Pumpkin Seed Milk: Wowee!

Hazelnuts, move over and make room for the latest and greatest: Pumpkin seed milk! I was skeptical when I made my first batch. But it turned out so well! The milk has none of the grainy-ness that nut milks typically have. And since I don't like to strain out the pulp, this is a fantastic discovery. Pumpkin seed milk is suuuuuuuper smoooooooth :)

Here is the approximate recipe and procedure to make 1 quart:

1. Soak 1/2 cup of raw pumpkin seeds overnight
2. Place the soaked seeds in the blender with about 2 cups of ice water
3. Add about 4 or 5 medjool dates
4. Add 1/2 of a vanilla bean
5. Blend on high for about 1 minute
6. Add 2 more cups of water
7. Taste and adjust sweetness or thickness

I made another batch using a combination of pumpkin and sunflower seeds. This is a great way to mix up the routine and get a wider array
of nutrients. I'm not abandoning the Hazelnuts altogether, but it was time to rotate them out for a while.

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Cool As A Cucumber

My latest juicing creation:

• 3 apples
• 1 cucumber
• 1" ginger root
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 head of celery
• 1 fennel bulb

It's not too sweet. Just cool and refreshing.

I was nervous about adding fennel to my juices at first. I thought it would produce an overpowering licorice flavor. To my surprise, the flavor is extremely mild and delicious to the final drop.

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Hire a maid... or use this homemade multipurpose cleaner for your spring cleaning

If you're like me, you would much rather have someone else do the cleaning. Even though I am responsible for fewer than 800 square feet, keeping it clean sometimes seems like a vain pursuit; it always needs to be cleaned again by next weekend!

I'm not yet willing to hire a maid to take care of my messes, but I am willing to whip up my own multipurpose cleaner. This can be very handy if you find yourself in the middle of spring cleaning and your trusty Trader Joe's Next To Godliness cleaner is down to the last drop. Don't fret. You probably already have all the ingredients in your house already... including that empty spray bottle.

I took this out of a Housekeeping magazine :)


Multipurpose Cleaner:

• 1.5 tsp castile soap
• 3 tsp white vinegar
• 4 C water

Just shake it up in the bottle and go! Judging by the way my counter tops and floors sparkle, this stuff works. Additionally, it's completely safe for you and the environment! Read more...

"Almond Moo" Smoothie

It's after 3 PM, and I'm hungry. But I don't want to spoil my appetite for dinner. So what do I do?

I'm thinking, Almond Moo :)

My friend, Lynn, made this smoothie for me a couple weeks ago. I had to have two glasses full. The next day, I made my own.

This is her recipe:

1. 1/2 C plain or vanilla soy milk
2. 1/2 C chocolate soy milk
3. 1 frozen banana (this makes it thick!)
4. 1-2 tsp almond butter (freshly ground, no additives)
5. Blend!

For mine, I substituted Hazelnut milk for soy milk.

But I also add other things like carob (I am on a total carob kick lately), coconut oil, cinnamon, etc. Whatever strikes my fancy. I also like to add a tsp of chia seeds and take it to-go. By the time I drink it, the chia has had time to soak and gel. I love those little gel-ly chia seeds. It reminds me of bubble tea. Add chia to your favorite beverage and see what happens!

PS. you can also make this into Peanut Butter Moo by sub-ing in peanut butter.

Yumm-moo





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Chocolate Carob Protein Shake with SUNWARRIOR

Had an amazing workout at the gym this morning, and I want to share with you my latest post-workout drink. I'm loving it!

It contains only three ingredients:

• 1-2 C Hazelnut milk
  
• 1 scoop Sunwarrior Protein powder
  
• 2 T Carob
  

You can mix them in a blender or shaker. I use my Vitamix. It's quick; it's easy. That is, as long as you have your hazelnut milk prepared. I've written before on how to make almond milk and touched on Hazelnut milk once in this article. But now I use Hazelnuts (also called Filberts) because they are locally grown, can be obtained in a truly raw state (unlike almonds which are by law pasteurized), and thus can be sprouted.

Hazelnut milk is also easy to prepare. You just need to plan ahead about 8 hours to allow the nuts to sprout.

Needed ingredients for 1/2 gallon of milk:

• 1 C Hazelnuts
  
• 1/2 C Brazil nuts
  
• 6 large medjool dates
  
• 1/2 vanilla bean
  
• Water
  

• First, I soak the nuts in water for at least 8 hours. This allows the nut to sprout, making its nutrients bioavailable.
  
• Second, I drain the soaked nuts and put them in my Vitamix blender with the dates and vanilla bean and about 2 cups of water.
  I blend on high until the nuts are reduced to an extremely fine texture. They should be basically liquified.
  
• Third, I add more cold water to make 1/2 gallon in total.
  
• Lastly, I taste it. Mmmmm... yummy.
  

And that's it. You have your Hazelnut milk ready to go into the super-easy carob protein shake.

The reason I like the Sunwarrior protein is because it contains one amazing ingredient: Brown Rice Protein (Biofermented Raw Sprouted Whole Grain Brown Rice Protein). Talk about amazing. No fillers, extra junk, or dubious ingredients. It has a complete amino acid profile and is gluten free. If you have allergic reactions to most other protein powders, I encourage you to sample this one. Chances are, you will not react badly. I prefer the natural flavor because then I can tailor it to be chocolate, vanilla, or whatever.

This shake is just enough to recharge me right after a whirlwind session of weight training and intervals on the stairmaster.

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Green Juice of the Year

For all you fresh juice lovers, try this combo. It blew my taste buds outta the water. It's basically my typical green juice with bell pepper added. I didn't realize what an amazing twist bell pepper adds.

Here is approximately what I put through my juicer:

• 1 head celery
  
• 1 cucumber
  
• 2 apples
  
• 1 lime (peeled)
  
• 1 orange bell pepper
  
• 2" fresh ginger root
  
• 2" fresh turmeric root
  

When you're finished juicing, add a dash of cayenne pepper to each glass. A fantastic addition would be cilantro (blended in or juiced).

Add a beet to make it a lovely valentine drink for your sweetie.

The fresh turmeric root is a great addition because of its anti-inflammatory properties. If you are looking for turmeric root in the grocery store, you might confuse it with ginger root. It looks the same but is orange on the inside.

Cheers to health and deliciousness! Read more...

Raw Beet Salad

My search for a raw beet salad recipe was inspired by the mother of my two piano students. We held a small recital the beginning of January complete with piano music and delicious food. Her beet salad was fantastic. I didn't ask for the recipe, but found this one on my own. I love beets and am always looking for a new way to eat them. I plan to make the beet salad again this week for a daily lunchtime appetizer. Perhaps you should too...

Raw Beet Salad

• 3 beets
  
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
  
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoon minced chives, mint, or parsley (or a combination)
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Leaves of 1 romaine heart
  

1. Wash the beets and grate them in a food processor fitted with the shredding blade.

2. Combine the orange juice, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss with the beets and herbs. Season to taste with salt. Line a salad bowl or platter with romaine lettuce leaves, top with the grated beets and serve.

See the original recipe here.

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