstrap molasses is a sweetener that is actually good for you. Unlike refined white sugar and corn syrup, which are stripped of virtually all nutrients except simple carbohydrates, or artificial sweeteners like saccharine or aspartame, which not only provide no useful nutrients but have been shown to cause health problems in sensitive individuals, blackstrap molasses is a healthful sweetener that contains significant amounts of a variety of minerals that promote your health. Blackstrap molasses has a low glycemic index. Plus, because of its high iron content, many use blackstrap molasses to holistically overcome anemia. Blackstrap molasses is also a great source for calcium and magnesium. Potassium is another mineral abundant in blackstrap molasses, and the list goes on and on.
If you find the bittersweet flavor from the molasses to be a bit pungent, (which can often times happen to those who have taste buds conditioned for years by sugar and artificial sweeteners) or find it lacking as a sweetener, add a bit of additional sweetener of your choice, maple syrup, honey, etc. I personally felt like it didn’t need to be any sweeter. It was just perfect.
I also couldn’t help but think about how delicious this smoothie would be with a shot of some spiced rum or a good bourbon. Is it bad that’s where my mind goes right now?
If you are looking for a couple other creative gingerbread recipes, check out my recipes for Gingerbread Granola (gluten-free + vegan) and Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins with Dried Cranberries (gluten-free + vegan).
Have you been enjoying the flavors of the season? What’s your favorite holiday treat?
[print_this]Gingerbread Smoothie
serves 1- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup unsweetened organic vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 tablespoon unsulphured blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon flax-seed meal (or ground chia seeds)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (grated fresh ginger would be extra nice)
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- dash of all spice
- 1 small handful of ice
*additional sweetener, if needed
Add all of the ingredients to the blender and process until smooth and creamy. Pour into your glass, top with a little freshly grated nutmeg (or regular ol ground nutmeg will work too). Serve immediately.
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Banana Nog Smoothie – Gluten-free + Vegan
It is likely you have noticed how quiet things have been around here on Tasty Yummies. We have been traveling up a storm over here this holiday season to different events and fairs all over the east coast. In the last month we have been to Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Chicago and Pittsburgh. As of this past weekend, are finally done traveling for the year! At the start of the crazy month of travel, in mid-November, we got an offer on our house. YAY!!! Closing is scheduled for early January. I honestly cannot believe it’s all really happening.
So, besides being overwhelmed with all of the travel and the holidays, we are in the midst of selling our house and figuring out packing up all of our personal and business related belongings to relocate to California in early 2013. I don’t consider myself a stressful person or a worrier in the least, but I have to say, we haven’t even really begun packing up boxes and all of that real stuff, and I am kinda already freaking a little bit. Hubby, of course, continuously reassures me it is all fine and everything will all get done, but I cannot quiet the constant voice in my head reading the long list of the many things that need to get done before closing (and having to be totally moved out) next month, a month from yesterday to be exact. I have surprisingly only moved once in my adult life and that was from living at home with my parents to buying my first home at 23, 9 years ago. So, I am just a bit overwhelmed.
As you can imagine, between the travels, running the business, preparing for the move and dealing with all the holiday fun of shopping and such, there just hasn’t been much leftover time for me to play in the kitchen. That is the only bummer about all of it. Obviously as with most painful things in life, it is temporary. This time will pass and be over before I know it. Doesn’t make it all any easier though.
I have been eating well and cooking every single chance I get, but the time to create new recipes, set up photo shoots, edit photos, etc – just doesn’t seem to be there right now and I have tried to do my best to accept that, as much as I am not exactly happy about it. I will obviously be sharing recipes whenever I can, I am not totally disappearing, I just wanted to explain the quiet and lack of recipes. Oh and I have some really fun end of the year stuff planned for the end of the month here on the blog, so stay tuned for that.
In the meantime, I created this tasty smoothie this morning after yoga. By the way, another quick side note yoga has been my saving grace this past month. That is one thing that I have made sure to find as many free moments for right now. I need it. It has helped keep me grounded (mostly) and has allowed me to quiet my mind, even if only temporarily, in a way that nothing else can. I am so grateful for my practice every day, but especially in times like this. OK, back to the tasty smoothie…. I wanted to create something that really had some holiday flare to it. I am a Christmas junkie and I have been trying to take in and cherish every single moment of it this year. I like to squeeze in the holiday cheer wherever I can. So, what better way than with the classic flavors of egg nog, in a healthy and hearty smoothie. I actually had planned on using canned coconut milk since I have plentyin the pantry but I had some So Delicious Coconut Milk Nog in the fridge (which I am admittedly addicted to) so I thought that would really bring on the extra nog flavor. Obviously this would be equally as delicious with just coconut plain milk. Feel free to sweeten and spice to your liking. Since I used the nog and my banana was nice and sweet, I didn’t add any sweetener and I went with the below measurements for spices, you may want more though, depending on how strong a flavor you are looking for. This smoothie would of course also be delicious with a shot (or two) of your favorite spirit if you really want to celebrate!
[print_this]Banana Nog Smoothie
makes 1 large serving or 2 smaller servings- 1 cup organic coconut milk – the canned kind (or for even more flavor, opt for your favorite vegan eggnog, instead)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened organic vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of cloves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 small handful ice cubes
Optional – 1 tablespoon maple syrup, honey or other sweetener if it isn’t sweet enough for you)
Add all of the ingredients to your blender and blend on a high speed until thick and creamy. Give it a quick taste and adjust any seasonings or sweetness to your liking. Sprinkle a little nutmeg and/or cinnamon on top. Serve right away. [/print_this]
