Holidays Holidays!

Whoa...
I told myself I WOULDN'T let this happen.... but I DID!!!!
EEK!!!
I haven't written all month!!!!

Alas...this is what occurs when you simutaneously have a little KNITTING business on the side...
Knitting and CROCHETING...might I add...

Let's face it: December is the month for making WARM stuff... NOT for making smoothies.
I mean, of course I STILL make smoothies and I've made a TON of SOUPS that I haven't posted recipes for yet....
BUT.... I've been keeping myself busy knitting up those COZIES to keep everyone's neck warm....

#CraftWrxCozy

 

(not the best selfie ever but just wanted ya to know what I was talking about....)

 

Oh... and you can LIKE my CraftWrx page on Facebook if ya wanna see what I'm up to in the world of wool: https://www.facebook.com/craftwrx

Ok...
Now back to the FOCUS of this BLOG...

In need of a QUICK fix to get some fruits and veggies?
Well.. here are a couple of SUPER DUPER smoothies that will keep you PEPPED up during the WINTER WINTERINESS of WINTER....

 

Plain & Simple

 

1 cup pineapple juice

1 orange cut up

half a lime

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

 

 

Mossy

 

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 fresh mango

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

handful spinich

Tbsp cacao nibs

 

  

Chartreuse Anyone?

 

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 banana

1/2 cup strawberries frozen

3/4 cup mango frozen

handful baby kale

 

 

Wishing you all LOVE & LAUGHTER for 2015!!!!

And....LOTS of BROWN SMOOTHIE MAKING!!

 

 



Red Rover

A big 'ole FRUIT FIESTA this one is!
Kinda NOVEMBER-ISH....
Red like the leaves turning COLOUR....
Not that you couldn't make this in MARCH or JUNE....
Of course you could...
I'm just drawing a PARALELL here... as I was looking at all the leaves this morning.

Takes me back to my childhood...
Playing a game of RED ROVER...
CRUNCHING through all those leaves as you RUN towards the other team.... 
Trying to BUST through their TIGHTLY GRIPPED HANDS....
But you rarely make it across as you aren't really into that sort of thing....
The RIPPING through...
OR
The PROPELLING backwards if you CEASE to accomplish the task as hand....
(I never liked that game....but it's got a GREAT name!)

LOOK!

Here are some LEAVES turning colour... 
(Bonus to you if you spot the FACE)

AND...all the ingredients are colours of fall leaves.....
Can you see the ORANGE mango, YELLOW banana, and RED strawberries in these leaves???? 


I know I have GLARE here, but...meh....whatever...

 

Red Rover

(1 large serving)

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 banana

half mango

1/4 cup raspberries

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 cup frozen strawberries

Franken-Smoothie

I think the NAME says it all...

It's GREEN...

It's kinda MESSY...

Maybe even a little SCARY...

 

But...no worries....

It's all GOOD...

I know it's not BROWN...

But it's GOOD!

And it's HALLOWEENY....

 

I didn't realize how MUCH this recipe was going to yield...

I guess I poured a little too QUICKLY....

It all started SLOSHING over the edge of the glass...

And I thought to myself...

"This is GREAT!"

"This looks totally GROSS!"

"GRAB CAMERA FAST!!"

 

 

MEGA drips = Total INSPIRATION

 

Are you gettin' the FRANKENSTEIN vibe?? 

 

Dive on in......

Franken-Smoothie

(1 really big serving)

 

1 cup pineapple juice

1 big orange

1 cup frozen strawberries

LOTS of spinach (3 handfuls?)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Best Juice EVER!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

In honour of the colour ORANGE... which is highly associated with HALLOWEEN...
I bring to you one of my favourite JUICE recipes...

I haven't been using my juicer much since I started BLENDING....but I got the craving for my absolutely FAVORITE homemade juice the other day...
It really IS the BEST juice!
I have tried a juicing a variety of things.....BUT
I ALWAYS go back to THIS one.

So of course I documented my experience and what do you know...The juice is ORANGE and it's HALLOWEEN today so here it is.....

 Peeled and Prepared Fruit & Veg: 

 Sooo BEAUTIFUL to me, I had to do a ...........

CLOSE UP:

The FROTH:

  

 

The PULP SCULPTING:
(That's a whole other post.....)

 

The JUICE:

Best Juice EVER!!

 

5 giant carrots

3 apples

4 oranges

chunk of ginger

1 lemon or lime

(You can use whatever ratio you like but I like to go a bit heavy on the carrots... A batch and a half will last a couple of days)

Fruit and Veggie Kick-Starter

This one is GREAT!

Not that my other ones aren't great...but this one is kinda COMPLEX in its taste...and I like that sometimes...
COMPLEXITY...
And...for you NON-banana fans.....this one is RIGHT up your alley!
(I AM a fan of the banana however...just sayin')

 

Sometimes my smoothies are created due to the availability of ingredients in the house...

Sometimes due to particular cravings...

Sometimes I just grab whatever without even thinking much about it...and

SOMETIMES.... my smoothies are created due to a LACK of COLOR in my photographs...

 

And this was such a time...

 

For some reason.... I felt this photo (see below) was just NOT COMPLETE...

It's a LOVELY photo. I took it myself...
But on this particular day... I was in need of something MORE.
More of a VARIED color scheme...
I always look at the pre-blend shots before I actually blend, to make sure I like the set up...

When I looked at this picture... I thought to myself....NOPE...something is missing...
BLUEBERRIES!!!

Blueberries would really make this photo POP!

(Not to mention... they would also taste REALLY good in this combo...)
 

Lovely Photo: 

 

 

Even Lovelier: 

 

And....IT'S BROWN!!!

 

Fruit and Veggie Kick-Starter

(1 large serving)

 

1 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup frozen strawberries

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/3 cup frozen mango

1/4 cup cucumber

1/3 of a red pepper

big handful of spinach

1 Tbsp Hempseed

(you can add a bit of water if it's too thick for you)

 

 

One more thing.....

I'm curious to know what you think of the taste.

In a way...

In a STRANGE way...

It kinda tastes like SWEET and SOUR sauce to me...

In a GOOD strange way...

Green Genie

This one made a LOT...
...so you can always SHARE it with someone...
OR...
you can pour yourself a BIG glass
...and then drink the leftovers DIRECTLY from the blender as I did...

Oh...and the colour for October is...GREEN...

 

 

Green Genie

(1 really big serving)

 

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 banana

1/2 cup frozen mango

3/4 cup frozen strawberries

2 BIG handfuls spinach

1/4 cup water

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Milk

I LOVE the Fall.

It's my favourite season.

LEAVES turning colour...

The CRISPNESS in the air...

Being COZY...

Making PIES...

..and all that JAZZ...

 

Anyway... I found the best pumpkin pie recipe from Martha Stewart. Here it is:

 

Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

You know...I never really liked pumpkin pie much cause it was always a bit too EGGY for me...

I have a "THING" with eggs...

I'll save that story for another time..

 

I actually manage to make TWO pies from the above recipe, so the pie is quite firm and not so GOOEY as some pumpkin pies are.....

 

The thing with pumpkin pies is.....you are always left with EXTRA pumpkin in the can....

And WHAT are you supposed to do with it?

For years I have been saving it in the fridge thinking I will use it somehow....

But HAVE I?

NO, I haven't...

Until NOW!!!

NOW that my KITCHEN CONCOCTING is such a prominent part of my life!

 

So...I am not a big milk drinker...

NEVER have been.

I'm probably a BIT lactose intolerant...

Even as a child...I remember when they came around at recess passing out the little red and white milk cartons...

I would CRINGE...

I would take one initial sip to be social and BLECH...they feeling I got from it...

YUCKO!!!!

Just couldn't do it....

Can you say: "MAJOR STOMACH CHURN!"

We didn't know about that stuff back then....

Needless to say, I wasn't a huge cereal consumer... although I did have the ODD bowl of rice krispies with sliced banana and strawberry jam on top.

 

So... in recent years I was thrilled to latch onto Almond Milk.

Rice Milk and Hemp Milk are in my GOOD books too.

 

Well...I made THE most delicious chocolate milk!!!

I GOBBLED it right up!

It was SOOOO good!

 

I USED THE EXTRA PUMPKIN FROM THE CAN!!!

 

Here it is my friends....

Chocolate milk that tastes like pumpkin pie and has an added BOOST of vitamin A!!!!

 

 

 

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Milk

(1 medium serving)

 

3/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)

1/4 cup canned pumpkin

2 tsp semi sweet mini chocolate chips

1 Tbsp maple syrup

dash of cinnamon

little dash of ground ginger

(grated chocolate for garnish)

 

Note: If you want it colder you can add a couple of ice cubes

Succulent Sepia Sipper

So many DELISH combos to try.
You can NEVER get bored making smoothies.
I have a GINORMOUS list of recipes I want to try....
So stay tuned....
In the MEANTIME...

 

KEEP

CALM

and

GARNISH

ON

 

Succulent Sepia Sipper

 

1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 banana
1/3 frozen mango
1/4 frozen blueberry
Handful of Spinach

 

(you can always add some Hemp seed if you want)

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Potato Chip Crunch Cookies

So...somedays, I DON'T have a smoothie..

I know. CRAZY... right?

 

Anyway...on one of these SMOOTHIE-LESS days I usually feel the need to experiment in the kitchen....

Usually with a baked good of some sort....

 

And such is the result below....

FYI: 

I've baked oatmeal cookies

I've baked chocolate chip cookies

I've baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

I've baked tuna caserole with potato chips on top.....

But I've never baked CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL POTATO CHIP COOKIES

(Don't worry...this recipe is SANS tuna...)

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Potato Chip Crunch Cookies

1 cup salted butter softened       

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour (I use 1 cup "light spelt", 1 cup all purpose)

1 tsp baking soda

dashes of salt

4 cups crushed salted potato chips (I used kettle cooked)

                                       1 cup chocolate chips                          

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter and sugars on medium speed with mixer until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs. Beat on medium speed until combined.

 

2. Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat on low speed until combined. (Sometimes I just use a wooden spoon to mix...) Stir in 2 cups of the potato chips and the chocolate chips

 

3. Roll dough into small balls. I usually use about 2 Tbsp per ball..., then roll balls in remaining potato chips. Place cookies 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden, 16 - 18 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheet.

 

 

Chocolicious Fruity Mint

Ok, I'll ADMIT it...

Sometimes my smoothie making takes over the ENTIRE household...

The Freezer is CHOCK-FULL of baggies and containers of fruit... like totally BURSTING with the stuff...
The Vitamix RESIDES on the left side of the kitchen counter, therefore that area is pretty much OUT OF COMMISION for everyone else...
My handwriiten recipes are SCATTERED on pieces of scrap paper EVERYWHERE....
...EVEN though I just bought myself a notebook...
My computer is JAM-PACKED with smoothie photos in EVERY possible angle you can imagine....
I am constantly leaving the room in mid-conversation if I feel the need to take a picture of a PLAUSIBLE subject for this blog...
And... I talk ALOT about #BrownSmoothies....
I mean....Ahhhh- LOT!
 

So... I guess it's no surprise that my 11yr. old is super KEEN on smoothies....

And now...my 5yr. old has also decided that SHE should start coming up with recipes!

This is her first one and if I do say so myself.....
We have a WINNER!!!!!
 

  

 

Violet's Chocolicious Fruity Mint
(1 medium serving)
 

1 orange cut up

1/2 strawberries

1/2 cup frozen bananas

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 cup water

5 medium mint leaves

1 Tbsp semi sweet chocolate chips

Handful of spinach

Note: If your fruit isn't frozen, try adding a couple of ice cubes...

Cherry Banana Cake

This one is pretty simple.

And...pretty brownish green....

Kind of SWAMPISH in colour (but who cares right? I love swamps...don't you?)

 

The Spinach Razaroo  was a GREENISH shade of brown...this one is more of a BROWNISH shade of green...

Therefore...we shall call it a BR...EEN smoothie!!

 

And it really DOES taste like banana cake! Yum Yum...

 

Fruit shot:

We commence with some lovely dark cherries.... 

Blender shot:

( I loved the look of this... so the pic is sans leafy greens) 

Smoothie shot:

(see what a little spinach can do....) 

 

Cherry Banana Cake

(one serving)

1/3 cup dark cherries 
1/2 cup frozen bananas

3/4 vanilla almond milk

big handful spinach

cinnamon (a couple of pinches)

Fruit and Veggie Combo

These days I RARELY make the same smoothie twice.

I have been keeping my freezer and fridge WELL STOCKED with ingredients so I am always trying something NEW...

 

So...when I made this one today....I had to CHECK my blog...

I wasn't sure if I had already made this one or not...HA!

 

(It was almost called: The "I Think I Made This one Already" Smoothie!!)

 

But I didn't ...so here it is for your enjoyment.

 

By the way...I've discovered that I really LOVE the taste that red peppers, pineapple and cucumbers contribute. They are a nice melange when you want to add VEGGIES to your smoothie.

 

 

Fruit and Veggie Combo

(1 serving)

 

1cup pineapple juice

half mango

1/4 cup raspberries

1/4 red of a big red pepper

1/4 cup cucumber

handful frozen baby kale

1 Tbsp Hempseed

 

 

Brown Birthday Cake Bananza Smoothie

Here I go adding COOKED food again....

But THIS time.....
It was surprisingly GOOD!!!
My four Taste Testers AGREED.
 
This smoothie was INSPIRED by a deliciously large birthday cake I made for my 5 year old.
As you can see it was also inspired by the movie FROZEN...

 

Basically, it's a dessert smoothie... or an afternoon SWEET treat...

 

So...we'll BEGIN this Bonanza with bananas, dates, & chocolate chunks...  

 

Movin' right along to a nice little SLAB of

"Frozen" (physically & literally) chocolate BIRTHDAY CAKE... 

 

Into the blender it all goes.....

Add some almond milk...

 

 

By the time you sing the chorus of "Let It Go"

it should be blended to PERFECTION... 

 

 Ta Da!!!

 

 ELSA agrees...

A delightfully delicious delectible delicacy!!!

 

Brown Birthday Cake Bananza Smoothie

 

1 cup milk (I used Almond milk)

1/2 cup frozen chunk of leftover cake

1/2 cup frozen bananas

2 dates

sprinkles

What do you do with YOUR leftover Birthday Cake?

Mauve Madness

I am going through a phase where I am finding GARNISHING my smoothies to be even more exciting that CONCOCTING them.....

It's just all so much FUN!

I NEVER plan my garnishes ahead of time..

Nope.

I CONCOCT
I BLEND
I POUR (sometimes I have to switch vessels if I'm not getting the right vibe...)
I PONDER

Then I FRANTICALLY search for the message the particular smoothie is sending me and rush around the kitchen trying to create the appropriate garnish....

TIMING is everything!

  

As you can imagine this one is a hit with KIDS...

SIMPLE ingredients & a funny FACE...

What more can ya ask for?

Grown-ups....if you want it BROWN... add some spinach or kale and some cacao nibs for a little pick me up!

I think I'll call her Maude... 

Mauve Madness

(1 small serving)

1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/3 cup frozen strawberries

half of a medium size banana

BTW: Colour of the month for September is MAUVE

Brownalicious

I seem to be on a roll....

ALL my smoothies are turning brown these days.

EXCEPT for the ones that don't....

 

I've been having this one a lot lately.

Especially since the MANGOS have been 3 for $5 at my favourite fruit and veggie market.

I love the ATAULFO mangos. They are so SWEET and CREAMY.

I've been stocking up and freezing them as their season is almost over....

 

 This smoothie is great for a mid morning or late afternoon snack....

or... even good for lunch....

or... really it's good for....

WHENEVER!!!

Brownalicious

(1 large-ish serving)

1 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup raspberries

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen mango

2 Tbsp hempseed

big handful spinach

Note: You can always use fresh pineapple.
I get itchy lips from it so
I stick with canned or juice....

Some interesting TIDBITS about mangos:

http://www.mango.org/varieties-and-availability

 

Cool Mint Freshie

First of all....

Let me REASSURE you that this has NOTHING to do with TOOTHPASTE....

And...EVERYTHING to do with COOLING DOWN!

Having a bit of a heat wave here today in TORONTO today...

 

But ya gotta carry on.

There's 5K to RUN and BASEBALL to be played!!

So after a day of EXTREMENESS in the SWEAT department.....

It's time to go home....put your feet up and chill....

LITERALLY...

 

And what could be more THRIST- QUENCHING than a handful of snack mix?

OK...SERIOUSLY...I needed a handful....just cause ....

Cause ....THEY ARE SOOOO GOOD!

But...back to Smoothie making......

WATERMELON is always a winner on a HOT day!
GOTTA have it!

 

Doesn't the "Blender Shot" cool you down just by LOOKING at it?

By the way....ONE of these was NOT enough for a day like today, so I made another!

If it's crazy HOT, just DOUBLE the recipe.

Cool Mint Freshie

(1 medium serving)

 

1 cup chopped watermeon

1/4 cup raspberries

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

4-5 mint leaves

handful of ice

 

#BrownSmoothie

OK...

It's a done deal.

I've decided..... 

THIS is IT!

THIS is the ONE.

THIS is THE #BrownSmoothie !

 

 

GO ON...

Take a taste of this INVIGORATING ELIXIR...

 

My Brown Smoothie

(1 large serving)

 

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup bananas (frozen or fresh)

1 orange

4 strawberries(frozen or fresh)

handful spinach

1/4 cup water

handful of ice

1 Tbsp hempseed

Raw Umber Recharger

Making Smoothies is FUN! 

What can I say...

EXCITEMENT is everywhere...

Ya just have to find it!

 

For ME....

It's as simple as making a new #BrownSmoothie that I LOVE.

And HERE it is.....

 

 

 Raw Umber Recharger
(one medium serving)
 

1/2 cup frozen mango

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 frozen cherries

1/2 cup almond milk

big handful spinach

Brown Zap

Some days I just don't FEEL like a coffee in the afternoon...

I know that sounds CRAZY to some of you....and frankly it does to me as well...

You see...I love COFFEE just as MUCH as I love SMOOTHIES!

 

Anyway...yesterday I decided that I would allow some CACAO NIBS to give me that much needed JOLT of ENERGY.

 

I love sprinkling extra nibs on top for a GARNISH.

They add a nice little CRUNCH.

   

By the way...when I made this I blended everything EXCEPT the spinach & nibs.

Then I poured out a cup for my daughter and she had a lovely #PinkSmoothie.

Right away I added the GREENS & CAFFINE for myself, blended those in and YUM YUM... I had a lovely #BrownSmoothie! Happiness for all!! 

 

 

 

 Brown Zap

(1 large serving)

 

3 pineapple rings plus 1/4 cup juice from can

3/4 cup frozen raspberries

3/4 frozen bananas

3 ice cubes
1/2 cup water

1 Tbsp cacao nibs

handful spinach

 

Scrumptiously Smooth and Healthy Freezer Fudge Bites

These are SOOOO Good!!!

I was about to have my afternoon coffee when I realized that I had NO baked goods...EEK!!!
Even my stash of frozen cookies was all GONE!

Sure... I've got boxes of store bought cookies in the cupboard for an EXTREME emergency but...really...I just DON'T LIKE store bought cookies...

So...I decided to look around the house and see what I had on hand and SLAP together some sort of no-bake deal....

We'll... we all know that I ALWAYS have BANANAS in the freezer.
So...I started with those. Broke apart about a 1/2 cup and threw them in a bowl and mashed them up!

Then I added QUICK COOK OATS...
Simple enough, right?
Added a couple Tbsp of MILK to soak up the oats....

 

BOM:

(banana, oats, milk)

Then I melted 1 cup of milk CHOCOLATE CHIPS and plopped it on top of

the oats mixture...

Can you say MOUTH-WATERING???

Stir it all up...

 

(doesn't look quite as mouth-watering here...BUT WAIT!!!)

Then you've got a couple of CHOICES...

You can either take little SPOONFULS and plop then on a plate lined with parchment paper and top them with a chocolate chip and then freeze them...

Or you can PRESS all of it in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and cut it into little squares after its set in the freezer.
I prefer them in drop form as they seem to be smoother in texture...

 

Here they are...my little DELICACIES:

  Scrumptiously Smooth and Healthy Freezer Fudge Bites

(makes a bunch)

1/2 cup mashed frozen banana

A tiny bit less than 1 cup of quick cook oats

2 Tbsp milk

1 cup melted milk chocolate chips

Mash frozen bananas in a bowl.
Add oats and milk and combine with fork.
Stir in melted chocolate
Shape into balls & top with chocolate chip on top of parchment lined tray
Freeze for 15 min
Remove from parchment and store in container in freezer or just eat them all!!


Store in freezer and serve to your friends as soon as they walk in the door!!

Oh...and by the way...KIDS LOVE THEM!!
A nice alternative from JUST chocolate...
Great to have the GOODNESS of bananas and oats.