Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Smoovies

My daughter loves smoothies. She asks for a 'smoovie' just about every day. The problem is that I'm tired of my two stand by smoothies and I'm not very adventurous when it comes to smoothies. As I was meal planning for the week, I was looking at different websites for healthy treats and came across a recipe for a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie. And it was green. I'm pretty sure the only thing that sounded good about it was that it reminded me of Fall. And like everyone else I know, I love Fall.

It just so happened that I had some pumpkin puree in the fridge leftover from a Paleo pumpkin bread disaster. Now, I like pumpkin pie. I like pumpkin bread. I like pumpkin pastries. The common thing here is that I like pumpkin. When it's baked into something delicious. I do not like straight up raw pumpkin. So I was skeptical.  To my delight, this was actually pretty darn good.


Yes, I had the green straws. I know. I couldn't help but give the darn thing a full on photo shoot! Now, I will list the recipe below and I KNOW it sounds horrifying and disgusting. But I was shocked. SHOCKED, I TELL YOU! It was actually very yummy and even my daughter lapped it up. (After quizzing me about why it was green, of course.)

Pumpkiny Protein Smoothie
adapted from With Style and Grace

1 cup fresh spinach, packed
1-2 cups coconut milk, from a carton
1 scoop of protein – vanilla or chocolate, I used Plant Fusion, vanilla
1 large spoonful [or 1/4 cup] pumpkin puree
1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 packet Stevia
ice cubes, it just depends on how you like your smoothie. I like mine on the milkshakey side, so I use a lot.
Put everything in your blender and turn that bad boy on!
This was more than enough for me and my daughter, unless you like a GIANT smoothie. I put some in the fridge and I'll wizz it in the blender tomorrow and see if it's good leftover like that. We'll see.
Update: The leftovers are good, just watered down from the ice melting. If you want to add more goodies, you can, but that would probably give you leftovers again!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Double Chocolate Pecan Muffins: Gluten Free

Yum, right? :)

I'm trying to be more brave these days by trying my skills at making up my own recipes. The tough part is failing. If groceries were free, then who cares, I'd practice all day every day! But, alas, groceries are NOT free. (Can I get an 'Amen'?) Well, these little chocolate muffins are no failure. The only failure is that I may or may not have eaten two.

Recipe:

1 package gluten free chocolate cake mix
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
Combine all ingredients, except chips and nuts with an electric mixer. (Hand mixing won't cut it, I tried.) Once well combined, add remaining ingredients. Batter will be very sticky. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full. You can press the batter down, but I liked the odd shaped muffins better; they look cool. Bake for 20 mins until knife inserted comes out clean. Yield about 18 muffins.