What do you do when it’s so hot outside that you child declares he’ll only eat a smoothie for lunch? Make sure that smoothie is a nutritious meal in and of itself. To make this smoothie, I combined lots of greens – kale, spinach, and spirulina powder, generous amounts of healthy fats and protein – coconut and cashew butters, frozen bananas to give it some sweetness and to make it nice and cold, as well as some cacao powder to make it all taste yummy (in addition to cacao’s wonderful nutritional benefits).… Continue reading
vegan
Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Milkshake
The other day, a friend sent me a picture of a milkshake, reminiscing about all of the milkshakes we drank in college (yeah, they were pretty much a food group in our apartment). So when my boys were looking for a treat on a hot summer afternoon, I decided to make us some milkshakes of our own.
I wanted to make something healthier than the sugar-filled milkshakes that powered me through late nights of studying during my undergrad years, so instead of using ice cream as the cold part of this recipe, I used frozen bananas.… Continue reading
Fruit-Sweetened Tropical Temptation Ice Cream
Another hot summer afternoon led us to again pull out our ice cream maker. This time, I wanted something fruity and tropical. So we pulled out a bunch of tropical, as well as some not-so-tropical, ingredients and whipped up this batch of cold, fruit-sweetened deliciousness. My 2-year-old asked for “More Yummy” when his ice cream was gone. That pretty much sums it up.… Continue reading
All Natural Super Fruit Milk
The other day we were at story time at our local library and one of the kids had a sippy bottle full of strawberry milk. It had the distinctive bright pink color of the Strawberry Quik I drank as a child. I found myself surprised that stuff was still being sold (I thought it went the way of Tang – is that still around too?).… Continue reading
Healthy Chocolate Nut Fudge Bars
I try to keep a supply of easy to grab healthy snacks in our refrigerator. We all, adults and kids included, do better when there’s something we like to eat that we can grab quickly when we need a snack. This week, I decided to make a chocolate variation on the Carob Fudge (recipe HERE) we often make. This version has a distinct dark chocolate flavor, but still contains a healthy assortment of raw nuts and seeds.… Continue reading
Fruit-Sweetened Banana Cardamom Ice Cream
Another hot afternoon means another round of ice cream at our house. We’re all enjoying having a cool, healthy treat on these hot summer afternoons. Today’s flavor of choice? Banana Cardamom. The bananas provide the sweetener, and the nut butter adds a richer mouth feel (as well as some healthy fats) that you wouldn’t otherwise get without adding cream. Here’s how I made it:
Banana Cardamom Ice Cream Recipe
2.5 cups Milk of choice (coconut milk works excellently for this, but dairy or almond milk would also work)
4 Bananas
½ cup Almond Butter (peanut butter would also work, but adds a distinctive peanut taste)
2 teaspoons ground vanilla beans (read about them HERE)
2 teaspoons ground Cardamom
¼ teaspoon Salt
Process Bananas and spices in a food processor or blender until thoroughly combined.… Continue reading
Sautéed Mushrooms
Mushrooms are a wonderfully healthy, earthy delight. They have complex flavors. They can be prepared to have a variety of textures. And they adapt well to a variety of dishes. One of our favorite ways to prepare mushrooms is actually one of the simplest: we sauté them in coconut oil and season them with salt and pepper. This simple preparation yields a delightful side dish that easily accompanies eggs, tops a burger, or graces a salad.… Continue reading
Coconut Kale Curry
We all love greens in our house, so I’m always on the lookout for new and flavorful ways to prepare them. When I stumbled across THIS recipe, I knew I wanted to try it. The words in the title alone made my mouth water, and when I read through the ingredients, I knew it would be a hit.
As always, I modified the original recipe a bit.… Continue reading
Healthy Snack: Homemade Super Berry Trail Mix
My rapidly growing boys are constantly hungry and – honestly – as a nursing mama, so am I. As a result, I carry snacks in my bag wherever we go. Yes, even heading to restaurants or when we’re leaving after just finishing a meal, I always carry something (because I’ve needed snacks in just those very situations).
I try to make sure the snacks I carry with me meet two characteristics:
- I want them to be healthy.
Garlic Braised Greens
We eat a lot of greens in our house, and I love adding garlic to everything. Combining the two is a natural combination for us. Not only is this a very healthy side dish, but it tastes fantastic and it’s simple to prepare.
This recipe works well with any greens that you happen to have on hand, which makes it a great way to reduce food waste (see HERE) by using greens that might be nearing the end of their shelf life.… Continue reading