Blue-Green Almond Lemon Smoothie

 

A smoothie recipe for ya'll! Blue-Green Algae. A nutrition powerhouse, and my personal fave among the "algaes" (with chlorella and spirulina among them). Blue-Green Algae is great to have during the cold weather months, because it's great with boosting immunity and helps with viruses, cold and flu. I have it in powder form at home. I sometimes add it to my water, or to smoothies. This particular smoothie is refreshing and delicious. A real treat for the morning.

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup almonds (untoasted)

2 bananas frozen

1/2 cup "milk" of choice (I used oat)

juice from 1 lemon

1/8 teaspoon blue-green algae powder

 

Enjoy!

xo,

Ellie

'Treat-Myself' French Toast from Bliss Cafe~Watermelon Frosty/Watermelon Basil Smoothie

When you're feeling down, what do you do? There was a particular day earlier, in the summer, when I was feeling sad. So I did what I could to take care of myself. I talked with close friends who were there for me, and I treated myself to foods I liked. That meant I allowed myself to indulge a bit in the sweet stuff!

I walked over to Bliss Cafe on Bedford Ave. for their Vegan French Toast. Now, Bliss is, as friends of mine have called it, a bit old school with their vegan fare- but I can rely on them for healthy eats, and the place is cozy. And their french toast is awesome.

Bliss generally serves whole wheat bread, but if you ask, they can alternatively give you spelt bread. That's what I went for. They also give you the option of having some maple whip with your toast. Since I was in the mood for some decadence, when they asked if I wanted some I replied, "Yes, please!"

Their maple syrup and maple whip

 

 

Back at home, I made myself a watermelon frosty and enjoyed it on my fire escape.

 

I followed this video's recipe, posted on one of my favorite blogs: Watermelon Frosty Video

 

 

The ingredients are very simple. Just some banana, lemon/lime, frozen watermelon, and maple syrup. Watermelon is currently still in the farmer's markets, so grab them while you can! And enjoy them on a lingering warm day while we transition into fall. My friend Bud and I actually made

our own version of this recipe recently, a Watermelon Basil Smoothie-with basil from his garden, and it came out fantastic!! I highly recommend making one of these for yourself. It's a real treat.

 

Here are the ingredients we used:

 

Watermelon

Handful of Basil

Banana

Lemon Juice

Ice

 

No agave/maple syrup/sugar necessary. A bit of banana (not too much) adds a nice sweetness, and it's all you need. I hope you will try the smoothie. I guarantee you wouldn't regret it!

 

xoxo,

Ellie

 

 

Green Smoothie Recipe: Banana, Lemon and Swiss Chard

I've made two food discoveries recently.

One of them, thanks to my roomie Lauren, is the glory of swiss chard.

The other may sound strange (it did to me at first), but it turns out bananas and lemons in a smoothie are a sweet, refreshing combo!

What I like about the following smoothie recipe I'm about to share is that it satiates a sweet tooth like mine by combining sweet fruit with swiss chard, which also happens have a sweet quality when eaten raw that I really enjoy.

So here it is. Have it for breakfast or a sweet snack. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do! :

Banana, Lemon and Swiss Chard Smoothie:
Take...
2 bananas
1/2 cup "milk" of your choice (hemp, almond, rice, oat, etc.)
1 heaping cup swiss chard leaves and stems
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 heaping teaspoon vanilla extract ( I use Simply Organic brand)
optional: flax oil and/or oats (to make a heavier meal to sustain you in the morning)
..and blend!

Vegan Breakfast~Bananas and Tahini

So...what the heck do vegans eat for breakfast? To some, the answer to this question may be obvious. But to many people I've encountered, the answer is not obvious at all! I've had some people ask me: "So you don't eat cereal/pancakes/bread?" And to that I've answered, "Actually, yes I do!"
If you're in the dark about vegan breakfast, let me fill you in!

Vegan breakfast includes and is not limited to: pancakes, french toast, granola/cereal w non-dairy milk, tofu scramble, muffins, soy/almond milk yogurt, oatmeal, grain porridge, shakes and smoothies (including green smoothies).... the list goes on!
You could also have Tofutti cream cheese, Earth Balance butter, a fruit spread or a nut butter on toast, an english muffin, or a bagel. If you wanna go even healthier, you could mash up a banana or avocado.

Three super easy ways to have a satisfying breakfast involve a flavor combo I really enjoy: bananas and tahini. May sound strange, but I think it really works!



1:A simple way to have this combo is by putting tahini and sliced bananas on an english muffin or toast, and sprinkling some cinnamon on top.

2:Another variation of this combo is a Banana Tahini Almond Smoothie:
Take....
2 frozen bananas
2 heaping spoonfuls of tahini
A handful of almonds (non-toasted)
A generous sprinkling of cinnamon
Water
..and blend. sorry, i'll get better about measurements!

3.Lastly, there is a Banana Tortilla Wrap.
I like to use Ezekiel tortillas for this recipe, made from sprouted whole grains:

-Lightly toast the tortilla in a toaster oven or on a frying pan (if you over-toast the Ezekiel tortilla, it will get stiff and it'll be hard to fold).
-Spread a generous amount of tahini on the tortilla.
-Throw in banana slices from 1 banana.
-With a spoon, put a light drizzle of brown rice syrup on top (a little sweetness here will go a long way!).
-Sprinkle cinnamon (as you can tell, I looove cinnamon with breakfast!).
-Wrap it up!
-Enjoy with a knife and fork.

                                                                   Yummmmmmmmmm.


Hope ya'll enjoy! And with that, I leave you with pics from a brunch potluck party I hosted last month for my awesomely fun friends. The food, by the way, was delicious!!:

Have a great weekend, everyone! Till next time.
xo,
Ellie