Banana Nog

It’s my favorite time of the year! Not just because its the holiday season, but because its the only time of the year where you can buy an unlimited supply of egg nog. Growing up egg nog was always a staple at all our family festivities, so I’ve grown accustom to looking forward to it.  So while grocery shopping for Thanksgiving this week, I went searching for some new egg nog to try out. I found plenty of  new brands to try but to my dismay all the brands contained carrageenan.  There’s been numerous talk about this additives being bad for your health and possibly carcinogenic so I personally stay away from products that contains it. So I decided this year I would make my own “egg nog”.

I’m personally not a fan of eggs so I chose to do an egg-less egg-nog with very simple ingredients. This recipe was so thick and creamy and easy to make that I will definitely be making this year round. I hope that you do too! Happy Thanksgiving!

Banana Nog

• 3 Frozen Ripe Bananas (diced)
• 1 Cup of Almond Milk (Unsweetened)
• Vanilla Extract
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Whipped Cream (optional)

Blend till you get a thick smooth consistency and top with whip cream for a festive look.

Tip: If you want it more thick add more bananas , more thinner add more milk. If your banana aren’t ripe add some of your favorite type of sweetener.

New year, New day!

Its a new year and a new day! I’ve been on a a little hiatus from updating you guys but with things changing up a bit I plan on having more time to blog with you guys.  Around this time of the year,  I usually do a fast for 40 days In preparation of that  I went to the  farmer’s market to purchase some produce.  From kiwis, pears, starfruits, clementines, bananas  and lemons, I was well equipped to make  tropical green smoothies for days for under 15 bucks. Though its great to buy green juices or smoothies on the go, the cost adds up. With a little bit of time and preparation 15 bucks of produce can stretch well into a week. I for one love the fresh taste of Kale in my smoothies because it gives it a fresh grass taste but Kale goes bad really quick. So in order to prevent that I wash my kale in vinegar and  water  and zip lock them, keeping one bag in the fridge and one in the freezer. Though the frozen batch never taste the same as the fresh batch its close compared to the frozen bagged Kale found in grocery stores. Check out my recipe below:

Tropical Oasis Green Smoothie

Fresh Kale

Fresh/ Frozen pineapple chunks

1 or  2 clemetines (peeled)

handful of frozen grapes

Coconut water or Water

Blend and enjoy!

FYI: I almost always use frozen pineapples so I rarely incorporate ice in my smoothies.

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!

Cheers to the Pancake!

There are two types of people in this world, Pancake lovers and waffle lovers. I personally like both myself but some people are really particular when it comes to their breakfast. Everyone in my house prefer waffles over pancakes, but are willing to eat pancakes if its a “good gourmet pancake”. Well let me tell you my friends, I got the recipe to a good gourmet pancake. My pancake recipe is so good, my waffle loving family request me to make these pancakes just about weekly. They are so yummy, satiating and full of good fiber, fats and nutrients. Its practically everything but the kitchen sink in these pancakes but i just call them my banana almond oat pancakes.

So what’s in the pancakes you ask?  Well the most important yet so basic ingredient needed for the pancakes is pancake mix. It can be organic  if you like but for mines i used a generic store brand buttermilk pancake mix. I than sliced some bananas and mashed them to small pieces.

But i didn’t stop there, i added just about everything i had on hand in my pantry.

First I milled a handful of dry ingredients in my Nutribullet  until it became a fine powder and mix it in with the pancake mix such as :

• Flaxseeds
• Chia seeds
• Raw rolled oats
• Raw unsalted almonds

Than for taste, i than added a few spices such as:

• Powdered ginger
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Vanilla extract

Mix everything with a few cups of water, and followed the direction on the pancake batter box. The end result being a gourmet pancake that is out of this world filled with fiber and nutrients.   Cheers to the pancake! lol

FYI: If you have a waffle maker, You can still have a good gourmet waffle with this recipe too.

 

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! 🙂

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Did you know? Bananas

For the past 2 weeks ,I found myself eating 2 bananas a day.  So i decided to do research on bananas to see what health benefits do they actually provide, And it turns out bananas are considered a super-food!

Bananas have two times as many carbohydrates as an apple, five times as much Vitamin A and iron and three times as much phosphorus.

Bananas are rich in potassium,which  help the body’s circulatory system deliver oxygen to the brain. As well as lower one’s blood pressure,and  prevents the weakening of the body’s bones.

Bananas have a certain type of fiber that helps to restore and maintain regular bowel functions.

Bananas can help you lose weight or gain weight.

Last but not least , Banana provide  dopamine and serotonin which gives of a feeling of  relaxation and brain power.

I would say that these benefits are worth peeling away for so…. peel away my friends!

image source: publicdomainpictures.net

Party in a glass

Since purchasing the NutriBullet, I’ve been having a smoothie or a “NutriBlast” once a day. Depending on how i feel on any given day , i might have two.  The other night was one of those any given days. I threw in a couple frozen bananas, strawberries and kiwis that i pre-cut earlier in the week with a handful of spinach and raw almonds. For texture and creaminess I added uncooked organic oats, hemp protein and almond milk.  I’ve done  this recipe for breakfast twice this week, and my family think its a hit!  The color might be off putting but it’s a party in a glass. Fruits, Leafy greens, Grains and Nuts, and Dairy. What more can you ask for?

Green with envy

Over the weekend i decided to switch things up with my green juice smoothie with suggestions from my sis.  We’ve been reading up on alkalizing the body lately (more on that in a later post),  so we decided to step it up in the greens department. So I bought Organic Girl’s triple washed super greens that came with baby red chard, baby tat soi, baby spinach, baby green swiss chard, baby arugula. Mixing it with some alfalfa  sprouts, kiwi and green apples.

FYI: Alfalfa sprouts are very bitter tasting, so a little do go a long way. Unless you’re a fan of them and actually like the taste. Also if the taste is too bitter for you a ripe banana will sweeten it right up.