Breakfast Power Smoothie

I have to "show and tell" about my new kitchen toy.  I wanted a Vitamix blender for a while.  As much as I love my kitchen toys, I can't justify paying so much for a blender.  I recently bought the Wolfgang Puck High Performance Commercial Blender, and it has been the best commercial grade blender that I have tried for a fraction of the Vitamix cost!  From my experiences using the Vitamix blender at my parents' house, I feel that the Wolfgang Puck blender is equal in quality and performance to the Vitamix.  Most Vitamix blenders motor have a peak horsepower of 2 or 2.2, and the Wolfgang Puck motor is 2.5 horsepower.

With my new toy, I have been making more smoothies!  Can you really go wrong starting the day off with "power ingredients" like banana, raspberries, spinach, almond  butter, lemon, and flax seed?  I think not.

These ingredients really work well together.  Often times, we don't put protein in smoothies, but  adding almond butter helped make the smoothie more filling.  The smoothie left me feeling full until lunch time.  The almond butter is high in calcium and vitamin E, and by adding some fat to the smoothie, you can better absorb all of the nutrients from the other ingredients.  The vitamin C from the raspberries helps you absorb the iron from the spinach, too.  

I like cold smoothies, so I always add frozen fruit.  The frozen banana adds a creaminess to the smoothie, too.  I could not taste the spinach in this smoothie.  

Hope you enjoy this breakfast smoothie soon.

Full Disclosure (because us lawyers love fine print):  This is not a sponsored review.  I did not receive any compensation or free product for publishing this post.  I just wanted to share a great new kitchen product!  

Breakfast Power Smoothie
Yields 2 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 banana, frozen or fresh
1 cup raspberries, frozen or fresh
1/4 cup spinach, fresh
1 tbsp. flaxseed
1 tbsp. almond butter
2 tsp. lemon juice
Ice, if desired

Directions:
Place all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth.

Source: Dr. Oz show

Sweet Potato Pear Juice

I've been juicing everyday this year.  Carrot apple juice and the "Mean Green" are two of my favorite juices (I'm a sucker for the vibrant color juices), and my fruit and veggie drawers are usually stocked with ingredients for those juices.  Well, since I've been juicing daily, I ran out a little quicker than planned and just started juicing what I had left: some sweet potatoes in my veggie drawer and some ripe pears sitting on the counter.   

Sweet potatoes and pears are an odd combination, but they work well together.  It's a good amount of sweetness, and the pear almost makes it a little creamy.  Drinking straight up vegetable juice is harder for me, so having some sweetness in juice helps me drink without gagging.  (Besides, drinking something that makes you gag probably isn't good for you in principle, even if the gagworthy stuff contains nutrients.)   When I juice, I always throw in a juicy piece of fruit to help mellow the vegetable flavors.  

I didn't think that the sweet potato would produce much juice since potatoes are more dry and starchy.  WRONG!  The sweet potatoes were juicer than expected, so I ended up using only one pear after I saw how much juice came out.  Since potato skins have some good nutrients in them, I left the skin while juicing.  It is much easier to juice sweet potatoes than it is to cut them up for sweet potato fries. :)  My Breville juicer had no problem juicing that tater.  

Juice on!

Sweet Potato Pear Juice

Yields 12 oz. juice

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes

1 pear

Directions:

Juice ingredients in order listed.  Serve immediately, and enjoy

Source: A Simply Sweet Justice Original

Carrot Apple Juice

What kitchen toys sit on your counter?  For me, the appliances that "make the cut" for the counter have to be ones that I use on a weekly basis or that are too heavy to pull up and out of cabinets (like my stand mixer).  This past year, the juicer beat out the bread machine for a nice spot of kitchen counter real estate.  

Juicing is such a quick way to get fruits and vegetables in one swoop.  With the sweetness of the carrots and the apples, carrot apple juice doesn't taste like a vegetable juice.  It's easy to switch up the flavor of the juice by using different apples.

Colorado is having such a beautiful fall.  The leaves are such vibrant oranges, yellows, and reds.  I enjoyed this juice while watching my dogs jump around in the ever-growing crunchy piles of leaves in the backyard!

Carrot Apple Juice
Yields 22 oz. juice

Ingredients:
6 large carrots, tops cut
3 small apples, cored
1 lemon

Directions:
Juice all ingredients in juicer in order listed.  Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Source: A Simply Sweet Justice Original

Mean Green Juice

Kale, celery, cucumber, apples, lemon, and ginger make one mean juice.  This happens to be one of my favorite juices, so it was time to share it with you.  It is really tasty with a balance of tart and sweet flavors.

The Mean Green juice was a staple in Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.  The healthiest juices are those which contain greens, as the greens contain the most vitamins and nutrients.  The fruits and vegetables contain so many amazing health benefits, such as improved circulation, weight loss, lower cholesterol, and cancer prevention.  Go Green!  Besides, wasn't it Robert De Niro in Meet the Parents who linked the color green to being a genius?

When it comes time to juicing, you can either peel the lemon or juice it whole.  I like the added "zing" that comes from the peel, so I juice the entire lemon.  If the juice does not taste sweet enough for you, just add another apple.  To remove the core from the apple, just slice the apple in half, and use a melon baller to remove it.  Easy kapeezy!

Juice on!

Mean Green Juice
Yields 24 oz. juice

Ingredients:
6 leaves of kale
3 stalks of celery
1 large cucumber
2 apples, de-cored
1 lemon
1" chunk of ginger

Directions:
Juice in order listed.  Serve over ice, and enjoy!

Source: Adapted from Reboot with Joe

Gazpacho Juice

Forget V-8.  This juice is very similar to gazpacho!  The cilantro and lime pull together all of the veggies to create a distinct flavor.  I tend to like my juices a bit sweeter with fruit and was worried that this was going to be tough to swallow.  But, with the sweetness of the red pepper, the lime, and the Roma tomatoes, it really tasted like a fresh gazpacho, which is good stuff in my book.

Overall, I enjoyed my 15 day reboot and would do it again!  My first post-reboot meal, granola and Noosa yoghurt, tasted really, really good. :)

NY Friday's will be back next week!  Have a great week end!

Gazpacho Juice
Yields 25 oz. juice

Ingredients:
1/2 large cucumber
4 tomatoes (I used Roma)
2 stalks of celery
1 cup parsley or cilantro
1 red bell pepper
1/4 small red onion
1 lime

Directions:
Juice ingredients and serve over ice.

Source: Reboot with Joe

Green Ginger Ale

Does anyone remember Hi-C Ecto Cooler?  At some point, anybody who grew up in the 80's probably had Ecto Cooler in their lunch box, unless you preferred Squeez-It over the juice box.  Perhaps this clip might remind you of this popular 80's juice box.

Basically, it was a green dyed orange citrus juice that was tied to Slimer of Ghostbusters and the subsequent Real Ghostbusters cartoon.  Yep, green dyed orange juice marked with a green blob known as Slimer actually sold.

For whatever reason, I had an Ecto Cooler flashback when I made this juice.  Now, this tastes nothing like what I remember Ecto Cooler to taste like, but it did have that Slimer green color.  This juice combines tart green apples with cucumbers, lime, celery, and ginger, and it created a refreshing ginger ale.  Poured over some ice, this was a refreshing juice, and the apple tartness and lime completely muted out the flavors of the veggies.  Take that, Slimer's fake orange juice.

So, to those of you who drank Hi-C and Squeez-It, which reigned supreme?

Green Ginger Ale
Yields 16 oz. juice

Ingredients:
2 large green apples (or 3 small green apples), chopped with cores removed
1 medium cucumber
2 celery stalks
1 lime
2" piece of ginger

Directions:
Run all items through juicer.  Serve on ice and enjoy!

Source: Reboot with Joe

Sunrise Juice

Who knew that veggies for breakfast could be so  yummy?   

Have you seen Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead?  It is a documentary about Australian Joe Cross who comes to the US to embark on a juice fast for 60 days.  Through this juice fast, Joe Cross "rebooted" himself and regained his health, discontinued medication, and lost weight.  Since this documentary, a few of my friends have started juicing and raved about how it made them feel.  The film has inspired millions of people to reboot their lives and become healthier by getting fruits and veggies back into their lives.

Joe Cross visited Denver and hosted a "Meet and Greet" at Whole Foods.  Joe is a likable guy who tells it like it is.  He talked about the many health benefits from juicing, namely a quicker, more efficient way to absorb the immune-boosting nutrients in fruits and vegetables.  Most commercial juices are pasteurized and processed, which results in less nutrients.

Juicing in process!

After seeing the film and hearing so much good feedback about juicing from friends, I wanted to juice on with them.  For Christmas, I received a Breville juicer, and since then, I've been juicing away.  I juice once or twice a day and feel great with more energy.  The juices are filling and so flavorful, and I have not bought any store-bought juices since getting a juicer.

When I lived in Australia, I often visited juice bars and would get a sweet, yet tangy, orange juice.  This juice recipe is my attempt to recreate it.  It combines carrots and oranges, with ginger and lemon added for the tang.  This is my favorite juice to have in the morning because it is refreshing and energizing.

It is easy to juice!  The "hardest" part is prepping the fruits and vegetables for juicing.  I find the juicer very easy to clean, and the parts can go in the dishwasher.  Juicing is just as creative as baking and cooking, and I continue to enjoy experimenting with juices!

Sunrise Juice
Yields approximately 16 oz. of juice

Ingredients:
4 carrots, tops cut
1" piece of ginger
3 oranges, peeled
Half a lemon, peeled

Directions:
Juice all ingredients in juicer in order listed.  Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Source: A Simply Sweet Justice Original, inspired by Reboot with Joe