Join me for Merienda: V,GF- Simple Smoothie of Deliciousness: Chocolate, Banana and Blueberry with some added benefits =)

Well, it's almost the end of February and I wanted to make sure to post this month, instead of letting it slip by once again. It's still bitterly cold out and I've been making a lot of stews and soups, but I felt like going contrary to this trend and post a recipe for a smoothie today. 

Honestly, smoothie recipes are simple. You just put all of the ingredients into a blender and let it run, until well blended. So, I'm sure that you've got a few standards in your pocket already, but if you feel like giving this one a go; then by all means, have at it! 

One of the simplest versions of this smoothie involves 5 ingredients:

Frozen Organic Bananas

Tumaco Cocoa Powder

Coconut Milk/Almond Milk or any Vegan milk of your choice

Organic Flax Meal

Organic Agave Nectar or a few Organic Dates (to sweeten)

This photo just looks weird, but here are some of the ingredients waiting in the Nutribullet container to go swimming with Coconut Milk.

However this version includes frozen blueberries because it's winter and we need a bit more boost of those antioxdiants and anthocyanins to bolster our immune system. You could also add in a bit of ginger into this and that would really add some punch to it.

So here is the 'official,' recipe for this version:

V, GF- Chocolate, Banana and Blueberry Smoothie

1 Frozen Organic Banana

A Handful of Frozen Blueberries

*3 Heaping Teaspoons of Tumaco Cocoa Powder (any good quality Cocoa powder will do)

1 Cup of Coconut Milk or any Vegan Milk of your choice (water will do, but it won't be the same!)

1 Tablespoon of Organic Flax meal

1 Tablespoon of Organic Agave Nectar or 2-3 Organic Dates

*You can substitute Carob powder, but you may want to add less than 3 heaping teaspoons, as Carob tends to have a sweeter taste.

I use a Nutribullet; so I just make sure that the liquid doesn't surpass the 'Max,' line. Make sure that your lid is on tightly before you blend; or else you'll have a mess to clean up ;p

I pulse it a few times before letting it run continuously for about 20-30 seconds. 

It's a very satisfying smoothie in my opinion; so it's a nice treat to both your tastebuds and your body, as it supplies healthy nutrients, good fiber amongst many other benefits.

You can even take this smoothie and freeze it into popsicles, for a frostier treat.

All blended up and ready to be savored.

I think that I may still post a recipe for a Ginger Tea, that I make, but we'll see. It's getting down to -8F over here; so it depends on how thawed out, I'll be tomorrow.

Thanks to my brother for this awesome magnet. It's what we do!

Mabuhay!  To your Health!  Cheers!

Love,

Jessica

Join me for Merienda: Date,Almond, Coconut,Carob Truffles

Hello again,

I made these last week and just did a second batch for this post recently. 

These are very quick to put together and the end result is really delicious. 

Just like this recipe I'm going to keep my blurbs short and simple; so that you can get making this good stuff =)

I hope you enjoy this one and don't forget to look for the bonus recipe ;p

Date, Almond, Coconut, Carob Truffles- GF, DF, V

Ingredients:

1/2C-3/4C Sulfite Free Dates (try to use the ones with more moisture; they will be easier to chop)

1/2C          Almonds

1/4C          Organic, Sulfite Free and finely shredded dried Coconut

2Tb           Carob Powder

Just 4 beautiful ingredients...well maybe 5 if you count Love =)

This is the brand of Shredded Coconut that I use in most of my cooking and baking.

Method:

Add the dates and almonds into a mixer or mini chopper and pulse for a about 5 minutes.  If you don't have a chopper/mixer; you can always practice your  knife skills and chop them manually. I would recommended doing them separately if you are following the manual method.
Step 1

This is what the mixture should look like once it has been thoroughly chopped. The mixture should clump together into a ball.

Add the almond and date mixture to a bowl and combine it with the coconut and the carob powder.

Step 2

This is what the mixture will look like once you've combined everything thoroughly. I used a glove to mix it together because the mixture is quite sticky.
Step 4 

Simply take the mixture and form them into balls. You may want to use gloves again to roll them  since they are still quite sticky. If you let them cool down to room temperature or put them in the fridge for about 10 minutes they won't be as sticky.  Enjoy!!!!!

Step 5

These are a batch of Homemade 'Lara' bars.

Recipe Bonus

The way to make homemade 'Lara' bars is basically the same method as making the truffles. All Lara bars are Date based. The photo shows a batch that I made with Dates, Almond, Flax, Chia and spices. Absolutely delicious and much cheaper than buying dozens and dozens of Lara bars. So, have fun with this and play around with your ingredients.I think I may try to mimic a retired flavor of  Lara bar, it was one with chocolate and also had hot chilies in it as well. Omnomnomnom

Good Health and Happy Cooking!

Love,

Jessica