Archive for the ‘smoothies’ Category

WOW: Staghorn Sumac

August 13th, 2010

In the dog days of the North American summer, you may notice the eye-catching red cones on the staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) trees on roadsides and forest margins… or your back yard! Did you know that this funky, tropical-looking plant brews up a lovely tart pink “sumacade”?

Our process:

We gather about a half-dozen berry clusters, stuff them into a pitcher, pour a half gallon or so of cold water over them, massage them for a few minutes by hand to release the flavorful coating on the seed, and let the concoction rest in a cool, dark place. The longer you steep the sumac, the stronger the flavor. When the flavor is developed to your taste, strain the mixture using a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to remove any fuzzy seeds or other plant matter.  Try it before adding any sweetener – I prefer it this way, though the kids do like a dollop of raw, local honey in their glasses.

Some tips for working with sumac:

Pouring boiling or hot water over the berries leaches tannins from the stems, causing the drink to become bitter. Once you have done and strained the cold infusion, however, you can heat it for a lovely, tart cup of tea on a cool, fall day. Or add the infusion to smoothies or raw soups to enhance the flavor and nutritional profile of the dish.

To enjoy this natural source of Vitamin C in the winter, cut and dry seedheads when they turn a deep, rich crimson.  In CT this occurs primarily during August, but ripe drupes can be found in late July through late September. Place them in a dehydrator or hang them out of direct sunlight in a dry, well-ventilated space until dry, then store, whole, in a brown paper bag.

Rain can wash away some of the flavor, so be sure to gather the berries when it hasn’t rained for a few days. Depriving a tree of all its seed clusters can have detrimental effects so harvest lightly – no more than 4 or 5 per tree.   Birds such as cardinals and grosbeaks dine on the dried drupes that remain on the tree throughout the winter, so rest easy that those seeds will be put to good use.

A warning:

As a cousin of cashews and mangoes, sumac is likely unsuitable for those with sensitivity to those foods. Poison sumac is uncommon, grows in wet areas, has smooth leaves and does NOT have the signature red seed head of the staghorn variety. However, poison ivy can share the same habitat as the staghorn, so watch your feet when getting close. As always when harvesting wild edibles, be sure not to clip plants on the side of a busy road to avoid toxins.

So — take a hike! And treat yourself with a refreshing glass of gorgeous pink Rhus-ade!

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patriotic shortcake

July 9th, 2010

strawberry blueberry shortcakeThe kids voted for which red-white-and blue dessert we would make as part of our Fourth of July festivities this year — smoothie parfait with a blueberry level, coconut milk yogurt level and sour cherry or raspberry level; blueberry shortcake with raspberries, or something along the lines of Sabrina’s Berries ‘n Cream.

As you can see, shortcake had unanimous support, and I made a sour cherry smoothie to wash it down — mostly cherries, with a little water, one banana and 2 dates. To  prepare for this colorful treat, we picked oodles of fat blueberries at Belltown Hills Orchard in Glastonbury.  Afterward, we followed Matson Hill Road to the end and went for a walk in the woods and dip in the water at Cotton Hollow. Then onto the Glastonbury library (to reluctantly relinquish their overdue copy of David Wolfe’s The Sunfood Diet Success System) and Whole Foods where we found organic strawberries on sale.

I hem and haw (gee, that seems silly in print) about buying organic berries from California, but everything I have read on the topic makes me feel very strongly that even washed berries contain high levels of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. You remember the invaluable resource we mentioned back in February — Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. Like this article today from Rodale:  Coming Soon to Your Strawberries: Newly Approved Carcinogenic Pesticide. Aside from those grown in my yard, I have yet to find a good source of local organic berries, especially strawberries. Last year we drove out to the lovely and amazing Kristin Orr’s organic blueberry patch at Fort Hill Farms in Thompson, CT. A gem of a woman, a very special farm, it was worth the trip and we picked 10lbs of organic blueberries! If you know of another organic pick-your-own or farm stand in CT, please pass that info on!

I avoid buying food from across the country when local alternatives are present, but we wanted us some strawberry shortcake.  We had several bowlfuls of homegrown strawberries this year (well, those that actually made it into the bowl, that is, and weren’t gobbled up by my two garden gremlins), but we only made shortcake once.

This is a picture of our first attempt at almond flour drop biscuits which I actually made as drop biscuits. Ignoring the directions, I scooped out a bunch of dough, dropped it on the pan and baked it. Dante chopped  and slightly mashed up our berries with a little wood sorrel and Voila!  We sliced them in half and added the berries, but since they were so big, the texture of the biscuits left something to be desired and we didn’t have the abundance of berries so much biscuit required. Since they were tasty, we tried again.

I followed the directions and used my 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the dough, and flattened it once it came out on the baking sheet. Much better! Here’s the recipe, once again using almond flour so entirely gluten free and without that odd aftertaste that we find in many GF flour mixes that involve beans and loads of tapioca or corn starch!

Gluten Free Almond Flour Classic Drop Biscuits

  • 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; line baking sheet with parchment or grease the baking sheet.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine wet into dry until thoroughly mixed.
  3. Drop the batter in scant 1/4 cups onto baking sheet (will make 8-10 biscuits). Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

She called for grapeseed oil and agave, and we replaced each egg with 1 Tbs ground flax mixed with 3 Tbs water, allowing it to stand until thickened. I mooshed the dough into my 1/4 cup measure, and it came out nicely onto my sheet. I then pressed it down a bit into the shape you see on the right and popped them in the oven.

I whizzed some blueberries and chia seeds in the Vita-Mix, and once smooth I added another couple handfuls and ran the blender gently to chop them a bit to give the sauce a chunky texture. Blueberries thicken on their own, as anyone who has left a blueberry smoothie to stand for a while can attest, but I added the chia to accelerate this and boost the nutrition of the dish.

I started 1 cup of cashews soaking before I mixing shortcake dough or chopping berries. I rinsed these well, drained and added them to the rinsed blender with some water, several dates, the juice of 1 lemon and a pinch of Himalayan sea salt and whizzed til smooth to make a cream sauce to top our shortcake. I didn’t measure, and did this to taste, adding a little water gradually until the blender was able to do it’s job and I achieved the consistency I was looking for.

Our red, white and blue shortcake was a big hit with the family, and some had seconds. The shortcakes were tasty, and I want to try them with little or no sweetener perhaps mix in some chives or other herbs and serve them with a savory dish for dinner. We used to make a veggie stew with cheesy cheddar biscuits, and I think these would be a lovely sub. We’ve even found a replacement for the cheese that melts, stretches and taste delicious! More to come soon on that!

The garden beckons, and the heat wave demands a pilgrimmage to a local body of water, so I’m off!

Happy high garden season!

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blue sunset smoothie

April 12th, 2010

This week we wanted something a little different for breakfast, and staring at the almond milk in the fridge, I remembered that everyone loved the Blue Sunset smoothie from Raw Food/Real World: 100 Recipes to Get the Glow. We were heading off to our homeschool coop for a day filled with interesting people and classes, so we needed something quick but filling, and Blue Sunset did the trick.

Blue Sunset

  • 2 cups pineapple chunks
  • 1 small ripe banana, or 1 cup frozen banana
  • 1 cup diced mango
  • 1 1/2 cup Brazil nut milk
  • 3 Tbs agave
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch sea salt
  • 1 cup blueberries
  1. In a blender, puree all ingredients except blueberries until smooth.
  2. Pour out about half of the mixture into serving glasses, filling each glass halfway. Add the blueberries to the remaining shake in the blender, and blend until smooth.
  3. Gently pour the remaining blueberry shake over pineapple mango shake. Note Pouring the mixture over the back of a spoon (a bartender’s technique) helps keep the two layers separate).

Since the nut milk was sweetened with honey and this recipe is chock full of sweet fruits, we didn’t add any sweeteners or dates. And I simplified the recipe based on what we had on hand, and what I had time for. So here’s my rush-out-the-door-don’t-have-all-ingredients version  that was absolutely delicious! We poured them into Mason jars so that we could drink them in the car on the way.

Quick n Dirty Blue Sunset

  • 3/4 pineapple, chunked
  • 1 banana, broken into a few pieces
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 Tbsp ground flax
  • 1 1/2 cup blueberries

Blend milk, pineapple, banana and ground flax. Pour half this mixture evenly into serving cups. Pour blueberries into blender with remaining mixture and blend. Pour this on top of the first half and serve (definitely a skill I’m acquiring, but it tastes good even if it pours into the center).  YUM!

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Milkshakes!

April 11th, 2010

I used to love family night at our house as a kid. We would get out our milkshake maker and load it up with cow’s milk, ice cream, ice cubes and some fruit or we would also make root beer floats.

I went in the fridge the other day and realized the almost still full pitcher of homemade almond milk needed to get used right now or it will have to visit the world below the drain. So, I decided to start the day with a yummy treat for the kids. Strawberry milk shake time!

This was so easy and packed with good stuff and very filling! I poured about 6 cups of milk in the Vita-Mix with close to 2 cups of frozen strawberries, 6 pitted dates and 1 TBS maca (optional), whizzed it up and served!

It was so delicious, we all came back for seconds. For me, I should probably have this mid day as it was very filling and I do better with light in the morning which is true for most of us as that is when we are breaking our fast and digestion is just waking up as well. The kids do well with a heavier morning meal so it worked well for them and they stayed full for awhile which is always a challenge when we just have fruit in the morning.

The milkshake is so versatile and begs for you to be creative. For vanilla, use milk, add frozen banana and 2 tsp vanilla. For chocolate, add about 2 TBS cacao powder and a frozen banana. Throw in some mint with the chocolate one for mint chocolate chip. Top with cacao nibs for an extra treat. All can be topped with buckwheat crunchies as well.

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parfaits and hot socks

March 30th, 2010

Parfait!We’ve had some sick kiddies around here lately, so I’ve been doing my best to make tasty, visually appealing treats to tempt compromised appetites. One day, I made a raspberry banana smoothie with only a small handful of spinach leaves — not enough to change the color at all — and I put in a tablespoon or so of hemp seeds and ground flax to boost the nutrition. I layered it in a glass with coconut milk vanilla yogurt and topped it with buckwheat crunchies.

To ease the earache, I sliced an onion and tipped some of the juice into the offended ear. You can also add this juice to oil as well, but you want to make sure when you’re doing so that the eardrum has not burst!

Next I made up a hot sock to keep the heat on it. I found an old, unmatched sock (not a challenge around here!) and put a pan on the stove with a little less than 2 cups of rice in it, and turned it on medium heat.

Once I could feel the heat by putting my hand an inch or so above the surface of the rice, I removed the pan from the heat. It’s tough to spoon the rice into the sock, so I use the canning funnel to make pouring it a breeze.

I knotted the top of the sock  tightly enough to keep it sealed, but loosely enough so I could reheat the rice as needed.

hot sock

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Grawnola

March 9th, 2010

I love the Go Raw brand of snacks but it tends to put a big dent in my purse. After trying their granola, I decided to give it a whirl myself. I changed it up a bit and came up with a great recipe.

Grawnola is quick to make so make lots as it will keep for awhile. It is a satisfying breakfast when you are wanting something more substantial to stat the day. We like it as a snack and it is a perfect travel food.

River and Gatlin are both fans of this grawnola and my hubby finishes off whatever is left so I feel it safe to say this is a family winner.

My Homemade Grawnola

  • 2 cups sprouted buckwheat or buckwheat crunchies*
  • 1 large apple, finely chopped
  • 1/8 cup chia seeds
  • 2 TBS sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 TBS yacon syrup
  1. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the yacon syrup and mix, mix, mix. It takes a little time to get it incorporated into the mixture, but keep mixing and it will all become covered with the yacon.
  2. Dehydrate at 105 for 5-6 hours on teflex sheet or parchment.
  3. Once it is dehydrated, you can add goji berries and/ or raisins.
  4. Serve with fresh almond mylk and some fresh berries if you got ‘em.

Feel free to play around with adding other seeds to the mix or other dried fruits. You may also enjoy adding some other spices for variety.

*To make buckwheat crunchies:

  1. Soak raw buckwheat groats for 1-2 hours. They will be very slimy so be sure to keep rinsing until the water is clear and no longer slimy. This can be done in a colander but I find it handy to do in a nut mylk bag or my inexpensive version which is a nylon paint strainer from the hardware store. They are about $5 for a pack of 2! Do get the large or extra large size.
  2. After drained well, leave in sprout bag or bowl to sprout overnight, rinsing twice a day.
  3. For this recipe, you may use the buckwheat now or dry them in the dehydrator on 105 a few hours until completely dry and there you have it… buckwheat crunchies!

As you have seen in other posts, buckwheat crunchies are great to have on hand to add on top of smoothies. I recommend making these in a big batch since they keep for a very, very long time in a glass airtight container.You can also sprinkle them on top of fresh fruit or banana with a fruit puree for a yummy dessert!

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it’s-so-easy-being-green smoothie

February 28th, 2010

green in all its gloryKermit was wrong!  It IS easy being green!

We first tried this lovely concoction at a friend’s house. Our kids, seeing their friends slurping this green concoction down greedily, gave it a try and have never looked back. This is still one of their favorites.

It’s super sweet, and the spinach is so mild you can’t taste the “green” at all, which makes this a wonderful introduction to green smoothies! I love the color of this breakfast beverage, it’s so in your face GREEN. We put berries in most of our smoothies, which, in the presence of greens, turn the smoothie something along the spectrum from mauve to brown, depending on the ratio of red to green I suppose. So I really love it when our “green smoothie” is actually green!

smoothie ingredientsit’s-so-easy-being-green smoothie

  • 1 pineapple
  • 1 banana
  • couple handfuls of spinach
  • Tbs flax seeds, ground

Chop pineapple, break up banana, top with greens and seeds. Blend. Share with others!

I add a variety of things to our smoothies to boost the nutrition. Sometimes it’s herbal infusions, sometimes flax, chia or hemp seeds, sometimes bee pollen or spirulina, it all depends on what I have on hand and what I’m in the mood for. My kids don’t care for much pollen or spirulina, so when using those I will pour off their smoothies and blend mine a bit more to disperse the add-in of the day.  I do this with the greens too sometimes, especially if I’m using green curly kale. Those leaves have a stronger flavor than baby spinach, so I’ll just include one or two for their smoothie and return the carafe to the blender base and toss in more leaves for my smoothie.

green smoothie in the blenderLucia prefers to just eat her pineapple and spinach from separate bowls, so about 1/3 of the pineapple ends up in a dish for her. Sometimes she wraps the spinach around the pineapple slices, sometimes she just nibbles them separately.This smoothie can also make a great fruit dip or raw fondue if you want to get fancy. Just cut up your favorite fruits into bite-size cubes, and serve with toothpicks and a bowl of lovely green fruit dip. Or go the extra mile and wrap your small pieces of fruit in a collard or lettuce leaf, roll and dip into this as you would a spring roll. Yummers!

I’ve also noticed that you can add the pineapple core to the Vita-Mix, but I’m not sure I would try this with a regular blender. I think my old Oster would be up to the task, but I don’t know for sure. Maybe we’ll have to have a blender showdown!  Any excuse for a party!

Have you ever tried a green green smoothie? Were you surprised by the taste? What was in it? Do you still make a green-colored green smoothie with no red or blue ingredients to mess with the gorgeous green? What’s your favorite? Now that our Smoothie Extravaganza is coming to a close, let us know if you tried any, what modifications you made and how you liked it! Not that we won’t post any more smoothies, but as we’re doing snacks and dehydration in class this week, well, I guess that makes this the week of the Snack Attack!

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profusion infusion

February 26th, 2010

nettle infusionOne way to boost the nutrition of your smoothies is to use an herbal infusion in place of any other liquid (water, juice, coconut water, etc). Listening to Susun Weed’s interview on the Raw Mom Summit last year, I learned how beneficial herbal infusions are, and that they are significantly more nutritious than herbal teas.

Infusions are super easy to make. Fill a quart jar (8 cups) with 1 oz. by weight (about a cup by volume)  of the herb of your choice at night, fill the jar with boiling water, cover to retain the essential oils that would otherwise escape on the steam, and let it sit 4-10 hours. I usually make mine at night so it’s ready when I get up.  Strain (I pour the infusion into my french press to make straining easy and mess-free), and drink 1 cup, refrigerating the remainder to avoid spoilage.  It is best to drink 2-4 cups a day, so adding some to your smoothie can help accomplish this. The taste will vary depending on the herb of course.

Why herbal infusions instead of tea? Susan says, “A cup of nettle tea has 5 mg of calcium. A cup of nettle infusion contains 250 mg of calcium. Why waste my time with teas?” If you have made the infusion the night before you can heat it up and enjoy it as you would your favorite cup of tea and experience the great nutritional benefits as well.

stinging nettlesI have only used infusions of nettle and horsetail at present, but you can find one of Susun’s book through your library, inter-library loan (ILL), or right here in our very own Bodega and see if she’s got something in there for what ails ya. What I like about the infusions is how rich in minerals and vitamins they are — they’re natural supplements! Nettles contain Calcium, chlorophyll, chromium, cobalt, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, protein, riboflavin, selenium, thiamine, zinc, vitamins A, C, E, K.

Drinking a nettle infusion will boost your energy, give you healthy hair and skin and help solve adrenal and urinary tract issues. Alternating with horsetail (Susun recommends getting to know each herb by drinking single-herb infusions, so consume different herbs at different times), which is high in calcium and silica, will increase the strength of your hair and nails.

During the summer, we collect these undervalued plants from our yard and use the leaves as the greens in our smoothie. I find that they have a less “green” taste than kale, collards and chard! And the best part is, they’re FREE and more nutrient-dense than many of the things I can buy at the grocery store.

stinging nettle hair

I recommend that you wear gloves to harvest them to avoid getting stung, but if you do get pricked by the tiny hypodermic needles full of chemicals, the plant itself offers the remedy! Take a leaf and roll it from base to tip and put it between your teeth. Macerate the leaf into a paste and apply this paste to the stung skin. Harvest before the seeds (yellowish wisps in the picture) appear, so that the full energy of the plant is in the leaves.

Frequent harvesting also helps keep them under control, as they will spread easily in lovely loose garden soil. We have permitted them to take over a corner of our garden, but keep them contained to that area by eating them regularly. They have appeared in some of the edges of our yard, but as these are younger patches, we haven’t started harvesting them yet so that they might expand a bit more first. You can cut down the tops once they do go to seed and place in parts of your yard where you wouldn’t mind having a patch. And they’re not limited to infusions or smoothies, either. Dante likes to saute them with salt, garlic and olive oil and serve them as greens for dinner, or put them into sandwiches. Cooking or blending neutralizes the sting, so you can eat them without fear.

I would like to get enough nettles outside to be able to harvest and dry my own as well, but I first bought them from health food stores like It’s Only Natural in Middletown, Foodworks II in Old Saybrook, and Garden of Light in Glastonbury. Now that I’ve been able to sample them, I order in bulk from Mountain Rose Herbs. I really appreciate MRH’s standards concerning the people, land and plants involved in the production of their products.

The infusion is cool by the morning when I’m ready to use it, so I just strain it and add enough to my smoothie to thin it as I would any other liquid. I do tend to cut back on the greens I add when using the infusion, otherwise I find the taste a bit too green for me. But since I’m getting the nutrition from the infusion, it’s all good.

Profusion Infusion

  • Nettle smoothie in the blender1 apple
  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup frozen cherries
  • 1 handful of greens
  • up to 2 cups nettle infusion
  1. Add fruit and greens to blender.
  2. Pour nettle infusion over it.
  3. Blend.

I forgot to snap the picture before I started the blender, but you can still see that the infusion doesn’t greatly alter the color. Nor with all that fruit, did I even notice the taste, which is pretty mild to begin with, at least for nettles and horsetail.

profusion infusion

I didn’t add the chia seeds to the blender, but  instead put them on top to have a different sort of crunch to our smoothie. Unless you want it to thicken considerably though, when you add chia to your smoothie either in the blender or on top, you should eat it fairly quickly. If you linger over your smoothie you will end up with more a pudding than a beverage. Not a bad idea, if you’re wanting something of that consistency, but a bit of a shock if you try to drink it, only to have it fall onto your face as a lump of pudding. You can read about the benefits of adding chia seeds to your diet and buy them in our bodega.

Watch Susun and her grandaughter make nettle infusion while you down your next smoothie:

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apple pie smoothie

February 24th, 2010

It’s Smoothie Week here at crunchybits,  and today we’ve got another dessert-like drink for you! When it comes to smoothies in the winter, I find that I’m not looking for light, clean smoothies as much as I do in the summer. I want something richer, warmer, decadent. And today’s smoothie fits the bill.

Apple Pie Smoothie

  • 3 apples
  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 2 handfuls spinach
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 Tbs ground flax
  • cinnamon to taste
  1. Core and chop apples and banana.
  2. Add raisins, water, and 2 handfuls of spinach.
  3. Blend and enjoy!

Once I got the smoothie to the table with a spoon, I realized that I’d left out the most important ingredient — cinnamon!  So I got our shaker from the cupboard and several shakes and stirs later, YUM! It was perfectly spiced and warming, tart and sweet, green and crunchy.  Thanks to our buckwheat crunchies that is. I would like to try a variation of this with a handful of walnuts some time, but I found this to be a satisfying glass o’ yum for breakfast.

The start of this smoothie (apples, raisins and cinnamon) makes a great applesauce. I like to puree 2/3 of the apples and toss the last bit in just before turning off the blender so that it’s a bit chunky, but again, I like to chew food and find pureed applesauce odd to eat. So, if you don’t want a smoothie but are looking for a quick sweet treat, give it a whirl!

Dante, always the man for a garnish, dressed it up for the camera — slice of kiwi and crunchies spelling S heart, for smoothie love.

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merry tri-greenberry

February 23rd, 2010

Continuing on with our Smoothie Extravaganza, I’m posting one I made this past weekend — hence the full blender. I can’t believe this one came out so purpley. Lots of berries hidden in that blender. Can you spot them? Actually, cherries aren’t berries are they. But I’m going to ignore that and call this glass of goodness

Merry Tri-greenberry

  • tri-green smoothie ingrediets1 apple
  • 3/4 cup blueberries
  • 1/2 cups strawberries
  • 1/2 cup sweet cherries
  • 1 banana
  • 2 beet greens
  • 2 romaine leaves
  • 2 kale leaves
  • 1/2 small container coconut water
  • 2 Tbs hemp seeds
  1. You know the drill. Rinse, chop and blend.

eat your greens!You can see that most of our smoothies are topped with crunchies. Both kids love this aspect of smoothies and we tend to use then nearly every day if we have them. They’re super easy to make and have on-hand, and keep for ages in the cupboard if dehydrated properly. I buy raw buckwheat groats (not kasha, or toasted buckwheat) and soak them for an hour or two in a bowl. The soak water gets very slimy and sometimes you see tiny bubbles form on the surface, almost like when you cook beans but not as foamy. I imagine this happening in my stomach if I ate unsoaked/sprouted buckweat… blech. After soaking, rinse really well until they no longer feel slimy. You can let them sprout for a day or so or pop them straight into the dehydrator for a couple of hours. They don’t take too long to crisp up nicely.

Before I had a dehydrator, I would spread them on clean kitchen towels in the hot summer sun, stirring them up a bit now and then to ensure even drying. I still do this during warmer months, but am glad to have the dehydrator to keep us crunching our smoothies throughout the winter. Last week I made a superyummytastic granola bar with the soaked buckwheat. I only made a bit to try it out, but they were gone in seconds. A hit with everyone in the house, and a perfect on-the-go snack.

sweet crunchy love

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