Deep Green 'Full-of-Fiber' Fruit & Veggie Juice ~ how I make fresh juice with all the fiber...without having a Vitamix blender



I've been enjoying making fresh juice in my Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juicer for some time now.  I've shared some of those recipes on the blog,  as well as ways I use up the leftover pulp.  Waste not, want not.  If I had a Vitamix blender this wouldn't be an issue, it can turn all of the fruit and veggies into juice...with no leftover pulp at all.  But, since I don't have one, I decided to see if I could reincorporate the pulp back into the juice by using my blender after juicing. Happy to report ~ it works!!  

It might not be quite as smooth as a Vitamix created glass of juice, but for me it works out just fine...and there's no $400-$500 hit to my budget.  :)  The juice can be as thick or thin as you like, just add as much water or apple juice as you want. This is how I created the deep green beauty shown above...

Deep Green 'Full-of-Fiber' Fruit & Veggie Juice
~ made without a Vitamix blender
serves one

Ingredients
  • 1 small apple, seeds removed
  • 1 medium carrot
  • 1 celery stick
  • 1 handful washed spinach
  • 2 kale leaves with stems
  • 1/4 Meyer lemon, cut into slices, seeds removed
  • 1 'coin' slice of fresh ginger (or more, to taste)
  • 1 cup (or more) of cold water (or bottled apple juice)
  • stevia, maple syrup, or you favorite sweetener ~ optional
  • ice cubes
Directions
Process all fruit/veggies through the juicer.  Pour juice into the blender.  Take all (or less, your call) of the leftover fiber out of the juicer and add to the blender.  Add a cup of water (or apple juice) and blend on 'puree' (or highest setting) for a minute or until as smooth as it can get.  Add additional water/juice, if desired, to get the juice to a consistency you like.  Taste and add a little sweetener if needed/desired.  Serve fiber blended juice over ice.  Enjoy!
 

Warm Spinach & Sriracha Chicken Salad



Now that the holidays are over and most of the sweet treats are gone, I'm trying to eat a more low carb diet.  (I'm trying to get back to eating more Fat Flush Plan diet friendly) What with all the lack of motivation to leave the house, due to all this bitter cold winter weather, as well as all the indulging in extra rich holiday foods in December...it's now definitely time to change up my meals.   Yesterday, I threw together a wonderful lunch that included a spinach salad with chicken and a side of steamed baby bok choy.

Just by chance, I tried a new way of making my salad.  This method of tossing heated ingredients into spinach (which slightly 'wilts' it) has turned out to be my new favorite way to eat/enjoy a healthy spinach salad.  I'm thinking this will work just a well with other types of heated protein, too. Like ~ beans, quinoa or grilled tofu.  I'm so looking forward to trying it in all different ways.  :)

And, as an extra bonus, the dressing is spicy and fat free ~ yes!  This is the first time I've ever dressed a salad with Sriracha sauce, and it won't be the last...don't know why I've never thought of it before.   The combo of the hot chili, garlic-y, sweet/spicy Sriracha sauce and Bragg's soy sauce flavor was truly amazing.  It makes for a really lively dressing, that's also super low-cal.

I didn't measure anything as I was making my salad, I was just throwing stuff into the bowl as the inspiration came to me.  So, I don't have a recipe per se, but, here is what I tossed together...


Warm Spinach & Sriracha Chicken Salad
serves 1


Into a big salad bowl throw...
  • 4-6 handfuls of washed spinach leaves
  • 6 oz. of leftover shredded chicken, heated through until really hot
  • 1/2 small white onion, cut into thin 1/2 rings
  • 1/4 cucumber, sliced into 1/4's
  • a couple spoonfuls of toasted slivered almonds
Then drizzle with...
  • Sriracha sauce (to taste)
  • Bragg's amino acids or soy sauce (to taste)
Then sprinkle on...
  • favorite spice blend & pepper (to taste)
Then get ready to eat...
Once all has been assembled in the bowl, toss the salad.  The heat of the chicken will begin to lightly wilt the spinach...yum!  Taste and add more Sriracha sauce or Bragg's/soy sauce as desired. (I'm pretty heavy handed with the Sriracha, I like my food hot & spicy)  Enjoy! 
 

Janet's Homemade Fresh Fruit Spa Water ~ Meatless Monday


A few months ago my friend, Janet, shared a super looking photo/recipe for her homemade fruity spa water...it's her version of a 'healthy soft drink'.  It's a simple and colorful mix of fresh sliced fruit and mint that looks so refreshing and inviting.  Super easy to make and low calorie since you are getting the fruit flavor/essence from the soaked fruit slices, not actually from juicing the fruit. 

To make your own pitcher full, just wash and slice an  ~~ orange, tangerine, cucumber, lemon, lime, mint leaves (8-10), and then add all to a pitcher with 3 quarts of cold water.  Let the fruity spa water sit for a while, so all the fruit flavors can mingle...then enjoy your healthy 'soft drink' chilled.  As Janet says...this homemade stuff ROCKS!

 

Hearty New England Clam Chowder ~ Easy, Creamy & Low-Fat



I recently shared an easy, low-fat recipe for red potato soup on the blog.  I liked it so much, I wanted to make it again...but, with a little flavor twist.  This time I changed up the basic potato soup recipe to turn it into a low fat New England clam chowder.  With all this snowy, cold weather, I'm craving soup all the time.  How about you?

Hearty New England Clam Chowder ~ Easy, Creamy & Low-Fat 
serves 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups red potatoes, medium chop ~ with skins on (or off, your call)
  • 2 cups white onion, small chop (about 1 large onion)
  • 1/2 cup carrots, small chop (about 2 medium carrots)
  • 1/2 cup celery, sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 3 Tbsp real bacon bits
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 4 cups of your favorite chicken broth (canned/or from bouillon)
  • 1 12oz can fat free evaporated milk, divided
  • 1  6.5oz can minced clams with clam juice (add a 2nd can if desired)
  • 3 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp liquid smoke (or more, to taste)
  • 1 tsp Frank's RedHot Pepper Sauce (more/less, to taste)
  • salt/pepper, to taste
Directions
Combine the potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, parsley, broth, bacon bits, garlic and dried basil, in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup evaporated milk in a separate cup, until smooth.  Stir completely into soup mixture.  Add the remaining evaporated milk, liquid smoke and hot sauce.  Bring soup back up to a boilStir constantly for 2 minutes, or until thickened.  Turn heat to low, add can(s) of minced clams with clam juice, stir  & simmer for one minute to heat clams through.  Taste, add salt/pepper/more hot sauce, as desired & serve.  Enjoy!


Comforting Cold Weather Meals


Easy Beef Stew with Red Wine ~ I threw together this tasty beef stew in no time at all.  I let it simmer slowly on the stove and it made the house smell wonderful.  It was a perfect meal for this bitter cold weather we've been having.

Chili
We've been stuck in our house for the last week, riding out this huge polar vortex snow storm that's been hammering the Midwest/US.  This past week has been bitter cold, but it's slowly warming up.  We've finally started seeing temps a few degrees above freezing, just enough to start some of the snow melting, but there is still so much more to go.  It's been so over-the-top bitter cold, that all the schools were canceled this  week.  J was thrilled to get an extra week of Christmas break, can't say as I blame him. 

Before the arctic air and snow arrived, I stocked up my pantry and fridge, so we've been enjoying warming and comforting foods for the last week ~ beef stew, chili, ham & beans, chicken & dumplings, chicken noodle soup, mac & cheese ~ you know, comfort food that I've posted about in the past.  I decided that if I couldn't go out-and-about, I might as well cook.  :)  Needless to say, good home cooked meals were the highlight of our snowbound days...

Our backyard has knee deep drifts of snow...

Ham & Bean Soup ~ our leftover Christmas ham was the perfect addition to a pot of Hurst Great Northern Beans.  A little drizzle of Frank's RedHot Sauce adds just the right amount of heat.

The view out my kitchen window...  Brrr!!


I hear that there is the possibility of another polar vortex snow storm heading our way in the next few days.  Well...guess it's time to head back out to the market to replenish the supplies once more.  Hopefully this time the trip won't take up an entire afternoon.  Seriously, the market was PACKED!  Worse than the Black Friday sales ~  all 25 register lanes were open, each stacked 7-10 full shopping carts deep, people everywhere and shelves emptied fast. 

The view out the front of the house ~  It was too cold to go outside & take most of the pictures (-40 with the windchill), so I just took pics through the glass.  Roy took the photo of the front of the house when it started to 'warm up', I think maybe it got up to zero that day...

When you're waiting in the checkout line, with nothing else to do, seeing what others are purchasing can be amusing.  I was chuckling at what some people had in their carts ~ some were full of cereal, bread, eggs, pancake mix, ice cream, hot chocolate, milk, juice, meat, veggies, cat food & kids games to help keep the boredom away (sounds like my cart).  While others were full of beer, chips, munchies, frozen pizza, wine, cheese and crackers.  Ahhh...I remember those single days.  :)



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