Dragon Fruit Smoothie

One of our local grocery store has had an overhaul and their produce section has grown quite a bit, including a better variety of local and not so local fruits and vegetables.  And since I have been challenging the kids to try something new at least once a week, I decided this was the perfect opportunity for me to do the same.  This week's fruit is the Red Pitaya (dragon fruit) from Vietnam.  They are rich in fibers, minerals and antioxidants.

Dragon Fruit Smoothie

1/2 dragon fruit
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 cup frozen mango
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 banana
2 cups pure coconut water
2 tbsp. flaxseed
2 tbsp. salba chia

 

Thanks for reading!

Amelie

 

Gluten and Dairy-Free Banana Almond Bread

I am subscribed to quite few food newsletters, but don't always take the time to make the recipes and sometimes just simply forget about them.  But I love baking at this time of year, so this banana bread recipe that I adapted from Chowhound came at the right time.



Banana Almond Bread

Ingredients

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. Himalayan rock salt
5 tbsp. extra virgin coconut oil, plus extra for coating the pan
1/3 cup coconut sugar
2 organic free-range eggs at room temperature (or egg replacer)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup raw almond butter
1/3 cup honey, agave nectar or maple syrup
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup almond milk at room temperature
Pumpkin seed butter for serving (optional)

Method

Heat oven to 325F with rack in the middle.  Coat a 9 x 5 loaf pan with coconut oil and set aside.

Place the flour, gum, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to aerate and break up lumps.  Set aside.

Place the melted coconut oil and sugar in a large bowl and whisk until well combined.  Add the eggs, mashed bananas, almond butter, honey and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

Add half the reserved dry mixture and stir until just combined (I placed mine in the mixer and beat on low).  Add half of the milk while continuing to stir.  Repeat with remaining flour mixture and milk until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth out the top.  Bake for approximately 75 minutes (or until a fork inserted in the middle comes out clean and the bread begins to pull away from the sides of the pan).

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.  Run a knife around bread and turn on the wire rack to finish cooling.  You may also serve warm with pumpkin seed butter (which is what I did and it was decadent!).

This bread will keep in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Amelie

 

Pineapple Orange Kale - Green Smoothie Heaven

 

I have been craving a return to green smoothies recently since I feel I don't get enough greens in my diet.  I prefer my green smoothies when the "green" is paired with a stronger tasting fruit, since it  tastes fruity.  My stomach still is unsure about the taste of vegetables first thing in the morning, unlike my kids who have been pairing their breakfast with cucumbers this week.

 

 

 

Pineapple Orange Kale Smoothie

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups pure orange juice (or 2-3 oranges0
1 1/2 cups vanilla almond milk
2 bananas
2 cups pineapple
2-3 cups mixed kale (in this case red, green and Tuscan)
1 tsp. psyllium seed husk
6 ice cubes

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Amelie

Banana Strawberry Chia Blizzard

This morning I felt like treating myself to something different so I sort of improvised with what my tasted buds were craving.  So I came up with this blissful blizzard creation.  This photo really doesn't do it justice...it looked so good that I forgot to make sure it looked nice enough for the blog before I dug in...

 

 

 

 

 

Strawberry Banana Chia Blizzard

 

Ingredients

 

1/4 cup black chia seeds

3/4 vanilla almond milk

2 frozen bananas

1 cup strawberries

1 tbsp. dried goji berries

 

Method

 

Mix together chia seeds and milk and let sit in the refrigerator for approximately 30-40 minutes.

 

Take bananas out of the freezer.  When they have thawed for approximately 20 minutes, place in blender and mix on cold setting.  Mix in with chia and milk. 

 

Place strawberries and goji berries in blender and grossly puree (you should still have decent chunks.  Mix 1/3 of the mixture with the banana/ chia mixture.  Top it with the rest of the berries. 

 

Enjoy with a spoon!

 

 

Did you know that goji berries can interfere with blood pressure and diabetes medication.  It is advised that you consult with your physician before consuming if you are on such medication.

 

Thanks for reading!

Amelie

 

 

 

Dairy-free Raw Cream of Carrot Soup

This week has been quite busy with different appointments and all the running around has left me feeling even more tired.  The weather has also been quite cool and I've found myself craving more fall-like recipes.  So at lunch today, I figured I would make a raw soup to warm me up a bit.

 

 

 

 

Dairy-free Raw Cream of Carrot Soup
(Yields 2 large servings)
 
Ingredients

3 carrots
2 green apples
3 tbsp. yellow onion
1 orange
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup cashews
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
pinch of salt, pepper, nutmeg

Method

Grossly chop vegetables and fruits and place with the rest of the ingredients in high speed blender such as a Vitamix or Blendtec on hot liquid setting.  The use of a high speed blender is important since the speed of the blades warms the soup enough to serve hot but doesn't cook them, so there is not loss of nutrients.

Serve and enjoy!

 

Thanks for reading and have a nice week-end!

Amelie

 



Raw Nutella

My daughter's favorite treat is Nutella.  She could literally eat it by the spoonful, and I can't say I don't feel the same way.  But the hard truth is that it is bad for you and it should not be consumed every morning on toast, as she would want it.  So I decided to try my luck and make my own.  And we were both satisfied with the results.  It is sweet enough to satisfy our sugar craving, but healthy enough to eat it guilt free...with a side of fruit!

 

 

Raw Nutella

Ingredients

1 cup raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1 tbsp. extra virgin coconut oil
4 tbsp. raw honey, agave nectar or maple syrup
3 tbsp. raw cacao powder
1/8 tsp. Himalayan rock salt

Method

Place nuts in a food processor and mix until they form a paste.

Add oil and mix until you get a smooth texture (I like a crunchy texture, so I mixed a little less).

Add the milk, honey, raw cacao powder and salt and mix until well blended.

Serve and enjoy!

 

Thanks for reading!

Amelie

Mushroom Risotto

I have been craving risotto for a while, but with the heat we've been having, it simply was too heavy a meal to make.  With fall near and school lunches in high demand at our house, yesterday felt like the perfect time to make it. 

Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

1 cup dried sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 cup water
4 cups white mushrooms
1 yellow onion
3-4 garlic cloves
3 tbsp. coconut oil
8 cups vegetable broth
3 1/2 cups Arborio rice
2/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. Himalayan rock salt


Method

Soak porcini mushrooms in water for 15-20 minutes.  During this time, sauté onion and white mushrooms in a deep frying pan with garlic and 2 tbsp. coconut oil on medium heat.

Transfer soaked mushrooms with their water, sautéed onions, white mushrooms and 1 cup vegetable broth in a blender and puree.

Place rice in the pan with 1 tbsp. coconut oil and mix over med-low heat until rice is coated and clear.  Add mushroom puree and stir for 1 minute.  Add 1 cup of vegetable broth, nutritional yeast and salt and mix for 2-3 minutes.

Add the rest of the broth to rice 1 cup at a time and mix constantly until rice in cooked and most liquid is absorbed.

Serve and Enjoy!
 

Thanks for reading!

Amelie

Smoothies I love!

I really can't say enough about having smoothies for breakfast.  They are the most wonderful refreshing way to start your day and they are so easy to digest that you will be left energy to spare.  Even my husband has converted and raves about how it makes him feel.

 

Here are a few smoothies that I have posted on Instagram recently and that I really enjoy!

 

 



Orange Strawberry Fig Love Smoothie
(2 servings)

 I based this smoothie on my love of fig cookies, strawberries and orange juice and it turned out great!

1 cup vanilla almond milk
1 cup pure orange juice
2 bananas
 3/4 cup strawberries
 6 dried figs
 2 tbsp. maca powder
 1 tbsp. flaxseed
12 ice cubes

Basic Green Smoothie

  1 banana
  2 cara cara oranges
 1 large bunch of baby spinach
 3/4 cup vanilla almond milk
1 tbsp. flaxseed
 1 tbsp. maca powder
 6 ice cubes

Add caption

Wonderful Frozen Berry Delight

  2 1/2 cups mixed frozen cherries, blueberries, blackberries and pomegranate arils
 1 banana
 1 1/2 cup of coconut water
 1 tbsp flaxseed
 2 tbsp black chia

 

 

Thanks for reading!

Amelie