'Tis the Season to Eat, Be Merry and Drink A Gingerbread Smoothie!

Gingerbread Smoothie

Gingerbread Smoothie

It’s December and the holidays are in full swing!  It’s the most wonderful time of year! It’s also the time of the year and the season when most of us get a little out of control with our eating and drinking habits and binge on all kinds of heavy hors d’oeuvres, confectionary treats, and cocktails because we’re at more social functions whether it be a work party or Christmas or other holiday parties.  People seem to get in the baking mood as well and bring all kinds of goodies to the office.  It’s also MY birthday month (December 12th if you wanna sing to me or send a colorful balloon bouquet) and I have several celebrations throughout the month.

Now, I’m not going to tell you to NOT indulge a little because after all... it IS the holidays and it only comes around once a year.  However, if you don’t want to have to make that typical New Year’s Resolution of “losing weight” and “getting back in shape” it’s a good idea not to get too crazy.  

With my friend Jeffrey at my 12/12/12 birthday dinner
at the Brown Derby at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

As I mentioned, December is my birthday month and I have a lot of friends that I like to celebrate with throughout the month and we usually get together for dinners or lunches so what I usually try to do is balance things out.  For example, the other night my friend Jeffrey took me to dinner at the Brown Derby.  I had a flight of martinis which were three small drinks that probably was equivalent to one VERY large martini drink (delicious). We both ordered the Blue Jumbo Lump Crab Spring Rolls which are fried as an appetizer.  Umm... AHH-MAZING!  We both ordered the appetizer size Cobb Salad as our entree and I ordered mine without the turkey and bacon since I don’t eat meat, but it had LOTS of really yummy blue cheese and fresh avocado!  And of course because it was my birthday we HAD to have dessert!  The server recommended the Banana White Chocolate Toffee Tower, which I ordered and it was as decadent, rich and delicious as it sounds!  

Now because I had such a rich and fattening dinner, the next day I balanced things out: I ate light and worked out.  I had a green smoothie for breakfast, fresh cut veggies (broccoli, zucchini, celery, carrots) for lunch, sweet potato hummus as a snack and miso soup with two veggie spring rolls (made by my mom) for dinner.  Okay, well the veggie spring rolls were fried but I only had two and I ate so light the whole day I didn’t feel bad about it.

Anyway, according to the Book of Donna it’s okay to indulge a little during the holidays... just make sure to balance things out and not go crazy for EVERY meal and continue to exercise. OR... you can try having my delicious Gingerbread Smoothie when you’re craving something sweet!  It’s like having a gingerbread cookie in the form of a delicious, healthy smoothie!  And in case you didn’t know, ginger has many great qualities about it.  It has anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties and is great for treating nausea.  

Benefits of Ginger - found this on Health & Organic Wellbeing's
Facebook page.  Like their page - they have great info!

Fresh Ginger

What's a Gingerbread Smoothie without a little gingerbread man?

Gingerbread Smoothie - Delicious!

This recipe I created is great and the raw cashews make it nice and thick that it seems like a milkshake and makes you feel like you’re having a dessert!  So if you’re craving something a little sweet, but want to have a “healthy” treat - try my Gingerbread Smoothie!  

The ingredients for Gingerbread Smoothie.

If you don't have a good protein supplement
try adding vanilla yogurt.  I love using
So Delicious Vanilla.

What’s your favorite food or drink to indulge in during the holidays?  Iced sugar cookies? Hot cheesy dips? Festive colorful cocktails?  Tell me!  And I’ll sit back and fantasize about them while I enjoy my healthy, guilt-free Gingerbread Smoothie. Please let me know if you try this recipe and what you think! Hope you have a happy holiday season!  

Gingerbread Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2” Fresh Ginger, peeled

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Ground Ginger

1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1 Banana, frozen *see tip

1 cup Almond milk (or milk of choice)

1-2 Tbsp Black Strap Molasses

8 Raw Cashews

1-2 Scoops Vanilla Protein Powder ***OR***

3oz Vanilla Yogurt (I used So Delicious non-dairy)

4-6 Ice Cubes

Directions:

Place all ingredients in blender (I used my NutriBullet) and mix until blended. Sprinkle with more cinnamon or nutmeg if you wish.

Tips:

*The key to making the “perfect” smoothie is having the right amount of frozen items whether it be the fruit or ice and liquid.  You may need to add more milk or ice depending on how thick you prefer the consistency of your smoothie to be.

*Use EITHER the protein powder OR yogurt, but not both at the same time.  I use a plant-based/vegan protein (brown rice and pea protein) that I buy from my chiropractor who created his own formula and sells it at his practice here in the Central Florida area.  It is the most amazing and best tasting plant-based protein supplement I’ve come across, but is not available on-line yet so I created the yogurt version which is So Delicious!  I always switch up how I make my smoothies so I don’t get bored with them.  I like to use the So Delicious brand because it’s non-dairy, soy free, has no GMOs and taste “so delicious” just like their name!

*I always freeze my bananas ahead of time so they are ready for smoothies.  Check out my Pinterest board for instructions on how to freeze them - this method also works with other fruit (I’ve used it for papaya and pineapple). http://pinterest.com/TheBookofDonna/great-tips/

Sweet Potato Smoothie

Sweet Potato Smoothie

My friends who know me know I love my smoothies!  I started making and drinking smoothies several years ago when I was working out with a personal trainer because it was a great way to get my protein after a workout.  Now, because I don’t eat meat it’s also a great way to get my protein using plant-based sources.  (See why I’m a “cheating vegetarian” on my previous post.)  http://thebookofdonna.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-im-cheating-vegetarian.html  I usually have a smoothie at least once a day - either as breakfast or as my post-workout recovery drink so I'm always experimenting with different combinations and flavors to keep from being bored.  

I try to eat healthy as much as possible and a staple food in my diet is sweet potatoes.  I love them because they are naturally sweet and taste good!  It’s one of the things I can eat without putting any condiments on - YES, I like eating sweet potatoes NAKED - not me naked, the sweet potatoes!  Sweet potatoes are a good source of fiber, calcium, potassium and beta-carotene.  So while I do love a regular baked potato every once in awhile, I almost always will choose a baked sweet potato because of the nutritional value.

My no-longer-smelly dog, Hershey!

Sweet potatoes are also very inexpensive and the shelf life on them are longer than other produce, which makes them easy to keep stocked in your pantry.  AND I bet you didn’t know this!  If you have dogs that have odor issues, add a couple of heaping tablespoons of cooked sweet potato (I usually use baked) to their regular dog food and that bad doggy smell will be gone almost instantly!  Okay, not instantly - it takes a day or so to start working, but it really does work!  My female Springer Spaniel, Hershey was having some doggie odor issues several months ago.  Bathing didn’t help - she’d start smelling icky about an hour after having a bath and it wasn’t her teeth or breath either.  We even took her to the vet and had her checked out, but they couldn’t find any reason she was having this issue, but it was breaking my heart because her foul odor made it pretty much intolerable to be near her!   I searched for a natural remedy to fix this issue and yes, discovered feeding her sweet potatoes did the trick!  Here is the link to the website where I found the information about dog odor remedies:   http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/dog_odor.html Both of my dogs LOVE it and it's good for them!  A lot of high quality dog food contain sweet potato!

The ingredients - you don't have to use frozen sweet potato puree.

Anyway, sweet potatoes are great and if you like them you might want to try my sweet potato smoothie recipe!  I use sweet potato puree that I have previously frozen and keep stored in the freezer, but you don’t necessarily have to use frozen.  You can just use cold sweet potato that has been baked - so this is great if you ever have left over sweet potatoes.  Let me know if you try it and what you think!

This is what it looks like in my NutriBullet.

Soak raw nuts for 6-8 hours to activate the enzymes.

Use a good quality yogurt - I like So Delicious because
it's dairy free and vegan, but you can use your favorite.
I just encourage you to read the label and find one
you like that doesn't have artificial sweeteners or corn syrup.

Sweet Potato Smoothie

Ingredients:

3 cubes Sweet Potato puree, frozen OR 1/2 cup cold sweet potato

               *see link below for instructions on how to make the puree

1/3 Banana, frozen

3 oz Vanilla yogurt (I used So Delicious) *see tip

1 cup Milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)

1/4 cup Water *it depends on how thick you want your smoothie

1 Tbsp Walnuts, raw *see tip

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract *see tip

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Pinch Nutmeg

2-4 Ice Cubes *depends on how thick you like your smoothie

Directions:

Place all items in blender (I used my NutriBullet) and mix until blended - you can use your blender.

*Tip:  If you're not using puree and using cold sweet potato, you may need to add a little more milk or water, depending on how you like the consistency.
*Tip:  When using raw nuts of any kind, soak in water for 6-8 hours.  This activates the enzymes.

*Tip:  Sometimes I use1 scoop of a plant-based vanilla protein when I make my smoothies, but the brand I use is not available commercially yet unless you live locally in Central Florida.  If you use vanilla protein, you may need to "play" with the liquids and ice for desired consistency, either adding more or less milk or ice.

Link for instructions on making sweet potato puree:  http://thebookofdonna.blogspot.com/2012/11/sweet-potato-puree.html

22 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 14 - A Cup of Coffee

Every day from now until Thanksgiving I will be sharing something I am thankful for.

Day 14:
This morning I am thankful for the simple pleasure of a cup of coffee. I love mornings when I don't have to rush out of the house and can enjoy and savor a good hot cup of coffee or tea. A lot of the times we all rush around because of our busy lives, but I always think its important to appreciate and be grateful for the small things like this that we often don't even give a second thought unless we just need a "jolt" to get our day started. As I try to do each time I eat to drink anything, I try to enjoy the taste and flavor of every drop and morsel and appreciate where it came from and how it got to my table or kitchen. I am thankful for my cup of coffee.

Mmm...A hot cup of coffee with So Delicious dairy free creamer.

Pumpkin Granola Buckwheat Pancakes

Like a lot of people during the fall season, I get just a little obsessed with everything pumpkin!  (See my previous post from October 13, 2012 on “Pumpkin Season”)  http://thebookofdonna.blogspot.com/2012/10/pumpkin-season-pumpkin-pie-smoothie.html  Whether it’s at the coffee shop, the Yankee Candle store, or the bakery I want to devour myself in ALL things pumpkin throughout the fall season!

So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk
It's dairy free so its great for those who are
lactose intolerant!

So when my Whole Foods finally started carrying the So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk, you can imagine how excited I was!  I believe I actually started doing the “happy dance” right there in the store!  I know I probably got a few looks from other customers, but it’s no different than when I’m in my car so I just do my dance and go about my business.

I use So Delicious products all the time - I love their  vegan “ice cream” and I use their coffee creamers.  They have a vanilla and hazelnut flavor coffee creamer, but I have missed the seasonal flavors that come out during the holidays.  However, even though I miss the seasonal flavors, I can’t get myself to drink them anymore because of all the nasty ingredients they contain that I try to keep out of my diet.  Sooooo... back to the Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk.  If you know me, you know I love food and I’m someone who isn’t afraid to experiment with recipes.  The So Delicious carton has a recipe on it for pancakes and while I’m sure it’s very good I wanted to make my own version!  I’m big on texture when eating so I prefer granola pancakes over regular pancakes because I feel like the oats gives it more bite.  And I love buckwheat so I thought I’d try making Pumpkin Granola Buckwheat Pancakes and WHO’DA THUNK???  They were so amazing that I knew I had to share the recipe immediately!

These are the ingredients I used (those aren't real pumpkins - they're actually candles).

I ate my pancakes with just a little bit of (real) organic maple syrup that I heated up so it was nice and warm and I cannot even begin to describe how happy it made my my belly!  Do yourself a favor and get yourself some REAL maple syrup and DON’T waste your money or tastebuds on that fake corn syrup stuff!  It’s nasty and not good for you and is a pain to clean up - plus maple syrup tastes so good!

I used a little ladle to easy pouring for the batter.

You'll know they're ready to flip when
the edges of your pancakes look "dry".

Beautiful golden brown pancakes!

You know you want to make these!

The first time I made these pancakes I used an egg, but I made it the second time using EnerG Egg Replacer to make it was vegan.  Honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference in the taste, but you can make it whichever way you decide and let me know what you think!  According to the Book of Donna, if you like pumpkin - you’ll want to eat these pancakes every morning for breakfast!

So delicious with a little warm maple syrup!

Pumpkin Granola Buckwheat Pancakes

Makes about 9 dollar size (5") pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Buckwheat Pancake Mix

1/3 cup Rolled Oats

1/3 cup Pumpkin Puree

1/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 cup So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk

2 tsp Safflower Oil *you can also use canola oil

1 Egg, beaten OR 1 serving EnerG Egg Replacer for Vegan Version

Directions:

1. Mix buckwheat, rolled oats together in a medium bowl.  
2. Add Pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk, safflower oil and egg OR egg replacer if making vegan version.  
3. Whisk together until completely combined.  
4. Heat griddle on medium heat and lightly spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle - cook for about 2-3 minutes, depending on your stove top.  The way you’ll know your pancakes are ready to flip is the edges will start to look “dry”.  I always use a spatula and carefully peek under the edge before flipping to make sure they’re ready to flip.
6. Flip and cook other side for about 1-2 minutes.  Enjoy with warm maple syrup.

*Tip:  When I’m making a BIG batch of pancakes, I pre-heat my oven to 200-250 degrees and place the pancakes on a pan in the oven to keep them warm until I’m ready to serve them.  This way, they’re all nice and warm when you’re ready to serve!  

*Also, you can make a large batch and freeze the leftover pancakes!  They re-heat really well and taste just as good as the day you originally made them!  Just put them in a plastic zip-loc bag and put them in the freezer - reheat in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or in the microwave.

*For a variation, you may want to try adding some chopped walnuts or pecans either directly into the pancake batter, or top off your pancake with the nuts.

Let me know what you make these and what you think - tweet me or comment on my Facebook page.  Have a great day!

PUMPKIN SEASON: Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Some people say “fall” while others like to call it “autumn”.  Well, because I always associate everything with food - I call it “pumpkin season”!

Living in central Florida, we don’t experience the change of seasons like most parts of the United States.  It stays warm here most of the year, however, around the end of September and beginning of October, the weather does change and become less humid and the temperatures are more mild.  When discussing seasons, Floridians can often be heard saying we have “summer and a cooler summer”! However, most of my childhood was spent in Virginia so I grew up experiencing the change of seasons and I have great memories of playing in the mounds of leaves my dad raked into piles in the yard.  And as I grew into adulthood my favorite fashion season has always been the fall because I have always loved wearing boots and scarves.

With my granddaughter and the
"lumpy" pumpkin.

Of course, as I said before, I associate everything with food!   Some of my most fond memories are of meals my parents cooked growing up, of good times I’ve had with friends over dinner, or traveling somewhere and experiencing the cuisine of the region.  So of course when thinking of the fall or autumn season, I think of pumpkins and then of course, everything I’ve ever eaten that has pumpkin in it!

My oldest granddaughter at the
pumpkin patch in Alabama.  Yes, she
loves pumpkins, too!

Before I go on, I'd like to share this story about a good friend of mine named Jane (her name has actually been changed for her protection).  We’ve been friends for about 15 years ever since we worked together.  We have been on several vacations together over the years, I’ve held her babies when they were teeny-tiny munchkins, we live close to each other so we have keys to each others’ houses and I consider her to be a good and close friend.  Jane supposedly has this amazing secret family recipe for Pumpkin Cookies that are so incredible people call them “legendary”!  However, I have come to the conclusion that they are more of a tall tale because I have yet to taste a single morsel of these infamous Pumpkin Cookies.  I now believe she only bakes the cookies for people she doesn’t really like (because remember, we are good friends, at least in my mind) or I must have made them up in a fantasy involving pumpkin baked goods.  If you haven't figured it out yet, I continually tease my friend about these cookies and will continue to do so until I taste them!

Anyway, because I’ve been obsessing about those Pumpkin Cookies and haven’t found a recipe the looks like what I remember Jane describing them to be like, I decided to divert my attention to other pumpkin recipes and created a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie!  And this recipe is too good NOT to share!  This smoothie is so delicious and reminds me so much of pumpkin pie that I may opt for this as my breakfast on Thanksgiving morning!  

PUMPKIN PIE SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:

1/2 cup  Organic Pumpkin Pie Mix (or 2 cubes frozen)*see tip

1/3            Frozen Banana

4               Dates *see tip

1 cup        Almond milk (or milk of choice)

1/2 cup     Cold water

1 scoop    Vanilla Protein Powder OR 3 oz Vanilla Yogurt *see tip

1 tsp          Maple Syrup (optional)

pinch         Pumpkin Pie Spice

6               Ice Cubes

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Mix all ingredients in blender.  (I used my NutriBullet.)  If you like, you can sprinkle additional pumpkin pie spice on smoothie.

*Tip:  I froze my pumpkin pie mix in ice cube trays ahead of time, then just popped two cubes out when I was ready to make my smoothie.  This isn’t necessary, but I find that you won’t need to use as much ice if you freeze the pumpkin.

*Tip:  Soak dates in water for at least 30 minutes.   Simply place dates in bowl and cover with water.  I actually just have dates in a plastic container in the refrigerator.  so they’re ready for use whenever I need them.  I got this tip from Chocolate Covered Katie, a vegan dessert blogger I follow.  Here’s a link to her website if you want to follow her.  She has really great dessert recipes that are both tasty AND healthy!

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/

*Tip:  If you don’t want to go out and buy pumpkin pie spice, you can just use cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. 
*Tip: If you are using vanilla yogurt in your smoothie, you may need to use less liquid (milk) and add more ice, depending on how you like the consistency of your smoothie.  Use your favorite yogurt, but I encourage you to use one that is not full of artificial ingredients.  I like So Delicious Vanilla because it's dairy free and really is "so delicious"!

Keep dates soaked in water in plastic container so they're
ready to use and freeze pumpkin in ice cubes trays then
store in plastic storage bags in the freezer.

I like So Delicious Vanilla yogurt because
it's dairy free and vegan.  

I hope you enjoy this smoothie recipe.  According to the Book of Donna, if you like pumpkin, this is like having pumpkin pie in the form of a delicious and healthy smoothie!  What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe?  Do you have a friend who has a secret family recipe they’ve never shared that you’re dying to get your hands on?