Is It Summer Yet? Salad

Is it just me or has this winter been a little extra unbearable? The blustery winter air catches in my chest and burns my eyes and the snow..oh the never ending snow.. has reached hip height on my patio. Don't even ask how high the piles of snow are at the end of my driveway it makes me weepy. Days like this make me yearn for summer. Fresh crisp veggies, fruit so bright and ripe it seems to good to be true. 

So, needless to say with the chill in the air I've been subjecting my family to a lot of soups. Warmth. Cozy little bowls of goodness. However there comes a time when you've just had it with the "fall back" winter fare. So, on those occasions I pretend it is summer. I make a nice salad with the organic veggies my market has available and a crisp and bright salad dressing to wake up my taste buds. 

((If I could dig out my grill and make some nice chicken to go with it I would.))

To make our salad a little more interesting I decided to shred some zucchini, summer squash and carrots over a bed of spinach with sweet red peppers and red onions. The cherry on top.. Grape tomatoes. 

You could add shredded cabbage or cubed Avacado to add more texture. 

For the dressing I made a great Asian Style Vinaigrette: 

2 oz Rice Wine Vinegar

4oz  Olive or Grape Seed Oil

2 Tbsp GF Hoisin Sauce 

1Tsp Mined Garlic

1Tbsp GF Soy Sauce 

2 Tbsp Organic Honey 

S&P to taste 

So, if winter has you down pretend it's Summer even for one night. 

Spiced Chocolate and Banana Smoothie

Ingredients: (See Spiced Cashew Milk Smoothie with Lucuma Recipe)

Use 2 Cups of the Spiced Cashew Milk Smoothie with Lucuma as your base.

Add in: 

1 Tsp of Organic Pure Cocoa Powder ( or Cacao powder) 

1 Organic Banana 

1Tablespoon of Organic Honey 

3 Icecubes 

Blend in Blender on High until combined. 

This is a very thick and almost pudding like smoothie. It is filling and would make a great quick breakfast or snack. My 6 year old asked for seconds! 

Spiced Cashew Milk Smoothie with Lucuma

Ingredients:

4 Medjool Dates (reconstituted) 

4 Cups Cashew Milk ( see my last post for recipe)

1 Tablespoon Lucuma Powder

2 Teaspoons Organic GF Madagascar Vanilla 

1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg 

Directions:

Place All ingredients in your blender and blend on high until combined. You can add ice and blend again or simply serve over ice. 

Makes 4 Servings 

This smoothie is wonderfully filling and can also be used as a base to build other smoothies upon. I will be posting my Chocolate and Banana smoothie next using this Smoothie recipe as my base. 

Cashew milk

Easy Peesy. That about sums up the process of making your own homemade Cashew Milk. 

In a Large blender combine:

2 Cups of Raw Cashews

1.5 Liters of Filtered Bottled Water 

Blend on high for 1.5 mins. 

This makes 10 cups of Cashew Milk. 

Store in an airtight Glass container in the refridegerator. 

Can also be frozen in freezer jars for up to 3 months. It will seperate once frozen but you can just give it a shake and it will be fine.

Use as a replacement for Milk. Some examples of uses for Cashew Milk include smoothies, cereals, coffee, tea or in your cooking/baking. 

You will find it to be very filling. If you prefer a thinner version you can add more filtered bottled water. 

Oh how times flys!

I have committed the number one Blogger "No. No.". I have forsaken my readers. I haven't posted in months. I can only say life has been.. Well...life. The past six months have shown us our strength, compassion and closeness as a family. We also enjoyed a busy Summer and Fall with our little girl. I have been cooking and saving some recipes to share with all of you and I promise not to go so long in-between posts. First though, here are some fun pictures my daughter and I had taken before life goes whizzing by yet again. 

Her hugs are the best! 

So sweet and sassy. 

The lovely photos above are all courtesy of Kelli Marsh Photography. She is ever so talented. See for yourself by visiting her on Facebook or on her website: www.kellimarsh.com 

Photo Copyright: Kelli Marsh Photography 2014 

Road Trip!

I have a soft spot in my heart for the city of Philidelphia. It is where my mother was raised and where some of my family still call home. I have traveled to the City of Brotherly Love so many times it would be impossible to count.. It really is my home away from home. The city skyline is familiar and the dialect comforting.."Wooder" instead of Water and "Hoagies" instead of Subs.. Just the little things that connect me to the city that does truly love you back. 

I started my journeys to PA in the back of my mom's Dodge Magnum, a car the size of a small cruise ship, jamming to some 8 Track tapes, chowing down beef jerky and juice boxes all while playing with a doll and pretending she was running as fast as the car..whizzing by the trees with speed and grace. 

30 years later I am still making that same drive with my mother, this time in my hybrid with my little girl nestled in her car seat watching a movie ( that would have blown my mind at 5, a tv that comes with you?!) and my mom and I talking about everything under the sun while listening to some Jimmy Buffet or Pearl Jam, snacking on Coconut Chips and sugar snap peas.  

I cherish these trips. Sometimes they can be challenging, especially with a "strong willed child" and my dietary and health needs but I wouldn't trade a moment of them. 

My amazing cousin ( who wrote the GF Matzo Ball Soup Recipe on the blog) welcomes me into her home that she has filled with all of my favorite items. She plans our meals and even tries to take me to a new resturant that she enjoys. This time we will be going to a new vegetarian restaurant that I am really looking forward to trying. I'll take some pictures and post them for you. As I enjoy my road trip I hope you are having a nice summer as well. 

If you find yourself traveling this summer and you have any dietary needs the #1 key to an easier trip while avoiding being "hangry" is to PLAN ahead. Make snack bags of trail mix, nuts, fresh fruit, popcorn ect. Look up resturants in the area before you head out to see where you might find some food you'd be able to enjoy. If you can, pack items you might even want to enjoy while you are on your trip, not just on the way there and back. You never know what the local stores might have (or not have) for you.

Most importantly enjoy your time. Enjoy the journey. The anticipation of arriving, the easy feeling of returning back home and each and every moment in between.   

"Beets Me" Juice

I LOVE my juicer. I can juice local organic ingredients and start my day with a different juice each day. I have some that are my "go to" juices that everyone in the house will drink and enjoy. Others are a great quick way to add some wonderful nutrients after a work out or on a day when you feel like you just haven't eaten the healthiest foods. 

Ingredients: 

3 small Organic beets, cleaned and cut in half

2 Cups of Organic Kale 

2 Organic Carrotts 

2 Organic sweet Apples 

( optional 1/2 T Organic Agave Nectar) 

*****Please follow the directions on your juicer for speeds etc.*****

Juice all the produce ending with the apples. Add Agave, stir and serve over ice. 

Makes 4 servings

Will retain most of the nutrients for up to 24 hours after juicing if refrigerated.