9 New Juice Recipes from my vacation in China

I spent last week on vacation in China. Yup! I said China. My beloved cousin/sister-from-another-mother/BFF/maid-of-honor/ok… I think y’all get it, lives there. There is simply no other reason I would go to China. Don’t get me wrong, I love to travel, but my preference is almost always to go to a place with sun, white sand, clear blue waters and cute English-speaking beach boys. That aside, I had THE time of my life! I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there (Shanghai and Nanjing) and took time to really soak in all the sights and sounds. China is a beautiful country, with a fascinating history and is quite the experience when it comes to food. As it pertains to this blog, I am so excited to share with you the incredibly delicious juices I enjoyed during my 6 day adventure there.

I did not look for all the great juice bars my cousin and I came across. They were simply everywhere. Everywhere. In malls, train stations, the airport and were street shops on busy roads. It was such an incredibly exciting find for a juice-lover like me. All the juices were affordable and ranged in price from $2-$4.

As soon as I arrived in Nanjing from Shanghai, with luggage in hand at the train station we came across this juice bar. My excitement was palpable. I thought I’d died and gone to juice heaven. He had what looked like an Omega VERT 350 and a Vitamix. Some of the juice recipes were combos of fruits juiced and then blended in the Vitamix i.e. my first juice was apple and mango. He juiced the apples and then blended the juice in the Vitamix with the mango. I hardly ever do this at home because I only want to clean one appliance but this juice was such a delicious treat and I appreciated his effort to make my first juice in China!

LEFT: Apple and Mango 

RIGHT: Orange, Pear and Lemon

Our second juice bar encounter was in Fashion Lady Shopping Center. We got our juices much faster at this juice bar because they had everything prepped and sitting in many different stainless steel bins waiting to be juiced/blended. They were both super tasty!

LEFT: Papaya and Orange (the oranges were juiced and then blended with the papaya)

RIGHT: Watermelon and Strawberry (this was just blended)

Our third juice bar experience was in a mall. I got to finally enjoy a green juice, I noticed that almost all the juice bars had recipes with just fruit which is ok because it’s better than no juice but I was craving something green and was thrilled to find cucumber on the menu. We enjoyed…

LEFT: Apple and Grapefruit

RIGHT: Carrot, Apple and Pear

BELOW (green juice): 2 Cucumbers and 1 Lemon, I actually paid attention to the proportions when they were making this one:-)

It was nice to see that they used my first and one of my favorite juicers, a Breville Juice Fountain Plus.

Our fourth and last juice bar encounter was on my second to last day in China. It was the perfect breakfast!

LEFT: Orange and Mango

RIGHT: Watermelon and Mango

Anyone travel to a city/country with lots of juice bars? Kindly share… 

~Juice, Travel & Be Merry!~

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Here’s a Juice, Smoothie and Salad Recipe you’ll love!

I can’t believe it’s been 2 months already of eating a mostly raw vegan diet. I’m not a big fan of labels because I don’t want to deter anyone from my main message which is that fruits and vegetables ROCK!!! The more fruits and veggies you add to your diet the healthier you will be and feel… guaranteed! I do appreciate labels though for how important they are in having discussions of any kind. In my quest to attain greater health this year, those words (raw and vegan) are the IT words. My diet has sloooooowly evolved in the past 9 years (since I read Never Be Sick Again by Raymond Francis) and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve never gone cold turkey on anything. Cold turkey does not work for me. I am much further along than most people I know who for years have quit this, that or the other, announced it to the world and sworn by everything, only to be smothered in grease on a Friday night and decide that eating healthy is too hard. Nice and slow works, no need for torture 🙂 I know my why and that keeps me going. I’ve had a few cooked non-vegan meals (one or two a week on average) since this journey began but I’m not sweating them! I am focusing on how easy and delicious it is to have simple and fast raw vegan meals! Here are 3 new recipes I made in one day. I actually wasn’t trying to create new recipes, it just happened! and then of course I thought to myself… better run and get that camera so you can share this with everyone. Enjoy folks. Every recipe was deeeeeelicous 🙂

Juice Recipe #32: Orange Glow

I love 3 ingredient juice recipes, they’re so easy! This juice was sweet and had a great zing thanks to the ginger. Remember… go for organic ingredients if possible. This recipe is very reminiscent of this ABC and ginger recipe but it tastes and looks very different. I used my Breville Juice Fountain Plus instead of the Omega J8006 for this recipe because they were all hard ingredients that the Breville just juices faster.

• 1 large golden beet (this was my first time using them and they are gorgeous)
• 5 carrots
• 1 inch of ginger

Smoothie Recipe #9: Hubby’s Fruit Medley

I have a confession. This was my husband’s creation, not mine. It is THE joy of my life that eating this way (and sharing it with others) inspires anyone, and most importantly the people I love so deeply. Hubby has become quite the smoothie maker so when he came up with this winner I knew I had to share it. If you want to do it hubby’s style just throw everything in your Vitamix (blender) in whatever proportions you like, add ‘some’ water and voila! If you’re like me, you’ll use…

• 1 mango, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup of strawberries
• 1 large banana, frozen
• 1 cup of pineapple, frozen
• 1 apple
• 1 cup of water

It doesn’t matter what fruits are fresh or frozen, I just indicated which ones I used that happened to be frozen. I particularly love using only frozen bananas for smoothies. It somehow tastes better to me.

Salad Recipe

This salad was filling and out of this world good!

• 3 large handfuls of baby kale, chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 3/4 cup of broccoli florets
• 2 large handful of a variety of sprouts (garbanzo, alfalfa and bean sprouts)

Salad Dressing: 5 strawberries, 1 orange and 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar.

Ok, so balsamic vinegar is obviously not raw but I loooooove the one I have and it is fantastic for making salad dressings. The recipe would actually be just fine with only strawberries and oranges so feel free to leave it out.

~Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, juice and enjoy!~

Healthy, Simple Raw Lunch and Snacks

Here’s a healthy and simple raw lunch I have just finished preparing and packing to take with me to work tomorrow. I get such a kick out of preparing my lunch and snacks especially when they look this yummy 🙂  It reminds me of my childhood and being a student in primary school. I hated the lunch my school served so I packed my own lunch (most days) and snacks. School lunch was usually under or overcooked and lacked any flavor whatsoever but it was prepared from scratch with real whole foods. In hindsight it was definitely so much healthier than what most public schools serve children here in the US, hence the childhood obesity epidemic. If only everyone listened to Jamie Oliver. Snack time & Lunch time, at work now, are still one of my favorite parts of the day so why not take the time to prepare something tasty and healthy for the day ahead or early in the morning if you can manage that. A longer work day means you should pack even more food so as not to succumb to temptation. Don’t forget to hydrate 🙂 with water and your favorite no-fuss juice recipe.

Breakfast: I’ll make this green smoothie recipe early in the morning in the Vitamix before I head out the door! I LOOOOVE that Vitamix. It is so incredibly powerful, fast and easy to clean. I have gotten so much use out of it! Can’t imagine our kitchen without it. *Thanks babe*

Snack time #1: Peeled and quartered juicy oranges

I bought a huge box of these oranges wholesale at Costco and to be honest they are the juiciest and most delicious oranges I’ve ever had. Hubby & I finished a box in a few days so I joyfully took at trip back to Costco last Friday for box #2 . Let’s see how long they last this time…

Lunch time: Large Green Salad with your healthy dressing of choice

• organic mixed organic greens
• cherry tomatoes from mummy’s garden
• mini bell peppers from my other mama’s (MIL) garden
• sliced cucumber
• organic baby carrots

Snack time #2: Mangoes & Strawberries

Are you salivating like I am?

Bonus snack: Trail mix

*nuts are all raw and measure half a cup all together

• cashews
• pumpkin seeds
• almonds
• sunflower seeds
• 1 heaped tbsp of dried cranberries

Ready to go!

What are your favorite easy peasy healthy and simple snack and lunch ideas?

Creamy Dreamy Green Smoothie Recipe #9

I can’t believe I’m about to post a smoothie recipe with avocado in it. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE avocado, but the idea of it in a smoothie was crazy to me before now. I despised avocado as a child but I somehow fell in love with it as an adult and I ‘treat’ myself with them every once in a while because they tend to be pretty expensive. You can imagine my excitement then when my mother-in-law gifted me with a juicy and perfectly ripe avocado among very many other garden-fresh fruits and vegetables. I knew I wanted to create a recipe I had never made before with the avocado so when I woke up last Saturday morning with a craving for a delicious healthy green smoothie I knew I just had to use some of the avocado. I threw all my ingredients in my oh-so-powerful Vitamix and said a prayer! Well folks, it was delicious and the perfect breakfast smoothie. I couldn’t believe how amazing it was. I feel so silly now 🙂 .It was creamy, dreamy and delicious. Did I say it was delish? I will absolutely be making this recipe again and again and again. Ladies and gentlemen…dare to do something different with your smoothies, you just might create a winner!

CREAMY DREAMY GREEN SMOOTHIE

1/2 an avocado

1 frozen banana

1 date

Handful of organic spinach

1/2 cup of water

ENJOY 🙂

Here’s a picture of some of the peppers we got from her. Thanks mama! I will NOT be making a smoothie recipe with these hot as Hades habanero peppers. I’m not that crazy. Aren’t they gorgeous though?

Smoothie Recipe #6: Mango Delight Smoothie/Dessert

I truly appreciate my fellow WordPress bloggers. The Mango Tango recipe from Fasting Food & Other Musings sounded so delicious but included quite a few ingredients I don’t consume so of course I adapted it and the result was a creamy Mango Delight that can either be a smoothie or dessert depending on how much water you add. I used…

• 2 cups of frozen mango (Make sure they’re ripe. I’m not a fan of the prepackaged ones because the mangoes aren’t usually ripe. It’s way cheaper to buy fresh mangoes in bulk, chop them up and freeze them yourself, but it’s also quite a bit of work!)
• 1/4 cup of raw cashews
• 1 cup of water
• 2 dates
• 1/2tsp of vanilla essence

Blend (I used the almighty Vitamix!) all the above ingredients until you reach a smooth ice-creamy consistency and enjoy. Give this recipe a try, you’ll be so glad you did. It’s healthy, raw, vegan and most importantly DELICIOUS! 🙂

~Blend & Delight in it!~

PS: I had it for breakfast the first time I made it. Who says you can’t have dessert for breakfast? 🙂

Smoothie Recipe #5: Red Berry Banana Love

Woooooooo!!!!!!! This fruit smoothie recipe is fantastic. Most of my smoothies are green smoothies nowadays but this morning I just wanted a purely fruit smoothie. This smoothie is sweet, filling, super healthy and will have you attempting to lick the inside of your blender/Vitamix. The ingredients to make approximately 14 ounces of this yummy fruit smoothie are as follows.

 

• 1 cup of frozen organic strawberries
• 1/2 cup of frozen organic raspberries
• 4 organic baby bananas/ 1 large regular banana
• 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal
• 1 date, pitted
• 6 ounces of filtered water

 

This is a great starter smoothie recipe for easing your way into making and enjoying super green smoothies or just having a healthier breakfast. This is a wonderful example that being healthy does not mean enduring terrible tasting/looking foods. I mean, isn’t this the prettiest smoothie you’ve ever seen?

 

~Blend & Enjoy!~

Smoothie Recipe #4: Emerald Green Smoothie

Breakfast today was a smoothie that had a beautiful deep green hue that (randomly) reminded me of emeralds. I literally filled my Vitamix halfway with baby spinach. I’m pretty sure I’m still subconsciously trying to make up for my over-indulgence on Christmas day. I seriously need to learn to rotate my greens though. I’ve been doing way too much spinach. In an effort to make my smoothies simpler, this breakfast green smoothie recipe only calls for 4 ingredients. Here goes…

• 2 extremely large handfuls of organic baby spinach
• 1 frozen organic banana
• 1 cup of organic frozen strawberries
• 3/4 cup of organic peaches

I blended all the above with 8 ounces of filtered water. It came out perfectly smooth, delicious and was about 24 ounces. Thanks Vitamix. I am so grateful for this kitchen appliance. I get sooooo much use out of it. Here’s to many more green smoothies in the new year and an  abundance of health 🙂

Check out the very first green smoothie I made with my Vitamix. Boy was I (and still am) a very happy girl. Vitamixes (is that a word?) ROCK!

~Blend & Be Happy~

My First Vitamix Green Smoothie :-)

Christmas has come early courtesy of my more-than-amazing husband! I seriously can’t even recall how many years it has been that I have wanted a Vitamix blender in my life. My desire (obsession) to have one recently grew along with my intent to prepare even healthier meals. I even went so far as to fall asleep on several nights with a Vitamix brochure I picked up my local Whole Foods last year and this was after having watched at least 3 or 4 videos on YouTube of folks using their Vitamix blenders at home. Crazy! I know. I have no idea what winning the lottery feels like but I can’t imagine it feels any better than the day my Vitamix arrived at my doorstep. It arrived on September 21st, 2012 at 2:14pm weighing in at 10lb 9 ounces and 20.5″ long. I wasted no time when it arrived and blended my first Vitamix green smoothie.

Ingredients were as follows (makes about 16 ounces)

• 1 cup of frozen mango
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup of plain coconut yogurt
• 2 organic kale leaves, thoroughly washed
• 6-8 ounces of filtered water

I literally just dumped all these ingredients in the Vitamix, turned it on and in less than a minute I had prepared what was the smoothest and most delicious green smoothie ever! Yes, I said it! E-V-E-R…EVER!! I’m not sure what planet I was on while drinking this smoothie but it wasn’t earth. God Bless the makers of Vitamix. It absolutely did not disappoint and hasn’t yet. I have used it every single day since then and can’t say enough great things about this kitchen appliance. My deal-finding husband purchased a refurbished one by the way and you would never know the difference (the 64 ounce container, tamper and lid are brand new). My breakfast of choice is a smoothie but now it’s always a GREEN smoothie thanks to the Vitamix.  I made green smoothies with my Ninja even though now that I own a Vitamix it does not compare. The path to a healthier lifestyle absolutely does not require a Vitamix or a Ninja, it just requires doing the best we can with what we have and know in the moment. If you can afford one though and love to make smoothies, soups, purees, nut butters, desserts, dressings etc go with a Vitamix. It doesn’t get any better.

If that wasn’t a darn good commercial for you folks at Vitamix I don’t know what is. You’re welcome 🙂

…and thanks babe! You da best.

~Happy green smoothie making!~

Here’s my baby… Isn’t she a beauty?