St. Patrick’s Day Smoothie: 2 Ways

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Are you Irish? Are you lucky? No matter the answer to the previous questions, do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? I feel like here in the U.S. it’s crazy NOT to celebrate this day of luck!

What do you do for St. Patrick’s Day?

I was brainstorming what I should do to celebrate this holiday, and the only thing I could think of was to celebrate with food! So I made this smoothie bowl for breakfast. It’s topped with a leprechaun because leprechauns are super cute and St. Patrick’s Day-ish.

I also made another rainbow version of it in case you like rainbows more than leprechauns! They’re both pretty festive, since apparently you can find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow and this gold is supplied by little leprechauns. Make either of these smoothies for breakfast, lunch, or dinner to celebrate this day and you will have all the luck of the leprechaun!!

St. Patrick’s Day Smoothie Bowls

The Base (for both bowls):

• ½ a frozen banana
• 1 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
• 3/4 to 1 cup of nondairy milk (I used Silk vanilla soy milk since it has a sweet vanilla taste that I like)

Leprechaun Bowl

• the other ½ of the frozen banana
• 3-4 strawberries
• ½ to 3/4 cup nondairy milk

Toppings:

• 1 big carrot, washed and shredded for the beard
• 2 blueberries for the eyes
• 1 strawberry cut in half for the mouth
• 2 raw cashews for the eyebrows
• 2 almonds- 1 whole one for the nose and one cut in ½ for the ears
• 3-4 spinach leaves for the hat
• a few banana slices for the hat brim

Rainbow Bowl

Toppings:

• 10 whole strawberries (or raspberries)
• carrot slices
• banana slices (you could use pineapple or mango slices here, I just didn’t have any fresh pineapple or mango to use)
• spinach slices (or use green grapes if you have them)
• coconut shreds

Put the base in the blender and blend it until it’s smooth. Pour the base smoothie into a bowl.

For the leprechaun smoothie bowl: Rinse out your blender and make the leprechaun “face” smoothie. Pour it on top of the base smoothie. You might need to spoon it out of the blender and into the bowl to shape it. Wash a big carrot and shred it with a grater into small shreds. Sprinkle these shreds on top of the “face” smoothie. Add on blueberry eyes, cashew eyebrows, almond ears and an almond nose, a berry mouth, and tear spinach into the shape of a hat and place it on top of the leprechaun’s “head.”  Cut a few banana coins, then cut them in half again and add them to the top of the “hat.” Say hi to your friend… then eat him!!

For the rainbow smoothie bowl: Wash and cut your fruit and veggie toppings, then arrange it all in a color-coordinated arc to make a rainbow. Sprinkle the ends of the “rainbow” with coconut flakes to represent clouds! You could also add light-colored granola to the end of the rainbow to represent gold coins. Serve and enjoy!

Enjoy and let me know if you try either of these fun smoothie bowls!

xx Ellie

Simple Green Smoothie Recipes

Hi friends! I am working on a “meal plan” for a week-long vegetarian/ vegan challenge that the veggie club at my school is doing. Kids can choose to eat vegetarian or vegan for a week, but the meal plan I’m creating has ideas and recommendations for vegan breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. I’ll publish it on my blog early next week as we are starting the challenge as a club late next week. Feel free to participate in the challenge with us! I’ll be doing day-by-day recaps of it on my blog by showing what people participating in the challenge ate. I am so excited for it, as hopefully it will get kids in veggie club to eat more plant-based meals. Maybe it will even cause some kids to become full-fledged vegetarian or vegan if they are not already! Wouldn’t that be awesome!?

Here is the smoothie section of the challenge. I am going to link it up to next week’s “meal plan” post.

     

Above: some of my favorite smoothies. These are pictures from my Instagram, @peanutbutterandle.

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MY FAVORITE SMOOTHIE RECIPES

GREEN SMOOTHIE 1: PEANUT BUTTER BANANA

• 1 cup nondairy milk (my go-to is unsweetened almond milk)
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter (or another nut butter)
• 1 cup greens (spinach or kale)
• 1 banana, frozen (I peel a bunch of ripe bananas and keep them in a plastic bag in my freezer for smoothies and banana ice cream)

Add the milk, then the nut butter, then greens, then the banana to a blender. I use a Vitamix 5200. It’s expensive, but it works really well. I love it. Blend and enjoy your smoothie. You can top smoothies with coconut flakes, granola, fruit, nuts, and seeds. I love to “go crazy” with toppings! This smoothie serves 1.

 

GREEN SMOOTHIE 2: TROPICAL STRAWNANA

• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 banana, frozen
• 8 (1/4 cup) strawberries
• handful of greens
• 1 Tbsp coconut flakes, optional

Always add the liquid first (to the bottom of the blender) for a smoothie as it makes the smoothie easier to blend. Blend this baby up and enjoy! Serves 1. Other fruity green smoothie recipes I love are HERE and HERE.

 

GREEN SMOOTHIE 3: CHIAVOCANANA 

*** This smoothie is pretty earthy so just be aware of that if you try it!***

• 1 cup nondairy milk (I love almond milk)
• 1 frozen banana
• 8 frozen strawberries
• 2 cups kale (or another leafy green)
• 1/4 or 1/2 avocado
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Throw everything in a blender and blend, baby, blend! Serves 1.

HERE IS A LINK TO HUNDREDS OF OTHER SMOOTHIE RECIPES MADE BY THE FABULOUS SIMPLE GREEN SMOOTHIE WEBSITE.

Enjoy these smoothie recipes! I love smoothies because they are a great quick, convenient, portable, and healthy meal.

Have a lovely day!
xx Ellie

Pink and Green Smoothie

I LOOOOOOVE smoothies. They’re easy to make, (most are) healthy, they’re tasty, and they’re a great way to add extra greens into your diet!

My favorite types of smoothies are COLORFUL. Green, pink, yellow, purple… even brown smoothies are great (because brown = chocolate / peanut butter)!

I love this smoothie because it’s colorful (and it tastes good)!

Enjoy it!

Look! The pink layer ended up swirling into a heart shape! ♥

Pink and Green(s) Smoothie

serves 1

For the green layer : 

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup kale
• 1/4 to ½ cup of nondairy milk (less liquid = thicker smoothie)

for the pink layer :

• ½ cup frozen strawberries or raspberries
• ½ cup nondairy milk

1. Blend the green layer. Pour it into a big glass or mason jar.
2. Rinse out your blender.
3. Blend the pink layer and pour it into the same glass / jar as the green layer.
4. Swirl the 2 smoothies around together with a spoon and enjoy!

Have a great weekend!

xx Ellie

Chiavocanana Smoothie

So I got acupuncture a few weeks ago. You know, the ancient Chinese medicine that involves getting needles stuck into you? Yeah, that acupuncture.

My right upper arm and shoulder were really bugging me because I was overusing them in tennis. So, I got acupuncture  (and cupping, and scraping, and massage therapy) from an amazing acupuncturist my mom knows from yoga! The needle part was fine because I closed my eyes so I didn’t see them. It hurt when she adjusted the needles, but by the end of the hour-long session my arm felt better. I was also really tired, since my body was using lots of energy to heal.

So what does acupuncture have to do with this smoothie recipe?

I talked all about my health, my diet, and my lifestyle with the acupuncturist. She went to school for acupuncture and is a guru when it comes to health and wellness! She told me that I was eating too much sugar and not enough healthy fats and proteins. She gave me the idea for this smoothie! She told me that 2 bananas is too much sugar for a smoothie and that I needed to add healthy protein and fats into a smoothie in order to make it a meal. So that’s what I did.

This smoothie is creamy thanks to the avocado and banana, sweet thanks to the berries and the banana, rich in protein and healthy fats thanks to the chia seeds and avocado, and overall a super nutritious and filling smoothie! It also tastes good, but isn’t that a given!?

a.k.a. chia avocado banana smoothie

serves 1

• 1 cup nondairy milk (I love almond milk)
• 1 frozen banana
• 8 frozen strawberries
• 2 cups kale (or another leafy green)
• 1/4 or 1/2 avocado
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Throw everything in a blender and blend, baby, blend!

Have a great weekend!

xx Ellie

Bear Bowl

I LOVE smoothies. They’re the bomb diggity and I don’t think I can put into words how much I adore them. Especially if they have peanut butter in them. Peanut butter = happiness, world peace, unicorns, and everything else that’s super great. I also heart cute smoothies. Can food BE cute? I think so.

For lunch today, I enjoyed a cute, peanut butter-y smoothie. It was cute because I made it into an “animal” smoothie bowl. I’m obsessed with fun smoothie bowls! Today’s smoothie animal was a bear. Real bears are actually scary. However, teddy bears and the bear emoji, which are what I based this smoothie on, are pretty darn cute.

This smoothie would be so fun to make for a creative weekend breakfast for kids, in celebration of an upcoming camping trip, or just because it’s cute and yummy!

SERVES 1

GRASS: 1 frozen banana, a huge handful of spinach, and a splash of almond milk. Blend and pour into a bowl.

BEAR face base: a frozen banana blended with 2 big spoonfuls of peanut butter and a bit of almond milk. Blend and pour on top of the “grass” in a bear face shape (an oval-shaped head and 2 dots for ears).

ears: cut a strawberry (fresh or frozen) in ½ and top each “ear” with a strawberry half.

eyes: 2 blueberries

nose: strawberry

muzzle / whisker area: cacao nibs

mouth: a raisin shaped into a smile

Assemble and enjoy!

xx Ellie

Bunny Bowl

The only bunny I’ll ever eat… is a bunny made out of fruit!

This smoothie bowl LOOKS like a bunny, but it’s not! April Fool’s! 

Enjoy this bunny smoothie bowl with a side of sunshine, nice weather, fragrant flowers, and the chirping of birds! Happy spring (FINALLY!)

SERVES 1

GRASS: 1 frozen banana, a handful of spinach, a spoonful of nut butter, and a splash of almond milk. Blend and pour into a bowl.

BUNNY face base: a few frozen strawberries blended with a banana and a bit of almond milk. Blend and pour on top of the “grass” in a bunny shape (a circle-shaped head and lines for ears).

ears: a slather of nut butter

eyes: 2 blueberries

nose: strawberry (cut in half)

whiskers: a baby carrot chopped into little lines

mouth: a few cacao nibs shaped into a smile

Assemble and enjoy!

Happy spring, and happy almost Easter!

xx Ellie

Caramel Nice Cream

It’s not a secret: I LOVE banana ice cream. Banana ice cream, nana ice cream, and nice cream all mean the same thing: frozen bananas blended in a blender to create a healthy-yet-delicious treat. Nana ice cream is a miracle. I’ve been eating it every day this past week because I just can’t get enough! It’s okay because it’s a healthy addiction. Riiiight??? Here is the nana ice cream I had this morning. I had to share it because it was just so delicious!

serves 1

• 2 frozen bananas
• 1-2 tablespoons nondairy milk
• 2 tablespoons white chocolate peanut butter
• 2-3 tablespoons caramel (recipe below)
• a handful of walnuts

Add the bananas, milk, and peanut butter to a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend. If using a Vitamix, start at setting 1 and increase until the mixture is blended. Use the tamper to press down and mix the bananas. Add the “nice cream” to a bowl and mix in the caramel with a spoon. Top with a sprinkle of walnuts!

Caramel

• 17 dates
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 2 Tablespoons almond butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend dates in a food processor. When they’re tiny chunks, add the other ingredients. Blend and enjoy! This makes a lot of caramel, and I only used a few tablespoons on the nice cream. You can dip apples and other fruit into the rest of it, or you can make caramel apple pie!

ENJOY the glorious miracle of nana ice cream.If you’ve never made it before, RUN (not walk) to your blender and make it STAT!

xx Ellie

The Only Fish I’ll Ever Eat

…is a fish made out of fruit!

I took the ACT today. The ACT is a timed standardized university placement test and it’s 4+ hours long. It consists of 5 sections: writing, mathematics, reading, science, and an essay prompt. It’s grueling, and needless to say, I was exhausted after 4 hours of filling in bubbles.

I made a smoothie bowl after I finished to cheer myself up. But not just any smoothie bowl: a picture smoothie bowl! I decided to depict my goldfish, who was only supposed to live for a week, but instead lived for 9+ years! Has anyone else had a fish that lived that long?

This is also the only “fish” that I’ll ever eat (since I’m vegan and all). It’s made of a mix of frozen peaches and strawberries and is much yummier than I remember fish tasting. Enjoy!

Fish Bowl Smoothie Bowl

serves 1

WATER: 1 frozen banana*, a handful of blueberries, a handful of spinach, and a splash of almond milk. Blend and pour into a bowl.

FISHY: a handful of frozen peach slices and 2 strawberries blended with a bit of water. Blend and pour on top of water. Mold into a fish shape.

fisheye: a blueberry

seaweed: spinach

sand: coconut flakes and lucama (for a pretty golden color)

bubbles: raw jungle peanuts

Smile today!

xx Ellie

*I love bananas! They’re so good for you too- check out these healthy facts about bananas (from “Well-Being Secrets”) to learn more about them. What are your favorite banana recipes? Here are a bunch of yummy ones for you to peruse!

Green and White Smoothie

I’m secretly a granola-loving hippie. I love it in cookies, with nondairy milk, on top of smoothies, and by the handful!

Below is a smoothie recipe that pairs very well with Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola. Crunchy pumpkin and flax seeds, chewy rolled oats, and puffed brown rice makes it oh so yummy!

Green & White Smoothie

• 1 cup homemade almond milk
• 3 frozen bananas
• 1 cup spinach
• white chocolate peanut butter from ALDI (seasonal item) or Peanut Butter Co.
• a pinch of cinnamon

It’s topped with unsweetened coconut and Pumpkin Flax granola. However, you can top it with whatever granola you want! Yum!

I used homemade almond milk in this smoothie. SO FRESH, GUYS.

Dig in!

xx Ellie

Peanut butter chocolate chunk ice cream (vegan)

I’ve never reblogged anything before, but I just have to share this INCREDIBLE looking chocolate peanut butter “ice cream” with you! It looks so yummy and it’s easy to make! All you have to do is pour some coconut milk into ice cube makers and freeze the ice cubes. Once they’re frozen, you pop them out into a blender. Add peanut butter, chocolate, dates, and vanilla, and blend! It’s a simple, healthy, and delicious way to make ice cream with my favorite food combination in the universe! Hooray for whoever thought to combine chocolate and peanut butter and hooray for Emma from http://www.myupbeetlife.com for creating this recipe!
Enjoy!
xx Ellie

Craving Nature

There are few better food marriages than peanut butter and chocolate. And there is no better ordained minister than ice cream to bring them together for this holy matrimony. And there are no objections here today so no one has to forever hold their peace. Damn this is good. 

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