Juice: Apple Mint Watermelon

This was a quickie to make!

My instagram: @veganlifeisgood

I recently wrote a post about how important it is to hydrate in the morning (here) and another about why watermelon makes a perfect breakfast (& not lunch or dessert) here. Well, here are those two ideas combined into one delicious meal!

Apple Mint Watermelon Hydrator:

• Half a watermelon
• 1-2 apples
• Fresh mint (the bigger leaves the better not to get stuck in your straw!)

When I took the picture above I had blended the first two ingredients together like a smoothie. After this picture I started drinking it and decided I didn't like the pulpy texture. An option would be just to juice them (with the mint), but I just poured what I had blended through a large strainer and suddenly had a beautiful pulp-free juice! I stuck a bunch of mint in the glass, shook it up, and sipped it through a straw to avoid getting mint leaves in my mouth.

Mmmm. Absolutely delicious. And sooooooooo healthy!

Raw Vegan Butterfinger Smoothie

You read that title right. Raw, vegan, plant-based, gluten-free, and pretty darn HEALTHY smoothie that tastes like a Butterfinger bar in your glass.  Winning.

My instagram: @veganlifeisgood

I originally found this recipe through @chilali13 's Instagram and then on her blog: http://chilali13.wordpress.com. She has amazing photos and recipes and I recommend following her!
The texture is not the thickest, and I had to tweak the amounts a little to my taste, so you might too:
Vegan Butterfinger Smoothie:
Blend:

•  2 cups carrot juice (through a juicer, or blended then strained if you only have a blender)
• 1 tbsp organic creamy organic peanut butter
• 1 tbsp raw cacao powder*
• 1-2 tsp raw maca powder*
• even less than a pinch of sea salt

 *If you are new to these ingredients and they sound intimidating, relax! They are in most markets now. Try the bulk, baking, health, or nuts sections. I use Divine Organics brand.
I'd like to call your attention to the nutrition info posted on the Butterfinger website vs. the nutrition info (calculated through MyFitnessPal app, which I love and use for everything!) for this smoothie:

If health were only about calorie counting, a Butterfinger would seem almost worth it. But candy has about zero nutrition and is a true reach-for-it-quickly-then-regret-it-all-day treat, whereas this smoothie takes 5 minutes to make and is packed with vitamins A and C, potassium, protein, and even a decent bit of calcium. There's no "sugar-slump" from the energizing carbs in this guy. The cacao is rich in minerals and gives you your chocolate fix, while maca is a powerful anti-oxidant that promotes stamina and mental clarity and is really pretty tasty, a lot like toffee.

This is one delicious treat! You're so welcome!!

Simple "Sick Day" Recipes: Coldbuster Smoothie

It is more important than ever to eat nutritiously when you're sick, but no one feels like spending much time in the kitchen when they are. A nighttime cough got the best of me, so yesterday and today I've been laid up in bed resting and replenishing. Throughout the day I'll be featuring a couple of quick, easy, powerhouse vegan recipes that I've been making to get back to 100%:

Instagram: @veganlifeisgood

Simple Coldbuster Smoothie:
Blend:

• 1/2 container fresh strawberries
•  1 - 1&1/2 cups frozen pinapple
• 1/3 inch slice of fresh ginger

Better than Jamba Juice and straight from your own blender! I know it's supposed to be Fruit Week and I already did strawberries, luckily I keep a variety of frozen fruit on hand, and pineapple is a delicious Vitamin C powerhouse for a sick day. If you have fresh pineapple, try reversing the recipe and using frozen strawberries instead. No need for ice!

Stay tuned later today for my favorite sick day soup and some notes on the many health benefits of ginger.

Fruit Week: The Pawpaw! (Papaya)

Hey, it's Tuesday. I present you with the beautiful and magical papaya! Or pawpaw, papayo, kapayo, or mamoa, depending on where you are in the world...

My Instagram: @veganlifeisgood

I guess it is more science than magic that makes this great fruit what it is: loaded with vitamin C, a good source of vitamin A, B, and G (yes! There is a vitamin G and you need it. You may know it better as riboflavin), with some iron and calcium to boot. It's low-cal yet filling which makes it great for weight loss. The range in color from yellow to reddish-pink = a gorgeous addition to fruit salads or smoothies.
I love:

• simple cubed papaya with a twist of lemon, or 

• juiced papaya and strawberries blended with fresh young coconut water and banana. 

 A popular and crowd-pleasing trick is to cut papaya in half length-wise, scoop out the seeds and top layer of goop and use it as an attractive and delicious serving dish for other fruit or granola.
This guy has an awesome video recipe for a spicy Caribbean papaya salad:

Pawpaw Epilogue- Fun Facts: Papaya does have some mystical properties after all!

• The seeds can be ground into a suitable replacement for black pepper! 
• Raw green papaya is never eaten but papain, an enzyme in the latex of green papaya skin, has a long history of uses, from the topical treatment of cuts, burns, rashes and stings to treating Harrison Ford's ruptured disk on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. 
• However, those with latex allergies may want to tread carefully, as with melons, bananas, and kiwi.
• Green fruit and seeds have been used to induce abortion, but the pregnant ladies out there don't need to be afraid of the ripe stuff!
• And dudes, papaya is very, very good for your -ahem- prostate health. SO BE A MAN, AND GO EAT SOME PAPAYA!

Fruit Week: Icy Blueberry Crush

Good Monday!
All this week I am focusing my recipes and tips on: FRUIT! Beautiful fruit!

My Instagram: @veganlifeisgood

Today's recipe is one to beat the summer heat, and there is a secret to it's icy coolness: don't use ice! That's right! I've only recently acquired a blender and regular ice cubes watered down my first few smoothies (ugh, who on earth likes watery smoothies???) until I figured out how to get my fresh raw fruit AND my icyness too:

• Substitute one of your fresh fruits with frozen ones.

Soooooo simple that I almost didn't post it because I thought, "Surely everyone has figured this out but me!?" But I'm doing it anyway on the off chance that it helps somebody somewhere. Adding frozen blueberries in lieu of regular ones turned my smoothie a much richer and more beautiful color (raw blueberries blend to a dull kind of blueish-purple), and I swear I feel cool from the inside out even hours after I drink this recipe. This is also an awesome way to enjoy an off-season fruit when it's not on the shelves.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more fruit-spiration! Here's today's smoothie recipe for an excellent and filling breakfast or lunch:
Blend:

• 1 - 2 bananas
• 2 dates (soaked for a few hours in water if you can)
• 3/4 - 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk