Grapefruit Mango Smoothie

Hey everyone! We have a fantastic smoothie to share with all of you!

It started out with this HINT of inspiration:

0 sugar!

I've never come across a mango and grapefruit combo, but oh my! It's so good!

Grapefruits are one of our favourites because it's low in sugar but still has such a unique and fresh flavour.

Mango has that same fresh taste, which is why they are a perfect combo!

Onto smoothie making!...

Grab 1 1/2 cups of frozen mango (or one happy mug full!)

mug full of mango

Pour in 1 cup of grapefruit juice (we used not from concentrate which tends to be pretty strong so we subbed 1/4 cup of it for water)

fresh juice

Add 3 heaping tablespoons of plain yogurt (we used Liberte Organic Yogurt). Blend until this sunny colour happens.

kickin' back on the sunshine coast

And you've got a bright mango and grapefruit smoothie! Since we used stronger juice, we didn't have to use any sweetener, feel free to add a squirt of honey or even half a banana!

Add caption

Summer Fun! Cherry-Vanilla Milkshake + Ginger Peach Iced Tea + Toast

Summer is officially here! And that usually means, less cooking, more blending (smoothies that is). There were frozen cherries on sale (such a rarity), so I thought a cherry milkshake was in order. To make this vegan, replace the yogurt with more almond milk (or add some chia seeds to thicken it). This wasn't quite milkshake material (ice cream would have put it over the edge) But I'd say it's in between a smoothie and a milkshake. Yum!

Frothy nums

1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 cup frozen cherries
1/2 small banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
Stevia, to taste
Almond milk (to blend)
2-3 Ice cubes (optional)

Combine all ingredients into a blender, blend on high for 1 minute. Makes 2 servings.

Avocado, olive oil, salt, pepper and tomato slices on toasted spelt bread

Toast has made frequent appearances this past week, the toppings are endless (like fresh avocado puree and tomato slices). You could also spread it with hummus and top with sprouts and cucumber, yum!

Jenn has been experimenting with homemade iced tea, each recipe is different, so we have yet to discover the magic formula. But this Ginger-Peach Iced tea really hit the spot.

2 tea bags (ginger-peach)
4-5 slices of lemon (important! tastes so much better with lemon)
Honey, to taste (you could also use agave)
Optional, add peach slices and shreds of ginger

Brew tea, add honey and lemon. Pour into glass bottle (or jar), Chill in fridge overnight, add peach and ginger once cooled. Add ice, enjoy on a hot summer's day.

Strawberry-Kiwi Smoothie, New Products + Chocolate-Banana PB Toast

We've been working on a smoothie post for One Green Planet and all this smoothie making really got me inspired. I bought a bunch of fruit yesterday and don't usually have that much fruit on hand. Usually I only have apples, bears (haha, I mean PEARS lol I wish I had bears...) and bananas (not the most appealing smoothie material). But now I have strawberries, kiwi, and mango as well as bananas to make dozens of smoothie combinations!

What I like about this smoothie is that there's no banana in it for those who are trying to decrease their sugar. And the cucumber adds volume and a clean, fresh taste. This smoothie is so refreshing, you may as well be drinking a strawberry-kiwi Capri-Sun! Please tell me someone remembers capri-suns...it's a 90's kid thing...

We've been buying this coconut water a lot lately and I've only found it in this one grocery store near where I live, I hope I can find it in Toronto when I move there this summer. But it is hands down the best coconut water I've ever tasted. It tastes like actual coconut water that would come from a coconut, haha I know that seems a little obvious but if you've tried some of the canned/boxed varieties you'd understand that not all coconut waters are alike.

Frozen, raw unpasteurized coconut water (thawed)

2 kiwis, peeled and chopped
6-7 strawberries
4 slices cucumber, peeled and frozen
1 scoop vanilla brown rice protein powder
Stevia, to taste

Blend and enjoy! Makes one serving.

Strawberry frost!

I saw this China Black Rice bread in the store. I usually buy the Brown Rice variety but wanted to try something different.

Food For Life China Black Rice Bread

It was about a dollar more expensive than the Brown Rice bread and I didn't really taste a difference, it was more of a novelty and it was kind of cool to eat purple bread. Also black rice has lots more health benefits than brown rice.

Jenn and I def have been over doing it on the peanut butter as you may have noticed based on our recipe choices on the blog lately. And we know we've heard somewhere that peanut butter isn't safe or something.

Well we don't let that stand in the way of our peanut butter intake!...But lately we've decided to try Valencia Peanut Butter which apparently has less mould in it and actually tastes much more fresh than the regular stuff.

I am obsessed with peanut butter toast, it's such a good comfort food, the melted, warm, gooey peanut butter on soft and crispy toasted bread. It's enough to make you peanut butter crazy like we've been the past week!

So with these two magical products I give you...the three best combinations in the world:

Chocolate-Banana Peanut Butter Toast!

Bare Purpley Toasts

valencia peanut butter, bananas, chopped vegan dark chocolate

Nummy nummy numchucks!

- Jac

Seedy Kale Crackers + Smoothies

Good morrow readers! Today we are celebrating kale! And all it's wonders...Particularly how nicely it bakes into a cracker. We are big kale chip fans, but a small bag cost 7-8 bucks! That's just cookoo head! So here's a recipe for super quick and easy kale "crackers" that will make you laugh in the face of those 7.99$ kale chips at the health food store.

What you need is:

6 leaves of dino/black kale (or whichever type you have on hand)
2/3 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
2 tbsp flax seeds
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp curry powder
A piece of dulse (optional)
A sprinkle of sea salt (around a 1/4 tsp)

Grind up the kale thoroughly in the food processor first and then add in the rest of the ingredients. Spread out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cut into little crackers. Bake in a 250F oven for 40-45 minutes. You're done!

Crispy kales!

On another note, here's some random food photos:

Grapefruit-Pear smoothie: Frozen grapefruit, pear, vanilla brown rice protein, frozen banana, roasted maca

I know what you're thinking...what in the heck! It's our attempt at recreating the "M-bar" which is an oat+molasses based bar that we love! Too much molasses though...must recreate again.

Blueberry-raspberry smoothie

Avocado-Lime Smoothie

Whoa man this smoothie is really good, considering it has no sugar / or banana in it! Lime and avocado go well anyway, and gives this smoothie a creamy key-lime pie taste. I noticed that stevia goes really well with lime, because lime seems much more complex than lemon (it has some existential issues to figure out haha), there's a fun, vibrant flavour there that is just lovely in smoothie form :). The lime zest is vital btw! Without it, it will taste flat.

And on top of all the yumminess, the lime actually helps to break down fat in the avocado for better digestion. What's not to love in this smoothie!

If anyone is embarking on a sugar-free cleanse/diet, check our Inner Ecology ebook, it has all sugar-free recipes (and is fruit-free except for cranberry, lemon and lime).

1/2 avocado
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
Juice of one small lime
Zest of one lime
8-10 drops stevia
Water to thin
1 ice cube

Mix ingredients together in a blender, add ice if desired. Makes one serving.
Topped with QuinWow Quinoa Crisps, I've been enjoying these a lot on my smoothies/puddings for an extra crunch.

11 Days of Healthy Stocking Stuffers - Day 8: Divine Mint Dark Chocolate + Vanilla-Banana Spinach Milkshake

Mmm mm mm! This shake is so deliciously creamy. The reason why it's a milkshake and not a smoothie is because of the almond milk, bananas, and vanilla protein powder. They just all come together to make a deliciously sweet vanilla drink. And I'm sure all you green smoothie-rs know, you won't taste the spinach!! :P

1 1/2 frozen banana, large handful of spinach, 1 scoop vanilla brown rice protein powder (you could substitute regular protein powder and splash of vanilla extract + stevia), almond milk to blend, top with cinnamon :)

Next on the docket of stocking stuffers is this Divine Mint Dark Chocolate, I love mint-chocolate, like a lot, so it was natural to include this vegan, fair-trade chocolate to the list.

And we got some corn for poppin' but still no snow! Come to think of it, this could be a stocking stuffer too! :)

How to Make Coconut Water Kefir (w/ boxed coconut water)

I've always wanted to try coconut kefir but the thought of carting home a case of young coconuts home on the subway was not very encouraging. I decided to try making it with boxed coconut water and it totally worked! I used the ZICO brand because I saw that it didn't contain any extra additives so I'm not sure if other brands will work...

So first you dump the entire container (1 liter) of coconut water into a glass jar. Make sure the coconut water and the jar are room temperature.

Next, add in the powder from two probiotic capsules

This could totally be in a photography gallery! I've never seen such a professional looking picture of pills....

Be sure that your probiotic capsules contain "lactobacillus acidophilus" bacteria.

Stir in the powder and screw on the jar lid tightly. Place in a warm environment for 1 1/2 - 2 days and make sure it's warm, I tried just putting it on the counter and it didn't work (I ended up putting it on a heat register with a towel over it to keep the heat in). You will know it's ready when it becomes significantly cloudy.

Store in the refrigerator and enjoy with meals to aid digestion and get a hefty dose of probiotics!

Drink up me hearty yo ho!....

The boxed coconut water is not as "fresh" so the kefir will be a more yellow-y colour (it was even yellow-ish in the beginning), but it's just as fizzy in my opinion! You'll know it's done when it tastes like beer and no longer contains the subtle sweetness coconut water is famous for.

This is such a powerful drink! Click HERE to read all the amazing benefits of coconut kefir!

Also check out our EBOOK if you're looking for more fizzy recipes

Green Chocolate Monkey

There's something to be said about having chocolate for breakfast. It sounds so wrong but sometimes you need a little pick me up in the form of concentrated caffeine aka raw cacao.

During our raw food cleanse we ate a lot of raw cacao. We should have known that "raw chocolate" is too good to be true. We eventually figured out that we shouldn't be having it everyday because it was making us a wee bit too hyper, so we started substituting dark roasted carob which basically tastes the same.

But today was different! I broke out the bag of raw cacao and made myself a green chocolate monkey inspired by the Laughing Vegan's Green Monster Smoothie.

What's in it??

7 (ish) leaves of  organic green swiss chard (ripped off the stems)
2 frozen bananas
1 fresh banana
1 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tbsp raw cacao
1 tsp reishi mushroom powder
1 tbsp lucuma powder (other sweetener of choice like stevia or some kind of syrup)
1 tsp vitamin C powder
1/2 cup water

Blend it up and sprinkle with more hyperness! (cacao nibs)

This monkey is OFF THE WALL!

Did anyone notice we didn't post yesterday for MOFO? Shhhhh

Golden Beets + Smoothie

Whoo! I can't believe we've posted every single day! It's a miracle! It's kinda fun just posted everyday pics instead of planning out recipes. I think after this month of posting everyday we'll continue to do more everyday stuff along with recipes as well. It's just more interesting to look at!

Anyway, this weekend our uncle brought us a bunch of stuff from his garden including golden beets which I've never cooked with before. We decided to make a citrus-beet salad, but I added avocado which kinda ruined the texture...it was still pretty good though!

Golden beets basking in their glory

Golden beet-Citrus Salad made w/ golden beets (roasted), orange segments, cherry tomatoes, avocado, chopped mint, and dressing made with lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

I couldn't believe how long the beets took to bake! it took about 1 1/2 hours at 425F. Maybe I didn't have them on a high enough heat?

He also brought us swiss chard which I blended up into a smoothie. Made with bananas and frozen peaches!

Green-y and smooth-y

Pumpkin-Orange Smoothie

There's nothing like a refreshing glass of pumpkin in the morning. It sounds so wrong but if you're a fan of pumpkin pie you will love this smoothie!

We were out at a restaurant a couple weeks ago and they had freshly squeezed pumpkin-orange juice and I just HAD to get it. And it was actually really good! I've never had pumpkin juice before but I can imagine how healthy it must be.

Oh and this smoothie is best when you use freshly squeezed oranges as opposed to the high acidic bottled OJ.

1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 banana, frozen

Blend it and sprinkle w/ additional spice

Smooth pumpy

Chocolate-Beet Ice Cream + Matcha Milkshake + Madre Labs Review

The kind people at iherb asked us if we would sample and review one of their products, amongst them this fantastic new product: Madre Lab's Coco Cardio, has definitely won our hearts. The ingredients are simple: Cocoa powder, Beet Juice powder and Hibiscus powder. These all combine to create a deep and earthy cocoa flavour. I've actually never tasted anything like it before. And if you like the taste of beets, you will like this product! Jac isn't soo fond of the beet taste, hey you either love em or you don't right? Well thankfully I do because beets contain so many nutrients, just the colour itself is enough to convince you how healthy they are for you.

1 can full fat coconut milk
1/3 cup cocoa cardio
1/3 cup water
1 tsp agar agar
2 packets stevia
1 tbsp agave nectar

Combine the agar agar and the water in a small pot and boil until it becomes a thick, jelly consistency. Add all ingredients to blender, including agar agar jelly and blend until smooth. Churn in an ice cream machine or freeze in a container and just stir every so often. Top w/ cacao nibs!

Topped w/ cacao nibs

Next on the menu is Midori Green Powder which includes "Matcha" green tea powder and Wasabi. Crazy right? But if you add just a little of this stuff to your morning banana smoothie, it turns it into a Matcha Milkshake that is creamy, simple, and super healthy! I like my smoothies sort of milkshake-like and Jac likes hers icy. This is one of the ONLY things we don't have in common. If you like your smoothies more icy, then add a couple cubes of ice, but this is really meant to be a milkshake. Since the Midori Greens have matcha powder, I've been adding it to smoothies because it actually tastes good! Not just thinking it'll add to my daily green intake. The matcha actually over powers the green taste!

2 frozen bananas, sliced
Enough water to almost cover bananas
1 tsp midori greens

Creamy Dreamy Sunny Yummy

Vegan "Booster Juice"

I. Love. Booster Juice. So much so that I spent a good portion of my meal plan on them everyday during my year at University. Eventually I ran out of money, and had to lay off of them. I was so addicted, but they were healthy so that's okay right?

Booster Juice smoothies aren't vegan, although you can ask for one without yogurt. I don't drink them all that often anymore, cause I mean, come on, smoothie master over here! You can make smoothies at home that are cheaper and actually taste alot like the almighty booster juice: such as this recipe I have crafted up for any vegan longing for that frosty, thick, fruit-filled drink.

A key to really great smoothies, that I've recently discovered, is that by using half frozen and half fresh fruit, you get a more uniform texture and an easier blend. That's why the mango is unfrozen, by I'm sure you can use for example, frozen mango, frozen strawberries and fresh banana, or another combination as such.

1/2 ripe large mango (unfrozen)
4-5 frozen strawberries
1/2 frozen banana
Juice from one passion fruit (this is flavourful stuff!)
1/4 cup guava juice (I used this brand)
1/2 cup orange juice (or more to induce blending)

Stick everything in a blender and blend away!! Add more juice as necessary to desired consistency. Keep it as thick as you can, a straw is a must for this one!

This was a take on the Mango Hurricane, my absolute favourite! I would LOVE to see if anyone else can recreate their favourite booster juice, it was surprising how much it tasted like the real thing.

As seen in: Ricki's Wellness Weekends

Spirulina Hawaiian Dream Smoothie

If you've read our previous posts, you know that I'm always trying to find ways of consuming my spirulina, which I still have from last summer! Good god when will it end! I have maybe half of the jar left.

I know that some people can tolerate the taste of spirulina, but I'm just not one of those people...

I've discovered that, as you could have guessed, it's best to combine sweet fruits like banana, dates and pineapple to spirulina to mask the taste.

Best colour evaa!

I got back from a run and was low on brown rice protein powder, so I substituted some spirulina to get the usual amount of protein for post-workout repair fuel. 

Honestly, with this spirulina smoothie recipe you will not taste the spirulina at all, maybe just lightly on the palate as an aftertaste, but other than that it tasted delicious!

1 banana, frozen

2 chunks of pineapple

1/2 tbsp spirulina

1 scoop vanilla brown rice protein powder

Dash of lime juice

Water to thin

Blend all ingredients until well combined. Enjoy as a post workout or anytime smoothie.

Maqui Berry Smoothie + Review

Navitas Naturals asked if we could review some of their new Maqui Berry Powder. I'm actually a super fanatical fan of Navitas, I'm always checking their website for new products so when they contacted me I was kind of amazed thinking: how did you know I wanted to try this? Anyways, I just love their smart packaging design and the way they make buying/consuming superfoods as easy as (goji berry) pie.

I usually put acai berry powder in my smoothies and always feel good about comsuming this pungent Amazonian superfruit. Maqui Berry powder (Patagonian superfruit) is similar to Acai powder in the taste category. It would be a good idea to blend it with other berries just to balance out the flavour. This stuff is super pungent, and bitter, it makes me happy because I know the healthier the food the more sharp it tastes. It also makes your smoothies a beautiful magenta colour :)

And you know, where there's purple, there's ANTIOXIDANTS! Actually Navitas claims that Maqui Berry has the most antioxidants of any discovered fruit, meaning it trumps blueberries, chocolate, acai and pomegranates. For more nutritional information on Maqui Berry check out this page.

1/2 cup mango
1/2 cup strawberries
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp Navitas Naturals Maqui Berry powder
Water to blend
Stevia to taste

Blend ingredients together, enjoy! Top with some toasted coconut, hemp seeds, granola, or whole berries.

Cinnamon-Banana Smoothie (Vegan, GF)

When I'm not in the mood for carob, sometimes I opt for cinnamon. It enhances the vanilla protein powder and banana flavour in the best ways possible. This is a cheap, filling, yummy breakfast that can be made in a snap. Top with your favourite granola. I made mine really thick so it was like ice cream!

1 frozen banana
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp maca
Water to desired consistency

Put ingredients in blender, and blend! Top with granola, the granola pictured here is Living Intentions' Chia Ginger Superfood Cereal.

What is your favourite banana-smoothie innovation? Share down below!

Blueberry-Grapefruit Smoothie (Vegan, GF)

I drink this smoothie pretty frequently. Together, blueberry and grapefruit create this wonderful fruity freshness, it's hard to explain, you're just going to have to try it out! I also added some Amazing Grass Berry Green Superfood, wow this stuff is intensely berry flavoured, it makes the smoothie taste like one you'd buy at a fancy smoothie shop like Booster Juice. It also contains lots of goodies like probiotics, rose hips (high vitamin C), and wheatgrass (detoxifies body). I don't know how I've survived without it really, lol. But this smoothie is still good without it as I've tried it before in the past.

1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 a large pink grapefruit
2 tbsp hemp seeds or 1 tbsp coconut oil
2 scoops hemp protein powder
Water
Amazing Grass Berry Green Superfood Drink Mix

Combine ingredients in blender, blend!

My fave was the berry, pictured here is lemon-lime, chocolate, and original

Reishi Iced Mocha (Vegan, GF)

Good thing I don't have a coffee drinking problem, but if I did, I'd probably drink this to substitute for the full bodied coffee taste everyone seems to love. I was introduced to reishi maybe a month or two ago and I ordered some whole dried pieces of it online. What I didn't realize was that you have to extract it somehow via tea or buy the already extracted powder. It doesn't matter how you take reishi, the point is that you're taking one of the most beneficial and revered herbs in chinese medicine. Reishi is amazingly balancing physically, mentally and emotionally. From my own experience taking reishi, I've noticed an increase in my ability to focus my energy as well as an overall sense of calm. If you feel unbalanced in any way, reishi may be able to help! If you've ever made reishi tea, the first thing you notice when you drink it is: BITTER! In order to subside some of the bitterness I created this drink.

It even gets all foamy on top!

1 cup reishi tea
1 heaping tbsp cacao powder/or carob
1/2 tbsp mesquite powder
1 frozen banana
2 tsp coconut oil/butter
2-3 ice cubes
Drizzle of raw honey/agave/coconut nectar to taste

How to make reishi tea: Combine 4 cups of water and a handful of reishi pieces, broken up into smaller pieces. Bring to a boil then lower to simmer/medium, and simmer for 2 hours (find something productive to do during these two hours :P). You may need to add more water throughout the ismmering if it evaporates too much. Alternatively you can use a powder extract or tincture and simply combine it with water.

Combine everything in a blender. Blend until thoroughly combined. Enjoy as an alternative to coffee!

You can buy a 10:1 reishi extract powder at hyperionherbs.com, this particular powder is extremely high quality and comes from Organic Duanwood. I'm probably going to opt for this powder next time because of its convenience as opposed to the tea.

Apple-Banana Mint Smoothie

Oh my I couldn't believe how good this smoothie was! It sounds like a weird combination, but since the banana is frozen, it ends up tasting like a mint ice cream milkshake. So frothy and refreshing!

• 1 sweet apple, peeled and cubed
• 1 frozen banana, cut into pieces
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
• Water

Place apple, banana and mint in blender and cover with enough water to almost cover fruit, but not quite. Blend until smooth. It's honestly just like a milkshake, without the sketch!