- by Stacey Terry
Well, I’ve had the luck of housesitting in someone else’s lovely home for the last week. And I’ve taken full advantage… dips in the hottub, moments enjoying winter’s quiet beauty and silence outside the city, and all the space a gal could ever need to leave her stuff lying around.
Even more exciting, I was able to upgrade from my trust Oscar to a high-powered blender… It’s going to be soooo hard to go back home. Having access to a REAL machine has meant I’ve been on a total green smoothie rampage. I’ve been just throwing stuff together and watching it pulpify in seconds. Why make meals when that’s so much fun?
And since this morning’s experiments turned out REALLY well, I thought I’d take a moment to share the recipe. I’m out of my usual greens (and didn’t want to have to drive anywhere to get more), so I foraged in the fridge and figured I’d use up the following:
Stacey’s Strawberry Mint Shake
Ingredients:
- 1 - 2 cups frozen strawberries
- 3 sprigs of mint (leaves and stems)*
- 4 big stalks of celery, leaves and all
- 1 very ripe banana
- wee bit of water to get things going
Directions:
Put in your blender and momentarily you’re on your way to a fortunate and refreshing delight. *Oh yeah… the mint… I had some leftover from a recipe that I tried that DIDN’T work… eep.
I have to give up my temporary palace and return to the city tomorrow, but I thank my lucky smoothies that it’s been such a great opportunity to relax and work in peace.
Have a fortunate and peaceful weekend yourselves!
You know those days when you wake up craving something sweet and decadent? Well, that happened to me this morning. Work has been so insanely busy over the last two days, I’d gotten home too late to get to the shops to stock up on yummy fruits and veggies. I wandered into the kitchen this morning to be greeted by a mountain of chocolate cookies and cakes my sister had brought over the night before. All that remained in ‘my’ corner of the kitchen was one solitary avocado…Was I tempted by the cooked food? No! Thanks to the lessons I’ve learned on my 
The avocado provides a good dose of lutein, which helps to maintain healthy eyesight. It’s also rich in potassium, vitamins B, E, and K and a good source of monounsaturated fat (giving the smoothie a wonderful creamy texture).
Cherries are rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, magnesium, iron, and folate; one study (by the University of Michigan), suggests that they are good for fat loss, particularly belly-fat.
The mint aids digestion, while the cacao offers an abundance of health-giving nutrients - antioxidants, flavonoids, catechins and above all, the wonderful mood-enhancing theobromine, making you feel all loved up and happy!
Everyone knows that leafy greens are important, but often, we don’t really know why they are, we’re not sure which greens are best, and we wonder how much of them we should eat on any given day. Standard American Dieters often try to have a daily salad, but it’s often a fairly small one that is generally drowned in store-bought dressings made with soybean oil (one of the most genetically modified crop in the US), cottonseed oil (a very pesticide heavy crop), white sugar, artificial colorings etc. and iceberg lettuce is a SAD favorite.
Green juices don’t have to mean shots of wheatgrass. They can be delectable when made properly, and they are quick to make, too. For green juices to be palatable, you need to add the secret ingredient: fresh lemon juice. Lemon juice will take away the green taste and add a refreshing lemonade like flavor to the juice. Adding a little spiciness with ginger juice will make your green juice even better. By drinking 30 ounces of green juice a day, you can consume a whole head of lettuce on average without even noticing it! Don’t forget to add dark leafies such as kale.
People on the SAD (standard American diet) often equate salads with boring. Growing up in Europe where bottled salad dressings are hard to come by, I had to learn to make my own. Try your hand at new recipes such as sweet dressings with mangoes, or spicy dressings with mustard, or even fat free dressings with blended tomatoes and fresh herbs! When I don’t have time to make an exotic dressing, I simply mix olive oil and raw apple cider vinegar at a 2:1 ratio, add a pinch of sea salt, a little mustard, and sometimes a little crushed garlic.
When I eat out at restaurants, I’m often disappointed by the salad selection. You can make large, delicious and satisfying salads without having to resort to the traditional iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato. Try layering lettuce with peeled citrus fruits and avocado, or tossing spinach with strawberries! Try different greens, such as arugula (also called roquette) with fresh mushrooms. The possibilities are endless.
Even if you have no Irish in you, you can definitely enjoy a wonderful Luck of the Irish Green Smoothie!
B-vitamins. Lycopene is a carotenoid found in the red/pink hues of the grapefruit. Both red and blond grapefruits both positively influenced cholesterol levels, but red grapefruit was more than twice as effective, especially in lowering triglycerides.
