Carob vs Cocoa

"Carob, like cocoa powder, comes from a tropical pod, which is dried, roasted, and ground into the powder that we're familiar with. However, carob is a slightly healthier alternative when comparing the two. With a higher calcium count (three times as much), no caffeine content, nor fat, carob presents your taste buds with a different experience (1). When contemplating substitution, consider that while unsweetened carob powder is slightly sweeter than its cocoa counterpart (containing twice the carbohydrate content), due to the composition and lack of fat, carob is considerably less flavorful. When making the switch, for every one part of cocoa powder, use 2.5 parts carob by weight (1).
Don't forget that both contain properties thought to reduce artery clogging and cancer risks (1), so go ahead and indulge...I mean get healthy!" http://mariyayufest.blogspot.com/2010/04/carob-vs-cocoa-powder.html

**Check out the No-Cook Chocolate Chia Crispies

under "snacks"

in the left upper corner on my blog!

Good stuff!**

Dinner Menu for the week...

Dinner menu for the week

 in no particular order:

Curried Red Lentil Soup w/ Lemon (http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/)  

Pineapple Turkey burgers w/ sweet potato fries

Baked black bean taquitos w/ cafe rio rice (http://www.greenshakesandgiggles.com/)

 Broccoli-Rice Bake w/ Coconut curry sauce (http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/)

Curried Quinoa and Salmon  

Mini Pizzas

Stir Fry

 

And don't forget dessert:

Banana Blueberry Whole Grain muffins (http://www.graincrazy.blogspot.com/)

Grapey Green and Strawberry Blackberry

These shakes are perfect for the summer!

 I only wish I had a better blender...someday.

 For now, my Walmart special is going to have to do.

Grapey Green Shake

(http://www.greenshakesandgiggles.com/)

2 Handfuls spinach

1 1/2 Cups grapes

1 Banana

1/3 to 1/2 C Coconut Milk

1/4 C hemp seeds

Ice (about 10-12 cubes)

Blend!

Strawberry Blackberry Shake
(http://www.greenshakesandgiggles.com/)

2 handfuls spinach
2 C strawberries (with stem)
3/4 C fresh or frozen blackberries
1 banana
1/3 to 1/2 can coconut milk
1/4 hemp seeds
Juice of one lime (opt)
Ice

Blend!

Healthier No-Bake Cookies

I don't post any recipes on my blog unless they have been given a thumbs up from most of my family. Not only did my family really enjoy these, but also my good friend and her 2 year old little boy. These turned out delicious and filling and they were super easy to make. You could even double the batch and freeze them for later...a perfect little healthy snack in between mealtime.

No-Cook Chocolate Chia Crispies

(Green Smoothie Girl 12 Steps to Whole Foods)

1 C Almond Butter (or organic peanut butter)

2/3 C raw honey

1/4 C  chia seeds

1/4 C raw cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa, which is less nutritious)

1/3 C coconut oil

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/4 tsp sea salt

6 C crisped brown rice (in a cereal box at the health food store)

Cream together all the wet ingredients in a large bowl by hand. Add the chia seeds, cacao, and salt and then blend well. Add the crisped rice and stir until evenly mixed. Chill the dough for 1-2 hours, then form into balls and refrigerate until serving.

Just a couple of notes:

*Drink water with these, as chia absorbs up to 10 times its own weight in liquid
*I used Carob powder instead of Cacao (found it at Sunflower Market)
*I also found crisped brown rice cereal at Sunflower Market and Walmart...I only added about 5 1/2 cups. The 2nd time I made it, I blended some of the rice cereal in the blender before adding it to the mix.

Baked Black Bean Taquitos

Baked Black Bean Taquitos 

 Serves: 6 pieces

Prep time: 30 minutes

1/2 medium yellow onion

1 clove garlic

1 small jalapeno (opt)

1/2 tablespoon sunflower oil (or olive oil)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup black beans

1/4 cup cilantro

6-8 none corn tortillas

1/2 cup Colby Jack Cheese

More Sunflower oil (or olive oil) for brushing

1.Pre-heat oven to 425ish and bring a medium/large pot of water to a simmer.

2.In a pan, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and pepper until onion becomes translucent. Stir in garlic, cumin, paprika, salt, and continue to cook for 1-2 more minutes. Add in black beans and cilantro, cooking until beans are heated through- two to three minutes more.

3.Turn off pot of water. Taking one corn tortilla at a time, dip in hot water for 3-4 seconds. Place on a cutting board and scoop one spoonful of black bean filling and a hefty pinch of cheese on top. Roll tight and place seam side down on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Repeat until all the filling is used. Brush each piece with oil.

4.Bake for 12-15 minutes until the corn tortilla is a light brown color. Dip in salsa, guacamole, or sour cream.

Everyone loved these and they were so simple to make.

 I didn't have a couple of the ingredients, but they still tasted delicious.

And don't forget the lime. We love a little squeeze on ours...

 I made some fresh guacamole which was devoured in minutes.

A must have for the recipe book...

healthy; easy and delicious!

Now if only we can find a good substitute for cheese!

Popsicles and Peppers

Finally a warm enough day for popsicles!
I found these popsicle molds at Tai Pan for $1.50
 (LOVE that store)...I whipped up some green smoothie (and brown for Brooklyn)
and poured them in. The girls could hardly wait until they were frozen to eat them.
I still can't convince Addyson that she likes them...
she only had a few licks before she realized what was happening, lol.
Brynley and Brookly licked theirs clean and asked for more the next day.
It makes me SO happy!

 Green Smoothie Popsicles

Handful of spinach (or kale or mixture)

1 Avocado

Juice from 1 Grapefruit

Juice from 1 Lime

1/2 English Cucumber

1/2 Cup (or more) Rice milk/Almond milk/Coconut Milk

1 Tbsp Flaxseed

Blend together and pour into molds and freeze...Walah!

Brown Smoothie Popsicles

 (a little more fruit)

Handful Spinach

1/2 Cup Peaches

1/2 Cup Raspberries

1/2 banana

1/2 Lime

1/2 Cup (or more) Rice milk/Almond Milk/Coconut Milk

1 Tbsp flax seed

Blend and pour into molds...Freeze!

and now...for the peppers!

No worries...no pepper in the smoothie...how about:

Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers!

 These were delicious! And pretty alkaline too! Everyone really enjoyed them...

well, Brooklyn and Addyson pretended to really like them

 and ate a few bites so they could have some "cake"

(well...cornbread...we tell Addyson it's cake because she says she doesn't like corn...

hey, whatever works!)

They were so filling and yummy!

You can find the recipe at BEST BITES..

.(be careful, you'll be hooked...these ladies have some AWESOME recipes!

Everything I've tried has been delish!)

Southwest Stuffed Bell Peppers

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

4 very large or 6 medium sweet peppers (red, yellow, or orange)
1 Tbs salt
1/2 C white rice (or brown if you want to take the time to cook it), quinoa also works
2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 – 1 jalapeno, minced (or you could sub a small 3oz can of mild green chilies)
1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 green onions, sliced
1/2-1 tsp chipotle chili powder (you can start with 1/2 and add more to taste)
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 black pepper, plus more to taste
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
1 1/4 C jack or pepperjack cheese, divided
3-4 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
tortilla chips, just a handful and more for serving if desired.

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare peppers by washing, slicing tops off, and removing insides. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. Boil whole peppers for about 3-4 minutes, until they begin to soften. Remove from water with tongs and place on paper towels to drain.

Add rice to boiling water and cook until tender, about 13 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, and jalapeno (or chilies) and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add corn, beans, green onions, chipotle chili powder, kosher salt, and pepper. Stir until corn and beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Place peppers in a baking dish. Remove skillet from heat and add rice, tomatoes, 1 cup cheese, and cilantro. Stir to combine well and give it a taste. Add additional salt, pepper, and chipotle powder to your liking. Then evenly divide mixture between peppers.

Top peppers with remaining 1/4 cup cheese (or more if you can fit it on there :) and crushed tortilla chips.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Slowly getting back...

I am slowly getting back into a routine...it's still hard since we are still in limbo; living in a furnished house; eating off someone else's plates and sleeping in someone else's beds...renting a house that we know will not ever be ours. No painting; no hanging pictures; no tearing out old carpet...planting a garden and knowing that we may never get our whole harvest worth. It's a nice house and it's great to have our own space and a huge backyard with neverending pretend-time for the girls, but it's not ours. In fact, I can't even imagine having our own house. I hope it will happen sooner than later.

That being said...I have also been putting off making green drinks because I have this $20 "chunk-in-your-gunk" blender. I REALLY want a BlendTec, but the budget hasn't allowed that quite yet. SO, I decided a couple days ago, that I need to stop making excuses and just work with what I have right now...PLUS, I've been sick for 2 weeks now...coughing so much that my ribs hurt and blowing my nose so much that it's raw. It's REALLY annoying. And I know that I brought it on myself by the CRAP that I've been consuming lately. It's all my fault. Not fun, but true.

So ya, green drinks all around for the last 3 mornings. Go me! Here's to being healthy! No more Nyquil hangovers or Mucinex stay-up-all-nighters!