The Very Berry Spinach Smoothie

What happens when fresh, local strawberries and spinach from The Veggie Bin meet frozen blueberries picked from Jacksonville's Cardui Organic Farms? Well, here's one possible result:

"It tastes like ice cream," my husband said upon taking his first sip. Moments later, I heard all the slurping going on. Good to the last drop! My teen drank his out of a 12oz mason jar that was filled to the top, so this was one of those treats enjoyed by the whole family!

In blender, put:

~ strawberries, approx. 7 (I leave the green stems on for the iron. Once everything blends up, you can never tell they were even there. If you're using this week's strawberries from The Veggie Bin, do save some to eat whole. Mmm, they are fresh and yummy! I really considered not blending them because of how delicious they taste as is!)

~ frozen blueberries, approx. 1 cup

~ spinach, a couple handfuls (I used the The Veggie Bin's spinach and gathered a nice size handful from the bigger bunch.)

~ water, 1 1/2 - 2 cups depending on the consistency you want

~ honey, to taste (I used The Veggie Bin's local honey.)

~ optional: ice

Blend well. Perhaps pop a straw in your glass, and enjoy your very berry spinach smoothie with honey!

Yummy!

Smiles,

Penny

What's in this Green Smoothie?

This morning, on Facebook, a friend asked: "Penny, what are in the amazing Green Smoothies you made me? My mornings are all smiles and energy the last 2 days. Plus they are DELISHIOUS. :)"

Here's the recipe. (I also posted it on Saturday along with some other raw food creations I made that day.)

For the smoothie, in the blender, put:

~Kale, about 4 - 5 (or more) of your kale leaves from your this week's veggie bin. Simply break in half or thirds to get the leaves to fit in your blender container.

~ Parsley, small handful. A little parsley will go a long way.

~ Banana, 3 - 4...depends on the sweetness and smoothie consistency you want. (If you use bananas you've frozen, this can serve as your "ice" if you want a cold smoothie.

~ Lemon Juice..from 1/2 of a lemon

~ Coconut Oil, approx. 1 tablespoon. Again, I use this brand. Delicious!

~ Water, approx. 2 cups

~ Optional ~ Honey, approx. 1 tablespoon. The honey serves to provide a tad more sweetness if you desire it. (I used local honey supplied by The Veggie Bin.)

In blender, add all ingredients above and blend well. You should end up with a very smooth, somewhat thick consistency. Use fewer bananas or more water if you want a thinner consistency.

Enjoy...

Penny

HoneyBell Oranges Galore

Heaven rained Honeybell Oranges down on my family!!! Thank you! Thank you! xoxo

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat." Genesis 1:29 KJV

Five of the oranges in the above bin filled up this glass...with a little left over.

Learn about these tasty oranges at http://www.honeybelloranges.net/.

"...You can’t hear or go through something about FL citrus without noticing the phrase Honeybell oranges. They are the sweetest, juiciest, and merely the very best..." ~Honeybell Oranges

Raw Food Creations from The Veggie Bin Stash

In yesterday's post, I talked about the amazingly tasty orange juice I juiced from The Veggie Bin. Today, I've been creating raw food for a friend who sent her bin home with me on Thursday. It has felt like art fun at my dining room table, and the bin from the Veggie Bin housed my "art supplies". :-)

So far, for this friend, I've created:

"Kohlrabi/Cauliflower Pâtés"...that can be turned into:

"Kohlrabi/Cauliflower Pâtés Boats" or "Stuffed Kale Leaves"
What's needed?

~ Kohlrabi. (I used approx. 3/4 of a whole kohlrabi in my veggie bin. Cut up and then drop chunks into food processor.)

~ Cauliflower, approx. half of a full head. Put chunks in food processor.

~ Parsley, a full handful

~ Green Onion, 1 leaf

~ Medjool Dates, approx. 6 or to taste (Be sure to remove the seed from each.)

~ Coconut Oil, approx. 1 1/2 tablespoons. I use this brand from Garden of Life.

~ Kale, as many leaves as "boats" you care to make

~ Optional ~ Sea Salt, to taste

~ Optional ~ Black Pepper, to taste

In food processor, chop-up kohlrabi and cauliflower. Add, parsley, green onion leaf, coconut oil, Medjool dates, sea salt and black pepper, if desired, and process again in food processor. The mixture will now take on more of a wet consistency that can be a dip, a spread, etc.

Fill your big kale leaves with your pâtés, and enjoy!

Green Smoothie

In blender, put:

~Kale, about 4 - 5 of your kale leaves from your this week's veggie bin. Simply break in half or thirds to get the leaves to fit in your blender container.

~ Parsley, small handful. A little parsley will go a long way.

~ Banana, 3 - 4...depends on the sweetness and smoothie consistency you want. (If you use bananas you've frozen, this can serve as your "ice" if you want a cold smoothie.

~ Lemon Juice..from 1/2 of a lemon

~ Coconut Oil, approx. 1 tablespoon. Again, I use this brand. Delicious!

~ Water, approx. 2 cups

~ Optional ~ Honey, approx. 1 tablespoon. The honey serves to provide a tad more sweetness if you desire it. (I used local honey supplied by The Veggie Bin.)

In blender, add all ingredients above and blend well. You should end up with a very smooth, somewhat thick consistency. Use fewer bananas or more water if you want a thinner consistency.

Cheers to your raw-food art!

Coming next: Kohlrabi/Cauliflower Tabouli

Juicing Fresh, Local Oranges from The Veggie Bin

Jan. 27, 2011

Cheers to week two of receiving my bin of local, seasonal, farm-fresh produce from The Veggie Bin in Jacksonville, FL. Now that I've picked up my bin that was delivered to Life's Journey Yoga & Wellness, well, all that's left to do is nourish myself and my family with the varied produce. One simple way to do that is to JUICE some of it, starting with the oranges tucked away in the bin of the day.

For this juicing adventure, all I have to do is peel the oranges...leaving as much as the white pith on them as possible...and then feed them through my juicer. In seconds, voilà, I'll have a glass of tasty orange juice up to my mouth!

"...By law, orange juice sold in cartons and bottles in the supermarket is pasteurized, a process that kills life-giving enzymes. .....because most of the vitamin C dissipates shortly after juice is made, many manufacturers add synthetic vitamin C to bolster the content. Still others add sugar for sweetening. None of this is necessary if you juice your own oranges.....What emerges is a thick, foamy drink with a heavenly creamy color." ~Jay Kordich in "The Juiceman's Power of Juicing"

By the way, if the orange juice doesn't turn out to be as sweet as you would like it to be, perhaps add the fresh juice of an apple or two to it (one of my son's favorites). Or, just stir in a little local honey or cinnamon in place of the apple. Smile at the life-giving enzymes you'll be feeding your body!

Happy Orange Juicin'...

Penny

Update: Jan. 28, 2011

To a friend of mine who also gets a bin from The Veggie Bin delivered to Life's Journey each week, I texted this note: "Just juiced oranges from bin. Only oranges....peel and juice...delicious! Wow! Took everything in me to share." LOL

Yes, the flavor of these juiced oranges was incredible. Seriously! Of course, the flavor can vary from orange to orange, but the orange juice from the oranges in my bin were certainly tasty.

In The Juiceman's Power of Juicing, Jay Kordich talks about how his mother used to squeeze fresh oranges, but he says it wasn't really juicing, because "she simply rotated the halved oranges on a reamer and pressed them in a squeezer." He explains that was simply "rubbing tissues against membranes and creating" what he calls "orange water. It may taste healthy," he says, "but has few of the health benefits of orange juice made in the juicer."

So just what is in orange juice other than the obvious vitamin C? Kordich's list also includes: "B complex, bioflavonoids, potassium, zinc and phosphorous. Orange juice "contains almost all of the oranges' food value," he writes. "Consumed pure, it is a perfect balance of nutrients."

Note: The orange juice I made (pictured above) was actually a little brighter in color than the picture shows.

Bottling Private Yoga Classes and A Twist on Holiday Shopping

After teaching yoga class this morning at Life's Journey Yoga & Wellness, I was "hugged," as usual, by the serenity of the studio. I got to thinking about my interest in wanting to schedule more private yoga classes (in addition to the group classes I enjoy teaching); I just love those special yoga-connections between teacher and student.

As I moved about the retail and office sections of the studio with my warming thoughts about one-on-one classes, this book -- The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice
-- caught my eye from a basket it was resting in. I flipped it open and landed on page xxvii of the Introduction. Then, this quote immediately captured my attention and served as a sign for me to grow more private yoga classes:

"...In yoga, the purpose is to bring some change, and the teacher is the reference point. You always remember what the teacher told you -- not what you read in the book or what he spoke in the class, but what he told YOU. You need the teacher, you need the intimacy. Yoga is intimate. There is no yoga between one and a million; yoga is between two -- the teacher and the student.......'In education the first requirement is the teacher, the second is the student. What should happen between them is learning. How it should happen is through the constant teaching of that which will be relevant to the student. That is education...'"

Later, back at home, while writing about this experience, I came across an old picture of Michelle, a Life's Journey yoga student and friend whom I've taught several private classes to! Michelle is pictured relaxing in Split pose (left) and Wide-Legged Forward Bend (below) during one of our one-on-one classes at the previous Life's Journey location. Hmmh, I'm thinking that stumbling upon Michelle's private-class pics on today of all days was yet another sign for me to get some more private classes going!

A Private or Semi-Private Yoga Class can make a great BIRTHDAY and/or HOLIDAY GIFT. Gift certificates are available at Life's Journey! Or, I can even come to you!!!


P.S. Prior to leaving the studio today, I picked up a copy of the November 2010 issue of natural awakenings magazine. It's "SIMPLE LIVING" theme and related article title -- "LESS STUFF More Happiness: How to Regain Your Authentic Self" -- caught my eye, as well as "TWISTS ON TRADITION: Three Festive Meatless Entrées." By the way, do check out The Vegan Muse for more "meatless" ideas.

Why not put a "twist on tradition" this year with a combination of some meatless dishes and reducing "stuff" shopping with "authentic-self/happiness" shopping, an amazing shopping experience that could very well be awaiting you on your yoga mat, privately or in a group class!

Happy Shopping! :-)

Penny
penny@bottlinghealth.com

Bottling Day 3 of Garden of Life's RAW Cleanse

If you read my yesterday's blog entry, you'll recall the high energy I felt yesterday. Adding on to what I previously shared, I also mowed the lawn in the afternoon in this HOT Florida weather and then went to a high-energy Zumba class that evening. Today is a new day, however, and my body is telling me to REST for the most part. I will be teaching a yoga class this evening, which can complement my take-it-easy feeling today. When we detox our organs, as is the case with this RAW cleanse, it's normal to have these feelings of needing to slow down. So, I will not fight this feeling but rather honor it...and feel blessed that I can.

Regarding Garden of Life's RAW Cleanse, I've previously given some details about the first two daily steps of the program:

1. RAW Cleanse Toxin Defense - Optimal Oral Health and Immune System Support

2. RAW Cleanse Organ Detox - Natural Detoxification of Organs and GI Tract

More info about step 3 is:

RAW Cleanse Digestion & Elimination -- Toxin Capture and Removal is the third and final step in the RAW Cleanse experience, helping to catch and hold undesirable compounds in the digestive tract and facilitate final transport from the body. Digestion & Elimination contains 800mg of RAW Food-Chelated magnesium to draw water into the colon for effective movement of intestinal bulk. RAW organic flax and chia seed act as bulking fibers to absorb toxins and pollutants while RAW organic coconut fiber facilitates intestinal flow and creates a positive microbial balance in the body." ~Garden of Life®