Thursday, July 30, 2009

Blueberry Smoothie

I just made tomorrow's lunch smoothie:
  • 1/2 head romaine lettuce,
  • 1 Cup blueberries
  • 1 Apple
  • 1/2 Cup iced tea
I often use iced tea instead of water.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Diabetes-friendly Smoothie

I just made a smoothie for tomorrow's lunch, and I shared the extra with DH, who has diabetes II. Here's what's in it:
  • 1 large apple
  • 1/2 head romaine lettuce (shh, don't tell him)
  • 8 frozen strawberries
  • lots of powdered cinnamon
  • a little bit of stevia powder
It's pretty good. I'm going to experiment more with herbs in my smoothies.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Green Kiwi Smoothie

I made the kiwi smoothie for tomorrow's lunch. It has one banana, one kiwi, and half a bag of spinach.

While my kids were here, we ate out too much (but it was So Good!), and I gained some weight. I'm making myself keep up with making smoothies because I need to lose that weight for the wellness fair at work. If I lose one BMI point since last year OR if my BMI is below a certain number, I will not have to pay the insurance increase for this year. I think that's a pretty good incentive to get or keep in shape. I've also been trying to ride my Trikke every evening (unless it's raining).

Family Visit

Both my kids (adults, really) came to visit last weekend and stayed a couple days. My son and I rode Trikkes around our neighborhood one day, and we went kayaking the other day. My daughter joined us after that for lunch and thrift shopping - my son was the only one of us who bought anything!

All in all, I was glad they could come to visit.

From Family

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Sweet Smoothie

Tonight I made a sweet smoothie that was just enough for two people:
  • 1 banana
  • 2 Cups frozen papaya chunks (from the freezer section at Winn-Dixie)
  • 1/2 Cup shredded coconut
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
That gave us lots of fiber but it tasted suspiciously like dessert!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Spinach Bisque Soup

Yay!! I found an interesting recipe at the Raw Epicurean site. I subscribe to their RSS feed via Google.

I made Spinach Bisque Soup last night, and the first taste test was yummy.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Sometimes I Misbehave

Last Friday I was at my lowest weight this year. So far this week, I've been stuck at about two pounds above that. Aaargh!

I don't always eat green smoothies for lunch or drink only water or tea for my beverage. Yes, sometimes I misbehave when eating. It's usually on the weekends.

I think my greatest food problem is quantity. What is your greatest food problem?

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Weight Loss

By sneaking in veggies via green smoothies, I continue to lose weight slowly. Today found me at my lowest weight this year!

Just a "heads up," y'all!

Kiwi Smoothie

The smoothie I ate today had one kiwi fruit, one banana, and about 1 cup (packed) of spinach.

I think that the spinach has the most nutrients of these ingredients. The predominant flavors are the banana and kiwi fruit. I could not taste the spinach in this smoothie, but it was Very Green!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Spinach in Smoothies

My sewing pal mad-SewIKnit2 questions spinach in smoothies. Spinach has a much milder flavor than most greens. Give it a try!

We are expecting delivery of our VitaMix, which is a super-charged blender. That doesn't begin to describe it, but I will be sharing pictures of it in future days. Keep watching!

Easy Vegan Picadillo

Picadillo is a cuban dish, usually made with ground or shredded beef. The texture is similar to chili, but the flavor is not. Here is my vegan version.

Easy Picadillo
A Cuban dish with the ease of a dump cake

Fill a coffee cup half-way with raisins, cover with rum (any booze), and let soak overnight. If you’re in a big hurry, nuke it for a minute or two, instead.

Dump a can of chopped (no salt added) tomatoes and a can of rinsed black beans into a medium-sized crock pot, and turn the heat up.

Chop and rinse half a small jar of green olives, and add to crock pot. Rinse a small can of sliced or chopped black olives, and add to crock pot.

Throw in ¼ to ½ Cup chopped onions (optional).

Throw lots of ground cinnamon into a coffee cup. Throw in some other spices, too, such as cumin, oregano, basil, garlic, and cilantro, then stir together and dump into the crock pot. Just don’t add salt because of the residual salt in the olives.

Dump the soaked raisins into the crock pot, stir, and turn the heat down.

After about an hour, stir in about a cup of frozen veggie crumbles, and turn the heat up. We use MorningStar Meal Starters – Grillers Recipe Crumbles (usually in the grocer’s freezer next to the frozen Indian food).

In about 30 minutes, turn the heat down, and spoon into bowls. Serve over rice (optional). We also top it with sour cream, which is not vegan.

Here is a picture of the type of veggie crumbles we use:

Monday, July 6, 2009

Almond Milk

Coming soon ... I will tell how to make almond milk, and also how to make the strainer bags for nut milk.

Today's Smoothie ...

... is lettuce, blueberries, bananas, and some coconut and almonds. It looks like purple mud, but it tastes pretty good!

Friday, July 3, 2009

More Green Smoothie talk

Today's smoothie was spinach leaves, strawberries, blueberries, a banana, and some coconut. Pretty much any smoothie that has coconut in it is very good.

What's your favorite smoothie?