Ever wonder what a banana split would taste like if you added broccoli?…

Haha… Before you think I’ve lost my mind, let me explain!

Some time ago, Katie posted a brownie batter pancake recipe that she said ‘had several servings of vegetables in it’. One of the ingredients, the one that gives you the vegetable servings, was Amazing Grass Chocolate Green SuperFood.

I eventually found this tasty and amazing product in the health isle of Whole Foods. I decided to make a smoothie with it. I tasted the powder so that I’d know what to expect and there was a distinct fruity, berry taste to it. So I decided it would go great with my Chocolate-Banana-Berry Smoothie Recipe, omitting the cocoa powder and the maca (because both of these are in the amazing grass powder). I chose frozen cherries that day, and it was awesome, even amazing you might say.

I’ve had this new version of the smoothie four mornings now, and I’ve decided that I like it with just a touch more cocoa, but otherwise, it is perfect.

So what about that comment/title? It turns out that my Chocolate-Banana-Berry Smoothie Recipe with frozen strawberries tastes like a banana split to me and Amazing Grass Chocolate Green SuperFood happens to have broccoli as one of it’s ingredients… so to answer my own question… Ever wonder what a banana split would taste like if you added broccoli?… Awesome!

From the website:

Chocolate Green SuperFood: All natural and organic ingredients include organic wheat grass, organic barley grass, organic alfalfa, organic spirulina, organic spinach, organic chlorella (cracked cell-wall), organic broccoli, organic dutch cocoa, organic redwood cocoa, organic cacao, natural chocolate flavoring, organic acai from Sambazon, organic maca, organic carrot, organic beet, raspberry, organic rose hips, pineapple, green tea, acerola cherry, organic flax seed powder, organic oat fiber, apple pectin fiber, F.O.S. (from chicory root), L. acidophilus, alpha and beta amylase, protease, lipase, lactase, cellulase, siberian eleuthero root, peppermint and organic sea salt.
100% Vegan.

So for a great way to have some pre & probiotics, digestive enzymes, and 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, try out Amazing Grass Chocolate Green SuperFood in my smoothie recipe. Adding frozen cherries (chocolate-covered cherry), strawberries (banana split), or blueberries (blueberry heaven)… also if your bananas are frozen it is even better!

Oh, and I could really taste the raspberry in the powder when I made the banana split version of my smoothie!

The New Better-For-You Chocolate-Banana-Berry Smoothie
by the auspicious squirrel
2 servings

Rating: Awesome, Favorite, Go-to, Yummy, simple

2 cups soymilk
2 pkg (8 grams)Amazing Grass Chocolate Green SuperFood
1/2-1 Tbsp. cocoa powder (optional)
2 med. bananas (frozen is even better)
1-2 handfuls of frozen fruit (strawberries, cherries, or blueberries)
maple syrup, to taste (optional)

Start with 2 cups soymilk, in a blender pour in soymilk, add cocoa powder and amazing grass powder, blend on low. Scrape the sides of the blender, make sure you get it all, you don’t want a powdery smoothie. With blender on low and the little part of the lid removed, add bananas, broken up so as to not annoy the blender. Add more soymilk here if it’s getting really thick. Then rinse the ice crystals off the frozen fruit and add one handful at a time. Turn off blender and taste. If you need a bit more sweetness add maple syrup. Then to make sure it’s all blended, replace the lid and blend on high for a few more seconds.
** If you have a vitamix blender… Blend soymilk and chocolate powders on low, then add fruit and blend on high for a few seconds. **

So, I want to thank Katie once again for introducing me to something new and amazing. Thanks, Katie! Btw, have you visited her site lately to help her out with Operation-Chocolate-Covered-Kindness?

Operation Exercise

• Nov 11 – YogaToday – Playful Backbends – Neesha (1 hour)
  (formerly named – Chest Expansion thru Shoulder Opening Poses)
  ** Amazing heart opening workout… don’t let the backbends in the title scare you off… Upward Bow pose is the last pose you do, and if you are a beginner you can do Bridge pose instead. The rest of the session is focused on proper alignment and opening up the chest.

Hope you are having a great day!
~nic

Mushroom Noodle Soup…

You didn’t think I forgot about the mushroom soup did you?…

On Produce Wednesday I was feeling pretty creative, and I wanted to use those portobello mushrooms since they have such a short shelf life. I also had about 2 cups of that mushroom broth left that needed to be used up. I wanted to make a mushroom soup that had an Asian flare… here’s what I did…

Mushroom Noodle Soup
by nic – the auspicious squirrel

Rating: Very Good

Yeilds: 6-8 servings

broth

• 2 cups mushroom broth
• 1 pkg dried mushrooms (* I used a stir fry blend: shiitake, woodear, paddy straw, & oyster mushrooms)
• 2 bay leaves (*later discarded)
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 1 Tbsp. white miso
• 1 1/2 tsp. better than bouillon vegetable base
• 1 inch piece ginger, peeled (*later discarded)
• 2 Tbsp. dulse, finely chopped
• dash red pepper flakes
• splash aji-marin
• splash tamair
• salt & pepper

veggies

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 portobello mushrooms, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot with tops, peeled & chopped
• 1 small red pepper, chopped
• up to 6 cups water
• 1 pkg (8oz) quinoa spaghetti (* I used Ancient Harvest) **Feel free to use any long noodle of choice, I actually thought I had lo mein or udon noodles when I started, but had to improvise.**

1. Bring mushroom broth to a boil, add dried mushrooms, simmer until mushrooms are re-hydrated. (* This is a good time to start chopping veggies)
2. Once dried mushrooms are soft, you can fish them out to chop them into smaller bite-size pieces, then return to broth.
3. Add rest of ‘broth’ ingredients, simmer.
4. Meanwhile, chop ‘veggies’ and add to mushroom broth, adding water as needed to desired consistency, simmer.
5. ** Here’s where I would deviate from my original experiment… I originally added the spaghetti to the broth, which then sucked up all the broth and I had to keep adding water to make it brothy, which in turn started to dilute my delicious broth… I mention later how I address leftovers… but I think the noodles should have been cooked on their own and then added to the soup to reduce this problem.** So, in a separate pot, cook pasta according to package directions, while the soup is still simmering in a separate pot.
6. When pasta is done, and the vegetables are at the desired tenderness, combine. Taste broth and adjust seasonings. Remove ginger and bay leaves. Enjoy.

leftovers

If you chose to combine the pasta with the soup and cooked them together (like I did originally) and now you have a thick stew for leftovers…

• Combine water (or mushroom broth if you still have some) and splashes and dashes (sorry I don’t have good measurements to tell you) of other ‘broth’ items (*except dried mushrooms) in a microwave safe container.
• Heat until steamy, about 3 minutes (stir every 1 minute).
• Ladle out desired amount of stewy mushroom soup.
• Then top with newly made broth to desired brothiness into a soup bowl, microwave to desired heat, about 1-2 minutes more. Enjoy.
• Personally, I kept the newly made broth separate when storing so that the noodles would not continue to soak up all the broth.

Oh, I had forgotten, I also roasted up that delicata squash, it only made the one plate you see in the picture (it was a small squash). I cut the squash in half, removed the seeds and roasted it cut-side down on parchment paper in a 400°F oven for 40 minutes, then cooled cut-side up. I then removed the skin, roughly chopped it, then added a pat of earth balance, a drizzle of maple syrup, a handful of chopped walnuts, and a dash of cinnamon. I then put it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the earth balance. Yummy.

Operation Exercise

• Nov 10 – Suzanne Deason DVD – Yoga Conditioning for Women (1 hour) ** Awesome and much needed stretch!

Hope you are having a great day!
~nic

Welcome Back!…

Hello, ducks!

Hello, sea gull!

Hello, geese!

Oh, hey! Glad to see you again, Crane!

I had a great walk this morning, all my old friends came out to welcome me back, it was awesome! I even saw a bushy tail I’m pretty sure belonged to a very quick squirrel!

If you ever want to measure out your walk or plan your walk ahead of time, check out google map’s pedometer.

Operation Exercise

• Nov 9 – 3.1 mile walk/jog (1:10 hours) – Yea! *giant grin*

Hope you are having a great day!
~nic