Tag: vegetarian

Beet Ginger Smoothie

Beet Ginger Smoothie

Posted on by Lisa P

Yes, it tastes as good as it looks, and no added sugar!

1/2 C melon, chopped (or apple, including peel)
1 dozen red grapes
1/2 stalk celery with leaves
1 small piece of lime or lemon
1/2 fresh beet
1/2 banana Continue reading “Beet Ginger Smoothie” →

Power Smoothie Recipe with Beets and Ginger

Power Smoothie Recipe with Beets and Ginger

Posted on by Lisa P

Power Smoothie with Beets, Chia, and GingerThis power smoothie is surprisingly good considering the amount of bitter greens. The recipe makes three big servings so definitely reduce the quantities if you’re only making it for yourself. It seems like a lot of ingredients because it is! Of course any of the smaller items (lime, ginger, chocolate, almonds, etc) are all optional. Just don’t remove large amounts of wet ingredients or you’ll be adding water to get it thin enough to blend properly (let alone drink!).

1/3 honey dew melon, seeded and rind removed
2 dozen (or so) red grapes
1 stalk celery with leaves
1 piece of lime or lemon
1 fresh beet
1 banana
2-3 C pre-chopped mixed greens (turnip, mustard, collard, etc.)
1″ piece of fresh ginger
1″ piece of 100% chocolate
1/2 C oats (preferably gluten-free and organic)
1/2 C acai or other juice
1/3 C chia seeds
handful of almonds
1 tray of ice cubes

The night before, soak the chia seeds and almonds in the juice. Peel and coarsely cut the beet and the ginger and toss all that in there as well. Stick it in the frig.

In the morning, you’ll want to process the watery items (melon, grapes, celery) first. You can choose to chop them in to smaller pieces if you like but you really don’t need to if you’re using a power blender, like Vita-Mix or Blend-Tec. So throw that watery stuff in there and blend it on low for 15-20 seconds to get it broken down.

The chia/juice mix will be kind of solid, so scrape that into the blender container next.

Then add everything else. The order doesn’t matter much but I usually put the dry stuff (oats) in last, and then the ice cubes on top.

Process on high (according to your blender’s instructions), tamping it down as needed to get it going. Blend for about 45 seconds or so and then pour and drink right away.

Crunchy Cucumber Salad for 2

Posted on by Lisa P

This cucumber salad is made with miniature English cucumbers. They’re not expensive and you don’t have to peel them. This makes a great little side salad, and it’s crunchy enough to hold up til tomorrow so you can have the leftovers lunch.

3 miniature cucumbers or similar amount of pickling cucumbers
1 small shallot or piece of sweet onion
1/2 medium tomato (or more to your liking)
oil and vinegar
Italian seasoning blend

  1. Prep your space:  Get out a medium cutting board, a knife, and a small bowl. If your garbage can is not nearby, have a little plastic bag open next to your work space for scraps.  Grab your steel and give your knife a quick sharpening.
  2. Wash the cucumbers since you’ll be leaving the skin on. Wash the tomato too if you haven’t already.
  3. Cut the ends of the cukes off, and then slice them at a diagonal, very thinly.  About an eighth of an inch or less.  Toss them into the bowl.
  4. Peel the shallot and cut off the hard end. If using onion obviously you can skip that part.  Slice as thinly as possible.  A very sharp knife makes all the difference here.  Scrape the pieces up with your knife and bang them in the bowl as well.
  5. Cut the tomato into smallish wedges.  Into the bowl they go.
  6. Shake some Italian seasoning onto the vegetables.  This is where you have to judge for yourself how much seasoning you like.  If you’re not sure, start with 1/4 tsp, mix it in, and look at it.  That’s about as much as I use, but you might like more or less.  It’s OK to guess, the world won’t end if you add a little too much.
  7. I use olive oil and white wine vinegar, but you could use regular oil and apple cider vinegar.  It’s a different flavor in the end, but we’re not talking gourmet here, we’re just trying to get dinner on the table.  About a tablespoon of vinegar and a teaspoon or so of oil should do it.  Mix it up, taste one, and add more if you like.
  8. Put the bowl (with spoon) into the frig to sit while you make the rest of your meal.  Maybe you could stir it once or twice if you remember.

This is my favorite summer go-to salad.  Hope you enjoy it!

Step 2:
Miniature English Cucumbers

Step 6:
Crunchy Cucumber Salad

Yield: 2 Cups
Prep time: 10 minutes
Calories: Hardly any