Green Juice - You Can't Imagine How Great This Tastes!

I don't know how many of you have seen the film, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead."  It is a very inspiring story of an Australian man's journey to heal himself from the inside.  To do this, he traveled across the United States armed with a juicer! Along the way, he met many people who also needed a bit of a food intervention and introduced them to the idea of juicing.  Since I saw the film, I have been incorporating this green juice into my nutrition and I LOVE it!  Here's a link to a recipe for the green juice featured in the film by one of the more inspiring characters, Phil Staples.
Yes, I know it's green.  What you need to know is: IT IS DELICIOUS!
Enjoy.

CARROT CAKE MUFFINS

CARROT CAKE MUFFINS – FINALLY A RECIPE WORTH SHARING!

I have been reading, testing, and rejecting recipes for a Carrot Muffin for the longest time. Many of the recipes I found were loaded with Agave nectar, which, by the way, is still sugar! If the recipe didn’t contain grains or sugar, it was dry or (worse yet) complicated to prepare. I had a snow day last week, and took matters into my own hands. I am happy with this recipe for two reasons. It tastes really good, and it can be prepared very quickly in a food processor.

Let me know how you like it.

Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS AND PREPARATION:

2 cups almond flour

½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt

2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder

1 tablespoon Cinnamon

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon powdered concentrate Stevia, such as KAL Brand or NOW brand.

¼ to ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 scant pinch of cloves

PUT ALL THESE DRY INGREDIENTS INTO A FOOD PROCESSOR. PROCESS TO COMBINE.

THEN ADD:

½ cup melted organic butter

1 tablespoon vanilla (no sugar – check the label)

½ cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (you can use water or organic whole milk)

4 extra large or 5 large organic free range eggs

PROCESS TO COMBINE INTO A SLIGHTLY WET BATTER.

POUR THE BATTER INTO A BOWL OVER:

1 ½ cups grated organic carrots

½ cup chopped raw pecans or walnuts.

STIR TO MIX.

DIVIDE INTO 12 MUFFIN CUPS LINED WITH PAPER OR SILICONE LINERS.

BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 25 TO 30 MINUTES.

Coconut Flour Crepes

These crepes are surprisingly delicious. They can be used for breakfast or brunch, and would be the beginning of a lovely dessert. To that end, I would suggest rolling fresh, local, blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries into the crepes, and topping them with a dollop of organic, stevia sweetened, cinnamon whipped cream. If you are using them for breakfast, I would top them with the Strawberry Sauce recipe which you can find in GOOD FOOD.

I also did a chocolate version of this recipe. I simply added 2 tablespoons of organic unsweetened cocoa powder, and substituted unsweetened chocolate almond milk for the milk in the original recipe. I also had to bump up the stevia to counter the bitterness of the cocoa powder. (Frankly, I preferred the original recipe, but I know there are lots of chocolate lovers out there.)

I tested the crepes in two types of pan. I used an old, very well seasoned, cast-iron pan, and I used a new Earth Chef pan that I recommended in GOOD FOOD. Both worked beautifully.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
Stevia liquid drops, to taste (I use about 10 drops)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract - NO sugar, check the label (can substitute almond extract)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons organic coconut flour, sifted
small pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
1/3 cup organic whole milk or unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Preparation:
In a medium bowl with a wire whisk, beat together the eggs, oil, stevia, vanilla, and salt. Mix in sifted coconut flour, nutmeg and cinnamon; stir in milk.
Heat an 8-inch skillet over medium heat. When hot, melt a tiny bit of coconut oil in the pan.

Pour 1/8 cup (two tablespoons-full) of batter in the skillet and swirl around in pan until a thin layer of batter covers the bottom. The crepe should be about 6-inches in diameter. (If you don't want them paper thin, govern your swirling accordingly.)

Cook 1-2 minutes, or until batter is bubbly and cooked around the edges. Flip the crepe and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes more, or until done.

These should be kept in the refrigerator if you want to use them for a dessert later in the day, but I would separate them with layers of parchment paper, and remove them from the fridge about an hour before dinner.

AMARETTO CAPPUCCINO SMOOTHIE

If you are wondering if there is a way to “Maximize” an Iced Cappuccino, here it is. Sometimes, I impress myself.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 scoop Chocolate Organic Whey Protein
1 teaspoon Instant Espresso Powder
1 tablespoon “Spoonable” brand stevia, or equivalent, or to taste
1 teaspoon raw almond butter
4 strong coffee “ice cubes”

Preparation:
1) AHEAD OF TIME: Prepare an ice cube tray with strong coffee and freeze. I use approximately 10 oz. of water to 3 generous teaspoons of instant espresso powder, and mix the coffee in a drinking glass before pouring it into the ice cube tray. Adjust the strength of the coffee to your taste. Once frozen, keep the coffee ice cubes in a re‐sealable plastic bag in the freezer.
2) Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
DO NOT consume after 3:00 P.M.

ALMOND PROTEIN BARS

One of the great things about a blog is that you get to have a "do-over" any time you need one. (When you publish a book, it's not that simple.) If you have seen this recipe before, but have had only limited success with it, try it again, following these directions. We hope this helps. If not, please feel free to post a comment about any problems you might have had, and we will do our very best to help you.

Protein bars are a real staple on both the "Advanced" and the "Core" Maximized Living Nutrition Plan. They make a wonderful lunchbox treat, but you do need to ensure that they stay cold. I take one of those tiny blue ice blocks in my lunch bag. That does the trick.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 cups raw almonds
½ cup flax seed meal
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 scoops of Organic Whey Protein, flavor of your choice
½ cup raw almond butter
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup coconut oil
1/4 tsp. of KAL brand stevia, or equivalent, to taste (This is the sweetening power equivalent of approximately 1/2 cup of sugar). Taste, and adjust to your liking.
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (No sugar – check the label)

8 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and sweetened to taste with stevia and cinnamon (optional)

Preparation:
1) Place almonds, flax meal, shredded coconut, Organic Whey Protein, almond butter and salt in a food processor.
2) Pulse briefly, about 10 seconds.
3) In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over very low heat.
4) Remove coconut oil from stove; stir stevia and vanilla into oil.
5) Add coconut oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste.
6) Press mixture into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish. (A parchment paper liner helps when you want to remove the bars from the dish.)
7) Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, until mixture hardens.

8) In a double boiler, melt chocolate, stirring in stevia and cinnamon.
9) Spread melted chocolate over bars; return to refrigerator for 30 minutes, until chocolate hardens.
10) Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars, and serve.

You can add other ingredients to this recipe, and just process them in. For instance, some people really love to blitz in some melted (unsweetened, of course) chocolate. And personally, I prefer the bars "naked," without the chocolate topping. I simply do not complete steps 8 through 10.

Asparagus Frittata

Asparagus Frittata has been a family favourite for Christmas brunch for years. Everyone enjoys the beautiful look of it, not to mention the delectable savory taste. But I have always enjoyed using it as the centrepiece of the brunch because it finishes in the oven while I put the finishing touches on the table and other specialties of the festive family meal.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, or two small shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound asparagus, tough ends snapped off, spears cut diagonally into 1‐inch lengths
4 to 6 large (preferably organic, free range) eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded raw organic (Imported) Gruyere or (Domestic) Swiss cheese

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
1) Gently heat olive oil into a 10‐inch oven‐proof frying pan (see our blog on cookware) over medium high heat.

2) Add onions and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 3 minutes.
3) Add asparagus, reduce heat to medium‐low, and cook, covered, until the asparagus are slightly tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
4) Pour in eggs and cook until almost set, but still runny on top, about 2 minutes.

5) Sprinkle cheese over eggs and put in oven to bake uncovered until eggs are set and cheese is melted and browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. (You may want to turn on the broiler during this baking time, to better brown the top.)
6) Remove from oven with oven mitts and slide frittata onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges.

Cinnamon Strawberry Flax Muffins

These muffins will keep for a week in the refrigerator (if they last that long), or 3 months in the freezer.
Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
1 1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/2 cup “Spoonable” brand Stevia (or equivalent - I use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon KAL brand concentrated Stevia powder)
1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla (no sugar – check ingredients)
2 tablespoons grated orange peel (optional)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional for topping)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F
Line muffin tins with paper or silicone liners.
1. Chop strawberries into a medium sized dice.
2. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients (minus the strawberries) separately, then, mix them together.
3. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes to thicken.
4. Fold in strawberries.
5. Fill each muffin cup about half way, and sprinkle with nuts.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Variation: Substitute fresh or frozen blueberries for the strawberries.

Note: If you are going to freeze the muffins, I recommend beginning with fresh berries.