Very Berry Smoothie; A sipping drink for summer

From salads, soups, jellies and jams. The main star of a dish, or served as side order. Whatever role it plays in my kitchen, I enjoy fruit. I cannot get enough of them. They come in a perfect package, that in most cases is ready to eat.

When it comes to desserts, fruits are my dessert of choice, I normally eat them plain. They are the perfect food to have on hand when you don’t feel like cooking.

Ever had one of those days when you really don’t feel like cooking, or you’re so busy you don’t have the time to cook? Yesterday was one of those days. Although I did have the time to prepare a meal, I simply didn’t feel like making anything. Thankfully we had plenty of leftovers available. Just in case, I had chopped up vegetables and fruits standby in case we had an attack of the munchies.

Now that I think about it, I did make something yesterday, the Very Berry Smoothie!

Very Berry Smoothie

    • 3 cups of unsweetened apple juice, water, or ice cubes
    • 1 cup strawberries
    • 1 cup blueberries
    • 1/2 cup blackberries
    • 2 plums
    • 1 peach
    • 3 cups of dark leafy greens (I used a mix of collards and kale)
    • 1 tablespoon of spirulina

drop Spirulina into the liquid without touching it, or the spirulina will gum up the spoon

Directions

Combine ingredients in blender, blend, serve and enjoy!

*I prefer my smoothies to be very thick, however it if it’s too thick for you, just add more liquid.

Experiment

Of course, you can select your own fruit too, say you want a sweeter smoothie you could add a few cups of pineapple or mango to the blend. Do you like a slight tart taste? Toss in some a few kiwis. The beauty of smoothies is that you can add or take away the fruits that you don’t like and make your own personalized smoothie. Have fun, and experiment with your foods.

spirulina_powder.07.19.10.jpg

Spirulina powder
A few facts about Spirulina…

I was introduced to spirulina in the early 90’s. I was living in downtown Baltimore at the time, to be more specific I lived in Mount Vernon. The place had a Bohemian type vibe to it that I really enjoyed. I was introduced to a lot of things while living there, became interested in Aromatherapy, got aromatherapy certifications and really started experimenting with my own skin care products. I met some fabulous crunchy folk during my time there, and some of them gave me gushing reviews about Spirulina.

Spirulina is a blue green algae that thrives in fresh bodies of water, like lakes and ponds. Numerous research has been done about spirulina; it’s purported to contain a numerous health benefits for the body. If you can, try adding spirulina to your cabinet. Include it in your smoothies or sprinkle it over your food. It’s a great way to enhance the nutritional benefits of the foods you consume.

It’s loaded with nutrients that are good for our body. Spirulina is 60% protein, which is higher than any other food. It’s also the highest source of B12. Did you know it contains ten times more beta carotene than carrots? It also contains iron, vitamin E and a whole host of nutrients that I won’t discuss here. You can learn more by reading up on the health benefits of spirulina. That’s pretty impressive right, I call Spirulina a super algae. Since its health benefits blow me away, I make sure I keep it in stock.

This very berry smoothie made a fair amount; we didn’t drink it all. About half of the smoothie was used to make fruit popsicles. It’s a healthier choice than the majority of the empty calorie popsicles you see at the store. The smoothie is an excellent sipping drink for the hot days of summer.

 

Technorati Tags:
Moondancer, Recipes, Smoothies, Vegan, Vegetarian, whole food

 

Savory Lentil Soup; Soup that started out a salad

Lentil-soup.07.15.10.jpg


Savory Lentil Soup

Some say that lentils are to India as meatloaf is to America, it’s the ultimate comfort food. I’ve been Vegan since 1992, I haven’t eaten meatloaf since the late 80’s, however, I’ve made numerous dishes that included lentils.

For the past few days I’ve been craving lentils. I prepare Lentils in creamy Dhal. They make an appearance in sauces, and occasionally you’ll see them popping up in salads too. Regardless of how I prepare them, lentils usually have the starring role in dishes I prepare, and for good reason.

Despite their small size, lentils are a nutritional powerhouse. Serving up a variety of healthy and tasty, nutritional options that will keep you (and your loved ones) clamoring for more. Over 80 nutrients can be found in this tiny bean. Important minerals like iron, manganese, copper, phosphorus, folate, and molybdenum. It also boasts two types of B vitamins. Let’s not forget about fiber, just like most legumes you’ll find lentils far ahead of the pack serving up a healthy dose of soluble and insoluble fiber.

Yesterday, after my daughter’s piano practice was over, we stopped by the store and I purchased some dry lentils. I prefer purchasing my beans dry, unlike other dried beans it lentils don’t take as long to cook. So if you don’t have a pressure cooker, your beans won’t take hours to prepare.

A few days ago, I stumbled upon Pig in the Kitchen’s truly delightful virtual community. Although many posts caught my eye, I couldn’t help but to chuckle at her latest post. In that post, she wrote about her competitive nature (I can completely relate) and at the end of her post she shared a recipe for a truly delightful lentil salad. Although I had every intention of making some type of salad, my lentils had a mind of their own and I found myself making a savory lentil soup. Ahh, no worries, I haven’t made lentil soup in a long time.

Savory Lentil Soup

  • 2 cups of dried lentils
  • 8 cups of water
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 medium tomatoes
  • 1.5 cups of corn
  • 3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
  • 2 tbsp of lemon juice (I used freshly squeezed lemon juice)
  • 1 tbsp curry
  • 1 bay leaf
  • organic sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. In a large stock pot, add lentils, water, garlic, onions, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about an hour.
  2. Add the corn, tomatoes, lemon juice, and curry.
  3. let simmer for two – three minutes
  4. Add salt and pepper, season to taste
  5. Serve and enjoy

I tend to add my vegetables towards the end of the cooking time because I like the fresh taste of vegetables. They’re so flavorful. The good news is, there are so many different vegetables you can add to this dish. I had every intention of adding carrots, but checking my vegetable crisper I realized I didn’t have any. Although I love my dark leafy greens, I chose not to add them to this soup. It didn’t stop me from munching on them throughout the day.

Oh, I did add about six leaves of fresh lemon balm to this dish. We have it growing in our yard; it’s right next to the bee balm. I wanted to see how it turned out. I liked it, but think I should have added more leaves. There’s always next time, right? Cumin was purposely left out of the dish, simply because I wanted to see how I liked the soup with curry, it still tasted great and my daughter wanted more.

I had no intentions of making soup on an extremely hot day, but I really enjoyed the results, and we have leftovers!

By the way with the exception of the seasonings, lemon and garlic, everything else came from our garden. Now how’s that for fresh?

Technorati Tags:
Moondancer, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, whole food

Upcoming experiment: Baked veggie chips

Produce.06.17.10.jpgIn an earlier post, I mentioned how I went 100% raw for a little over a year. During that time, I purchased a food dehydrator and started experimenting with raw treats. Being the savory diva my snack of choice was the raw veggie chips I made.

At the time, I was working out of the home so I brought a lot of my creations into work. Being the only one that was vegan or vegetarian, it was always a thrill when my snacks/treats went over well by those that didn’t just eat vegetables.

Dehydrated snacks were a treat, they weren’t something I ate daily but they were healthy treats. It’s thrilling to know that no matter what I eat, it’s good for me. I don’t eat excessively. Combine that with daily exercise and I feel pretty much unstoppable. You would think that’s enough, right? Well it isn’t, how we treat ourselves and others is extremely important. How can we expect to be healthy emotionally, if we constantly feed off or spread negativity? So yes, at times we need an internal workout too. 🙂

Anyway, back to the veggie chips…
The majority of my veggie chips have dark leafy greens. I’ve written briefly about the importance of eating dark leafy greens before. Being the green lover that I am, you’ll see me writing about greens a lot. They are important, include them in your meals. They can enhance your health. 🙂

Although I’ve been meaning to make a baked version of the veggie chips I used to make, unfortunately, I’ve never gotten around to doing that. I can blame the lack of following through with that for many reasons. The number one reason is simple. I prefer a lot of my foods raw, so well the yummy vegetables are in our tummies before they even make it into the ingredients pile. However, I do have some free-time over the next few days, and so I’m thinking I’ll make some baked veggie chips. I’ll be sure to post pictures, and I’ll try to remember to measure everything and post it on this site.

When it comes to documenting my creations I do it all in MacGourmet Deluxe. I’m a Mac user. It’s a Mac based software application. I’ve been using this application for a few years, and enjoy it immensely. Since acquiring it, I’ve used it to hold many of the recipes I’ve created. I enjoy creating simple, nutritious, and delicious meals. I’m even happier when others enjoy what I prepare too and realize that eating healthy doesn’t have to be a ‘bad thing’ it can be quite delicious — and it’s good for you!

Publishing a book focused on whole food vegan recipes is one of my long-term goals, and the recipes that will be featured are all stored in this application.

Technorati Tags:
Vegan, Vegetarian, whole food

Vegan Cuisine: Spicy Black Beans & collard greens

Black Beans & Collards.06.08.10.jpg

Spicy Black Beans & Collard Greens

When I think about the foods that I enjoy eating, I would have to put black beans and any type of leafy green high on that list. I really enjoy eating my dark greens. It wasn’t always that way.

Years ago I would eat dark greens because I knew they were healthy. However, if I were to be perfectly honest, I didn’t enjoy eating them. Which is why I tended to ‘cook them to death’ so I wouldn’t have to taste them, crazy I know… 🙂 I favored the lighter greens, which weren’t as healthy. Over time, my taste buds changed. That tends to happen the ‘cleaner’ and healthier you eat, and I began to crave dark leafy greens and now they’re part of my daily eating habits. Beans and greens can be made in numerous tasty dishes. They’re loaded with vitamins and nutrients, and if prepared correctly they are delicious.

Yesterday morning, I went out into the garden and picked a few leaves of collards. I decided I would prepare a simple breakfast of black beans and collards. Since our collards are huge, I only needed 4 leaves.

Calcium, vitamin A, B6, and vitamin E are a few of the nutrients you’ll find in Collard greens. Dark leafy greens are loaded with vitamins and minerals and should be included in your daily eating routine.

After picking the collard greens I decided I would add black beans to the meal too. I’ve included the recipe I made below.

Spicy Black Beans & sauteed collard greens

  • 2 cups collard greens; rinsed and chopped or shredded
  • 2 cups of black beans rinsed and drained
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp freshly chopped ginger root
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp curry
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
  • 1/2 cup of water

Direction

  1. In a deep frying pan or large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.
  2. Add the onions, sautee until clear.
  3. Add garlic, pepper, and all other spices except for the sea salt
  4. Stirring frequently, cook the spices for a several minutes
  5. Add the collard greens, making sure to coat the greens with the spices and oil
  6. Sautee for about two minutes
  7. Add the remaining ingredients
  8. Turn heat to medium low
  9. Stir frequently, so the ingredients don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
  10. Serve and enjoy!

If you like you can add the greens right before your serve the dish. In doing so, they are only lightly cooked. This is how I normally make any dish with greens. I enjoy the raw taste of greens. However, I did something differently and actually cooked the greens for a few moments. Since I drink them daily you know a green smoothie accompanied the meal.

Technorati Tags:
Recipes, Smoothies, vegetarian, whole food

Mulberry Smoothie; Healthy and Delicious

mulberry.05.31.10.jpgThe invasion of mulberries (in our back yard) is a definite sign that Summer is in full swing.

Mulberry harvesting is one of my most enjoyable gardening past times. The mulberries are thick. If you look down you won’t find a green grassy carpet instead you’ll find mulberries covering every inch of ground. You’ll also find them in the Mulberry trees too.

What makes mulberry picking even more enjoyable, is the variety of birds that pay us a visit during this time. They all converge to feast on those mulberries. There is such an overabundance of mulberries that you really don’t miss the ones that they eat. Mulberries are great in raw ice creams, mulberry jams, tossed into fresh and raw salads, sauces… they’re also delicious in smoothies too.

Yesterday, after arriving home from our carnival adventure, I decided to take some of the mulberries I had picked that morning and make a pitcher of Mulberry smoothie. Although this isn’t a green smoothie recipe the Mulberry smoothie is simple to make, and extremely delicious. I like the tangy (slightly bitter taste) of our mulberries so I normally don’t add anything besides a liquid (this time I used unsweetened apple juice) to sweeten it. However, you can choose another liquid or sweeten with a natural sweetener like honey or stevia.

Mulberry: Health Benefits
Mulberries are delicious, and they have the added bonus of being good for you too.

    • Mulberries are loaded with vitamins and minerals.

Mulberries contain; fiber, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, carbohydrates, iron and proteins which are great for ones health.

    • Mulberries have an antioxidant action.

Mulberries contain anthocyanins (pigments in the fruit) which also has an antioxidant action. Scientist has studied mulberries as a means to fight cancer and diabetes too.

    • Promotes health liver and kidneys
    • Helps eliminate constipation

I’ve used mulberries many times when I’ve had bouts of constipation and it has helped eliminate this condition.

    • Used to treat anemia.

Mulberries are high in iron, so is natural way to treat anemia naturally.

Mulberry Smoothie: Healthy and Delicious

    • 4 cups of Mulberries

fresh is best but if you are unable to get those, get frozen mulberries

    • 3 cups of apple juice

You can also try pineapple juice, or one of the natural sweeteners I mentioned above.

  • 2 bananas peeled and sliced

Directions

  1. Slice the bananas and place into a sealable container; freeze until hard.
  2. In an electric blender, combine the Mulberries, bananas, and bananas; process till smooth.

This smoothie is slightly thick, if you prefer a thinner smoothie add more liquid.

Instead of reaching for a sugary drink devoid of health benefits, why not choose a smoothie that’s not only taste delicious but is loaded with nutrients too? Enjoy!

Technorati Tags:
Recipe, Recipes, vegetarian, whole food, Smoothies

Vegan: Flavorful Veggie Sandwich

veggie-sandwich-05-29-101111
Veggie sandwich

 

I really love color, and enjoy seeing it displayed in the various cuisines I prepare. Naturally, I was extremely pleased with this colorful vegan sandwich. Although the cooked meals I prepare are usually ready within fifteen minutes there are times when I don’t feel like cooking. In those instances, I’ll choose something such as the veggie sandwich above.

My daughter and I can choose to eat a salad, or wrap the filling into a wrap. Today we decided to make sandwiches and so our wrap of choice was rye bread.

I’ve been vegetarian since 1992 (turned vegan a few years later.) You want to know something? I wasn’t always fond of salads. I chalk it up to the tasteless salads I encountered as a child. It was obvious that no thought was put into them. I was expected to eat them because they were a salad. You’re supposed to eat your veggies, right? Although I ate them, I didn’t enjoy the bland vegetables that were put out before me. Fast forward years later, and now I enjoy my salads and realized that they can be extremely flavorful, imagine that! 😉

What’s in this sandwich?

  • Grated carrots
  • Spinach
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Collard greens
  • Raw sunflower seeds
  • Yellow onion
  • Raisins
  • Black olives
  • homemade mayonnaise

Within the next few days, I’ll come back to this post and include the exact measurements used for creating this salad.

The beauty of salads is that you can make them as simple or complex as you want them to be. This ‘salad on bread’ was bursting with flavor. My daughter enjoyed eating it a lot. I tend to make large batches of these types of salads so we can snack on throughout the day. There are so many different options that can be done with this sandwich, at times I use collard or kale leaves to make this a 100% raw meal. Regardless of what path you choose, it’s still delicious.

I really enjoy the weekends. If the weather is nice, it gives me a chance to hang outside with my daughter for the majority of the day. The sky was overcast for a good portion of the morning, however, the clouds eventually, rolled away to reveal the glorious sun.

Earlier today, I started the grill and grilled some homemade bean burgers. Yes, their vegan and no they didn’t fall apart. I’ll be posting the recipe for those burgers and a few other dishes sometime next week.

Technorati Tags:
Recipe, Vegan, vegetarian, Vegetarian, whole food