Clean Green Smoothie

If you know me, you know I'm a huge fan of green smoothies.  They're super easy & so quick to make!  They're a great way to get loads of nutrients into your diet.  Green smoothies are how I got my energy during & after my breast cancer treatments...seems like so many years ago.  They are the best way, I think, to get you started on a path to wellness. 

I'm calling today's green smoothie 'clean' because it's not too sweet & has so much going for it: it's hydrating, alkalizing, detoxifying, anti-inflammatory, loaded with chlorophyll, purifying to the blood, great for the skin & just about every other part of the body.  It's a nutrient dense powerhouse.  I could go on...this smoothie is the bomb.  Tastes pretty darn good too!

For those of you not yet accustomed to green smoothies, this one might need a little more fruit: maybe another banana, a mango, some blueberries, etc....but give it a try first, then add in if you need to.  You might be surprised & love it just as much as I do!

1 ripe banana
3 stalks celery
1 cucumber
Big handful of Italian parsley
1/2 large lemon, with the pith & a little of the peel
Water from 1 young Thai coconut

Toss all ingredients into a blender, preferably a high-speed blender (VitaMix) & blend until frothy. 

What do you think?

Green Pumpkin Smoothie

Yes - another pumpkin recipe!  (Watch out, I may post a few more...)

This is the other recipe I planned to demo in the November 'Raw Food 101' Whole Foods class I missed.  I was talking about it in October, & several very excited attendees asked me to feature it in November.  I'm sorry you all missed it...but here it is finally:

Green Pumpkin Smoothie

  1 C fresh pumpkin, cubed
  1/2 C fresh pineapple, cubed
  1 banana, fresh or frozen
  1/2 cucumber
  1 handful pea shoots or several leaves of dino (lacinto) kale
  1 tsp spirulina
  1-2 Tbs blackstrap molasses
  2 Tbs each: flax/chia/hemp seeds

Place pumpkin, pineapple, banana, cucumber & greens in high-speed blender (VitaMix) & blend until smooth.  Add spirulina, molasses & seeds; blend again until smooth.  (You may place everything in the blender at once, but I like to break it up this way, as the spirulina, molasses & seeds blend in & don't get stuck to the sides & top of the VitaMix this way.)

Enjoy the lovely goodness of beta carotene & greens!

Peace, love & kale rocks...xoxo,
Kat

Pumpkin Ice Cream Sundae

A pumpkin ice cream recipe in January?

I know I'm a rare bird...among other things, I like to eat ice cream in the wintertime (in front of a nice warm fire or heater - very important).  I also like to use fresh pumpkin instead of the canned stuff.  Every fall I load up on fresh pumpkins.  They're so beautiful, they're fun to decorate the house with, they're relatively inexpensive yet nutritious & tasty.  They also last...for months.  And months.  One year I had a stockpile of pumpkins in my garage until May (and I was still using them)!  Granted, I did have to toss a few in between, but I made loads of pumpkin goodies all winter & well into spring.

So while for some, ice cream is just a summer treat & anything pumpkin belongs on a fall menu, for me it also makes complete sense in January.

In all honesty...I did originally develop this recipe (& take this picture) back in November for my 'Raw Food 101' Whole Foods class I was scheduled to teach the Friday before Thanksgiving.  Unfortunately, I had to cancel that class as I had the flu (which caught me completely by surprise since I hadn't been sick in years!) so I never got to share the love & bless you with this recipe.  Anyway, some of you thought this sounded intriguing & have asked for the recipe, so here it is!

There are several parts to this recipe.  It's a sundae.  There are several layers - four in mine, to be exact - plus two lovely garnishes, don't you think?  ;-)

Gingersnap Crust Crumble

  2 C pecans, soaked, rinsed & dehydrated
  1/4 C flax seeds, ground
  1/2 tsp Himalayan or Celtic sea salt
  2 tsp cinnamon
  1 tsp ginger
  1 tsp nutmeg
  1/4 tsp cloves
  2 dates, pitted
  1 Tbs blackstrap molasses

Process dehydrated nuts, ground flax seeds, salt & spices in food processor until nuts are chopped finely but before they begin turning into nut butter.  Add dates; pulse a few times until mixture is crumbly.  Add blackstrap molasses; pulse briefly just until incorporated.


Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

  1/3 C coconut oil
  5 C fresh pumpkin, cubed
  1/3 C maple syrup
  1/3 C honey
  3 Tbs psyllium husks
  1 tsp cinnamon
  1/2 tsp ginger
  1/2 tsp nutmeg
  1/4 tsp cloves
  1/3 C Water, or more if needed for blending

If needed, melt coconut oil by placing a glass container with the oil inside a bowl or other container with hot water, stirring until melted. 

Blend all ingredients except coconut oil in a high-speed blender (VitaMix) until creamy.  With the blender on medium speed, slowly drizzle in the coconut oil & blend just until incorporated.  Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.  Alternately, you may place the mixture in a bowl in the freezer & freeze several hours or to desired consistency, stirring every 30-60 minutes.

Note: If you must, you can use canned pumpkin.  ;-)  Just cut out most or all of the added water.  Also, if desired, you may use pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices (adjust the amount to your taste).  Pumpkin pie spice is a blend of 'warming' spices, usually containing most or all of: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice & mace.  If you mix it yourself, use any or all of these & adjust to your taste.


Cranberry Sauce

  1 C fresh cranberries
  6 soaked dates
  1/3 C date soak water
  1 T lime juice

Blend or process all ingredients to desired consistency.


Cashew Creme

  1 C cashews, soaked & rinsed
  1/2 C coconut meat
  1/4 C honey
  2 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 vanilla bean)
  1/4 tsp Himalayan or Celtic sea salt
  Water, if needed for blending

Soak the cashews 4-6 hours, drain & rinse well.  Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender (VitaMix) until creamy.

Note: This is my VitaMix blending method for thicker mixtures, such as the cashew creme.  This will prevent having to add more water than absolutely necessary, which will help you obtain a thicker, creamier result.  Start with the blender on low speed & very slowly increase the speed.  Using a (firmly gripped!) spatula, scrape the uppermost sides & stir the mixture as you blend (carefully - without getting the spatula in the blades!); this will help maintain the air-bubble-free vortex required for a consistent creaminess.

Spoon each layer into a pretty bowl or glass & garnish with a cranberry & a sprig of mint.  Serve to your guests with unabashed pride!

So let me know if you make this in January...or May...or Summer...or this Fall.  :-)

Peace, love & kale rocks...
xoxo,
Kat

P.S. - Even Dylan was eyeing the cashew creme...adorable.

Juices, Chips & Dip

Happy New Year!!

So...have you made any New Year's resolutions?  If so, do they involve losing weight, eating better or getting in shape?  Most do!  One of the quickest ways to shed a few pounds or get over those pesky sugar cravings, especially after the holidays, is to fast (or feast) on fresh juices.  A great film to check out if you're new to the idea is, "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead," featuring Joe Cross, who allowed his body to heal from a debilitating & painful skin condition in a very short time by feasting on fresh juices - check it out!  In tonight's (packed!) class at Whole Foods, I talked about juicing for weight loss, detoxification & healing from chronic disease & demo'ed two juices: Celery-Apple-Parsley & Carrot-Orange-Lime (yummo).

So many people say, "what do you do with all that pulp??" or "I don't want to juice because I hate wasting so much fiber."  Well...besides composting it (your soil will LOVE you if you do), I showed tonight's class one great way to use all that leftover pulp - chips!  (Of course, you'll want to wait until AFTER your fast before indulging in them.)  I think the Chili Cheeze Pulp Chips taste just like a chili cheese dawg...but then it's been a long while since I've had one of those!  ;-)  Let me know what you think!  Then of course, we (ahem - they...I'm still just juicing!) needed a little something else to go with the chips: enter Fermented Cashew Cheeze Dip - you must try this.

Pictures from class are here (I'll post more later):

And here are the recipes:

Celery-Apple-Parsley Juice

1 head celery

1 or 2 Delicious apples

1 bunch Italian parsley

Run ingredients through juicer.  Enjoy immediately!

Carrot-Orange-Lime Juice

6 large carrots (washed & trimmed, not peeled)

1 orange (peeled)

1/2 large lime or 1 small lime (peeled)

Run ingredients thorough juicer.  Enjoy immediately!

Basic Pulp Chips

1 C water (or more, if needed)

1/4 C chia seeds

1/4 C flax seeds, ground

2 tsp Himalayan or sea salt

1-2 C (packed) fruit or veggie pulp

Other additional ingredients, if desired (spices, herbs, nutritional yeast, nut/seed butter, seeds, etc.)

Soak &/or stir chia seeds in 1 C water until they form a gel.  Add ground flax seeds & salt; stir - mixture will continue to gel.  Add any additional ingredients, if desired; stir.  Add pulp* & mix with a large spoon (or ideally with your hands!) until well combined. 

Spread mixture onto two lined dehydrator trays (or more if you prefer a lighter, more fragile chip) & score into squares.  Dehydrate at 115 degrees for one hour.  Lower temperature to 105 degrees & dehydrate a few more hours, until the chips peel away easily from the liners.  Flip onto screened dehydrator trays & dehydrate at 105 degrees until completely dry & crispy (chips normally take 24 hours or less to dry).

*Note: if your juicer leaves any large pieces of fruits or veggies in the pulp mixture, you may wish to process them in the food processor or blender with a little water before adding to the bowl with the other ingredients.

Chili Cheeze Pulp Chips

2-3 C water*

1/4 C chia seeds

1/4 C flax seeds, ground

2 tsp Himalayan or sea salt

1/4-1/2 C nutritional yeast

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

Pinch cayenne

1-2 C (packed) carrot pulp

2-3 Tbs tahini

Soak &/or stir chia seeds in 1 C water until they form a gel.  Add ground flax seeds & salt; stir - mixture will continue to gel.  Add nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, cumin, chili powder, paprika & cayenne, along with an additional 1 C water; stir.

Process the carrot pulp, tahini & 1 C water in the food processor until smooth.*  Add mixture to the bowl with the other ingredients & mix with a large spoon (or ideally with your hands!) until well combined.

Spread mixture onto two lined dehydrator trays (or more, if you prefer a lighter, more fragile chip) & score into squares.  Dehydrate at 115 degrees for one hour.  Lower temperature to 105 degrees & dehydrate a few more hours, until the chips peel away easily from the liners.  Flip onto screened dehydrator trays & dehydrate at 105 degrees until completely dry & crispy (chips normally take 24 hours or less to dry).

*Note: you may add the carrot pulp & tahini (minus the extra 1 C water) to the mixture without processing first.  If so, the tahini mixes more completely when stirred in before the other spices.

Fermented Cashew Cheeze Dip

1 C cashews, soaked & drained

1/2 C water

1 tsp probiotic powder (about 12 capsules)

1 tsp Himalayan or sea salt

2 Tbs finely minced parsley

Soak cashews in water for 4-6 hours; rinse & drain.  Blend soaked cashews & water in high-speed blender (VitaMix) until creamy.  You may need to (cautiously!) use a spatula with the blender lid removed to assist blending.  Add probiotic powder & blend just until incorporated.

Spoon mixture into a cloth-lined colander covered with another wet cloth.  Place in a warm location (e.g., on top of or next to the dehydrator) & drain overnight (8-12 hours, or more).  The cheeze will be slightly sour smelling and fluffy – this means it has fermented & is ready to use.  Spoon into a bowl & combine with salt & parsley; stir.

Note:  This is a very mild dip which enhances the flavor & enjoyment of chips or crudités without masking or overpowering their individual flavors.  You may, of course, add additional herbs, spices or other ingredients to suit your taste.

(All recipes copyright Kat Conrad, 2012)