Mango Broccoli Green Smoothie

For those of you who don't know, I love a good green smoothie. You may have seen them on my instagram, but my little iPad camera just doesn't do nature's gifts justice! I feel like I will be testing out a lot more recipes with them since I am taking a month or so off of meat.

Why oh why? I know, Mike asked me the same question. Mainly, it's because I don't feel like I'm matching my food intake with my energy output. I had been having back problems for 4ish months, and slowly my activity levels were declining.  When I finally realized I wasn't a doctor and couldn't heal it myself, I went to see a physical therapist - they concluded I had herniated a disc in my lower back.

My activity levels went from playing volleyball a few times a week, yoga, weight training, and running, to nothing. Just last week I was told that I can walk on a treadmill with no incline...yay!!

Without exercise, I have been keeping a similar diet (just a little less because I'm not as hungry) - but I have been feeling heavy. Not gaining weight heavy, surprisingly enough I haven't gained anything, but weighted and clogged. I used to get that clean feeling after exercising, and now I just feel like everything is sitting so heavy within me because I'm not using it for anything.

So this is why I will be avoiding meat products, and sticking to mostly vegetables, fruits, eggs, and beans. If we were to put some sort of foodie label on it, I will be an ovo-vegetarian (vegetarian plus eating eggs). I already don't eat any dairy products because I have a milk allergy, so basically I am just getting rid of the meat from my current diet.

You just want the smoothie recipe already? Got it.

Gather these things:
*These are approximate measurements to my liking - always make sure you taste before you pour, and add to satisfy your tastebuds. 

- 2 cups of water
- heaping 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh mango
- 1/2 head of romaine
- 1 cup of kale
- 2ish cups broccoli
- lemon juice (I probably added 2-3 Tablespoons, but I didn't measure)

Directions:
- The order I like place things in the blender is as follows: liquids, easy to blend items (lettuces/greens), crunchy items (cabbages, raw beets, cruciferous veggies, etc),  fruits. I have found that placing the things that are easier to break down near the blades make for seamless blending, otherwise you are probably going to have those big crunchy things getting stuck.

 I ended up with this much broccoli left over, my smoothie was getting a little thicker than I normally like, so I just ate it as a pre-game to my smoothie :).

Thank god for my Vitamix. Broccoli is super fibrous and I'm not sure what other blender can make the silky smooth treat that this guy does. I don't plan to find out anytime soon either, I'm probably a Vitamix-lifer.

This recipe makes about 2 servings, depending on how big your glasses are. This one tastes like summer - I'm currently searching for all things that taste, feel, look, or remind me in some way of summer. This Cleveland winter is really beating me down!

Recipe name: Mango Broccoli Green Smoothie

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Trader Joe's - Mango Chunks (Frozen), 119 g (14 Pieces)	77	20	0	1	0	18
Broccoli - Raw, 150 g	51	10	1	4	50	3
Kale - Raw, 54 g	27	5	0	2	23	0
Fresh & Easy - Veggie - Romaine Fillets, 6.5 leaves (85g)	33	5	0	1	65	3
Total:	188	40	1	8	138	24
Per Serving:	94	20	1	4	69	12

Enjoy friends!

No-Bake Mint Chocolate Protein Bars

I derailed my protein bar train for awhile, but today it was time to get back on track. Why now? Well, mainly because I had purchased some protein powder and I couldn't bear to drink in a smoothie, so it had been sitting around gathering dust. It was too chalky for the minimal ingredients I normally include in my smoothies - so time to get creative!

It was the Garden of Life RAW protein powder, the original flavor. I had never bought it before and I normally buy vanilla flavored ones, but they only had original or chocolate. How bad could original be? Just add a little vanilla extract and I'll be good to go, right? Well, wrong. The lack of flavor combined with the VERY sandy texture just didn't cut it for my smoothies. So, today I re-purposed and put it into this no-bake protein bar.

No-Bake Mint Chocolate Protein Bars
If you make this according to my recipe, it will be vegan and dairy free.

Gather these things:
   Dry
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 cup almonds (or any nuts)
- 3/4 cup Garden of Life RAW protein powder (or protein powder can go here, but texture and amount of liquid will differ. If you use a whey or egg white protein powder, these will be paleo approved)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup puffed kamut (any puffed cereal will do, to make it gluten-free, try puffed rice)
   Wet
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1/4 cup almond milk (if you use a different protein powder, start with 2 Tbsp of milk and add as your mixture blends...this protein powder happens to need a little more liquid)

Directions:
- Line a pan with plastic wrap, I used a 7"x11" pan, but choose based on how many bars you want/how thick you want them.
- Put dates in food processor and blend until they are the size of dried beans.
- Add almonds and blend mixture until finely ground.
- Add all ingredients except puffed cereal. Blend until mixture forms into a sticky ball.
- Dump mixture into a mixing bowl and added puffed cereal. Mix with hands until incorporated.
- Place mixture into pan, put a piece of plastic wrap on top of mixture and press until you have the thickness you want.
- Cut into as many bars as you desire - I did about 20.
- Eat!!

Before and after, poor dates!

Add the almonds to the mix, then blend away.

Dump everything else in. I like super dark chocolate so I used Hershey's special dark cocoa powder. This is actually a really great price - cocoa powder is running about $4 a can and this is only $2.98! And I have amazon prime, so free 2 day shipping for me!

A big, mint chocolate, sticky ball of goodness. High in protein too, my favorite way to start the morning. Hah.

Add your puffed cereal of choice once your batter has formed. I definitely underestimated the thickness of the batter...it broke my spatula. Hence why you should mix with your hands, I learned the hard way for y'all. You're welcome. 

Next time I will probably leave out the puffed cereal - it didn't add much to bar and it went stale/soft fairly fast. I'm thinking cacao nibs, or a chopped nut of some kind will hold up better next time. 

Then roll them out to the thickness you want. I wanted mine to be around 80 calories so I could eat it with my coffee before I workout in the morning. I don't love eating before my workouts in the early AM, but I have been lifting in the morning (rather than cardio, since I have weights in my house and no treadmill), and I have found I need just a little something so I can make it through.

Cut to desired size and package up for the week! I'm keeping mine in the freezer because there's something so satisfying about a cold, mint chocolate treat. It's almost like ice cream! Ok not really, but if you close your eyes, the flavors are there. 

Recipe name

Number of servings

Serves  people

Ingredients	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar
Sun Maid - Dried Pitted Dates, 1 Cup (40g)	440	120	0	4	0	84
Garden of Life - Beyond Organic Raw Protein Powder - Vanilla, 4.5 scoop (23 g = scoop)	405	5	0	77	0	0
Trader Joes Nuts - Almonds Raw (W/ Potassium), 1 cup	640	24	56	24	0	4
Hershey's - Cocoa Special Dark Powder, 25 g (1 Tbsp)	50	15	3	5	325	0
Trader Joes - Almond Milk Vanilla Unsweetened, 0.35 cup	14	1	1	0	63	0
Arrowhead Mills - Organic Puffed Kamut Cereal, 0.5 cup (15g)	25	6	0	2	0	0

Total:	1,574	171	60	112	388	88
Per Serving:	79	9	3	6	19	4

80 calories, 9g carbs, 6g protein, 3g fat - my ideal ratios for a pre-workout snack! What's your favorite pre-workout snack?