vegan |

I’ve always loved my green smoothies, but then it all changed.a few years ago when Breville entered my life.

Soon enough, my morning green smoothie was replaced with my morning green juice.

Even though I still enjoyed my green smoothie from time-to-time, I found that whenever I made myself a smoothie I opted for more of the fruit & avocado based combos sans the leafy greens since I was already getting a great deal through my juices, not to mention the large amounts I was consuming in my daily salads.

But…things changed again, as they so often do, and over the past few months I’ve had a strong desire to reintroduce more of these glowing green smoothies into my daily repertoire. Not as a replacement to my green juice but more of an accompaniment.

Here’s one of my favourite recipes below. I enjoyed this earlier today as a delicious post-yoga snack. It hit the spot perfectly and was just what I wanted!

Glorious “Glowing” Green Smoothie (Mango-Style)

1/2 cup of frozen mango (if using fresh mango add some ice cubes)

1 banana

4-5 leafs of kale de-stemmed

1 cup of pure water or coconut water

Blend until smooth.

If you want your green smoothie to glow bright green as pictured above, be sure to use lighter coloured fruits like mango, apple, pear, banana,etc. If you don’t mind it looking a bit swampy then feel free to add in those dark and delicious berries.

Another tip is to swap the banana for 1/2 an avocado to give it a little more density and some added healthy fats to boot! I love using avocados in my smoothies as it makes them super creamy tasting. If you’re using avocado just be sure to pair it with a sweeter tasting fruit or use a hint of natural sweetener.

Now go get your glow-on!

xo Elaine

Well…I suppose I could share with you;)

As I’m sitting here writing a post about soup, of course I can’t help but be reminded of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. Never, heard of the Soup Nazi? See the bottom of the post!

It seems I’ve been on a definite soup kick as of late. I suppose it’s been brought on by the chilly weather and my need for dishes that are both warming and nourishing. Plus I’ve always been a lover of soup in the winter.

In the past week or so I’ve made 3 big batches of soup. It started off with roasted cauliflower, followed by vegetable mung bean, and then on to my latest and greatest – sweet potato & lentil which I’ll share with you below.

All my soups are determined by what produce is in my kitchen at the moment. I always start with the biggest pot I have, add all my veggies and whatever else I choose to throw in such as beans and all the extras like garlic, spices, fresh & dried herbs, etc. I don’t really like store-bought broths and don’t really use them except on rare occasions. If you have the right seasonings on-hand there really isn’t a need for store-bought broths or bouillon cubes.

The great thing about making large batches of soup is that you can eat it for days – lunch, dinner, snacks, you name it! Last Saturday I made a huge pot of soup and that was my go-to for the whole weekend. If you live on your own and don’t think you will finish it all within 3 days or so, feel free to freeze serving size portions so you can grab them quickly for lunches.

When I make soups I don’t really measure anything but I included rough measurements below because I knew I would be sharing the recipe. Feel free to deviate! You can also substitute ingredients for whatever you have on-hand. If you’re using dried beans (which are preferable over canned) soak them overnight to reduce cooking time, otherwise add canned beans about half way through (rather than at the beginning) since they’ve already been cooked.

Sweet Potato & Lentil Soup

Ingredients

1 tbs of coconut oil

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 Spanish onion chopped

4-5 carrots diced

3-4 stalks of celery diced

1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped

1 ½ cups of green lentils (pre-soaked overnight and rinsed)

10 cups of pure water (This will vary on size of pot – leave a bit of room at top so soup doesn’t boil over!)

½ cup of chopped parsley

2 tsp of dried basil

½ – 1 tsp of sea salt

Feel free to add a few bay leaves or any other dried spices/herbs you have on-hand.

Instructions:

In a large pot add coconut oil and place over medium heat.

Add minced garlic and onion and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add 5 cups of water (or half the full amount you’ll be using) and add pre-soaked lentils, carrot, celery, and sweet potato.

As you bring to a boil slowly add the remaining 5 cups of water.

Add sea salt and dried basil (and any other dried spices/herbs you desire).

Boil for 5-10 minutes and reduce heat to a simmer.

Stir in fresh parsley and simmer for approx 30 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

You’ll find that with homemade soup it always tastes even more flavourful the next day. All the more reason to make a big batch!

And now, I’ll leave you with this…

Have a great weekend – filled with lots of soup!

Tag Archives: vegan

The Return of the Green Smoothie