GREEN Cookie Dough Smoothie

Holy crap this green smoothie was SO GOOD..life changing, really. I make smoothies every morning for my fiance and I, and this morning I decided to take a walk on the wild side and try something new. Well, if you couldn't tell, the result was ahhhmazing. This recipe was adapted from Green Thickies and yields one serving.

What you need...

• 1 cup almond milk
• 3 dates, pitted
• 1 banana
• 1 cup spinach or kale
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

How to make it...

1. Pour the almond milk into a blender, add the dates, and blend until smooth.
2. Add the bananas to the blender and blend until smooth.
3. Add all the other ingredients except for the spinach and, yepp you guessed it, blend until smooth.
4. Add spinach and blend until smooth.
5. ENJOY!

The recipe was so sweet and filling, it was the perfect Friday morning treat. I can see myself making this for dessert in the future. Give it a try, YOU WON'T BE SORRY. K, byeeee.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

I was walking around the grocery store yesterday trying to decide what I was going to have for dinner. I ended up grabbing portobello mushrooms thinking I could try and make a WLC-compliant version of stuffed mushrooms. I had no idea what I was doing when I started, but holy crap, the result was magical. I was cooking for one, so this recipe only serves one. Double, triple, or even quadruple the recipe as needed!

What you need...

• 1 portobello mushrooms


• premium pork or turkey sausage roll (I cut off a 1 inch piece, equivalent to approximately two sausage patties.)


• a big handful of spinach


• 1 egg


• 2 tsp flour (I used coconut flour)


• 2 tablespoons tomato sauce


• 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

How to make it...

Preheat the oven for 400 degrees. Clean the mushroom with a damp cloth, remove the stem, and  spoon out the gills. Spray both sides of the mushroom with olive oil (I suggest you invest in one of these). Place on a baking sheet gill side down and bake for 10 mins. Remove from oven, flip the mushroom so gill side is up, and set aside.



While the mushroom is baking, brown the sausage in large skillet over medium heat. Once the sausage is cooked all the way through (no more pink), drain the grease and remove from heat. While the skillet is still hot, throw in a handful of spinach and toss it around - it will wilt quickly. Pour the sausage/spinach into a bowl and mix in the red pepper flakes, egg, and flour.



Top the mushroom with all of the sausage mixture. Place in the oven and bake for 10 mins.


Once the mushroom is done baking, turn the oven to broil and leave it in for 5 mins or until browned (just keep an eye on it...no one wants to burn this yumminess).



Top with tomato sauce and DESTROY THAT SHROOM.



Oh my lord it was so good. Try it, you won't be sorry. K, byeeeee.

Sautéed Greens with Pine Nuts & Rasins

As I mentioned before, my friend Sara and I are participating in the WLC together. She is actually the person who introduced me to the idea and, three days prior to the challenge, I made the hasty decision to join her...silly me. ANYWAY, I'll turn it over to Sara now.....

It was day two of Whole Life Challenge and I needed to find a paleo-friendly side dish to go with london broil. My kale was about to go bad, so I knew I wanted to use it, but I also wanted something more exciting than just sauteing it with garlic. After spotting some leftover pine nuts in my fridge, I turned to google to for inspiration and came up with this recipe - sautéed kale and spinach with pine nuts and rasins. It is easy to make and the raisins are amazing in this dish!

Ingredients:

2 tbps olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
bunch of kale
1 cup spinach
3 tbps pine nuts
1/4 cup raisins

Directions:

Step 1: Heat a large saute pan to medium-high heat and add the pine nuts. Toast them until they are fragrant and begin to brown, but make sure to pay attention as pine nuts burn easily. Stir the nuts frequently. Once they are toasted, remove from pan and set aside.

Step 2: Add the olive oil to the pan and swirl it around. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds; the pan should already be hot, so it won't take long for the garlic to begin to brown. Add the spinach and kale and saute until the greens begin to wilt. Once they do, add the pine nuts back in, along with the raisins. Stir for about another minute or so and then remove from heat.

For those of you that haven't jumped on the kale train - you are missing out! Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat and it comes with a ton of benefits. Just to name a few, kale aids in detoxification and weight loss, strengthens your immune system, gives you healthier hair, skin and nails and is an anti-inflammatory. Plus, it is a winter green so now is the time to get it!

.....I actually have not jumped on the kale train with Sara, but seeing how this dish looks super easy AND delicious, count me in. I will be buying kale the next time I'm at the store...and you should, too! K, byeeee.