cacao powder

Mint Chocolate Orange Spinach Smoothie

If you remember from a few days ago, I wrote about trying oranges rather than apples in my Mint Chocolate Spinach Smoothie. Well, this posting is that variation. I have to admit that I like the orange base much better than the apple one. Apple is good, but orange mixes so much better with the cacao.

If you have fresh mint and some oranges laying around, this one is worth a try.

Recipe:

  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 oranges
  • 1 banana
  • 2 medjool dates
  • Heaping spoon full raw cacao powder
  • Big hand full fresh garden spearmint
  • ½ lb fresh baby spinach

Remove the leaves from the mint stocks, remove the seeds from the dates and pretty much mix everything up on the blender.

As you can see, I added the cacao last. Everything else is just packed it.  Got to love that Vita-mix!

Got a little bit more than this, but the tastes all come together to make something that’s sweet and minty.

If I were to make this one again, I’d use orange juice as the base in order to really bring out the orange flavor. But even with just two, the orange flavor comes through and it balances out nicely with the cacao and mint!

I love mint!  It’s the first thing I get out of the garden every year. Yum…..

Mint Chocolate Spinach Smoothie

With this season being about 45 days late, yesterday was the first day where I actually got to harvest something out of the garden – Mint! It’s at the perfect age and height. As you can see in the mug (below) I’ve picked just the top six inches (or so) getting the best four sets of leaves. When in the garden, I samples a few leaves and they were delicately succulent and beautifully flavorful. I love the first of the season spearmint.

For the last couple days I’ve been craving mint-chocolate as a smoothie flavor. Last time I dug into the mint to put this combo together, the mint was older and a whole lot more pungent. This mint is smooth and subtle so I knew it would add a delicate savory essence rather than an overpowering one. If you’ve got some mint growing where you can get it before the sun burns in a lot of flavor, you’ll love it combined with cacao!

Here’s what I did, I’m sure you’ll enjoy something similar.

Recipe:

  • 1 organic Fuji apple (That’s what I had, got a great deal the other day)
  • 1 banana
  • 2 large medjool dates
  • 1+ cup liquid (I used watered down coconut milk)
  • 10 spearmint tops (about the top 4 sets of leaves)
  • ½ lb Spinach
  • 1 heaping tablespoon full cacao powder

Seed the dates, core and remove seeds from the apple, pinch off the leaves from the spearmint add all but the seeds to the blender and whirl until smooth.

I’ve got a few leaves left over for tomorrow. I’ve also got the second half of the package of Spinach. I’m going to give it a second go with an orange rather than the apple to see how that mixes up. Orange, mint and chocolate should be a really good combination.

Get out, grow some herbs and enjoy the life they bring to your own. Mint’s one of the easiest to grow and mixes will with lots of things. And, the best part is it’s good (great) for you.

Good day.

How to pick out a good coconut

Sometimes you come across something that you can totally relate too! This little video from Meredith Frantz (and her boyfriend – from The Raw Seed) has just that. Not for the fact that they are wearing vests on Friday or that they have that stoned look to them, but for the fact that you buy coconuts from Asian markets not Whole Foods!

That comment in this video is so true! The coconuts at Whole Foods just don’t … move. It’s like they buy them just to say they’ve got ‘em. It’s not about making quality nuts available to their customers, but it’s about upholding their image. Thus, I almost always just walk right by them.

The unfortunate thing for me is that the Asian market is now another 3 miles away.  They moved – the wrong direction.

In any case, I’ve included their video for it has a key point in it that anyone buying a raw young coconut will want to learn. Being the spoiler that I am, that information comes at just about 2:45 into the video. The bottom of the coconut will give away the state of the interior.

Without further ado, the video… Oh, watch out for that cleaver she’s flinging around! 

I have to admit that I’m impressed by the way she chops that nut open. My guess is that she’s opened more than just one of those puppies. His technique is a little stiff.

But that’s not the point here. The nuts shouldn’t have dark spots, soft spots, discoloration or splits in the bottom. And the one thing that they didn’t mention is always pick out the heaviest one first! The heavier it is, the more liquid it has in it.

I guess picking out a coconut shouldn’t be all that hard. Just keep the above tips in mind when you go shopping and I’m sure you’ll be satisfied with you chop your way into it.

Cherry Swiss chard Smoothie with Cacao

It’s been a while since I posted a smoothie recipe, so it looks like today is a great day to share with the world a cherry concoction with one of my favorite base ingredients – Honeydew melon! If there’s one thing that I’ve learned that makes a smoothie really stand out, it’s the liquid base that you use. To me, water just doesn’t cut it.

I know all the purists state that the green smoothie that you make should  be as simple as possible. But if it doesn’t taste fantastic, where are you going to find the motivation to keep making them? I mean, really think about it. If you’re going out of your way to make something that’s generally not cheap, wouldn’t you really want to make it enjoyable?

Well, this one is!

  • About 1 ½ cups fresh pitted cherries
  • 1 banana
  • 1 ½ cups fresh honeydew melon juice
  • 4 little dates
  • About a heaping spoon full raw cacao
  • Small amount Vanilla powder (just part of a teaspoon)
  • One bowl garden fresh Swiss chard

For this year, this recipe is being posted after cherry season has come and gone, but if you were lucky enough to store some away, you’ll still be able to make it while the Honeydew melon are plentiful. Swiss chard can still be found in stores (as it can year round) so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Take note that this quantity will fill the blender!

This one always turns out brown from the mixture of green and red. And, if you look close, you’ll be able to see that I didn’t run this one as long as I normally do – there are little pieces of cherry still visible. Yum. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Cherry Chocolate Swiss chard Smoothie

Well, it’s been a little while since I’ve had the opportunity to share on the blog here. The road has taken many-a-turns, but I’ve barely been able to sit down and relax for a couple weeks now. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

Fortunately, I’ve been able to shrug off the stress. Could it be that the green smoothies are helping? Maybe it’s the fresh garden greens. But in any case, as long as I’m still feeling good, it doesn’t matter what’s the source of the goodness really is. Sometimes I like to think that it’s the time spent weeding and watering the garden. Other times, it’s just breathing the fresh air on the back deck while listening to the birds singing in the trees.

Sometimes, you can’t help but wonder if it’s the anandamide in the cacao that I’ve added to this smoothie!

Melon juice makes this one!

So here we go.

  • Almost 2 cups Honeydew melon juice
  • About 2 cups pitted cherries
  • One banana
  • Four little dates
  • A spoon full cacao
  • About ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder
  • Bunch of garden fresh Swiss chard

Add everything into the blender starting with the wettest stuff first.

Looks like half fruit

Keep the speed fairly low until you get the mixture to start turning. After that, flip it on hit and count to about 60.

The creamy result

The end result is amazingly creamy with a full cherry BANG! It’s like a cherry tootsie pop. The Honey drew draws out the favor of the fresh cherries to really make them stand out.

This recipe is a total keeper for me. It’s too bad that I don’t have a larger store of cherries, for I’d be making this one way more often. Yet, then again, if I simply made this one over and over again, I’d miss out on all the other great fruit that comes out midsummer!

Planted some more lettuce, spinach and beets with the intention of making those my late fall smoothie greens. Hope they come up in this heat.

Enjoy.