Manny's Favorite Green Smoothie

I know there are tons of recipes for green smoothies out there, and really they are so easy to customize to your liking or nutritional needs, but I thought I'd share my favorite because it's so simple and delicious!

Smoothies are so great to incorporate into your diet because they can be quick to prepare, they are easy to take on the go, and the act of liquifying the ingredients makes it easier on your digestive system. Plus, you're not missing out on any fiber or other nutrients that may be lost when juicing or cooking the ingredients.

Manny's Favorite Green Smoothie

- 1 frozen banana

- 1 handful raw cashews

- 2 scoops PB2 (Or use 2T regular creamy peanut butter but omit cashews)

- Fill the blender the rest of the way with loose fresh spinach

- 1 cup almond milk, maybe more so it blends nice

Blend all ingredients until creamy, and enjoy! 

The thing about smoothies is you can add or subtract anything you want to make it how YOU like. So some optional variations or add-ins could be:

- Hemp seeds

- Chia seeds

- Oats

- Kale instead of spinach (will be more bitter, not as sweet)

- Avocado instead of banana (not as sweet, and higher in healthy fats and protein)

- Chocolate or PB Protein powder

- Other superfood powders: wheatgrass, chlorophyll, cacao, lucuma, maca, bee pollen, etc. 

- Be creative! 

What is YOUR favorite smoothie recipe to nom??

Vanilla Chia Pudding & The Neapolitan Smoothie

I am not a morning person.

But I AM a breakfast person. You know those people who are like, "Yeah I don't really eat breakfast." That is not me. Those people are crazy and I don't associate with them. Just kidding. I still love you even if you don't eat breakfast (even though its the most important meal of the day!! Sheesh.)

What to eat for breakfast is the most exciting and difficult decision I have to make all day. But now that it's warming up here in central California, I will most likely be putting away the toaster and frying pans, and turning to my trusty blender. Because I love smoothies. You know those crazy people who are like, "Yeah, I don't really like smoothies." That is also not me. I'm surprised that I haven't toasted the motor on my blender yet (especially because I found it in my mom's garage years ago and stole it when I moved out.)

You guys are in for a treat today because not only are you getting like 4 recipes in one post, but all of them can either be enjoyed for breakfast or dessert! Yes, you read that right. And you're welcome.

The first recipe is for Vanilla Chia Pudding. If you've never used chia seeds before, I highly recommend adding them into your daily diet. They are so versatile, and super good for you.

As a vegetarian and transitioning vegan, it is great to have this nourishing little superfood in my arsenal. It provides protein, fiber, essential vitamins and minerals, and also helps detox your system thanks to its gelatinous structure. They are so easy to use too. You can add a tablespoon to oatmeal or cereal, in juice or water, bake them into breads, bars and cookies, there's really no limit to how to use them. They are small and tasteless, so you wont even notice that they are there. I buy my chia seeds at Costco for a great price. You can also find them at places like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I think I've even seen them in the bulk bins at Winco. 

Vanilla Chia Pudding

- 2 cups milk (I used homemade almond milk)

- 4 heaping tablespoons chia seeds

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

- 1 tablespoon agave syrup (optional)

Mix all ingredients well. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. After about 10 minutes, give it a good stir so the seeds don't settle at the bottom. You'll notice that the seeds have started to absorb the liquid. You can eat it at this point, or leave it for another hour so the seeds really soak up all the goodness and the pudding gets nice and thick. Enjoy by itself, or top with some fresh fruit. 

Okay, so now that you know how to use chia seeds let's just go ahead and jump to the finale, cuz I'm so excited to show you how to make this absolutely delicious smoothie!

Neapolitan Smoothie

Vanilla Layer

Spoon some of your prepared Vanilla Chia Pudding into the bottom of a jar or large cup. Set aside.

Strawberry Layer

In a blender, mix about 6 fresh strawberries (and a few frozen ones if you have them, for texture) and enough milk to make it smooth, about 1 cup. If you have good sweet strawberries, you wont need to add any sweetener. If they are on the tart side you can add a little honey. 

Pour strawberry layer on top of your vanilla layer. Set aside and rinse out blender.

Chocolate Layer

In your blender mix 1 frozen banana, 1 heaping tablespoon cacao powder (not cocoa powder!), and enough milk to make it smooth, about 1 cup. Pour this layer on top of your strawberry layer. 

Dunk in a straw, and marvel at the beauty you just created.

Now go nom the hell outta that nom, and bask in the fact that you are fueling your body with so much energy and nutrients that you should have no problem conquering the world. And congratulations on becoming a breakfast person. 

Mother's Day Meringues

I wanted to make my mom something yummy for Mother's Day, but she hasn't been too much of a fan of my clean vegan recipes. When I came across this Strawberry Meringue recipe, I thought they were so pretty, and looked fairly easy to make. Plus I had all the ingredients!

Here is the recipe exactly as it appears on the site:

Strawberry Meringue Roses recipe (adapted from Food Network)

• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 6 tablespoons seedless strawberry preserves 1/2 teaspoon strawberry extract
• 2 drops red or pink food coloring (optional)
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 215 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  (Do not skip this or your meringues will stick to baking sheet).

Beat egg whites, salt, cream of tartar, preserves, extract and food coloring until frothy.  With mixer running, slowly add powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks have formed. 

Fit pastry bag with a large star tip.  Fill pastry bag with mixture.   Pipe round roses on lined baking sheet by piping 2 inch spirals starting from the center and rotating outwards. 

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Turn off oven and open door.  Let meringues dry in the oven for about 10-12 minutes.   Remove from oven and let cool.  

I halved this recipe, and it still made two cookie sheets full. 

I have never made meringue before, but I had fun piping out different designs. On the original site they are supposed to be roses, but mine looked more like dog poop after my dog has eaten some pink crayons, so I went with the swirly braid design instead. 

They came out so nice! Slight strawberry flavor, not too sweet, and super cute. 

Hope all of the wonderful mothers in the world had a lovely Mother's Day! 

Love and noms.

Three Ingredient Cookies

So here it is. My first blog post. Apparently it has been much anticipated, since I have received overwhelming support and encouragement from friends and family to get this thing going. Alright, alright, I give in. I shall grace you all with even more pictures of my food experiments, workout goals, and photos of my cat. Hey, you asked for it.

Well, I guess I should get on with the good stuff, eh?

Now, the first thing I should tell you is that I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. Like, it's bad. I give it 100% credit for creating this bangin' bod I dwell in. And by bangin', I mean resemblant of a marshmallow. But I'm working on toasting it up a bit, don't worry. (Okay, enough with the s'mores references, I'm getting hungry.) Alas, when I need a quick cookie fix, I love making the famous three-ingredient cookie you see floating around the internet. Banana, oats, and choc chips. Yummm, can't go wrong with something so simple. And with no flour, oil, or excess sugar I don't feel too bad eating a couple... or 6.

But then my friend Sarah from Bloggity Bloo challenged me to make a clean cookie without using banana as the base. A bit blasphemous, but I accepted the challenge. So I turned to my next favorite mushy plant, the trusty avocado.

Here's the recipe I tried first with the avocado:

-Half a ripe avocado, smashed
-1 heaping spoonful raw cacao powder
-2 spoonsfull agave
-Handful quick oats
-Handfull dried cranberries
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes

They looked so rich and fudgey, but my sweet tooth did not approve of this outcome. The cacao was too bitter, and just didn't taste right with the avocado. Without adding a huge amount of sugar, this combo was a fail. So I thought, what can I do to add some sweetness but keep it clean? I know... DATES! Okay, so they have a lot of sugar and carbs, but I'll give it a shot. Now I'm determined. I pulled out my crappy food processor and started mixing.

Second round recipe:
-Half ripe mashed avocado
-4 pitted dates
-Handful quick oats
-Spoonful raw cacao powder
-Spoonful honey (Agave just wasn't quite sweet enough for me this time.)
-Handful dried cranberries
Pulse until it forms a moist dough. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

These came out much sweeter, and a little tastier. I would probably make these again, but I would probably also keep tweaking it until it was just right.

Then I got thinking... what if I used applesauce as a base? So I washed up some dishes and started mixing up different combinations with applesauce. I made one with just oats, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts. Not bad, but I usually end up wishing there was chocolate... So then I tried applesauce, oats, cacao, walnuts... Kinda blah. The applesauce is a really hard flavor to mask. And it's almost TOO sweet (yeah, I just said that). Then I tried that same one with a scoop of PB2 and added choc chips. It was alright. I just wasn't crazy about the applesauce.

Obviously taste-testing all of these cookies wasn't a horrible job, but some did end up going into the compost bucket!

The conclusion? I'm just in love with the original recipe! I couldn't beat it, at least not today. So even if you don't like bananas, I urge you to at least give it a try. The recipe only makes like 8 cookies, so even if you hate them it's not a total loss. Feed them to your coworkers. 

Three-Ingredient Cookies (original recipe):

-One ripe banana, mashed

-One cup quick oats

-Handful choc chips*

-Optional: Add a scoop or two of PB2 for more protein and creamier texture!

Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. IF there are any left, I find it best to refrigerate them. 

*I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips cuz it's what my sister had in her kitchen. If you prefer not to have any additives by using choc chips, you could make your own chocolate by mixing coconut oil, cacao powder, and agave then drizzle on top after baking.

Happy nomming!