Another ugly smoothie...

When you mix a lot of colors, you end up with brown. And that's exactly what happened with today's smoothie. It turned a sickly brownish-green. I had odds and ends in my fridge that needed to be used, so I threw them all together. It still tasted terrific, though, so I'm not complaining. If you can get past the color, you'll dig the flavors.

This recipe makes 2 large smoohies.

• 1 huge handful of kale
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 honeycrisp apple
• 1/2 ripe banana (if you like a really banana-y smoothie, use a whole one)
• half a handful of blueberries
• handful of raspberries
• 1/4 cup POM pomegranate-cranberry juice
• 2-3 TB orange juice
• ice

Blend, duh.

Green Day...the food, not the band + Dog Blankie

I completely forgot to do my St. Patrick's Day post last month of all the green food I ate that day! I was emptying out the SD card for my camera this morning and stumbled upon my green food photos. So, Better late than never...or whatever. If you don't like it, well, too bad because here they are.

Breakfast: Green Smoothie
Ingredients:

• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1/2 banana
• 1/4 cup fresh pineapple
• 1 clementine orange
• 1 small apple
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/4 cup cranberry juice
• 2 TB flax meal
• ice, if you want some

Method:
Put everything in the blender (I so LOVE my Vita-Mix for smoothies) and blend until well combined.

Lunch: Chickpea Salad SandwichIngredients:

• 1/2 cup (slightly heaping) cooked chickpeas
• 1 TB + 1 tsp Vegenaise mayo
• 2 tsp mustard (yellow, spicy brown or dijon are all tasty here)
• 2-3 TB raw onion
• 1 heaping TB nooch
• 1 TB dill relish
• 1 TB unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 tsp Braggs Aminos
• Green food coloring

Method:
Put all ingredients in a food processor and whir a few times, until combined. I like mine chunky, but you can puree if you want. It's your sandwich, after all.

Dinner: Green Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli and Chickpea Patties
The chickpea patties are just the chickpea cutlet recipe from Veganomicon, made into thicker patties instead of cutlets. I always add more garlic and some steak sauce to this recipe. The Mashed potatoes are easy:  green food coloring, Earth Balance, almond milk and salt. And, well, if I have to describe how to steam veggies, you may be a hopeless case.

So, there you go. My St. Patrick's Day green meals. Late, but oh well.

As for my Eco-Craft I started a last week, I am almost done! Check it out :)

Pineapple Smoothies & the New Vita-Mix -- Vegan MOFO #17

Alright.  I've been eyeing the Vita-Mix for about 2 years.  I really wanted one, especially for smoothies.  The local shop charges $5.00 for a smoothie, and it can be pretty expensive if you want to customize or add any mix-ins, like nuts.  So, I got a different blender in the meantime, which subsequently can barely chop ice, let alone make a smoothie that's (ahem) smooth.  I started doing more research (read: asking my Twitter pals and watching endless videos online) and finally decided to take the plunge.  I ordered a factory refurbished model through the Vita-Mix website under "online specials."  The refurb still comes with a 7 year manufacturer warranty, which is excellent because my old blender had a 6-month limited warranty.  The mixers are expensive, but I've had mine for a day and a half and I'm already in love and made 2 wonderful smoothies.  Just so you know, Vita-Mix isn't sponsoring me or anything.  I paid for the mixer myself and this mini review is from the heart.

So, here's my first smoothie recipe.  I warn you in advance, it is a bit tart which is how I love them.  But feel free to add some sweetener of your choice.  I you are using frozen fruit, you don't need to add the ice.  I used fresh fruit this time, so I added ice.  This recipe makes 2 medium-large glasses full.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh or frozen pineapple
• 1/2 banana
• 1-2 TB fresh lime juice
• about 8 fresh cranberries
• 1 1/4 cups ice
• 1/2 cup water

Blend on high until nice and smooth.