21 Day Green Smoothie Challenge/Recipes

  Green Smoothies are awesome! You can pretty much throw any fruit and greens in the blender to make one and there are endless variations!
  At the beginning of January I felt a wave of motivation waiting to happen, so I went to one of The Green Smoothie Girls' lectures and that gave me the extra kick I needed to get going for the year. I love green smoothies and and I have been drinking them for years, but this winter has been so cold here in Utah, I have NOT wanted to drink more cold! However, I decided I would take a 21 Day Green Smoothie Challenge, and see if I could get myself to drink some of those veggies I had always been afraid of...like beets! It is said after 21 days you form a habit. So, after grocery shopping I told my family about the challenge and my 7 1/2  year old son said he'd do it with me. The others said they didn't want to, but ahh...when the kitchen smells like fresh fruit and smoothies, guess who came around? :) Yep, by the end of our 21 days, everyone (6 of us) was having at least 1-2 cups. That's a LOT of smoothie!
 My son made us a chart, and every day we wrote down the ingredients we put in our smoothies. I thought I would share some of them here so if you are looking for a pick-me-up, motivation, or just want to add a few fruits and veggies into your diet, try our 21 Day Green Smoothie Challenge.
  I have to admit we weren't too brave with our greens, we didn't go with any "wild edibles" we mostly stuck to spinach, kale, and collards, but even adding in those in every day helped us feel more energized!
~Most of our smoothies made at least 4 Cups, some more and some less depending on who walked in the kitchen when things were going in the blender and decided they wanted one.
*My tip: If it is too bitter or "green" smelling, add another banana or lemon to lighten!:)

Smoothies:
Day 1
2 C Water
1 Green Apple
2 Stalks of Celery
1 Orange
1 C Spinach
1/2 Lemon with peel (peel made it slightly bitter)

Day 2
1 C Red Grapes
1 Orange
1 Stalk of Kale, despined
Handful of Spinach
1/2 Lemon, juiced
1 Red Apple
Slice of Beet

Day 3
2 C Water
1 Small Beet
1 C Spinach
1/2 C Cashews
1/2 C Shredded Coconut
1 Banana
1/2 C Carrots
5 Medjool Dates

Day 4
2 C Water
2 C Frozen Mixed Berries
1 Banana
1/2 Lemon, juiced
3 Oranges
1 C Spinach
1 Kale

Day 5
2 C Water
2 C Frozen Cherries
Spinach
Kale
1 C Cantelope
1 Red Apple
1 Banana
1 Orange
1/2 Lemon, juiced

Day 6
2 C water
1 Sm. Beet, peel off
Kale
Spinach
1 Apple
1 1/2 Banana
2 Oranges
3 C Frozen Tropical Fruit
Squeeze of Lemon

Day 7
2 C water
2 Oranges
1 Beet
1 Banana
Kale
Spinach
3/4 Lemon
Handful of baby carrots
Big Apple
1T Flaxseeds

Day 8
2 C Water
3 C Spinach
2 Oranges
1 Banana
3 C Tropical Fruit
1/2 Lemon

Day 9
2 C Water
2 C Spinach
1 C Almonds
1/4 C Agave
1/4 C Org. Cocoa Powder
3 Frozen Banana's
2 C Spinach
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla
(Great one for kids, can't even see or taste the green:)

Day 10
1 C Water
1 Banana
1/4 of a whole fresh Pineapple
2 Oranges
2 C Spinach

Day 11
2 C Water
2 Oranges
1 Banana
2 C Frozen Strawberries
1 C Frozen Mixed Berries
1 C Spinach
1/2 C Raw Almonds
(Adding Almonds makes it taste more like a milk shake)

Day 12
2 C water
1/2 Lemon, juiced
2 Kale
1 Kiwi
2 C Tropical Fruit
1 Orange
1 Gala Apple

Day 13
2 C Water
3 C Mixed Tropical
2 Kale
1 Orange
1 Banana

Day 14
2 C Water
2 C Strawberries
2 C Tropical
2 C Spinach
1 Orange
1 Banana

Day 15
1 C Water
2 Oranges
1 Banana
2 C Spinach
1/2 Lemon
1 C Ice
(One of my personal faves, this is my quick drink)

Day 16
2-3 C Water
1 Kale
Big handful of chopped Collards
2 Kiwi
1 Orange
1 Banana
5 C Frozen Strawberries

Day 17
2 C Water
2 Oranges
3 C Tropical
Spinach
Collards

Day 18
Repeat of the Green Chocolate Shake

Day 19
2 1/2  C Water
4 C Frozen Blueberries
2 Bananas
Squeeze of Lemon
2 Oranges
3 C Spinach

Day 20
2 C Water
2 C Tropical
3 Oranges
1 C Medjool Dates
2 C Spinach
5 C Strawberries
Handful of Raw Almonds

Day 21
Repeat of Day 15

Well, that's it! Sometimes we ate it for dinner, if it was "loaded" like with dates and nuts, but most of the time it was breakfast for everyone, and yes, though the 21 days are over, our green smoothie days are not!
I hope you got some new ideas and have fun putting things in your blender in the future!
 I'm hungry....Green Smoothie anyone? :)

Raw Italian Tomato Snacks

When tomatoes are dehydrated they become sweeter and richer, thus the sun-dried tomato flavor that so many love. I made this when I was craving the Raw Lasagne but didn't want to make all of the fillings. It makes a pretty little appetizer or add it to any Italian meal.

4 Fresh Vine-Ripe Tomatoes, Sliced on their sides
1 Tablespoon of Raw Cheese
Italian Spice

For the Spicy Macademia Cheese:
2 C Macademia Nuts
1/2 Medium Lemon, juiced
1 T Nutritional Yeast
1-2 dashes of Cayenne Pepper
1tsp Sea Salt, or to taste
Enough Water to cover
Blend until almost creamy

Arrange Tomato slices on a dehydrator tray.
Top with a Tablespoon of Raw Cheese
Sprinkle lightly with Italian Spice (or fresh herbs)

Dehydrate about 118 for 4-6 hours or until desired outcome is achieved.
 I can hardly wait to eat them, so usually I have one raw, one a couple hours into it-which becomes mushy, but still tasty, and after the full time you have the texture of a sweet and sour sun dried tomato with slightly crispy raw cheese. I make these when I wake up so I can eat them by lunch, then put another batch in for an after dinner snack :)
~Also great on raw flat breads, crackers, or burgers.
SO delicious!

Top picture is a before shot, and I actually took them off the sheet for a faster dry.

The delicious finish

Tutti-Fruity Cutie Salad

This Salad is a great mix freshness with the tangy sweetness of our favorite winter fruit here: Cuties!

Arrange in order:
1 Bowl of Baby Spinach
Fresh chopped Strawberries
Fresh Rasperries
Green Grapes, chopped in half
Cutie pieces(the little mandarin oranges, mostly available in winter)
Top with Raw Almonds and Lemon-Agave Dressing if desired.

Raw Strawberry Coconut Cheesecake

Happy New Year! For my first post of the year I was thinking about strawberry cheesecake...so I put a few things together and it turned out so smooth and delicious. My husband, who is not even a cheesecake fan said it was fantastic and of the course the kids wanted seconds. May your mouth water until you can taste this yourself! :)

For the Crust
1/3 C Almonds
1/3 C Walnuts
1/3 C Pecans
9 Medjool dates, pitted
Dash of Sea Salt
 Add all to the blender and set on speed 1 until it is well mixed and starts to clump together and the oils are releasing. One cycle, about 50 sec. usually does it, you may have to push down the sides once or twice.
Scoop out mixture and press into a glass pie dish. Set in freezer until ready to use.

For the Filling
1 C Cashews, soaked
1 C Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
5 Medjool Dates, pitted
I put the 1st three ingredients in the same bowl covered with 1 1/2 C Warm water, for about 20 minutes
Drain and transfer to the Blender
Add
1/8 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 C Softened Coconut Oil
3/4 Agave
1/4 C Fresh Lemon Juice
5 Large Strawberries, stems off
 Blend until thick and creamy. It may be a bit grainy so keep blending. I did about 2-3 minutes on a medium speed, stopping to check the creaminess.

Take out pie crust and pour filling evenly into the crust. Put the pie back into the freezer for about 6 hours or until firm. Take out about 10 min. prior to serving and top it with fresh sliced strawberries.
Eat with pleasure.

 Have a slice!