Hot Pink Breakfast Smoothie

People ask about the Hot Pink Breakfast Smoothie I drink sometimes and are always curious about just how pink it is.  Well here is a pretty accurate picture of just how pink it is.  It's truly VERY pink and VERY tasty.  :)  I love this recipe and could drink it a couple times a week.  My husband on the other hand is not so keen on the beet flavor, so he doesn't drink these.  While I don't care for beets either, I think the smoothie is awesome and the flavors blend nicely!  And as you'll see from the two recipes posted below, you can change how much beet you use.

This smoothie is based off of a delicious recipe from one of Green Smoothie Girl's recipe books (which I will post below), but I've definitely modified it for me.  My recipe goes as such:

1/2-1 medium zucchini, washed

1-2 carrots, washed or peeled, and chopped

1 whole sm/med red beet, scrubbed and chopped

1 apple, washed and chopped

2-3 dates (2 medjool dates or 3 deglet noor dates)

1 tsp vanilla

1-2 Tbsp cashews

enough water to blend 

5 frozen strawberries

Blend all ingredients blender but strawberries (vitamix or blendtec is best, but a regular blender will work)  to a nice smooth texture, add strawberries and finish blending smooth.  Makes 4-6 cups depending on size of veggies/fruit and quantity of water and contains roughly 350 calories.  I drink the whole thing in one meal generally, unless it's a full 6 cups.  Sonny loves this smoothie when I'm generous enough to share. ;-)

This is the original recipe which you can also find in one of her smoothie recipe books if you'd like to purchase a whole bunch of delicious smoothie recipes and other recipes.

1 1/2 cups coconut liquid (best raw, or from a can, both can be found at asian markets)
1 large carrot, cleaned and cut into 3 pieces
1/4 of a medium beet, raw, peeled
1/4 cup of cashews
1/4 cup chopped dates (inexpensive in bulk)
2 tsp. vanilla
12 frozen strawberries

Place all ingredients except strawberries in blendtec for 90 sec.  Add strawberries and puree on high until smooth.  Makes 1 quart, a 450 calorie breakfast that has 4 servings of fruits and vegetables, 15 percent plant protein, and good fats in the cashews. 

So my recipe has slightly less calories and fats if you are strictly watching those things and need a little less.  On the other hand if you are active and can easily work off those calories, they are all good calories, so by all means use more cashews, etc, and go with her recipe.

Also as a side note, beets are great for helping clean out your digestive system and cleaning your colon.  So if you suffer from that horrible C word that no one likes to talk about, adding a daily beet to your diet might be just what you need to help move things along (bleh, bad joke).  But know that one beet is not likely to cure constipation if the rest of your diet is bad, so be sure to consume lots of water and whole, unprocessed fibery foods.

Happy Pink Smoothie-ing!

Vegan Monkey Milkshake

One of our favorite desserts is an ice cold Vegan Monkey Milkshake.  We got this idea from some fabulous friends of ours who used to live locally, but alas moved away to SC.  We miss them very much and think about them when we make this tasty dessert.  :)  

We don't have desserts very often, and rarely any with processed sugar in them anymore, so this, while being plenty sweet in it's own right, is down right decadent for us these days.  We had a fierce craving for them the other night after Sonny went to bed, so I set about making them.  They are actually ridiculously easy.  Seriously.  All you have to do is make sure you have frozen bananas in the freezer.  The nice thing about them is there really is no recipe either, you just make them how you want them.  I'll give you ingredient suggestions, but really it's all about how you want it to taste.

Get your monkey on!

Vegan Monkey Milkshakes

several ripe, frozen bananas (chopped into chunks)
a can of unsweetened baking cocoa (you can get it from any super market - just make sure it's unsweetened)
non-dairy milk of your choice (almond, soy, coconut)

Extras:
Peanuts/natural PB
unsweetened shredded coconut
mint extract

Chop several frozen bananas into 1-2" chunks and dump in blender.  (High powered blenders like a Vitamix or Blendtec work best, but you can do it in a regular blender with a little extra liquid.)  Put several heaping tablespoons of the unsweetened baking cocoa in the blender, add some milk and start blending.  Obviously if it's too thick to blend well, then add more milk.  Stop and do taste tests to see if you want more cocoa flavor in there.  If you really enjoy banana flavor then you probably won't need as much cocoa cause you'll enjoy the chocolate banana flavor.  If banana isn't one of your faves, then add more cocoa to disguise the banana taste.  By the time we are done with our milkshakes adding cocoa and extras, you'd barely know that banana was the base of it all.

So that's the basic recipe for Vegan Monkey Milkshakes and they are super great just like that.  (And I promise that if you add the right amount of cocoa, the banana flavor is not overpowering - for all you banana skeptics out there.)  But it's fun to get wild and add other things like peanuts or natural PB for a nice PB/choc taste.  Or this last time, I added unsweetened coconut shavings to my shake and that was a-MA-zing.  Super good.  I can only imagine what it would taste like if I had used coconut milk along with the coconut shavings.  (Alas, husband is not such a fan of coconut flavor, which is why I just added shavings to mine at the end.)  Mint extract is also a fun thing to add for a nice mint chocolate shake.  Jazz it up with whatever you want!  Perhaps some chopped almonds and cherries?

Vegan Monkey Milkshake with coconut shavings

A quick note about the bananas.  You can get the sweetest banana flavor if you freeze when the skin is starting get speckled with brown spots.  Obviously if you wait till it's solid brown all over, it could be past it's prime.  But freezing when the banana is all yellow with no brown, will yield a less sweet banana, thereby decreasing the sweetness of your shake.  Also, be sure to peel your bananas before you freeze them (just in case people didn't already know that).

Let me know if you come up with some fabulous flavor combinations!  This is such a good base, that I'd love to have an arsenal of flavors to bust out depending on my mood!

Smoky Cilantro White Bean Dip

Sweet potatoes are cooking in the oven, clothes are in the dryer, dishes are washed, Sonny is sleeping, which means it’s DIP TIME!

I had a good old time turning 2.5lbs of beans into tasty dips this morning during Charlie’s nap.  First on the list was the Smoky Cilantro White Bean Dip.  This recipe is actually one of my own, so I might secretly be hoping that someone other than my husband really likes it…maybe….

Here’s the recipe:
2 cans Great Northern Beans*
1/4c lemon juice
1 small handful each, fresh cilantro and Italian parsley
1/4-3/4tsp Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle blend**
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
3 medium cloves garlic
1 tsp agave nectar (honey might work as well, or try it without sweetener)***
1 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp tahini
Thoroughly blend everything in a food processor, high powered blender like a Blendtec or Vita-mix, or regular blender.  Grab a spoon and enjoy!  Or serve with veggies, pita or chips for dipping.
(If you use a regular blender you may have to use more liquid to get it to blend well, and stop and scrape down sides more often.)
*Whenever I can plan ahead I like to use dried beans because they are cheaper.  1/2lb or a little over 1 cup of dried beans generally equals about 2 cans of beans
**The Mrs. Dash is what makes it hot, so if you aren’t a hot person, try just 1/4tsp first and work your way up
***I realize most people might not have agave nectar on their cupboard.  I added it because I wanted something to temper the savory-ness slightly, but if you don’t have agave nectar, try it without a sweetener and see if you like it.
Let me know if you try it and like it! :)