Spring Green Smoothie

We had some warmer whether here in Edmonton last week and now I'm on spring mode! Check out my smoothie from this morning. I'm all about the ginger kick lately!

 

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
  • 1/2 cup kale (I used frozen chopped kale)
  • 1/2 cup avocado (I recently discovered the frozen stuff from PC)
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein
  • Water to desired consistency. 

Love, 

Jen The Bitchin' Housewife.

Nutrient Packed Smoothie

I'm a busy lady. As most of us are. I also love smoothies, but I sometimes despise pulling out 5 million ingredients to make a simple healthy and nutritious smoothie. 

So here is the easiest way to pack some nutrients into your day without the pain of finding and pulling out ingredients. 

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
  • 1/2 cup frozen mango
  • 1/2 - cup coconut water depending on if you like your smoothies thicker or not. If you do not have coconut water, plain ol tap water will suit you just fine. 
  • 1 scoop concentrated greens - I used the Balance Diet Spa Boost 

Blend everything together and back you go to your busy day!

I like to use this as a pick me up in the afternoon especially since I find myself liking something a little sweet mid day. If you wanted to make this more into a meal replacement I would add some protein powder and your favorite milk instead of water. 

I like using the concentrated greens since its an easy and quick way to get in a bunch of health benefits in one little drink! The pineapple is a great anti-inflammatory and the coconut water a wonderful hydrator, so drink them all summer long, staying full of energy.

Love, 

Jen

Quinoa Kale Cakes

Quinoa Kale Cakes, say that three times fast! Growing up my best friend was Polish. Her mom was thick accent, moved from the motherland only a few yeas ago Polish. She was a stern but wonderful woman that was always trying to feed me. Always. She made these delicious morsels called potato pancakes I adore. She made them for me sometimes when I wasn't getting her daughter into trouble. Hehe. I have never been able to perfect the potato pancake quite like her, but I like to think these quinoa cakes are a healthier version that do hers a tiny bit of justice. 

These cakes are not very stable or hold together until they are cooking ( a lot like potato pancakes), but once the cheese crisps up and the eggs cook they firm up a bit. So do not fret!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of cooked quinoa (I like to precook more then this and additional quinoa can be used in salads for lunch throughout the week.)
  • 1 cup egg whites OR 3 large eggs. 
  • 1 cup fine chopped kale. Removing the hard stem first.
  • 1.5 cups cheese. I used Mozzarella, but I've also used Parmesan or Cheddar.  
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

Remove the hard stems from the kale. 

How to:

  1. Preheat eh pan to a medium high heat.
  2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl really well. 
  3. Scoop up about 2 tbsp of mixture and place in the pan, spreading it out a bit. 
  4. Flip when the edges start to brown a bit.
  5. Press down to cook the other side flattening and remove from heat when done. 
  6. Enjoy alone or I like Thai chili sauce or any condiment to you hearts desire!

 

Serve as a side dish or eat on their own!

Summer Spinach Salad

It's been unusually hot here in Alberta for this time of year. So much so we've had raging forest fires, even enough to evacuate a city of 90,000 people. Today is the first time the temperatures are a little cooler and it looks like the possibility of rain.

Yesterday it was hot and sunny and we were doing a potluck at my sisters house for Mother's Day dinner. Since her and I are both vegetarians, it's always the joke about which one of us is bringing the salad. And since it was Mother's Day (read as my day off of cooking) I was putting the least amount of effort in for this one. 

So here is my super easy and health summer spinach salad. I pair this salad with catalina or balsamic dressing. I wrote the balsamic dressing below!

What you need:

  • Bag of spinach
  • 2 cups strawberries, sliced and cut in half
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup red onion
  • salad dressing of choice. (See below for recipe)
  1. Mix spinach, strawberries, almonds and onions in a bowl. Set aside until it is being served.
  2. Before serving pour dressing, toss and enjoy!
  3. Say "Wow that was easy and it taste delicious!"

Okay step 3 is optional, but its really that easy! I really like simplicity, especially when it comes to summer food. Nobody likes standing in the kitchen forever when its sunny and hot out!

 

Balsamic Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 2 tbsp red onion
  • 1 tsp honey
  • salt and pepper to taste

Mix together in a container with a lid and pour on the salad as much as you'd like. 

What's your go to salad?

 

Love, 

Jen