Go Green!

Green smoothies can be really intimidating to some people but I have a really simple recipe that I wanted to share. Getting in greens can be really difficult, especially if you don't have a lot of time to sit and eat them all. Putting them in a smoothie can hide the taste, and make it a lot more enjoyable.

There are three things I've learned throughout my green smoothie trials/errors over the years that's made making smoothies a lot easier.

1. Don't overthink / overcomplicate things.
    When I first started making smoothies, I would try to cram as much stuff in the blender as possible, not thinking about the actual taste of it. I've learned to not add a bunch of random ingredients, and keep it as simple as possible.

2. Fruit is the key

    Fruit should be the main ingredient in your smoothies, not only for taste, but also for calories and carbohydrates. Using at least 3/4 fruit, and 1/4 vegetables you're guaranteed to have a sweet and refreshing smoothie.

3. Choose your vegetables wisely
    Choosing the best vegetables to put in a smoothie is also important. If you're unsure about adding in vegetables, don't be. You can barely taste them! Sticking with high water content vegetables is best because they have lots of nutrients, but lack in strong flavors. My favorite vegetables to add to smoothies are spinach, kale, celery, celery leaves, cucumber, avocado, and peppers. Not all of them should go into one smoothie, but a choose just a few to put in one.

Now, it's time for the recipe! I absolutely love this green smoothie recipe because it's super sweet, inexpensive, easy to make, and it keeps me full for so long.


Ingredients:

2-3 frozen bananas (make sure they are frozen, this really helps to make the smoothie smooth and creamy. also use bananas when they are spotty, that's when they are ripe)
1 cup frozen mango (you could also use frozen or fresh pineapple instead)
2 cups spinach or kale
4 stalks of celery (include the leaves, they are packed full of nutrition!)
1/3 of a medium sized cucumber (leave the peeling on, it also has lots of nutrients and fiber)
1/4 lemon with the seeds removed
3/4 cup orange juice (I like to buy it with high pulp, to include more fiber)
1 cup water
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger (optional)

Put all ingredients into your blender, and blend! If you like it thicker, add some ice. If you like it a little thinner add some more juice or water. You can keep this smoothie in a jar in the refrigerator for up to two days (although it may separate, just shake it up and enjoy!).

I put all the ingredient's into an online food processor to calculate the nutrition facts. If you're interested in checking them out, you can here!

How To Build An Epic Salad

Salads can be one of the most nutritious meals you can eat, but they can also be a dangerous trap you can get caught in. All parts of a salad can be either beneficial or not depending on the base, toppings, add-ins, and dressing you choose to use to build your salad. 

To me, it's important to always be eating with a purpose by packing as many nutrients in a meal that I possibly can. Salads are an excellent way to "eat with a purpose" and I'm going to show you how you can do that!

Samantha's Guide To Building an Epic Salad . . .

Start off with a nutrient filled base:

Picking the base is essential in building your epic salad. My advice towards this is the darker the green, the better. Using a dark green for the base to your salad is the best start to a nutrient packed meal. Choosing a dark green, rather than a lighter one, means that there are more vitamins and minerals, providing you with the most bang for your buck. 

Try to pick from this list of nutrient packed greens for the base to your salad:

Kale, swiss chard, spinach, red cabbage, beet greens, dandelion greens, arugula

Also, try to buy organic when you can!

Choosing your vegetables:

The next part of building your salad usually includes adding vegetables. This is where you can go the crazy! Throw in as many vegetables as you possibly can and don't be afraid to cook them in different ways; roasted, raw, boiled, sautéed, or steamed. Try chopping the vegetables up in different sizes, or even shred some of the heartier vegetables for a different texture. Again, choosing nutrient dense vegetables is key to making sure you are not skimping out on the health potential of your salad!

Here are a list of some of my favorite vegetables to add to my epic salads:

Carrots (raw), celery (raw and including the leaves), cherry tomatoes (diced), beets (roasted or raw/shredded), cucumbers (finely diced), green peas (frozen), sprouts (raw), mushrooms (raw or sautéed)

Put some heart into your salad:





Often times people complain about salads not being filling or leaving them satisfied. This usually is because they need to add a "hearty" component; by this I mean something that bulks it up and allows it to feel like a full meal in a bowl. This is also an opportunity to add grains to your salad which is a huge part in making it into a meal, rather than a side dish. So don't leave out those complex carbohydrates!

Choose one or two of these to give your epic salad some heartiness:

roasted potatoes, cooked/cooled quinoa, buckwheat, or rice, roasted/sautéed corn, roasted spaghetti squash


Don't forget the protein:

Another key part of turning a salad into a full meal is adding protein. I suggest choosing a plant-based protein that will provide a low fat, high protein element to your epic salad.

Plant-based proteins to add:

sautéed, baked, or raw organic tofu or tempeh (season with whatever seasonings you enjoy), rinsed canned or home prepared beans (black, garbanzo, pinto, red kidney, navy, cannellini), hemp seeds, lentils, organic edamame (shelled)

Just a little fat:

Fat is another important part of a salad, mostly because fat combined with a salad helps our bodies absorb all the nutrients. So by incorporating some fat into your salad, you're not just adding flavoring but allowing your body a better chance to absorb all the nutrients. Fat is an essential part of our diet, but be careful of the type, quality, and quantity of the fat you decide to use. Also, I typically use a vinegar based dressing rather than an oil based one, so if you use a oil based salad dressing, you may not need as much of these fat components I'm mentioning. 

Choose 1 of these servings of  fat to add:

1/8 medium/large avocado, 1 Tbsp. flax seed, 2 Tbsp. seeds or nuts (almonds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, pecans, walnuts), 2 Tbsp. chopped olives, 1-2 Tbsp. hummus

Boost up your salad:

Adding booster foods to your salads is another key part in turning a normal salad into an epic salad. Booster foods are foods that are eaten in an effort to obtain medicinal benefits. They are super important to incorporate into your diet because they provide large amounts of nutrients that are equivalent to supplements, or medicine that you may be taking in a
pill form. 

Choose as many of these booster foods as you'd like:

1-2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast, 1 tsp. liquid aminos,  1/4 tsp. kelp, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp. bee pollen, 1 Tbsp. spirulina, 1 Tbsp. wheat germ, 1 Tbsp. raw garlic, 1/4 cup fresh herbs (basil, parsley, cilantro are recommended)

Dress it up:

The place where most people mess up their salad is with the dressing they choose to use. Often time the dressing itself turns a perfectly fine salad into a disaster. I always recommend making and using your own salad dressing, rather than buying it in a store. But if you find it easier to buy dressing, make sure to choose vinaigrettes rather than "cream" based and check the ingredients, making sure there are no artificial sweeteners or even high fructose corn syrup that is in it. Also avoid any hydrogenated oils, artificial coloring, "natural flavors," and modified starches. 



There are TONS of homemade salad dressing recipes online, but a simple combination of a vinegar, oil, and/or fruit juice makes a delicious dressing for any type of salad! If you're wanting a creamy dressing for your salad, use tahini, hummus, avocado, or mustard as a "creamy" element to your salad instead of ranch or caesar dressing which don't provide any nutritional value. 

Top it off:

Many people turn to croutons or bacon bits to finish off their salad, but there are definitely some better options to give your salad a crunch. An easy way to add crunch to your salad is roasted chick peas! Simply roast some canned (rinsed) chick peas and throw them on your salad for a healthy, protein packed topping! Another way to top off your salad is with crumbled up rice or corn cakes, this adds a crunchy texture that is a better alternative to croutons.


Ways to add some crunch/texture to the top of your salad:

1-2 crumbled organic rice or corn cake, 1/4 cup roasted chick peas/edamame, 1/4 cup sprouts, dehydrated sweet potatoes

And there you go, my guide to making an epic salad. Salads can definitely be eaten as a meal, and you can pack in a ton of nutrients and beneficial components, just get creative and don't be afraid to try new things! Happy salad making (and eating)!

Things I Loved In August

August was a pretty eventful month....Natural Chef school ended, I moved into my first apartment, and I began my junior year of college. There were a lot of new things that I experienced this month and I can't wait to share them with you all!

Cacao Nibs

I had never tried cacao nibs until this past month, and I can't believe it's taken me so long to discover them! They are little vegan gluten-free delicious morsels that you can snack on by themselves, throw them into any cookie recipe, trail mix, bowl of cereal, or oatmeal. Cacao nibs are filled with energy and mood boosting compounds, and they even help to raise HDL ("good" cholesterol). If you love dark chocolate, then these are the perfect snack for you!

LARA bars

I mentioned these in my Back To School Snack Ideas post ( Check It Out Here ). LARA bars are one of my favorite snacks to pack no matter where I'm going. They are so delicious and one of the most "natural" energy bars I've been able to find. My favorite flavors are Apple Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, and Blueberry Muffin.




Sprouts

Another food item that I re-discovered this month was sprouts. I've always like them, but never really thought to always have them in my refrigerator until now. I'm so glad I have re-discovered my love for them! My favorite two are alfalfa sprouts, and clover sprouts. My favorite way to eat them is to put them on salads, or even take a rice cake, spread some hummus on it, and then top it with sprouts....so good!



Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

Coconut has never really been one of my favorite flavors, but for some reason this summer I've been eating a lot of it and have fallen in love with it! One of my favorite ways to eat it is in the shredded, unsweetened form. It's so great to put in desserts, throw into a trail mix or granola, or even mix it into oatmeal. Buying it in bulk is the cheapest way I've found to buy it. Also, it stores great in the freezer, so it'll never go bad!

Salads

With school starting back up this month, I've definitely rekindled my love for salads. Salads are so quick, simple, and delicious to make for dinner every night. With a little meal prep one night of the week, a meal worthy salad takes almost no time to throw together. What I've been doing is taking one evening to roast a bunch of sweet potatoes, and any other veggies (beets, broccoli, etc.), and make a big batch of quinoa. Once you have those made, a salad takes almost no time at all to whip together. Here's my go-to salad recipe of this past month:

bed of greens (usually spinach)
handful of sprouts
roasted sweet potatoes
1/2 cup quinoa
any other veggies I have on hand (carrots, broccoli, beets, celery, etc.)
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 avocado
1 tbsp. hummus
1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
2 oz. tempeh (I just cut it into slices and sauté it in a pan for about five minutes)



Making To-Do Lists

I've always been a fairly organized person, but I also tend to be a procrastinator so making lists is essential for me to be as productive as possible. Especially now that school has started back up, making lists has really been helpful for me to see what needs to be done, and then actually a motivator to do it.




Nahko and Medicine for the People

I discovered this band a few weeks ago and can not stop listening to them. Their music is so beautiful and it is just "happy" music. Some of my favorite songs of theirs is Warrior People, Budding Trees, Aloha Ke Akua, Manifesto ll, and My Country. I think their message is so powerful and definitely recommend them to anyone who loves some good chill music.


Salt Lamp

At the end of July, I went to the Flea Market in Raleigh for the first time. There, I discovered the world of gems and crystals. There was a vendor there selling many different gemstones and crystals and I loved learning so much about the power they give to us. While talking to the owners, the salt lamps caught my attention, and I immediately knew I wanted one. I decided on one of the smaller lamps, and chose the one I felt drawn to. For the past month, I've been sleeping with it in my room and love the light it gives off and the benefits from it. Salt lamps help to reduce allergens and toxins in the air, and it also binds positive ions with negative ions in the air. Salt lamps can be bought online through Amazon or other websites.


Food Puns

While thinking of a cute T-shirt idea for Appalachian Student Dietetic Association (ASDA), a club that I'm apart of at school, I fell in love with food puns. I think they are the cutest things ever, and they all just make me so happy! I've been trying to come up with my own, as well as googling and pinteresting ideas.

My Refrigerator/Freezer Staples

There are several things that I almost always have in my fridge and freezer. It's important to find your own personal staples so that you are always prepared for when you're in a rush. Also, by having healthy staples in your house you won't be tempted by foods that may not be as nutritious.

What's Almost ALWAYS In My....

Refrigerator:

Unsweetened almond milk (Silk): Almond milk is a necessity in my opinion. Because I don't eat dairy, almond milk is my favorite milk alternative. I like to buy the Silk brand because it doesn't have carrageenan like the other brands (Almond Breeze) do. Carrageenan is a seaweed extract that can cause many digestive problems, so avoiding it is important. I use almond milk in almost everything; oatmeal, poured over frozen fruit, smoothies, and different desserts.







Leafy Greens: Greens are one of my favorite vegetables, and something I try to eat every day do keeping them in my fridge is a really great reminder for me to eat my daily greens! My favorites to have are spinach and kale because they go great with every dish, especially salads.



Raw Apple Cider Vinegar: ACV is the only non-acidic vinegar, which makes it a gentle vinegar on your digestive track. I love using raw ACV in everything, from salad dressing to drinking little sips of it every now and then. It's an amazing health booster to add to your diet, and having some in my refrigerator always reminds me to use a little everyday.






Tofu/Tempeh: Two of my favorite protein sources are organic tofu and tempeh. Both products are made from soybeans, and are good sources of plant based protein. Tempeh is my favorite because it is not as processed as tofu and it's fermented which makes digesting it a lot easier.





Hummus: Hummus is one of my favorite foods to have on hand because not only is a great source of fat, but it makes eating veggies even better. I wish I was cool enough to always make my own, but I usually just end up buying it which is fine, just make sure you're always reading that ingredient list! My favorites are roasted garlic and roasted red pepper, yum!

Raw Veggies: Just like leafy greens, veggies are another thing I make sure I eat daily. Having some sort of raw vegetable in the fridge always helps me to remember to eat them. Some that I always have on hand are carrots, celery and cucumbers.




Freezer:

Frozen fruit: To me, frozen fruit is one of the best things you can have in your freezer. Often times people don't buy fresh fruit because they're scared it's going to go bad, but if you buy it frozen then it'll never go bad!



Don't be scared of frozen fruit, just make sure there isn't any added sugar or preservatives (most frozen fruit doesn't). Often times frozen fruit has more nutrients than fresh fruit, because the fruit is picked and immediately frozen (which is preserving nutrients) unlike "fresh" fruit that is often times picked and then shipped thousands of miles to then sit on the grocery store shelve, allowing the amount of nutrients to decrease.


I could talk about frozen fruit all day, but it is definitely my most important staple item. Some of my favorite fruits to have on hand are blueberries, bananas (just freeze any bananas that are going bad), blackberries, and mango. Frozen fruit is very versatile, I use it as a key ingredient in smoothies, a great sweet treat to snack on, also I love pouring some almond milk over it and eating it like "cereal."

Unsweetened Shredded Coconut: I recently became obsessed with coconut, and love putting it in everything. It's such a good source of fat, and extremely delicious. I like to buy the unsweetened coconut shreds in bulk and just stick the bag in the freezer. I use it in oatmeal, over frozen fruit, in smoothies, and in many different desserts. It's also great to just snack on every now and then.



Flaxseeds: I honestly don't know what I would do without my flaxseeds. They are inexpensive, packed with fiber, omega-3s and can be used in almost everything. Also, they last for a very long time in the freezer, so you never have to worry about them going bad. I buy the milled flaxseeds, and love throwing them in oatmeal, smoothies, and any baked goods I may be making. They don't have a strong flavor, so they can really be used in anything! So instead of taking those stinky fish oil supplements, just throw some flaxseed in you morning cereal/oatmeal, or in a smoothie for some omega-3s!

Frozen peas: This is another food that I just couldn't live without. They are so delicious, and SO SO SO good for you! Frozen peas are pretty inexpensive, and they are a great source of iron and plant-based protein. Another reason why I love them is that they are very versatile; they can be steamed, roasted, thrown into salads, used as a base for a salad, and if you're super weird like me you can just snack on them frozen, right out of the bag!

Beware of High Fructose Corn Syrup

There are lots of ingredients in processed foods that I try to avoid, but the number one ingredient is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). HFCS can be found in almost anything; from canned tomatoes to children's apple juice. Because corn is one of the most subsidized products in America, you can find this highly sweetened, processed product in just about everything. 


 In Mark Hyman's article "5 Reasons High Fructose Corn Syrup Will Kill You"(http://drhyman.com/blog/2011/05/13/5-reasons-high-fructose-corn-syrup-will-kill-you/) he shares, "the average American increased their consumption of HFCS (mostly from sugar sweetened drinks and processed food) from zero to over 60 pounds per person per year."This statistic is incredibly scary, because not only is HFCS highly processed but it is being put in just about anything, even in products that aren't necessarily supposed to be sweet.

     As I said earlier, HFCS can be found in so many packaged products because corn is highly subsidized by the government. This means that farmers get paid by the government (with our tax dollars) to grow corn, most of which is genetically modified. Because there is so much corn being grown, it needs a place to go. So that is when it gets stuck in almost all food products. In fact corn can be found in around 70% of products in an average grocery store.


HFCS is a cheap, highly processed form of sugar (fructose). It is also highly concentrated which can cause your blood sugar to spike. Our bodies digest/absorb fructose differently than we do other natural sugars. So when we eat too much of it in concentrated forms it can cause problems in our bodies. Just like any type of added sugar, it should be limited in our diets but limiting added sugars can be difficult to do when HFCS is in just about every packaged product. 

    
     Avoiding HFCS can be easy, as long as you ALWAYS check the ingredient list. Even if you don't think a product would have HFCS in it, check, because it's surprising the things that they can put it in. I would highly encourage you to avoid HFCS at all costs, not only because it's harmful to your body but because the more we avoid it, the quicker companies will stop trying to sneak it into our food. So take a step to improving your health, and back away from the high fructose corn syrup, it will be worth it!