Half Day Cleanse -Blueberry Oats and Green Pineapple smoothie

The summer is made to have fun, unfortunately this summer my face has been stuck in the books. I’m realizing more and more each day that the life of a grad student is not so fun.  With the added stress of school along with work i really haven’t been eating the way I’ve like to. Fries, Pizzas, Cake, Lasagna  and anything fried has been on the menu for the past few weeks. So i decided i need to change things up and do a half day cleanse, where the first half of the day its smoothies and a light snack if need be with a  late lunch and dinner as usual. With plans in mind of doing this cleanse, i went to whole foods looking to find a new source of protein , and found hemp seeds. I usually buy hemp protein powder but i hate the chalky texture protein powder in general leaves so i was hoping that this would work.

So in replace of ordinary protein powder,I milled handfuls of  Raw Rolled Oats, Flax-seeds, chia seeds and hemp seeds in my Nutri-Bullet and use it as protein powder.  I used it in my Blueberries Oats smoothies and Green Pineapple smoothie that’s picture below. I also  tried a new addition to my smoothies for a sweeter taste this time: 2 medjool  dates and one dried fig in each batch. They didn’t blend thoroughly but i didn’t mind the the sweet bits that they brought. Down below are the recipe for both smoothies.

Blueberry Oats

• Blueberries (Frozen)
• Protein Mixture
• Coconut water
• Water
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 dried fig
• extra cup of oatmeal (for heartiness)

Green Pineapple

• Spinach(Frozen)
• Pineapple (Frozen)
• Protein mixture
• Coconut water
• water
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 dried fig

I made three for the day, underestimating the power of my protein mixture and only drank one and a half  that morning. If you’re looking to do a full day cleanse, you can do six jars a day with water in between each. I for one prefer smoothies than juicing cleanse for the mere fact that they are more filling  to me. But what’s great about these recipes is that they are so  tasty that they can be made for cleanses or anytime of the day.

Lunch at Panera Bread

With all that been going on lately with school ,work and life, i decided i needed  a little break to do nothing for a whole day.  That lasted for about 2 hours till my mom suggested we run some errands. Let me be the first to tell you that there’s nothing like running errands , that aren’t really your errands on your day off . Being the team player I am though, I got dressed and went . While running around the city with my mom, my sister called and said “lets do lunch at Panera”. I gladly accepted and brought my mom for the fun as well. So we met up with my sister at Panera Bread and  we had the best daughter  and mother lunch you could ever have. I ended up trying their new summer shrimp roll and their summer corn chowder and my sister had her usual.I generally don’t like eating cold shrimp sandwiches and chowder but this was the exception, It was everything that you would expect from Panera Bread  and more.I like switching things up every once in a while and this didn’t disappoint, but I’m still sticking with my tried and true tomato mozzarella panini and broccoli cheddar soup . But who am I kidding, you can never go wrong with Panera Bread.

One year mark

It’s been a year!!! Never would have I Imagine that I’d get to the one year mark blogging and guzzling green smoothies daily. I’m not gonna lie, There’s been days where i slipped throughout the year and tried meat. Case in point: My sister birthday at an Argentinian buffet style restaurant.  Those days though few made me realized that you can train your body to do anything. Prior to transitioning i wasn’t the biggest meat eater but i held my own when it came to meat. But as these  months went by the littlest bit of meat would make me feel sick surprisingly even organic chicken. I didn’t stop at just meat… sweets ,snacks and soda did a whole 36o in my daily food intake. Coke is something I use to have almost daily , now I only drink probably once every 2 weeks maybe . Earlier in the transition I choose to eat closer to nature, so when i started trying to incorporate Little Debbie snacks and chocolate back in . The sweets just seem so artificially sweet that they made me feel sick. I now drink my tea and coffee black, no sugar, honey or syrup or hazelnut creamer that i use to love. When it comes to smoothies, i cant do fruit smoothies anymore… I need some type of vegetable in there or its unbearable. At times I feel like an old lady with my bitter teas and  green smoothies but i now know how my body works, back than i didn’t know. Trust me when i say I’m not perfect, i have those days when i binge on fries, veggie pizza and donuts. But once that is over and i feel like crap, I make me a green smoothie to counteract all that.  It’s all about putting more good in and less bad, eventually with time you’ll find yourself only wanting to put only the good in.

 

 

Switching things up a bit: Tropical Oats Smoothie

One thing about me is that i like trying new things, Food wise but I’m not much of a risk taker in other aspect. So since transitioning  I’ve been a green smoothie drinker addict. I went from one smoothie a day to sometimes three, I went from super sweet smoothies to barley  sweet smoothies the list goes on.  But I wanted to switch things up a bit cause a girl can only take so much green smoothies. So i decided to do  raw oatmeal smoothies instead, trust me I’m not sure how i came to that decision but it made perfect sense at that moment.   This is very similar to the No cook oat smoothie i did when i first started transitioning, but this has more nutritional and tasty  ingredients. I was excited and nervous to try this recipe because I’ve been on a mission to avoid food and drinks high in arginine for personal reason. So oatmeal was an issue, but i kept it to organic raw rolled oats ( it is said that instant oatmeal has a high arginine content but who knows).  Since I was avoiding nuts all together due to the foods i was avoiding  almond milk was a no go , so i opted  for SO Coconut milk unsweetened vanilla and Chobani Vanilla Greek yogurt.

So after i had those main staples ingredients, i  then added mix ins of fruits, juices and teas and water all to my liking. On this particular day this was what  i like to call my Tropical Oats Smoothie. If you follow me by now, you should know i  free hand everything so i  don’t have exact measurements. But, here’s the run down on my hearty nutritious smoothie

• Organic Raw Rolled Oats
• Coconut Milk Unsweetened (can use sweetened if preferred and any kind of milk)
• Greek Yogurt Vanilla
• Flax seeds
• Chia seeds
• Tropical Blend Frozen Fruits (Banana, Pineapple, Mango)
• a small ripe banana
• Coconut Water (optional)
• Unsweetened  Green Ice Tea ((optional)
• A couple dashes of cinnamon

Mix all that together and you get a satiating tropical  oatmeal smoothie. I find that using the NutriBullet give a  smooth silkiness that i never achieved with my blender ,but if you’re having  a hard time mixing add more liquid to the blender till you get the consistency that you want.

FYI: I don’t add protein powder because I’m not a fan of the gritty taste. If you want a hearty high fiber smoothie for breakfast,  sans protein powder double up on the the yogurt and oatmeal. This smoothie can be made a head of time and stored in the fridge in an air tight container for 1-2 days. A great on the go breakfast option but great for any time of the day as well!

Drink to health

Hey loves, It’s been a crazy couple weeks and the next few weeks will be too but i wanted to stop everything and say hi. With assignments, projects and quizzes due simultaneously on top of being sick 3 types of ways with a full time job, Updating you guys had taken the back burner. But I’m back and better than ever!  With all that’s has been going on i hadn’t really been eating the healthiest but i make sure to get at least 2 if not 3 green smoothies a day. This has help me to recover from being sick quicker than usual without the need for medicine. When sick i like to make a super alkalizing  green smoothie, that basically flush out toxins out my body while giving me the provided nutrients my body need. What’s in my Super alkalizing green smoothie you ask?

• bunches of Kale and Spinach (fresh or/and frozen)
• Pineapple chunks (Frozen)
• Green Grapes
• Water
• Coconut water
• Unsweetened Green Tea (can be bought in store, i use whole foods bottled version)
• Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
• Matcha Green Tea
• Spirulina Tablets
• Wheat Grass powder/ tablets
• Vibrant Health GreenVibrance powder
• Honey(Optional)
• Avocado(Optional)
• Hemp protein(optional)
• Flax-seeds and Chia seeds (optional)

I know you’re thinking i just gave you a laundry list of ingredients, but the cool things about green smoothies are that you can put whatever you want in them.These ingredients listed are high in antioxidants and/or alkalizing to the body, With a bit of research your food can cure your sickness with no need for medicine. Drink to health my friends.

Best part of waking up is a Green smoothie in your cup

Mix it up!

Since  incorporating  green smoothies to my daily food intake, I feel healthier than ever. I went from one smoothie a day to two,  to sometimes even three. But just like shampoo once you start using it, it doesn’t feel that effective any more. So I switch up my smoothies every week or so,so my body doesn’t get use to drinking the same thing. So one week I’ll have  collard greens instead of kale and other times I’ll put spinach. I’ll also incorporated anything green, because green foods especially super-foods  are good for your body. I like to put in Wheat grass tablets as well as spirulina tablets or green super food packets to my morning smoothies, these give me  such a boost that coffee isn’t really needed. I also like to add Matcha Green tea sometimes to my smoothies for added  antioxidants. I’ve also tried incorporating hemp protein, but i can never get passed the chalky taste of protein powders. My recent mix-in that i think I’ll be incorporating  more often in my green smoothie is raw rolled oats. The raw oats give a hearty taste to the smoothies and has a great amount of fiber. I also love to mix in chia seeds and flaxseed to my smoothie for the omega -3 and the extra fiber that they provide.  Avocados are great mix-ins as well since they give a creamy texture to your smoothie but is also filling because of the good fats found in them. The best part about making these smoothie is you can put anything in there to your liking. With a little bit of research you can be on your way to a healthier you. Mix-in my friends! 🙂

 

 

 

Breakfast at Panera

Finding good wholesome breakfast on the go can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. While on an early morning outing, my fam and i decide to get some breakfast so we decide to grab some Panera Bread. This was my first time actually going to Panera bread during breakfast so i knew that this was going to be very interesting.  Way before i even became vegetarian, i  had a bad gag reflex to eggs. The smell of it , the taste of it, boiled, scrambled, poached, it didn’t matter i  just couldn’t eat eggs.  So my breakfast options growing up has always been limited, so when i got to Panera Bread i knew my only option was going to be a bagel. But once at the counter, I was please to see that on the menu was steel cut oatmeal.  I’m not gonna lie the oatmeal was a bit pricey but compared to what you find at you local drive thru. This oatmeal was out of this world, real ingredients,  fresh fruits and pecans and also vegan friendly too. I paired it with a wheat bagel and black coffee and had the most nutritious and delicious breakfast i had in a while.   If you’re an oatmeal fan and haven’t tried Panera’s  oatmeal you don’t know what you’re missing.  What your favorite Panera bread item?

What’s for Breakfast? (Coconut Chia Waffles)

The weekend is when i tend to sleep in and just get some well needed rest. For some reason this past weekend i got up earlier than usual and decided to make some breakfast. So i fired up some waffles, but these weren’t your regular type of waffles. These were Frozen Gurus’ flour-less waffles,I know i thought the same thing you’re thinking but they gave out samples at whole food that made me a believer. These waffles are smaller than your usual waffles but  are high in protein and fiber. I had the coconut chia flavor which was very different from any waffles that i ever had. These waffles consist of Non GMO Tofu,  Rolled Oats, Fruit Puree and in this case coconut and chia seed. These waffles are a bit pricey for the size and quantity but if you’re looking for a quality once in a while treat this might be it.  This product  is great for vegans or even gluten free people since these are egg-less ,flour-less and contains gluten free oats. I bought these at my local Whole Foods but chances are they might be find at your local nutrition/organic store  check for locations on their website .Bon Appétit !    http://frozenguru.com/store-locator/  

 

FYI: These waffles go great with Green smoothies. My daily green smoothie contains coconut water and chia seeds so these paired nicely with each other 🙂 .

 

 

Dinner is served

So If you guys didn’t know already, i have the best sister in the world. Yes its a bias statement but it’s true none the less. The other night we planned on cooking this grand meal to end our 40 day fast. When I got home that night running late from work , everything was cooking away and dinner was almost ready. We had blackened salmon, garlic herb potatoes and green beans,three word to describe this meal was: Yum,Yum, Yum! In the past i tried but failed  at making  salmon but this was our first try at blackened salmon which came out great. We finally figured out the secret ingredient to make the best blackened salmon ever. Its all starts from the prep way before the seasoning comes in. Acidity is your best friend when it comes to fish let alone any meats or poultry. But its a vital part when it comes to fish. Why you ask?  Well because  without it you fish ends up having a fishy smell and taste. I like fish and all but the fishy scent that it gives when cooking i could live without. So we poured a little vinegar, wine  and lemon juice and let it marinate a little, you can also do rum or vodka if you like too.  We didn’t get to soak it over night but it did just fine in that short period of time. After that we added some blackened seasoning on both sides and baked.   Based on this picture and how happy my stomach felt after, why wouldn’t my sister be the best sister in the world lol. 🙂

Trip to the Farmers Market

So my sis and I decided to go to the farmers market to stock up on some fruits and veggies. We decided to be a little adventurous and try a new farmers market and finally decided on the Flamingo’s Farmer Market. This was more than a farmers market this was a plant Nursery as well. So this was basically a one stop shop kind of place, but we headed straight to the farmer market and stocked up on fruits and veggies for our Daniel fast . The prices were nothing short of the ordinary prices  at the regular grocery store but i did find a deal on beets.  I honestly have to say ,I  never thought i would like beets but i do.When you get pass the color they kinda of taste like earthy carrots. I haven’t juiced them or added them to my smoothies just yet but as a little snack they are pretty good.

On this particular Farmers Market trip I was on a mission to find some avocados.  There weren’t really on sale but i needed them specifically to make my green smoothies extra hearty.  I used one avocado for two 160z servings that i would drink throughout the morning at work.In addition to the avocados, i would add apples, flax-seeds, chia seeds and loosed leaf green tea along with my leafy greens and fruits. These smoothies were so thick that there were days that i would consume the smoothies for lunch instead cause they made me feel that full. I know they say that too much avocado is bad for, which i  really  don’t believe. But after this fast i will be taking a break from avocados only because I’ve gotten tired of it after 20 plus days of consuming it straight.