RECIPE: Ultimate Green Smoothie

Ultimate. Green. Smoothie. Three powerful words make up an equally powerful nutritious drink! The ingredients are simple. The process is simple. The results are AMAZING!! Granted, this drink won't win any awards for it's beauty, but it tastes FAR better than it looks AND it's very healthy!!

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla Coconut Milk
1/2 cup vanilla Greek Yogurt (I prefer ZOI)
1 ripe Banana
2 small Carrots (cleaned and cut into chunks)
1/2 cup frozen Blueberries
3 - 4 cups organic Spinach
1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spices
1 teaspoon grated unsweetened Coconut
8 Ice Cubes

DIRECTIONS:
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

 Serve. Enjoy!

RECIPE: Mango Coconut Sorbet

A variation of the sorbet I made yesterday ... Minus the strawberries add mango ... VERY yummy ... AND healthy!
MANGO COCONUT SORBET

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup cold Coconut Milk
1 cup frozen Mango chunks
2 tablespoons organic Honey
4 Ice Cubes

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Place in the freezer until ready to serve. Stir well.
3. Pour into decorative glasses or bowls. Serve. Enjoy!

RECIPE: Strawberry Coconut Sorbet

I have never really tried much sorbet, but that has all changed now. I found a super easy recipe the other day on The Paleo-Project website for Strawberry Coconut Sorbet! I made a batch a couple of hours before dinner, so we had it for dessert. I am going to try this recipe with lots of different fruits, so beware ... There will be more sorbet recipes to follow!
STRAWBERRY COCONUT SORBET

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup cold Coconut Milk
1 cup frozen Strawberries
2 tablespoons organic Honey
4 Ice Cubes

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Place in the freezer until ready to serve. Stir well.
3. Pour into decorative glasses or bowls. Serve. Enjoy!

RECIPE: No-atmeal

Crazy name, huh! Well, I have fond memories of eating oatmeal when I was a kid, but since it's a grain, it's a no-no. Since I have sensitivities to oats, it's a double no-no. So, I went in search of alternate recipes for a hot breakfast dish that would be similar to my once-beloved oatmeal. 
I was digitally 'thumbing through' the Primal Blueprint Reader-Created Cookbook when I fond something interesting ... No-atmeal, submitted by Doug Descant. 
NO-ATMEAL (No-Oat Breakfast Cereal)

INGREDIENTS

1 small handful of walnuts

1 small handful of pecans 

2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon unsweetened ground coconut

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 pinch of ground nutmeg 

1 pinch ground ginger 

1 tablespoon almond butter 

1 banana, mashed 

3 eggs 

1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (add more if you prefer it a little runny) 

2 teaspoons chopped macadamia nuts*

1 handful of fresh strawberries

(**NOTE: Macadamia nuts are not in photo below - They were an after-thought)

Quoted from the cookbook ... 

"Pronounced “note-meal” (as in, no oatmeal), Doug’s recipe is for all you ex-cereal lovers out there and for anyone who needs a warm bowl of comforting goodness on a cold winter morning. As Doug says, “it’s a hot meal full of essential proteins and fats, not to mention the necessary vitamins and minerals, in order to stay energized for the cold weeks ahead.” Just thinking about eating No-atmeal for breakfast is guaranteed to coax you out of bed in the morning."

DIRECTIONS

1. Add walnuts, pecans, flax seed and spices to a food processor and pulse it down to a course grain, making sure to stop before it’s totally ground into a powder. Set aside. 

2. Whisk together eggs and almond milk until the consistency thickens a little bit into a loose custard. Thoroughly blend together the mashed banana and almond butter and add it to the custard, mixing well.

3. Stir in the nut mixture. 

4. Microwave until the “no-atmeal” reaches your desired consistency; this should only take a few minutes. I checked and stirred it every 30 seconds and removed it after 2 minutes.

5. Sprinkle macadamia nuts and strawberries on top. Add more almond milk if you want. 

6. Lick the bowl clean!

RECIPE: Pumpkin Pie Clafoutis with Walnuts and Coconut

Okay, so I'm cheating a little. Not in what I'm using in this recipe, but because I'm repeating one ... Sort of. As I have mentioned before, I LOVE Pumpkin pie so naturally I love pumpkin pie clafoutis. This time I wanted to venture out and make a few changes. I added walnuts and ground unsweetened coconut. It was FANTASTIC!!
Pumpkin Pie Clafoutis with Walnuts and Coconut

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup coconut oil (or 1/2 cup butter or ghee)
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup honey
4 eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts
2 tablespoons grated unsweetened Coconut
(You may prefer less spices, but I prefer experiencing their flavors mixed with the pumpkin!)

 DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter, ghee, or coconut oil (whichever you use) in a small pot over low heat or in the microwave.
3. Blend together all ingredients with the exception of the walnuts and coconut. This time I use my blender to make sure everything is well blended. Taste for sweetness and add more honey, if you feel it needs it. Add the chopped walnuts and coconut then pulse a few times to mix.

 4. Pour into a well greased 9" deep dish pie plate and bake for roughly 45 minutes - until center is set. 

 5. Allow clafoutis to cool before placing it in the refrigerator. It's tasty warm, but it is AMAZING cold!

RECIPE: Pumpkin Coconut and ... Spinach Smoothie?

I have to admit I was skeptical about adding such things as spinach or avocado to smoothies. After all, I think of fruit, yogurt, milk, and ice as the main components of smoothies. Man, was I wrong! There are literally millions of options and combinations of ingredients for making smoothies! Here's one that sure to blow your mind, but trust me ... It's delicious!!
PUMPKIN COCONUT SPINACH SMOOTHIE

It's GREEN!!!
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Milk
1/2 cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt (I just discovered ZOI brand, and I LOVE it!)
1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened Coconut
6 Ice Cubes
1 teaspoon Agave (not pictured)
2 - 4 cups organic Baby Spinach

DIRECTIONS:
1. Add all ingredients to blender - adding spinach last. The amount of spinach used will vary on how tightly you add it. 
2. Blend until smooth and creamy. (Yes, it will turn BRIGHT GREEN!!)

 3. Pour. Serve. Enjoy!

RECIPE: Tropical Energy Smoothie

I hope y'all don't get tired of smoothie recipes because I have several more I want to try. I'm really enjoying trying them, plus I stay full all day after drinking one. Even on cold days I blend one up! Since I had some pineapple left from the other day I decided to go tropical ... 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (vanilla)

1 tablespoon almond butter

1 banana

1/2 avocado

1 large piece of fresh pineapple (approximately 1"X5"X2")

2 tablespoons unsweetened grated coconut

6 - 8 ice cubes

 DIRECTIONS:
1. Pour milk into blender.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Blend until smooth and creamy.

 4. Pour into your favorite insulated cup and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

RECIPE: Paleo Hot Chocolate

It's cold and rainy outside. Something we're not used to this winter in Northern California. I'm cold. I want something hot to drink. Something chocolaty. I go on the Internet in search of answers. Is it possible to make Paleo Hot Chocolate? I'm sure it is! I found this recipe - Paleo Hot Chocolate. It looked pretty good, but I'm used to a sweeter version of hot chocolate. So, I decided to tweak it a bit. Here's what I came up with.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
1 tablespoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 - 2 teaspoons organic Agave (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine coconut milk, water, cinnamon and cocoa powder - stirring well.
2. Microwave for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in vanilla and a teaspoon agave.
4. Taste. Adjust sweetness as desired.
(I almost forgot to take a picture of the finished product! Here it is after I've tasted it several times! Good stuff!)