The Perfect Pear; The Perfect Cleanse

I'm pretty sure I've had this green smoothie every day possible over the last two months.

Perhaps you have heard of Natalia Rose?

She is very famous for her raw, juiced green drink, called "Green Lemonade." A few of Paul's and my extended family members are currently doing a 100% raw juicing diet with green lemonade to successfully lose unwanted weight in a short period of time.

While I have also just discovered a new love for juicing lately; grapefruit orange juice, apple juice, carrot celery juice, etc. I have also discovered that kale does not juice very well, and most of it seems wasted.

As kale plays a major role in green lemonade, it seems tragic to see such small yeild of juice from such a power-packed nutrient, and almost heart-breaking to see so much kale thrown away into the trash after it has been juiced. (Even using the very popular and high quality Breville juicer; my personal fave).

I prefer to blend my greens, whole, to enjoy the whole plant, and this green smoothie is the closest "mime" to green lemonade that I have come across (thanks to my sister!).

Over Christmas break, it seemed that Paul, the kids and I were able to dodge a lot of "illness bullets." We had a wonderful time visiting family and friends, but it seemed like everyone was getting hit really hard with some kind of bug. Through it all, we somehow avoided getting the stomach flu, Norovirus, the cold, and other such ailments.

We thought we were out of the woods.

Until I got a sinus infection, which I have been prone to getting since I was little.

Did you suffer illness during the holidays? Or perhaps, you interacted with one too many sweets, and are ready for a cleanse. Maybe your Resolutions for 2013 include weight loss.

This Perfect Pear really is the perfect cleanse.

Because:

*It packs in a lot of greens
*It packs in a lot of cruciferous vegetables...
*...and cruciferous vegetables are known for their high nutrient density

According to Joel Fuhrman, and his book, "Super Immunity," if you want to avoid illness, or do everything you can to speed your recovery, you will consume a lot of cruciferous vegetables.

Examples of Commonly Found Cruciferous Vegetables:

* Kale
* Bok Choy
* Broccoli
* Cauliflower
* Collards
* Cabbage

Joel Fuhrman also says that in order to get the maximum benefit from cruciferous vegetables, it is best to have them lightly steamed, or raw, but pureed or finely chopped so that your body has easy access to the nutrients.

The Perfect Pear Smoothie has both kale, and bok choy, in their raw form! All blended up for a quick infusion of power-packed nutrients.

It's not super-sweet, but packed with greens. Cleansing is the idea, or good for weight loss or for just wanting to feel great. So don't expect it to taste like candy...However, despite the fact that it's not overpoweringly sweet, it is just about the juiciest green smoothie I have ever tasted. Pleasant, energizing, and very satisfying.

You can adjust the sweetness levels easily to your taste by adding more pear, or banana, or both.

The Perfect Pear
Adapted from Diana Stobo

Note from Ashlee: I found the most beautiful and delicious red Bartlett pears at Costco, that I have ever had. They were very large, and very sweet. I can't find them at Costco anymore, and seeing as how pear is the main sweetener/taste in this smoothie, I recommend you use either very ripe Bartlett or very ripe D'anjou pears. If they are small use two pears.

Ingredients

1½ cups water
1 large Bartlett pear, cored and stemmed (or 2 smaller pears, D'anjou pears work well!)
1 baby bok choy
3 celery stalks
3 large romaine lettuce leaves
3 large kale leaves (I add more like 6-8 leaves because I love greens)
1 banana
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup of ice (optional, but I think smoothies taste much better when cold, and ice helps blenders like Blendtec blend more efficiently.)

Directions

Add to your blender in the order shown, starting with water and ending with ice. Blend in high-speed blender for 60 seconds. Serve immediately.


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What I do to get a good picture sometimes!

While I was carrying the cutting board back into the house (through the snow) after this smoothie's photo shoot, the lemon started rolling off the board. I used my elbow to catch the lemon, and down went the green smoothie.

Luckily, I was able to use my torso as a lid for the top of the green smoothie and able to salvage most of it, but not without suffering some loss.

I was trying to get ready for our trip to Utah, so I just quickly wiped down my shirt and pants, and wore them during packing. Seeing a green, round stain, Essie and Paul both asked, "What did you get on your shirt?!"

Thanksgiving Breakfast and Power Snacks; 3 recipes to Fuel Your Day

Thanksgiving or Christmas fab, quick, and filling breakfast and snack ideas.

All of which are Gluten Free. Easy. And low in fat.

First, cake for breakfast.

Yes.

Carrot cake.

In oatmeal form. You will think you are eating cake. Literally.

Guilty confession: I was eating the oatmeal as I was snapping pictures. I couldn't help myself.

The first words out of my mouth after trying my first bite: "Oh, Heavens."

Paul's first words: "Wow, this tastes exactly like carrot cake."

You can have confidence in following the recipe exactly, and ending up with the best. breakfast. ever.

Carrot Cake Oatmeal
From Angela Liddon over at www.OhSheGlows.com (she has gorgeous photos, hop on over and take a look!)

Note From Angela: This one is for all of the carrot cake fans out there! Creamy, crunchy, chewy, and sweet, this recipe packs in a full cup of carrots and a handful of healthy ingredients that will keep you feeling full for hours and hours. This oatmeal is also wonderful as part of a holiday breakfast with loved ones. If you are adapting this recipe for several people, I suggest pouring the oats into a large casserole dish when they are ready, adding your toppings, and using a large spoon to scoop portions onto plates or bowls.

Note from Ashlee: I have only tried the low-fat version. Which excludes the nuts, shredded coconut, and coconut cream (I use almond milk instead). I suggest following this version if you are avoiding higher fat foods. I loved it this way and was full for hours. The only change I made besides reducing the fat was to double the recipe.


Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups finely grated carrot (about 2 large)
2 cups almond milk
2 tbsp full-fat coconut milk cream (or use more almond milk)
2 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4th tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 cup regular oats
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice (optional, I didn't add this)
2 tbsp chopped walnuts, divided
2 tbsp raisins, divided
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
4 stevia packets (optional, for added sweetness)
1 tbsp sweetened shredded coconut, for garnish
1 tbsp coconut milk cream + 1/2 tsp pure maple syrup, to garnish (optional)


Directions: Finely grate 1 heaping cup of grated carrots. You want to use the fine grate and not the large one so the carrot shreds are very small. This helps the carrot blend in more.

In a medium sized pot over medium heat, whisk together the almond milk, optional coconut milk cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a pinch of salt.

Stir in the grated carrots and oats. Adjust heat if necessary or bring heat to low if it starts to boil. Cook for about 8-9 minutes, stirring frequently. When the mixture has thickened up, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, 1 tbsp walnuts, 1 tbsp raisins, and 4 tbsp of maple syrup. Remove from heat and portion into bowls.

Top the oatmeal with the remaining walnuts, raisins, and shredded coconut. If you are using coconut cream, you can mix a bit of the cream with maple syrup and drizzle on top of the oatmeal, as shown in the photo. Sprinkle with cinnamon for garnish.

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Megan loved this stuff so much that she stole Paul's oatmeal, and then scooted a little chair up to the stove to devour the pot!

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Something green. Nutrient-packed. Creamy.

Delicious.

Sweet apples, combined with creamy bananas and creamy sweet dates, some almond milk. Jam-packed with baby kale or spinach.

Apple pie in a jar.

Your taste buds and energy levels will be very happy.

Apple Pie Green Smoothie
By Ashlee Crozier

Ingredients:

2 cups baby kale or spinach, tightly packed and heaping (don't be shy! really pack it!)
1 and 3/4 cup almond milk
2 ORGANIC (NO CHEMICAL SHAKES, HERE!) large Gala apples, or other sweet apples
1 1/2 to 2 frozen bananas
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
6 Deglet Noor Dates (or 3 medjool dates, but I have not tried using medjool yet)
4 stevia packets
1 cup ice

Directions:

Put almond milk and greens (spinach or baby kale both taste great) in blender and blend until all greens are pulverized.

Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

I like to blend the greens first, with the milk, so that I have enough room to add more greens (on my ambitiously green days) and room for the remaining ingredients without killing my blender.

I was introduced to deglet noor dates by my sister, Aimee. They are only 26 calories per date! They are so delicious. I bought mine at Costco -- huge tub! Perfect in this shake, and they don't give me a tummy ache like blended medjool dates sometimes do.

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Lastly, pumpkin pie smoothie, revisited.

Lower in fat. Quite delicious. Ready in minutes.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, Revisited (Low Fat, Easy prep)
By Ashlee Crozier (inspired by this smoothie)

Note From Ashlee: Removing the chia seeds and oatmeal also removes the issue of the shake being too thick. It also means you can have your insta-shake; no more overnight preparation. That's more like it! I feel very hydrated after having this snack, and it meets all of my energy needs for hours. Yummy little treat.

Ingredients:

2 cups almond milk
1 and 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
1 1/2 frozen ripe banana
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup ice cubes (creates better texture, and makes it cold which enhances flavor)
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
3-4 packets of Stevia (don't skip! This makes the smoothie sweet without adding sugar!)

Instructions

1. Throw everything in your blender all at once.

3. Blend until smooth. One full cycle in my Blendtec does the trick. Drink, and enjoy!





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I hope to be able to post two fabulous main dishes to grace your Thanksgiving table. They are loved by meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.

I am also re-working Cauliflower Bechamel to taste similar to Chicken Alfredo. Loved by my kids, and taste testers (thanks, Rachel!).

We leave this Saturday morning for California.

Are you traveling for Thanksgiving?

How do you survive the Holidays and stay healthy?

Paul says he will have Turkey on Thanksgiving day, just to shake off the title, "vegan." He says he's a whole foodist, not a vegan.

Wherever you're headed, I hope you stay safe!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

How much change is undergone before you can call a recipe your own creation?

My sister and I had a phone conversation about this last night. She is an artist. In art world, a piece of work can be called yours if it has undergone a 30% change, or more.

How do you measure that in food?

When I first tried this pumpkin pie smoothie, I really, really wanted it to work out. There's all this talk about pumpkin pie smoothies.

Well, I don't want to be left out.

I want a yummy piece of pumpkin pie in my smoothie, too. You can say that in a whiny voice, and I will fully support it.

You won't believe my line of thinking. Please don't laugh. Okay, laugh if you want to, as long as I can't hear you. My line of thinking went something like this: How can I make this a green smoothie? I really don't like drinking smoothies without a vegetable in it. Yes, it took me a few minutes to recall that pumpkin, after all, is a vegetable. Genius. Are you sure you want to eat my food after hearing this very sad tale about moi?

All right. Brought myself to attempt said recipe.

Paul is a green smoothie drinkin' monster. Most any green smoothie I give him, even if it's not-so-good, he will drink it. This tall glass of pumpkin-ness, however, sat. Half consumed. I could see him glance at it every once in a while, intermittently throughout his meal. Trying to determine what he thought of it, and figure out a way he could get the rest of this health food concoction into his body. Without having to taste it.

And I stood there, staring at him, staring at his smoothie. Willing him to like it.

Please, please like it.

Realized I could taste my own tall glass of pumpkin-ness to see if it was good or not. I have taste buds, too. Wow. So thick that it is hard to swallow; gives me the sensation that I really should be chewing it.

First taste pumpkin. Then banana. As an aftertaste, spices that make my throat burn. Every time I swallow. These flavors take turns dancing on my tongue.

There is no way. No way I can post something like that on my blog. Or even make reference to it, or add a link to it, if I myself am having difficulties choking it down or having to remind myself it is healthy, and therefore I need to finish it.

I was torn. This recipe had serious potential. I could tell it was a work of art in the making, and I did not want to kick it. I wanted, very badly, to keep it.

Then, I remembered. Oh, yeah. I modify recipes. It's what I do.

Went back to the drawing board, and made my little modifications.

Paul and I went from trying to choke down the smoothie, to trying to figure out how we could scrape every last bit of pie goodness out of the blender. Off of the blender lid. Out of our green smoothie jars.

I might have even licked the rubber spatula.

First taste...pumpkin pie. That's it. And then I want more.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Adapted from Angela Liddon

~2 servings

Note from Ashlee: The changes I made are small, but they made a big difference. The smoothie went from too thick and overpowering, with choppy flavors, to sweet, nicely textured, well-combined flavors. I removed the dried ginger, reduced banana and molasses, incorporated more ice, and added stevia. It wasn't sweet enough without stevia. After making my modifications, and recording them carefully, I made this recipe three more times, with the same great success every time.

Portions of this recipe have to be prepared in advance. An oat/milk/chia seed mixture needs to thicken, and you will need a frozen banana.


Ingredients

2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
3/4-1 frozen ripe banana (less is better than more, otherwise it will just taste like banana)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
15-22 ice cubes (creates better texture, and makes it cold which enhances flavor)
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
3-4 packets of Stevia (don't skip! This makes the smoothie sweet without adding sugar!)
Coconut Whipped Cream, for garnish


Instructions

1. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the milk, oats, and chia seeds. Place in fridge for 1 hour or preferably overnight.

2. Add soaked oat mixture to blender along with the pumpkin, molasses, frozen banana, stevia, spices, ice and maple syrup. In other words, just throw everything in your blender all at once.

3. Blend until smooth. Add additional ice cubes to achieve a smoothie-like texture. It should not be so thick that it looks/feels like pudding. Blend until ice cold. (If you don't have a high powered blender, you may need to layer your ice in the blender first. Or use less ice. I would start out with 8-12 cubes, blend, and then add more from there. The additional ice is what changed the texture and made it drinkable, instead of being so thick. I would hesitate to reduce the ice cubes.) It takes three full cycles on my powerful blendtec to get this smoothie completely smooth -- there should be no grittiness. So blend the tarnation out of it.


4. Serve with Coconut Whipped Cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top! (I don't do this because I am too lazy, and find that the smoothie is great without it.)





Some things you should know about this recipe:

It's one of those "you have to prepare the night before" things. Or at least let it sit for an hour or so.

I know.

I am not an overnight prep girl, myself. I don't do overnight lasagna, overnight breakfast casseroles. Any of that stuff. And I have to tell you that I was frustrated.

I wanted my smoothie. NOW.

But I went ahead and made the prep ingredients, and then put it in the fridge. Later the same day, I made my smoothie. Right after finishing it, I made another batch of prep ingredients for overnight.

Now, it's a habit. I make the prep part right after blending the previous nights' concoction. Ready for tomorrow!

And.

It requires frozen bananas. I would not use a banana that has not been frozen.

Here is what I do. After being addicted to banana ice cream all summer, and then needing bananas for my favorite muffin recipe, I learned to buy a lot of bananas.

Every week when I go to Costco, I buy 4-6 bunches of bananas. At $1.29 per bunch, this amounts to about $6-$8 a week. Totally affordable. The kids and I eat through as many as we can over the course of the week, while the rest sit on the counter to sweeten.

When they are speckled brown, I grab my kids and we have a banana party. They coin bananas and put them in freezer Ziploc baggies, while I clean the kitchen.

Sometimes we eat the bananas. I have no complaints. Dr. Atkins, if alive, probably would, though.

They store very well, lying flat in my freezer, inside freezer-Ziploc gallon bags, available for banana ice cream.

Also available for a great Pumpkin Pie smoothie. I can't remember the last time we threw away an old banana in the trash. They are too precious around here.

Lastly, oats and pumpkin are some of the highest fiber foods. Sorry, Metamucil. I'll put you out of business.

Happy Autumn!!

Purple Power Smoothie

A few days ago I found myself so hungry I realized I should have eaten 20 minutes ago!

Has this ever happened to you?

Some words from my brother came to mind, "Ashlee, nothing you have to feed me will suffice! I am just too hungry."

At that moment I knew exactly what he meant by "too hungry."

When this happens I try to have a few healthy go-to snacks, or snack ideas on hand so that I don't panic. Nothing really sounds appetizing that's junk-foodish because junk food never has any satiation power.

I remembered that I had a new green purple smoothie that I could fix super-fast, and then I didn't feel so desperate. I tend to memorize smoothie recipes after fixing them one or two times so that I can make them in a flash.

After those one or two initial makings of it, I generally stop measuring, and just throw the basic ingredients together the way I like it. Which generally consists of adding a lot more greens than the original recipe calls for. I LOVE greens. I love them because of how they make me feel.

Paul and I were talking about how, after drinking a green smoothie made entirely from fresh produce, water, and ice, that we never feel sick. And, admittedly, some foods make me feel sick. You have experienced this before, too, I am sure!

It has taken me a while to really realize that smoothies are more than just a breakfast food. They are snack food, sometimes even dinner food. Basically, just a good ol' anytime standby food.

And it goes without saying that, fresh produce, in whatever form you eat it (whole, as a salad, smoothie, or whatever) is dairy free, gluten free, oil free, meat free, soy free, egg free; free of a lot of junk and stuff we don't want!

So grab produce when you are just too hungry, and you will feel great!

Here's one way to enjoy fresh fruits and veg. It's like a salad in a blender that doesn't require any dressing.

What is your favorite go-to food that makes you feel great when you find yourself too hungry?

Coming up I have found and improved a fantastic nut/soy/dairy-free cream sauce that has a secret ingredient! You'll never guess what it is!

And look here for my other favorite green smoothie.

I was intrigued by this recipe because of it's liquid foundation: pomegranate juice. It can be found at Costco, Target, and other natural food stores. It makes the berries pop, and the taste of greens completely disappears.

Purple Power Smoothie
From Dr. Joel Furhman's book, "Super Immunity."


Ingredients:
1 cup pomegranate juice (I had to use more juice, almost 2 cups, because I add more greens)
1 cup compacted spinach (I used 3 cups compacted, I didn't have Boston lettuce)
1 cup compacted Boston lettuce
1/4 of a medium cucumber
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen mixed berries or strawberries (I added 1/2 cup extra and omitted blueberries)
3 pitted dates (blended dates hurt my stomach for some reason, so I added 3 packets of stevia plus 1-2 teaspoons of agave nectar)
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1 cup ice (don't skip, don't underestimate the power of ice to enhance smoothie flavors)
2 tsp green powder (my addition/modification, I use Ormus Supergreens)


Directions:

Blend ingredients in a Vitamix (I use my Blendtec) or other high-powered blender until smooth and creamy. If you don't have a high-powered blender I still encourage you to make this, but halve the recipe or work in batches and blend until smooth and creamy.

For PROJECT VEGAN KIDS (ALL MY KIDS LOVE IT) &
For GO DAIRY FREE SERIES

Sour Mango + Spinach Smoothie

See what I mean by 75% greens and 25% fruit? This is where I see you in 6 months. Or maybe you are already here. Awesome.

This beautiful combination of fruits and veggies was invented by Aimee Henrikson. My culinary genius of a sister. It is actually the inspiration for the name of this blog.

Aimee made this for us while we were visiting in Utah on a Saturday. It made me feel SO GOOD that the next day as we were sitting in church I couldn't stop thinking about it. I felt like a kid whose mother had made cinnamon rolls and I couldn't wait to go home and eat them!

While I was trying to pay attention to the speakers it must have looked like I was sitting on a hot stove. Counting down the minutes until I could jump up, run down the street back to my Mom's house, and make that smoothie as fast as I could. It was during this very child-like moment that the name hit me.

This smoothie was like a literal plant infusion. It made me feel like the plant ingredients plus the apple cider vinegar were scrubbing out all of the yucky toxins and fatigue right out of my body.

In anticipation I started chanting quietly, "Plant Infusion! Plant Infusion!"

And thus the name of this blog was born.

Thank you, Aimee. I bet you didn't know that your creations are THAT inspirational. What'd I say? Genius, I believe is the word.

This is often my breakfast and lunch.

This green smoothie is very portable in a glass quart jar.

Warning: glass quart jars are clear. If you walk around drinking this in public people will ask you questions.

I think I'll go make this right now.

P.S. Keep the pineapple core on your pineapple and include it in your smoothie. I was walking past Mr. Blendtec salesman dude at Costco the other day (why does the idea of buying my blender all over again excite and intrigue me?!?!?) and he said, "Leave the core on the pineapple as that is where most of the vital nutrients are contained. The blender will make it smooth as ever."



Sour Mango + Spinach Green Smoothie (or Green Drink)
Adapted By Aimee Henrikson (my sister!) from Diana Stobo

1 cup vanilla or plain kefir, coconut kefir, soy yogurt or plant milk
1 cup water
1 grapefruit, bitter skins and piths removed (see citrus avocado salad on how to fancy-peel citrus)
2 peeled oranges
2 cups fresh spinach (or more if you are aiming to incorporate more greens)
1-3 TBSP apple cider vinegar (according to how sour you like it, I love 1/4 cup!)
1 heaping tablespoon green powder (optional, I use Ormus Supergreens which really adds flavor)
1 cup mango or 1 cup peaches, depending on your preference (fresh or frozen)
1/8 – ¼ of a fresh pineapple depending on your desire for sweetness
2-3 Tbsp Chia seeds or flax seeds (to get your omegas and fiber, and attain a feeling of fullness)
1/2 frozen banana (optional, for added creaminess and sweetness)
½ to 1 cup ice

Layer in blender the liquids, then soft foods, then frozen foods. Blend well. Can add ice and the water if you want it colder and less thick.

I put this in my WildSide larger blendtec blender and I have to smash it down to make it fit. The blender has to really work to get it fully blended so if you do not have a WildSide Blendtec, halve the recipe.