Smoothie Staples

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If you've been following me on Insta... you know I've been on a serious smoothie kick lately. What I love about smoothies is that, well, they taste delicious, and, they pack so many beneficial nutrients and vitamins in one punch. I'm not much of a kale-lover, but, you can't taste it in smoothies and the health benefits of kale are unparalleled. I love the idea of fueling my body with so many vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, omegas & antioxidants first thing in the morning (super health-nerdy - don't care). 

First let's start out chatting about what "Smoothie Staples" I keep in my fridge:

1. KALE: Extremely high in Vitamins K (helps with blood clotting & bone health), A & C. Also a great source of manganese, copper, iron, B6, fiber, potassium, and calcium. It's antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and great for cardiovascular system due to cholesterol lowering properties. There's more - click it to read it.

2. BERRIES: Who doesn't love berries? I buy them frozen this time of year. Extremely high in antioxidants, vitamin c, fiber, vitamin K, and manganese.

3. ALMOND MILK: I like THIS BRAND. It has less sugars and fake stuff than the other brands. (SILK almond milk is actually a better choice than Almond Breeze believe it or not - read the ingredient list). The health benefits are basically that it's high in vitamins because they are added. I just really prefer it to regular milk and personally feel that it offers more health benefits.

4. MANGOS: High in the B vitamins, Vitamin C, carotene, copper, & fiber.

5. AVOCADO: Extremely high in Vitamin B5, fiber, Vitamin K, Potassium, Vitamins C & E

6. CHIA SEEDS: High in omegas, fiber, protein, and high in protein considering their size

7: GROUND FLAXSEEDS: Omega-3's, Fiber, a little protein, and B1

8. ALMOND BUTTER:  High in monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, manganese, biotin, and copper. A good source of magnesium, molydenum, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and phosphorus

9. CINNAMON: Super high in antioxidants. Good source of calcium, fiber, & manganese.

Ok now that we have the benefits down... let's get into the tasty recipes!

The GREEN MONSTER! Cup of kale, cup of frozen mangos, half an avocado, vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, ginger, tbs of ground flax. Sprinkle with cinnamon and ginger and serve.

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KALE-RAZZLE DAZZLE! Cup of kale, cup of raspberries, whole banana (save a couple slices for the top to make it pretty), cinnamon, vanilla almond milk, almond butter, chia seeds, ground flax seed, sprinkle with cinnamon. 

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ALMOND BERRY BURST! Half banana, almond milk, tbs almond butter, 3/4cu kale, 1/2cu organic berries, tsp of chia seeds and ground flax seed, cinnamon, ginger, 1/4cu coffee.

BANANARAMMA COLD-KILLA: 3/4cu Kale, 1/3 avocado, frozen mangos, banana, vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, ginger. (Rob was fighting a bad cold last week and I started to get a sore throat this week --- BUT, between shots of apple cider vinegar (we'll talk about that another time) and these smoothies - my sore throat is pretty much gone - no joke)

QUICKIE COLD ZAPPER: I was freezing this morning so I didn't want my frozen fruit - I ended up using a regular mango and it came out great: Cup of Kale, 1/3 avocado, 1 whole mango, cinnamon, almond milk, tbs shredded coconut.

I'm going to keep on making these so I'll continue to post the recipes on Insta - what's your favorite smoothie staple?! Have a great week! xo

Garlicky Grilled Chicken, Spicy Parsnip Fries, & Tasty Brussel Sprouts

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This meal better be good... it nearly broke my sink. Or... well... I might have. Not sure if I threw a brussel sprout or a half a parsnip down the drain by mistake, but, my sink is no longer draining. Trying every method in the book... oye... Luckily the plumber is coming tomorrow. <insert thumbs up emoji>

Anywhooosiee.... in my current stage of experimenting with brussel sprouts... I've discovered that roasting them with balsamic drizzle, walnut or extra virgin o/o, a little honey drizzle, and salt is my favorite way to enjoy them. That being said, I must admit that the standout in this dinner was the parsnips and the dipping sauce for the sprouts- super tasty.

You all know I'm horrible at measuring when I cook... especially when I'm testing something new (and this was new)... but it went a little something like this:

- Tsp Organic Mayo
- Tbs Organic Shredded Coconut
- Tbs Walnut Oil (can use evoo)
- Tbs Organic Dijon Mustard
- Tbs Organic Honey
- Salt to taste

Mix it all up and taste it... then adjust ingredients, as needed. (Ah, and I'm aware the color is ugly - it tasted delish though!)

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For the sink killers.... I mean... parsnips and brussel sprouts.  Preheat oven to 375F.

Two separate recipes:

Parsnips:
- Chop up parsnips into french-fry-like pieces
- Toss with evoo, cayenne pepper, salt, crushed red pepper, and turmeric (super spice! I take a turmeric capsule on the daily for brain health - fact.)

Brussels:
- Cut into halves and quarters
- Toss with walnut or evvo, salt, drizzle of honey, generous drizzle of balsamic

Bake both for about 15 minutes or so then toss them around to brown the other sides for another 10-15 give or take

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For the grilled chicken... my usual marinade recipe that my mom taught me a million years ago... in case you need a refresher (it goes on EVERYTHING):

- EVOO
- 1-2 cloves of Garlic chopped small
- Crushed red pepper
- Lemon juice
- Salt/Pepper
all to taste....

Throw on a grill or grill pan until cooked through on both sides. Try not to cut into it! Let it rest for another 3-5 minutes before cutting into it. Keeps it juicy.

Plate and serve. This meal packs a MASSIVE amount of health. Here's the breakdown:

Parsnips: Folate, Potassium, Vitamins C & E
Organic Chicken: Protein, B3, B6, Selenium
Brussell Sprouts: (pretty much high in everything good) buttt especially K, C, A, folate, manganese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Monounsaturated fats, Vitamin E
Turmeric: Manganese, Iron, B6 (antioxidant & anti-inflammatory)
Cayenne: Vitamins A, E, & B6

Seriously when I say that parsnips taste like french fries. For real, they do.
Have an awesome week, friends! xo

Weekend in Review & Pesto "Spaghetti"

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I love 3-day weekends and this one was a great one (and so necessary)! I feel like the weekends have been flying by WAY too fast lately so a 3-day is exactly what I needed. We kicked off Valentine's Day with a delish meal at Gather... drinks, yummy apps, meals, & tiramisu for dessert. Can't go wrong!

On Saturday, one of Rob's best friends got married in the blizzard. We had a blast! The blizzard just made it more fun - we were locked inside with transportation to and from the hotel, great food, loud music, and most importantly, FUN people. That's all that really matters. The bride and groom exchanged their own vows and it was extremely touching and beautiful. Yesterday, I deemed myself the laziest person on the planet and so today was dedicated to getting myself back in order. Whew!

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I've been on a smoothie kick lately!  I haven't been posting them on here since the recipes are so simple... so I put them on all insta if you want to check them out here. Kale bores me on its own but, it's a nutrient powerhouse so I put it in all of my smoothies - can't even taste it - promise! This was today's lunch.

Cup of Kale, Half an Avocado, 3-/4-1cup of Frozen Mango, Couple-Few dashes of cinnamon and ginger, and Vanilla Almond Milk. So good!

I went to boxing 6 times last week so I thought it might be smart to go for a run and give these New Balance Fresh Foam kicks a test drive. They are so light and comfy! (Even though it was freeezingggg)

Time for dinner! I picked up a spaghetti squash at Foodies today and figured since I've been on such a kale kick, I'd try making kale pesto. Disclaimer: This kale-avocado pesto came out awesome, however, I'd go basil all day errryday moving forward... not worth the effort hiding the bitterness.

How to cook spaghetti squash you ask? Easy.

- Poke holes all over the dang thang

- Pop it in a 415 degree oven for a half hour (or less depending on the size of the squash)

- Flip it, and cook for another half hour

Cut it in half and let it cool for a little bit (or else you'll burn your hands). Then take forks and pull out all the "spaghetti".

For the pesto: 1/2 cup of Kale, Whole Avocado, 1/4 cup or so of Parmesan, 1 garlic clove, 1/3 cup or so of extra virgin olive oil, juice of 1-2 lemons, salt & pepper to taste. Mix it up in the food processor.

(I used more o/o and Parmesan than I usually would if I had just used basil instead of kale - see what I'm getting at? Not totally worth it. And, basil is healthy! I just wanted to try something new and didn't have any basil in the house)

Take a couple tbs of the pesto and add it to a saute pan with crushed red pepper, a pad of butter, shredded chicked (I baked chicken that I marinated in o/o, lemon, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt & pepper - shredded it and added it to the mix), and half of the spaghetti squash (or all of it if this meal is for two).

Top with Parmesan and crushed red pepper and serve. DELISH!

Have an awesome week! xo

 

Disclaimer: New Balance does not compensate me for reviews on their gear, however, they did provide me with that pair of fresh foam kicks. All reviews are my own.