Posts Tagged ‘blueberries’

Tasty Tuesday: Homemade Vegan Berry Ice Cream

Tuesday, September 18th, 2012

This recipe for homemade berry ice cream is so simple and so delicious! It is a great alternative for those who are not able to (or choose not to) consume dairy. It is also suitable for those who are soy free and/or gluten free. It only takes 3 ingredients and about 5 minutes to make. Plus you don’t need a fancy ice cream maker; just a food processor. Additionally you can easily make your berry ice cream organic by using organic ingredients. Chances are once you try this recipe you’ll forever say goodbye to that overpriced organic vegan ice cream at the store and its long list of ingredients!

Ingredients:

2 cups of mixed berries (any combination of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) washed and stems removed

1 can of full fat coconut milk or coconut cream

8-10 dates, pitted (you can substitute sweetener of choice if you don’t like dates, but may need to play with the ratios)

Directions:

Combine berries and coconut milk in a container. Cover and place in freezer for about 3 hours. Place berries and milk mixture in food processor along with dates. Process for about 3 minutes or until it doubles in size. Be sure to process it long enough for it to be light and fluffy. Enjoy!

Tip: Try mixing in other frozen fruits to create your own flavors. Mango ice cream is another one of our favorites!

-Sarah

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Tasty Tuesday: Kale Smoothie

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

I confess, I am a bit obsessed with kale and finding new, exciting (and tasty) ways to include in my family’s diet. My kids are so used to me putting kale into their food, my 5 year old even asked me if I put kale into his pancakes the other day. Although I assured him there was no kale in his pancakes, he didn’t believe me. “Why are they a funny color then?” he inquired. They were admittedly kind of a funny color but kale was not the culprit this time; the pancakes had blueberries in them. I did however serve the blueberry pancakes with a kale smoothie. 😉

We are on vacation right now which makes eating the way I prefer to eat a challenge…in other words I suck at being vegan right now. Although we did travel with our blender (a true sign of a blender addict) so smoothies have my redemption! Plus they are a cool and refreshing treat during the hot summer weather. This kale smoothies has been a particular recent favorite of mine:

Ingredients:

1.5 cups coconut milk

1/4 cup frozen mango

1/4 cup frozen pineapple

1/2 frozen banana (fresh is fine too, I just prefer it frozen)

1 date, pitted (optional, but I tend to include it, especially if I am giving some to the kids)

2 tablespoons hemp seed

3-4 de-stemmed pieces of kale

Directions:

Blend on high for at least two minutes or until kale is completely blended smooth (you don’t want little chunks of kale in your smoothie). This recipe makes enough to share!

Two quick tips for awesome smoothies:

1. Green smoothies tend to blend best when liquid is on the bottom and greens are on the to, so put your liquid (milk, milk alternative, water, etc) in first and your greens in last.

2. If you have bananas that are about to spoil, peel them, half them, throw them in a plastic baggie, and pop them in the freezer. Then when you want to add a banana to a smoothie, you have a sweet frozen banana ready to go! (extra ripe means extra sweet!).

What do you like to include in your smoothies? Any favorites you want to share? Would love to hear what others are blended up these days! 🙂

-Sarah

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Powerhouse Salad Recipe

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Spinach is definitely a favorite of mine! I enjoy it raw, cooked, steamed, or juiced.

I am always looking for tasty ways to increase my intake of greens. I usually do a a green smoothie with breakfast and a salad with dinner. This recipe is my current favorite salad. It incorporates several of the powerhouse foods (meaning high nutritional content) thus I named it “Powerhouse Salad”.

Ingredients:

1 bunch (or about two generous handfuls of spinach) of washed, dried, and cut spinach

1/2 of the seeds from a pomegranate (here’s one easy way to remove seeds and here’s another simple method)

1/2 of an apple or pear chopped

1/2 cup of blueberries

1/4 cup chopped walnut

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Sprinkle with hemp seed

Toss with your favorite ‘sweet’ dressing such as a honey mustard, raspberry vinaigrette, or poppy seed and enjoy!

We are fortnate to have an abundance of healthy foods available to us and when we chose to honor our bodies with nutritious foods we have prepared for ourselves, often feelings of joy, delight, and satisfaction follow. While eating your powerhouse salad, chew slowly and deliberately while consciously focusing on the flavors. Try having an awareness, appreciation, or even gratitude for the nourishing foods you are enjoying. I have been trying to slow down (I know this is really, really difficult with small children) when I eat. Not only to savor the flavor and texture, but to create a mental awareness for the nutrients the foods are providing. Creating positive associations with healthy foods can be an important step in dietary changes. By practicing mindfulness, you can significantly influence your food choices. 🙂

If you make this salad for yourself or your family, let me know what you think or what alterations you make. Also if you practice mindfulness while enjoying, would love to hear your experiences with that.

-Sarah

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