Orange Dream Smoothie

Here's a velvety smooth, Vitamin C packed smoothie, that's especially great during the cold and flu season.  It gets it's green color from the spinach, it's creaminess from the coconut milk and avocado, and it's sweetness from the freshly squeezed orange juice.  

It's definitely a winner.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 large oranges)

- 1 cup full-fat BPA-free canned coconut milk

- 1 frozen banana

- 1 medjool date, pitted

- 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

- 1/2 avocado

- juice of half a lemon

- handful of spinach

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Place pitted date in a glass bowl.  Cover with very hot water, and let sit for 10 minutes.  Drain.

2.  Add date and all other ingredients to high-speed blender, and blend until very smooth and creamy, making sure that the date and spinach is fully blended up.

3.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Approximately 1-2 servings

(Adapted recipe from here)

Cauliflower Chicken Chowder

What I'm about to say, just might make you gasp...

Well, I've never liked bacon.  The taste, the texture, and the smell has always repulsed me.  I know, call me crazy, but it is what it is.  However, during my last pregnancy something wacko happened to me; I now like bacon; the taste, texture and smell... Bizarre but true!  With that being said, I will only purchase organic, nitrate-free bacon, such as Applegate Farm's bacon.

So I now bring you my first ever recipe including one of America's favorite food!  It's essential to the flavor of this chowder.

INGREDIENTS:

- - 4 small organic chicken breasts

- 6-8 slices of nitrate-free bacon

- 2 tablespoons good quality butter or coconut oil

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 small onion, finely diced

- 2 carrots, peeled and diced

- 2 stalks celery, diced

- 1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces

- 1 bay leaf

- 1/4 cup arrowroot starch

- 4 cups organic chicken broth (I use homemade, or this kind), or more if needed

- 1 cup BPA-free canned coconut milk, or more if needed

- 1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt, more or less to taste

- freshly ground black pepper, to taste

- optional: avocado for top of soup

- optional: parsley for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Cook chicken like this, then let cool, shred and set aside.

2.  Heat a large skillet over medium hight heat.  Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy (about 6-8 minutes).  Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

3.  Melt butter in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add the garlic, onion, carrots and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly tender (about 3-4 minutes).  Stir in cauliflower and bay leaf.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly tender (about 3-4 minutes).

4.  Whisk in arrowroot starch, and stir for 1 minute.  Gradually whisk in chicken broth and coconut milk, and bring to a boil.  Continue to stir for 1 minute, reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower is fork tender (about 12-15 minutes).  

5.  Season with salt and pepper, and add more broth or coconut milk if you'd like it thinner.

6.  Scoop out and discard the bay leaf.

6.  Stir in shredded chicken, and serve with broken-up pieces of bacon and avocado on top.

7.  Enjoy!

Approximately 6 servings

(Adapted recipe from here)

Marzipan

I love marzipan...

In case you aren't familiar with what marzipan is, it is basically an almond paste primarily made from ground up almonds and sugar.  Since I avoid refined sugar, I knew there'd be a way to make these little balls of glory a little more 'healthified'.  The secret sweetening ingredient; dates.  Dates have a lot of benefits including vitamins A, B, C, E and K, along with minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and more.  Dates however, are very high glycemic, so although nutritious, should be eaten in moderation.

All you need are dates, almond flour and some pure almond extract, and you have yourself a pretty close substitute to my favorite little German balls of delicious marzipan.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 1/4 cup dates (about 9 dates)

- 1 1/4 cups almond flour

- 2 teaspoons pure almond extract

- 1 teaspoon water (more or less to help with consistency)

- optional mix-ins: sprinkling of cinnamon or 1/4 cup (more or less) of enjoy-life chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Place dates in a glass bowl, and cover with warm water.  Let sit for 1 hour to soften dates.

2.  Drain dates and place in a food processor, and add all other ingredients except for the optional mix-ins.  Blend until incorporated and sticky.  You might have to scrape the sides, and blend a handful of times to get it mixed.

3.  Remove blade, or scoop dough into a separate bowl to mix in optional chocolate chips.  

4.  Using a 1 teaspoon, scoop dough out and form into balls.  You can eat them right away, or chill in the fridge.  They are also delicious with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top.  

5.  Store covered in the fridge, and enjoy one when you need a little treat.

Makes approximately 30 teaspoon-sized balls.

(Adapted recipe from here)