Fruity Dream Slushie

I'm thinking about posting a variation of this over at Sororitea Sisters because it uses Yerba Mate!  You could either infuse/steep your own Yerba Mate or use a product like I did here!  I used Garden of Life's Yerba Mate OPP Yerba Mate and it worked nicely!  This was a fruity, creamy, slushie sort of a treat.

Fruity Dream Slushie

1 C Frozen Mango, Cubed

6 Strawberries

1 C Pineapple, Cubed

1 C Fresh Orange Juice (or more)

1 T Garden of Life Yerba Mate Organic Plant Protein Powder

Celebrate With A Shake

I didn't plan this post but I figured...WHY NOT...it's time to celebrate!  I'm ringing in the New Year with a SHAKE...both in movement and in this smoothie.  I've been trying to use my Maca and Cacao more lately and thought tonight was the perfect time to try another one.  Here's what's in this...

2 C Almond Milk
1 Banana
1T Maca Powder
1 tea Cacao Powder
2 T Agave
1 tea GoL Perfect Food Yerba Mate Energizer

Another goal of mine here was to use more than a half of a banana.  I'm really trying to incorporate more of them in my diet and I have been working really hard to get past that HALF banana mark in my smoothies!  Guess what!?  Tonight I did it!  Woot!  I used almost an entire banana!

Also pictured is a Glass Straw from EcoJarz - my first time using the glass one and I'm LOVING it so far - AND - the glass jar - I'm reusing it from an Argo Iced Tea that I got a while back!  I now have TWO of these and love the height and heavy-dutiness to it...I'm so glad I used them and they cleaned up nice! 

Looking forward to a great 2014!  Happy and Safe New Year to you all!  Thanks for reading!

Cinnamon Cacao Almond Milk

On our way back from Trader Joe's in the Buffalo area on Saturday - we decided to swing my our closest Wegman's Store because I had a gift card that I received for Christmas.  I wanted to buy a few things that I normally wouldn't buy or things that I found at a good price.  It was pretty picked over because of the holidays.  I had a few coupons I had for FREE items, too, but was unable to locate anything on the shelves for those companies.  I will try again later.  One of the things I did purchase with my gift card was a fairly large amount of Organic Cacao Powder for just $7.99.    Last night I put a little bit of that powder to work!  I made this Cinnamon Cacao Almond Milk - a vegan version of Holiday Chocolate Milk - I guess!  It turned out way better than I anticipated!  I was very pleased with this attempt!  I will be making this again for sure!  It's tasty HOT or COLD.  Here's the recipe for this drink:

2 C Almond Milk
1 T Cacao Powder
2 T Cinnamon Flavored Agave Syrup (from Wholesome Sweeteners)
1 tea Yerba Mate Energizer Perfect Food (from Garden of Life)
Sprinkle Organic Cinnamon Powder on top

I used two of my favorite products in this!  - from Garden of Life - as well as Wholesome Sweeteners!  I've blogged about GoL MANY times before and I am sure I will often in the future, too!  This specific product from them is full of energy and goodness!

Perfect Food RAW Energizer is power-packed with naturally occurring chlorophyll, beta carotene, B vitamins, minerals, protein and amino acids from RAW organic USA grown grass juices, dark green juices like spinach, parsley and kale, protein-rich sprouts  and juiced-up super antioxidant fruits like RAW organic blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and Indian Amla Berries.

For the Cinnamon Flavored Agave -  well, it's VERY special, too!  They have 4 flavors and I'm liking each one of them!  As for this Cinnamon flavor, specifically...

 

Ingredients
Organic Raw Blue Agave, Organic Cinnamon Flavor

Directions
Cooking tips: When replacing sugar with Blue Agave in a recipe, use a 75% measure of Agave nectar for every full measure of sugar. Adjust for taste. Reduce other liquids in a recipe by about 1/3. Bake foods “lower and slower”—reduce the oven’s temperature

---

Product Description

Cinnamon’s spicy warmth, with a sweet, mild fragrance blended perfectly with Organic Raw Blue Agave. Excellent in coffee, waffles, toast and gingerbread.

Funky Drink & Today's Bento

Good Morning!  How was your weekend!?  Mine was great!  I will have several posts today and this week - clumping together MANY things that have been going on in my world in the last week or two!  I thought I would kick thinks off with my morning beverage!

I'll just call it a FUNKY DRINK for right now but it's literally thrown together!

I used Garden Of Life's Perfect Food Yerba Mate - about a scoop - maybe a bit less and about 16 or 17 ounces of this Pomegranate flavored water I found a while back with Aloe "chunks" in it.  I know it sounds weird but the flavor is quite good!  I ALMOST reminds me of Strawberry Milk (way back in the day).  This FUNKY DRINK is tasty - slightly sweet and fruity, benefits of aloe, and Yerba Mate for energy, paired with a GREAT product from my friends at Garden Of Life!  What a great way to start the day!

Remember the insulated bag I bought for my Bento Box stuff!?  Well, I think I forgot to mention that it has 2 stretchy pouches on each side.  If you look to the right you will see a pink breast cancer awareness reusable bottle in one of the pockets.  That's what I put this FUNKY DRINK in today and brought it with me to work.

What inside the bag?  Well, let me tell you!

It's my Bento for today!

From top left - Homemade Corn Chips, then a little bit of Vegan Miso Mayo which I will be posting about in the future - it's an awesome condiment - then a few Falafels, and on the bottom Cheesy Kale Chips!

BOO YAH!  I'll be back later today with another post or two!


Participating Post: Meatless Monday Bento, 

Pumpkin Persimmon Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Here's a little concoction I made before Christmas and it was so fulfilling and flavorful and packed with TONS of vitamins, nutrients, and GOOD stuff!
Pumpkin Persimmon Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie
1 C Coconut Milk
1/2 C Pumpkin Puree
1 Persimmon
2 T Chocolate Peanut Butter
3 Drops of NuNaturals Cocoa Bean Stevia
3 Drops of NuNationals Vanilla Stevia
1/2 Scoop of Garden of Life Yerba Mate Perfect Food Engerizer

I put all of this into my Ninja and blended well.  This is VERY thick.  I could have done with less Coconut Milk and probably made it into a pudding.  I couldn't finish the whole thing.  I drank this over two days!  It was very tasty, tho!  As you can see I put it in my new EcoJarz Lid (Wide Mouth, pictured) and my stainless steel straw!

Green Mango & Coconut Milk Smoothie & Mini Goals

Happy Friday!  I have a quick smoothie recipe for you today!  It was my breakfast-on-the-go!  It only has 3 ingredients!

2 C Frozen Mangos
1.5 C Coconut Milk
1 Scoop Garden of Life's Yerba Mate Flavored Perfect Food^® RAW Energizer

Even tho this is a quick recipe today with minimal ingredients it's very good!  It's light and creamy and fluffy! A few more healthy tidbits about this recipe and product include...

·       Guayaki^® Yerba Mate, traditionally used for centuries to promote immediate energy and long term focus†

·       RAW Organic Peruvian Maca, harvested by hand, aged and sun dried to perfection, to support energy production as well as healthy, balanced hormones†

·       RAW Organic Pomegranate Juice and Cordyceps Mushrooms, long prized for providing the sustained energy you need to power through your busy day†

·       RAW Organic African Baobab, rich in minerals, especially magnesium, to promote the production of ATP—energy on the cellular level

If you are a regular to my site you might have read in the past that I randomly set mini goals for myself.  I would like to take this time to jot down a few more for the very near future.  I've already met my mini goals for getting back into smoothies as well as getting into dehydrating foods again as well as a few other things.  Here are a few things I have been slacking on lately that I want to jump back into!  I have done them in the past and enjoyed them - I just need to get back into them!

* Juicing

* Sprouting

Crafty Spices - Follow Who?
Social Weekend Hop

I NEED to get my Christmas Shopping DONE and I have to jump into preparing for Christmas Eve...we go to my husband's grandmothers where his extended family gets together.  We then hop over to my parents house where my sister, her husband, my mom and dad, Dale, and I gather as well as my husband's brother and girlfriend.  Then the next day for Christmas we kind of do the same thing in reverse...we go to my parents house and it's the same 8 of us THEN we go back to his grandmother's house for his family's Christmas...his mom and step father, his grandmother, his brother and his girlfriend, Dale, and I.  For Christmas Eve BOTH places have munchies...so...I have to jump on a few things to bring!  I will do at least 1 or 2 dips and maybe a bean salad, not completely sure, yet.  Dale thinks I should bring the Buffalo Cauliflower Wings I posted about earlier this week!  I still might.  Then for Christmas Morning - my father takes pride in his traditional MASSIVE Omelet.  Of course, this is the 2nd year I will not be consuming.  It's become a tradition that I make the cheesy grits as well...last year I did some for myself with vegan cheese.  It smelled kind of funky but they tasted really good.  So, YEAH...sorry for the ramble, but I'm in the planning stages and that will be a mini goal for the near future, too!  I have totally been in research mode, as well!  I've been learning about new products and processes as well as new-to-me world foods and new sites!  I hope to share those with you all, soon, too!  What have you been up to!?

 

Feel Good Mint Chocolate Berry Sorbet

This morning this started off as a smoothie but the more I thought about it I wanted it to be more of a Sorbet of sorts.  I made a rather large batch and froze it.  The texture was VERY thick and creamy!  More importantly it was AWESOMELY Flavorful and I can see myself making this more often that is for sure!

I have a few Secret Ingredients in this as well!  WHY!?  Well, I added a little bit of the Super Orange Emergen-C like I did in my previous post trying to fight off potential sniffles!  I THINK I have been successful!  I believe I nipped it in the bud pretty early!  I rarely get sick!  It used to be that I got 4 head colds a year when I was a kid.  When I turned 15 and went VEG I only got one every couple of years.  For the past SEVERAL Years I haven't had ANY Head Colds at all!  I didn't want to ruin my streak so I started pumping up on some foods I knew were helpful as well as a little extra Emergen-C.  Here is the recipe for this Refreshing and Healthy Treat...

1 C Hemp Milk
1 C Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk
1/2 Frozen Banana
12-Ounce Package of Frozen Fruit including Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, and Raspberries
1 Packet of Emergen-C Super Orange
1 Scoop of Garden Of Life's Yerba Mate Energizer Perfect Food

I will mostly snack on this in the evenings for a while.  I might also use it in smoothies a scoop or two at a time!  FUNNY...I used to hate being in the kitchen and was so 'challenged' when it came to cooking and such but I have been enjoying myself quite a bit the last year to year and a half since going Dairy-Free (Veg*n).

Emergen-C Peaches & Cream Smoothie

I felt some sniffles coming on and decided to try and fight anything potential OFF and tried the following recipe in a smoothie and was overjoyed with the flavor!  It was really tasty!

1/2 Banana (frozen)
1 C Frozen Peaches
1 C Hemp Milk
1/2 Scoop of GoL Yerba Mate Energizer Perfect Food
1 Packet of Super Orange Emergen-C

Yea!  Look at THAT!  Another HALF of a banana!  Apparently I'm having luck with 1/4 of a banana and 1/2 of a banana at a time!  It's better than nothing, eh!?

I will be doing a few more flavor combos using the Emergen-C Booster in them soon!  Stay Tuned!

I've posted about this Garden of Life Product before...but today I think I will post more info about Yerba Mate as a whole!

Yerba Mate is well known as the source of the beverage called mate, Chimarrão, Tererê (or Tereré) and other variations, traditionally consumed in subtropical South America, particularly northeastern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.^[1] It was first used and cultivated by the Guaraní people, and also in some Tupí communities in southern Brazil, prior to the European colonization. It was scientifically classified by the Swiss botanist Moses Bertoni, who settled in Paraguay in 1895.

This tidbit is on the Wiki Page for the herb.  For more info on Mate as a beverage they have a dedicated page for that as well. The page goes into more of the hot beverages and traditional beverages.  I have consumed it as a tea or tisane before and you can read more about that over at Sororitea Sisters - our tea site.  This Smoothie was cold.  I was VERY pleased with the flavor and will certainly try it again in the future!

Pomegranate Strawberry Smoothie (With & Without An Extra Boost!)

Isn't this a lovely color smoothie?  This first one I used the following...

The seeds from 1 Pomegranate
1 C Frozen Strawberries
1/4 of a Banana
1.5 C Hemp Milk

This worked out REALLY WELL.  Many of you know I HATE Bananas but I have been working up the courage to try them again.  All I could do is a quarter of 1 banana but to be honest it really didn't need more than that!  It was sweet enough with the Pom and the Strawberries AND the Hemp Milk, even.  I don't usually use Hemp Milk but I found some recently at a really good price and decided to buy some.  I guess I forgot how sweet Hemp Milk was on it's own.

In the 2nd Picture is a variation of the Smoothie that I did for Tuesday Morning.  It includes all of the above along with a FULL SCOOP of Garden of Life's Perfect Food Energizer Yerba Mate Flavor.  I'm overly pleased with the way this Smoothie turned out!  I have to admit it's my very first Smoothie using Pomegranate Seeds and it turned out GREAT!

What's so great about GoL's Perfect Food Energizer Yerba Mate?  Well, I will tell you!

Perfect Food^® RAW Energizer

Perfect Food RAW Energizer is power-packed with naturally occurring chlorophyll, beta carotene, B vitamins, minerals, protein and amino acids from RAW organic USA grown grass juices, dark green juices like spinach, parsley and kale, protein-rich sprouts  and juiced-up super antioxidant fruits like RAW organic blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and Indian Amla Berries.

Amazing Organic Energy Activators: 

·       Guayaki^® Yerba Mate, traditionally used for centuries to promote immediate energy and long term focus†

·       RAW Organic Peruvian Maca, harvested by hand, aged and sun dried to perfection, to support energy production as well as healthy, balanced hormones†

·       RAW Organic Pomegranate Juice and Cordyceps Mushrooms, long prized for providing the sustained energy you need to power through your busy day†

·       RAW Organic African Baobab, rich in minerals, especially magnesium, to promote the production of ATP—energy on the cellular level† 

Perfect Food RAW Puts the GREEN in Greens—with More Chlorophyll per Serving

Our CERTIFIED ORGANIC Greens are sustainably grown by our family farmers here in the USA. We harvest before the grain buds (to prevent gluten from forming) and then juice at the farm immediately after harvest. Our juice is gently low-temperature dried and powdered onsite locking in its nutritionally dense, organic goodness. The end result is highly bioavailable and many times more concentrated in nutrients, including Chlorophyll, than whole leaf grass powders, putting the GREEN IN YOUR GREENS!† 

Vegan • Certified Organic • Dairy Free • Soy Free • Live Probiotics and Enzymes • No Whole Grass Fillers
No Added Sugars • No Artificial Flavors or Sweeteners • No Preservatives