Super Foods Green Smoothie

Want to kick-start your day with some super foods that will keep you going all morning...? This smoothie is not only power-packed with vitamins and minerals, its also SUPER delicious!

Super foods are foods that pack a punch of extra power like anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, as well sustaining powers, so you don't get hungry half an hour after your last meal.

I used to be a huge fan of smoothies, drinking at least one several times a week. But I had to put them on the back burner after greatly reducing my sugar intake for some major health reasons. But now I am back at it, except the make up of the ingredients has changed dramatically! They are much more healthy - loaded with anti-oxidant rich greens! My recipe for this beauty is posted below.

In keeping with my avoidance of drinking smoothies (and let me tell you, I missed them dearly) I began juicing. This was something I decided to commit to after seeing my Naturopath back in March, who gave me some pretty crappy news about my health. Let me back up a bit - I am a 7 year breast cancer survivor and have suffered from chronic pain (fibromyalgia) for 13 years. The bad news thankfully was not related to my cancer, in fact I am now considered fully cured of it! The bad news was about the impact the cancer and related treatments and stress had had on my body's cells. 

The juicing regime came recommended by my ND as a quick, no nonsense way to inject my cells and tissues with real, pure food plus vitamins and minerals - which I was greatly lacking (who knew, I eat veggies everyday along with some of the healthiest foods available since my cancer diagnosis). But there was a lot of congestion and inflammation in my tissues and organs, and thus the vitamins and minerals were not getting to the finish line. My recovery protocol included deep cleansing (liver, kidney and candida) and a few extra tricks to get me back on track, I am feeling fantastic! 

Why was I juicing over smoothie-ing you ask? Same ingredients, but more fiber in the smoothie...so wouldn't the smoothie be a better option?

The reason for drinking freshly 'juiced' is that all of those great veggies and fruit that you just fed through your juicer are ready to be immediately absorbed into your cells - no messing around with the stomach and digestive tract, where all that smoothie-fiber would have to be broken down first. This is like instant "WHOA" - like getting a shot of caffeine, except without the caffeine! 

I have become a huge advocate of making juicing a part of my daily routine to get healthy, stay healthy and live longer - when I sip my fresh juice, I just think of it as all those anti-oxidants punching out the oxidative stress in our bodies from environmental and food contamination. And I want to make sure my cells are strong enough to K-O any and all free radicals floating around in my precious temple!

So after 6 months of daily juicing, I have decided to get back into smoothie-mode and alternate each day with a delicious smoothie. But the focus is still on mainly veggies people! Its easy to get on the "milkshake" smoothie bandwagon and fill your blender or magic bullet with nothing but sugary fruit and juice. Nope. If you want to stay healthy, you need to go down that veggie path...that path that right now may seem too scary, overgrown with dark and well, green things...

Don't we all want to strive towards longevity...? Trust me, you will thank me later.

If you want to create a happy and healthy environment in your temple, you will need to follow this one rule when juicing or smoothie-ing: Keep things alkaline! What does that mean? Simply put - more veggie, less sugar. The majority of your smoothie ingredients should consist of veggies, preferably the deep dark green ones. These are alkaline - not acidic, which is what sugar is acidic. Yuk! And an acidic environment creates inflammation and eventually disease. So stick to the greens, then add in a bit of fruit for sweetness like berries, apple, pear or even some watermelon or musk melon. The key is to have about a 70/30 ratio on the veg to fruit. Easy, right?

Now once you have your veg and fruit figured out, you can decide on the liquid. I like to use coconut water as its is the perfect hydrator that replenishes the electrolytes in our bodies (almond or rice milk and sometimes even just filtered alkaline water works, too. Finally I add in a tablespoon of healthy oil like flaxseed, or an avocado for creaminess and Omega 3 and 6. For that extra punch, I add some Matcha tea powder or ginger or cayenne pepper and chia or hemp seeds. The possibilities are as great as your imagination...

Or just keep checking back for more juicing and smoothie recipes right here on my blog as well as my other great healthy recipes!

Here's to good health!

~ Marlies

Super Foods Green Smoothie

What you will need:
3 large ribs green or purple kale, torn 
4 stalks celery with leaves, coarsely chopped
1 cup musk melon cubes (like cantaloupe, casaba or honeydew)
1 avocado
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup coconut water or any type of milk (cow, almond, rice, soy)
1 tsp Matcha green tea powder
Optional: 4-5 ice cubes for a more slushy smoothie.

Place all ingredients in blender. Puree until smooth. Enjoy!

Kale, Beet and Berry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Kale is one of those super foods that everyone who dreams of longevity should really make a part of their weekly ritual - as many days a possible! I love kale raw, cooked, baked into kale chips and blended into my juices and smoothies. I bought some gorgeous golden and red beets at the market and boiled them for this vitamin loaded super salad. The Raspberries on our bushes are just about finished, but the blackberries are in full swing. I had just enough raspberries to make a beautiful vinaigrette dressing and a few to spare as a garnish. Added in toasted pumpkin seeds and this salad will give you enough vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and energy needed to get through any type of day!

What You Will Need
Salad:
6-8 cups fresh kale leaves (Costco sells pre-washed organic bagged mixed kale)
2 medium golden beets, 2 medium red beets, boiled in skins, cooled, then skins removed and diced
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup fresh raspberries and blackberries

Place kale greens in serving bowl; top with diced beets, red onion slices, pumpkin seeds and berries; serve with raspberry vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup avocado oil or grapeseed oil ( you want to use a mild flavoured oil)
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup crushed raspberries
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Whisk together vinegar, Dijon and honey; slowly whisk in oil until it forms an emulsion (thickens); stir in crushed berries; add salt and pepper to taste.

Easy Thai Fish Cakes with Spicy Peanut Sauce

I am a huge fan of Thai food, having travelled to this amazing country and having sampled the incredible, flavourful local cuisine. So much so, that I keep most typical Thai staple ingredients in my fridge and cupboard - like curry pastes, coconut milk, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass to name a few. 

I was at the fish market yesterday and picked up some local fresh cod and decided to make a fish cake, infusing the great exotic flavours of Thailand. The spicy, but tiny bit sweet peanut sauce is the perfect balance to the bold flavours in this delicious fish cake.

What You Will Need 

The Fish Cakes
350g fresh cod filets without skin, pin bones removed
1 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 tsp Thai red curry paste
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 dried kaffir lime leaves, crumbled
1 egg white
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
*Panko bread crumbs
Coconut oil for shallow frying

The Peanut Sauce
1 small red Thai chilli with seeds (de-seed for milder sauce)
1 Tbsp Bragg's or low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
3 Tbsp crunchy natural peanut butter
4 Tbsp coconut milk

How Its Done

1. Put the fish filets in a food processor with the fish sauce, curry paste, lime juice, garlic, lime leaves and egg white; process until a smooth paste forms.
2. Stir in cilantro and process until just mixed. Divide mixture into 8 pieces and roll into balls. Flatten to make round patties and set aside.
3. For the dip: finely chop Thai chilli; place in a small saucepan with remaining ingredients and heat gently - do not boil. Adjust seasoning.
4. Place Panko crumbs in a shallow bowl; dip each fish cake into crumbs to coat evenly; shallow fry fish cakes in about 1 inch of coconut oil for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve with spicy peanut sauce.

* Panko crumbs are available in Asian markets

Serves 4

Adapted from Quick and Easy Thai

Rice Fettucine with Italian Sausage, Peas, Ricotta and Arugula

Instead of telling you a whole story about how I came up with this recipe, I am going to keep the comments to a minimum, because it all just came together...that easy!

So all I will say are these three words:

Delicious. Easy. Healthy. (oh, and its gluten free!)

I would love to know what you think so...please feel free to add any additional text in the comments section below... :) 

What You Will Need

400g package thick rice noodles (available in the Asian section of your supermarket)
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 mild Italian sausages, (casings removed)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
4 Tbsp basil pesto
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 bunch, about 2 cups fresh arugula, torn
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chopped
Parmesano Reggiano, grated
Sea salt and pepper to taste

How Its Done

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat; add sausages and break up with a fork; brown well and drain off excess fat; set aside.
2. In the meantime boil rice fettucine (Asian thick rice noodles) according to package directions; drain.
3. Toss hot pasta in skillet with Italian sausage, lemon juice, pesto, peas and arugula; heat through; season with salt and pepper.
4. Place pasta in serving bowls and top with dollops of ricotta, shavings of Parmesano Reggiano and fresh basil. 

Serves 4.

Mar's Killer Kitchen Sink Ribs with Edamame Succotash

During BBQ season, I like to experiment with many different kinds of protein. In our summer kitchen, I tend to prepare more of the white meats and fish of course, with the addition of an occasional really good cut of steak and leave beef and pork stews and roasts for the colder months. Did you know that pork is actually considered a white meat? One of my three guys' favourite BBQ'd meats are pork ribs. I am always looking for ways to reduce fat and keep our meals as healthy as possible. As baby back ribs are pretty fatty, I discovered that if you boil them first to remove much of the fat, you end up with a much more tender and lean rib you can then toss into your favourite BBQ sauce and finish on the BBQ or in the oven. The key here is to boil them in a beautifully seasoned brine to impart all that wonderful flavour directly into the meat, so when you sink your teeth into those tender ribs, you are in BBQ heaven!

If you can get your hands on some free range/non medicated pork, I promise you that you will never go back to the conventional - it has so much more flavour, is more tender and of course is far healthier than the pork raised on meds in tight pens...

Last night I prepared my favourite rib recipe, one that I came up with once on a whim, when I rummaged through the fridge to find a cacophony of ready made sauces and raided my spice cupboard to bring together a pot of heaven to boil those beautiful baby back ribs in. I call this recipe my Killer Kitchen Sink Ribs, because, the brine has everything in it but the kitchen sink and well, its just 'killer'!

Okay, this recipe may seem a bit out of character for me as you know that I am all about sticking to healthy, real food...I will forewarn you - some of the ingredients I have used here are processed and I always try and avoid processed wherever possible, but in my opinion, if the majority of your diet consists of mainly unprocessed foods, then having something processed every now and again is not going to make you ill. Besides, once you taste these ribs, you won't even think about all the 'stuff' that's in them - kidding aside, if you read the ingredients on the back of most of the 'stuff' in my brine, its not all that sad a story anyway - there are far worse things in food that we don't even know about...

Here goes...did I say these are 'killer'...?

What you will need

The Brine (enough for 4 lbs baby back ribs, or 4 racks)

4 lbs baby back ribs

1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
4 dashes Worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup Thai Red Chilli Sauce
1/4 cup Bragg's or low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 canned beer
1 Tbsp Cajun Spice
1 Tbsp steak spice
4 bay leaves
2 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs
2 Tbsp brown sugar
4 cups water

Steak seasoning (like Montreal Steak Spice or Keg Steak Spice)
Your favourite BBQ sauce 

How its done

1. Rinse and dry the rib racks and cut into halves or thirds, set aside. Combine all of the remaining ingredients in a large stock pot, except the beer - have a swig of the beer then add the rest of it to the pot, whisking to mix well. Add ribs and arrange so they are covered by the liquid. Heat pot over high heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and keep ribs at a gentle boil for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until meat begins to fall off the bone.
2. Drain ribs and place on baking sheet. Season with steak seasoning; cover with foil until ready to BBQ or bake in oven (ribs can be refrigerated and stored in the fridge over night).
3. When ready to BBQ, slather ribs in your favourite BBQ sauce and heat on a medium grill until the meat begins to caramelize and shows some nice grill marks. Ribs can also be finished off in a 350°F oven for about 20-25 minutes. Serves 4.

What you will need

The Edamame Succotash

2 Tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1 red onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups frozen edamame beans, thawed

3 cups frozen peaches and cream corn, thawed

1 large red bell pepper, diced

1 large orange pepper, diced

1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

2-3 mini zucchini, cut into slices or 1 small zucchini, diced

Juice of 1 lemon

Sea salt and pepper to taste

1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chopped

How its done

1. Heat EVOO in large skillet over medium high heat; add onions and garlic and cook just until onions are transparent; add peppers and continue to cook until they begin to soften; add edamame beans, corn and zucchini, toss well and cook another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add lemon juice; sprinkle with fresh basil. Serves 4-6