Healthy Smoothies and Salad

Hey all!  So classes started right after Labor Day and since I'm a full time student I've been doing a lot of homework and studying and less baking. :-( I also just recently started a part time job, so my social life and personal time will be extremely limited.  I'll bake and cook whenever I can find the time, and I will find time because this is the best season for baking!  Pumpkins, apples, and holidays galore!

So for this post, I have three smoothies to share and my go-to salad recipe.  The next few posts will be baking because I did manage to get some time in a few weeks ago.  So expect to see a granola recipe, a coffee cake, and pound cake.  :-)

The first smoothie is a berry one, here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 container of Fage fat-Free Greek Yogurt, or 3/4 cup of your favorite yogurt
• 1 cup frozen or fresh berries
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 packet of Stevia in the Raw

Blend until smooth.

The second smoothie is a green smoothie, here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup milk, I used non-sweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 handful of spinach
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup strawberries (frozen or fresh)

Blend until smooth.

And lastly, another green smoothie, you'll need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 handful spinach
• 1/2-1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

Blend until smooth.

For the salad, I got the idea from those Eat This Not That! books as well as a local restaurant's menu. You will need:

• Spinach or Romaine lettuce 
• Strips of cooked chicken
• 1 apple cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup crumbled cheese, feta or goat works well

Enjoy! 

Banana Cake with Coconut Topping

This is another Penzeys recipe which came from their Early Summer catalog.  The recipe is from the kitchen of Ceci Droll, and I think might be one of the best cakes I've made thus far.  It got great raves and reviews from my family when I brought it over for a Sunday night dinner.  I really don't know how to describe this cake, it was just delicious.  I'm not usually a big fan of coconut, but it worked really well with this cake.
Here's what you'll need for the cake:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Spice (Penzeys) (I added this, it wasn't in the original recipe)
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk, sour cream or plain yogurt (I used plain Greek yogurt)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup very ripe, squished banana (2-3 bananas)

Here's what you'll need for the topping:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes (I used unsweetened and it was fine)
• 5 tablespoons milk 

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9"x13" pan and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and beat well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.  Gradually beat into the creamed mixture, alternating with the buttermilk.

Stir in the vanilla and banana and mix until just combined. 

Pour into the pan and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until browned and springy to the touch.  Let the cake cool before frosting.

For the topping:  Turn your oven to low broil.  Beat together the melted butter and brown sugar.  Stir in the nuts, coconut and enough milk to get a nice spreading consistency.

Spread over the cake.  Place under the broiler until bubbly, 5-10 minutes depending on your oven.

Enjoy!

My version of the Green Smoothie

Lately, when I don't have enough time in the morning to make my oatmeal, I make a smoothie instead.  I've seen this type of smoothie all over the place, in food blogs, on youtube.com, and some of my vegan cookbooks.  I mix it up every now and then and either leave out the banana, same with the flax seeds and protein powder

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
a handful or two of spinach leaves (don't worry you won't taste it in the smoothie)
1 banana (optional)
4 pieces of frozen mango
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup mixed frozen berries (I usually use Trader Joe's frozen berry medley or blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries.)
 1 tablespoon of flax seed meal (optional)
1 tablespoon vanilla rice protein powder (optional)

In a blender combine the almond milk and spinach and blend until smooth.  Next add the banana, mango, and flax seeds, and blend once again.  Finally add the berries and the protein powder and blend until smooth.  You may not need to blend it three times, but I try to get my smoothies as smooth as possible.

Enjoy! 

Banana Cupcakes with Lemon Icing

I know I haven't posted in a bit but I was away on vacation, so here's a recipe I tried right before I left.  I wanted to impress my mother-in-law, I hope I succeeded since these cupcakes/muffins were yummy.  Thanks again to Chloe Coscarelli for another delicious recipe from her book.  The only problem I had was with the icing, it turned out to be more of a glaze, but then again, I might have put too much liquid in it. 

For the Banana Cupcakes:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup mashed bananas, from approximately 2 very ripe bananas mashed on a plate using the back of a fork
1 cup canned coconut milk, mixed well before measuring
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons white or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the Lemon Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons lemon juice (I used 4)
1 tablespoon water
1/4 to 1 teaspoon lemon zest (I think I used closer to 1 rather than 1/4, I like lemony flavor)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 12-cup cupcake pans with 18 cupcake liners.

Mash the two bananas with the back of a fork.

In a large bowl, whisk together bananas, coconut milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined.  Do not over mix.

Fill the cupcake liners about two-thirds full with batter.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it.  Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

To make the icing or glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice, water, and zest in a small bowl until smooth.

Spread a thin layer of Lemon Icing over each Banana Cupcake, and enjoy!

Yummy!