Green Smoothies, Raw Recipes & The World's Best Brussel Sprouts

I recently read some of The Boutenkos' books, and since then have been chuggin' lots of GREEN smoothies. Personally I find the 7+ ingredient smoothie recipes out there to be way to labour intensive and time consuming. You can easily get the same amount of healthy, nutritious, chlorophyll rich and alkaline greeny goodness from a few simple ingredients. Just remember to mix it up a little (don't eat the same greens everyday). And if the thought of a green smoothie turns your stomach, just try one - you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Raw Vegan Green Smoothie:

• 2 handfuls of greens
• 1 cup of filtered water
• 1 handful of fresh or frozen fruit

Simple, eh? Throw it all in a blender and mix until smooth and creamy. Here are some of the greens I like to use:

• Spinach
• Kale
• Parsley
• Bok Choy
• Arugula (rocket)
• Dandelion greens
• Romaine lettuce

There's rumours that eating raw green smoothies regularly can reverse grey hair (which have been popping up on my head since I was 16), so I'll report back in a few months and let you know if that's true.
Here's what else I've been chowing on:

Raw To-Go Lunch

This quick and easy lunch is 1 carrot, 1 parsnip and 1/2 cucumber cut with my julienne peeler. The dressing is a splash of cold-pressed sesame oil, Bragg's and sea salt. I washed it all down with a tetra pack of O.N.E. coconut water (yum!)

Raw Cinny Cereal

I've blogged about this raw cereal before, but this one is made with banana cinnamon "milk" instead of a nut based one. Simply toss a banana, some water and a dash of ground cinnamon in the blender. The cereal is a cut up LARAbar, fresh strawberries and pumpkin seeds.

4 Ingredients Raw Chocolate Candies

I was soooOooo excited when I found this recipe for raw candies on Raw Goddess Heathy's blog. I had seen Ani Phyo (and others) making raw candies using raw cacao butter. I've never seen raw cacao sold anywhere near here, and to my dismay there don't ship Ani's raw chocolate making kits to Canada. But this recipe doesn't require cacao butter at all!

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, gently melted in a double boiler
• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• 2-4 tablespoons agave (or maple syrup)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (alcohol-free of course)

Using a double boiler, gently heat the coconut oil until melted. Add in the rest of the ingredients and whisk until combined. Transfer the mixture into a measuring cup with a spout. Pour the liquid into candy moulds (or alternatively you can also dip fruit into the chocolate). Put in the fridge for 4-5 hours or until firm. The candies will pop right out of the moulds and into your mouth!

OPTIONAL ADD-INS: raw nuts, dried fruits or other alcohol-free extracts (mint might be nice).

Lastly, I recently tried a non-raw recipe by Jennifer McCann that was unbelievable! I just had to share. Jennifer is the author of Vegan Lunch Box and Vegan Lunch Box Around the World. I used a fresh branch of brussels sprouts that I picked up at my local farmer's market (see photo below). The freshness of the sprouts definitely takes this dish from great to "world's best".

 
The World's Best Brussels

• 1 lb. fresh Brussels sprouts, cleaned, trimmed
• 2 TB olive oil
• salt to taste
• ¾ cup vegetable stock or water
• 2 TB brown sugar
• 2 TB apple cider vinegar
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a sauté pan or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the Brussels sprouts and sprinkle with salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the sprouts are turning golden, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add ½ cup of the stock or water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered with a lid left slightly ajar, until the Brussels sprouts are almost completely tender and the stock or water has been cooked away, about 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the last ¼ cup of stock or water, the sugar, and the apple cider vinegar. Cook at a lively simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to a syrup, about 5 minutes. Taste for salt and season with pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature.