Today, we took our kids to see Disney On Ice in Hamilton and before we left I was curious to know if there was any neat smoothie places in the area as I was totally craving something fresh. Sure enough, 2 minutes away from the First Ontario Centre there is this fantastic smoothie bar called The Green Smoothie Bar. They have all kinds of neat things like smoothies, tea, snacks, lunch, granola and more! We indulged in 2 different kinds of smoothies today. My daughters had the simple Strawberry Banana smoothie however they even hid spinach and kale in it and the kids had NO idea! I had a Purple Monster smoothie which was blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, dates, cranberries, coconut milk, spinach and kale. The neat thing is, almost ALL there smoothies are made with spinach and kale. If you are ever in Hamilton near the James Street North area, you need to visit this place! The staff were amazingly friendly and very informative. I totally can't wait to go back! This place gets a Challenge Friendly / 8 Week Challenge check of approval! www.thegreensmoothiesbar.com |
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Garlic Mashed Cauliflower...the perfect side dish where you don't have to feel guilty about going back for more! Challenge Friendly approved!
Ingredients: - 1 head cauliflower - 2 garlic cloves, crushed or 1 tsp of minced garlic - 1 tbsp. butter - salt and pepper to taste - Green onion (optional) Directions: Boil or steam cauliflower on the stove until fall apart tender. Drain cauliflower and transfer to a large food processor. Add butter, garlic, salt and pepper to food processor and process until completely mashed. Top with green onion (optional). We hardly eat dessert in our house so when we do it's a huge treat. We have had a few exciting things happen in our family (this blog being one of them!) so I thought we needed to celebrate by making this Caramel Apple Crumble for dessert. If you are watching what you eat and taking sugar out of your "diet" (I like to use lifestyle better) then you need to make this! It's a perfect dessert idea to take to a dinner party of family gathering. I recently bought a Yonana maker which makes ice cream out of 100% frozen fruit. Make a batch up banana ice cream to add on top of this recipe and you have yourself the yummiest challenge friendly dessert ever! Caramel Ingredients and directions: - 1 cup tightly packed pitted dates (madjool dates are my recommendation) - 2 tsp cinnamon - 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk Blend all ingredients in a small food processor (scrapping down sides occasionally) for as long as it takes to make mixture completely smooth. Transfer to small container with a lid and set aside. Apple Crumble Ingredients: - 8 Granny Smith apples , peeled and cut into slivers - 6 pitted dates - 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice - 1 tbsp. lemon juice - 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce - 1 tbsp. cinnamon - 1/2 tsp nutmeg - 1 cup spelt flour - 1 cup oats - 1/2 cup of butter, melted slightly - 1 tsp vanilla Directions: Preheat oven to 400F. Peel and slice apples and put into a large bowl. In a blender or small food processor, process dates, orange juice, lemon juice, and apple sauce until completely smooth. Pour the contents of the food processor over apples, add the cinnamon and nutmeg and stir until all of the apples are coated. Pour the apple mixture into a greased glass oven safe dish. Spread caramel (made early) over the apple mixture. (using a spatula helps with this step). In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, oats, butter and vanilla. Mix well with your hands until crumble forms. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the apple and caramel mixture. Put dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Serve with banana ice cream (made with Yananas machine...optional) and enjoy! Tonight, I had the urge to want to eat something grubby, but instead we stayed in and I put together this totally clean and challenge friendly taco dip. I had the pleasure of going to my first Epicure party this week and I discovered a taco seasoning they have that is sugar free! The only ingredients are spices, herbs, onions, garlic and salt. This multi-layer dip was a HUGE hit with my family, especially my husband!
Ingredients and Directions: Black Bean Layer - 1 can black beans - 3 tbsp. water - 2 tbsp. salsa plus more for dipping - fresh lime juice from 1/2 a lime Combine all above ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Cover the bottom of a oven safe pie plate or casserole dish with bean mixture. Ground Turkey Layer - 1 package of extra lean ground turkey - 2 tbsp taco seasoning (Epicure) - 1/4 cup of water Cook extra lean ground turkey. Once cooked, add water and taco seasoning. Mix well. Spread ground turkey mixture over the black bean layer. Greek Yogurt Layer - 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt - 1 tbsp taco seasoning (Epicure) - Few splashes of Franks Hot Sauce Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and spread over ground turkey layer. Whatever is left, put aside for dipping. Veggie Layer: - 1 zucchini - 1 red pepper - 1 red onion - 1/2 cup frozen corn Cut zucchini, pepper and red onion into small pieces and sauté until onion is transparent. Cook corn according to package. Once the corn is cooked, mix all veggies together and spread over greek yogurt layer. Final Step! Top taco dip with Goats mozzarella cheese! ( I divided my cheese topping with two different cheeses due to my husbands liking as seen in photo below) Bake the dip at 375F for 15 minutes or until heated through. Top with green onion (optional)Serve with salsa, the remaining greek yogurt mixture from above, blue corn chips! You now have yourself some challenge friendly grub! Any chance that I get to throw things in my crock pot, I do! There is no denying that this cold weather brings a little laziness but that doesn't mean you need to eat lazy too. The recipe below is a perfect clean weekend or week-day hit that involves your crock pot doing all the cooking for you! Ingredients: - 1 small onion, finely chopped - 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained - 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained - 1 cup tomato sauce - 10oz package frozen corn kernels - 2 cans diced tomatoes - 1 tbsp cumin - 1.5 tbsp. chili powder - pinch of crushed chillies (or more depending on how you like it) - fresh lime juice of half a lime - 3-4 chicken breasts - 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro - Salt and pepper to taste - Whole grain brown rice - Goats mozzarella cheese (optional) Instruction: Combine all beans, onion, corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, crushed chillies and fresh lime juice in a slow cooker, mix well. Nestle the chicken breasts in, cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours or HIGH for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Serve over a bed of whole grain brown rice and top with goats mozzarella cheese and fresh cilantro. |
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