Zesty Tropical Twister Smoothie

Wow! I can honestly say that this smoothie surprised even me! It's the perfect blend of zesty, sweet and spicy! All these fantastic flavors get perfectly tied together with delicious creamy notes from the papaya, banana and almonds. This may just be my new favorite smoothie! How can you resist this delicious smoothie with the all its additional digestive health benefits of papaya seeds (see more info here) and orange peels (more info here)?

THE RECIPE:

Use your high powered blender of choice and blend together:

1 small handful of almonds

1/2 water
4 ice cubes

Now add in:
1/2 a banana
1/2 an orange (leave that nutritious peel on for some fabulous zesty flavor!)
1/4 of a lime
3 frozen strawberries
1/5 of a large papaya

And now for the spicy finish *drum roll please*
Add in 1 tsp papaya seeds!!!

Blend it a up and enjoy! I know I sure did! ;D

Zucchini Pancakes!

Amazing! Why have I not made these before? They stay together well and the zucchini adds much needed moisture to the often dry coconut flour. With only 4 ingredients this recipe is a breeze! Just top with some cheese, butter or yogurt and you are good to go! :)

Zucchini Pancakes

1 cup grated zucchini
Tossed in:
1/2 cup coconut flour + 1/8 tsp baking soda
Beat 5 eggs and 1/2 cup water together then pour into the zucchini mixture and mix well.

Now just fry them in a tsp of coconut oil in a frying pan and enjoy! It is just that simple! :D

And Today's Words of Wisdom Are....

DON'T BE A HORDER!

Be ready for more posts on this subject soon... because they WILL be coming! But for now, enjoy this look inside my latest recommended read which is called "Show Your Work!: 10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered" by Austin Kleon

Puffed-Up Paleo Cinnamon Buns!

I made these lovely little paleo cinnamon buns today...and they puffed up! Which was fantastically exciting since my last attempt didn't :(

I really will get around to posting the recipe soon! ...but it just keeps getting better every time I make them, so perhaps I shall make a couple more batches first ;)



Just look at that beautiful texture! Quite springy and bread like, if I do say so myself! With a honey coconut glaze on top, it makes a lovely addition to a cup of spicy tea!

Lime Green Smoothie!

Recipe:

• 3/4 of your vitamix blender packed with spinich
• 1 banana
• 1/2 avocado
• 4 frozen strawberries
• 1/3 peeled lime

Turn that blender on! Then drink it up with a jumbo bubble tea straw! :)

Paleo Chocolate Fudge Recipe! Yum!

Paleo Chocolate Fudge Recipe! Yum!

Recipe:

• 2 TB Thoroughly Melted Creamed Coconut (the kind that comes solidified in a box) 7 TB Melted Coconut Oil 
• 8 TB Pure Coco Powder
• 2 TB Cinnamon (or just add more Coco if you don't want cinnamon chips)
• 2 TSP Organic Vanilla (I make homemade extract by putting two vanilla beans in a bottle and filling with vodka)
• 5 Medjool Dates
• 2 TB Arrowroot Starch

Method: Put all the ingredients into a Vitamix (or other high powered blender) and blend until smooth! Line a pan with waxed paper and distribute the mixture all over the surface, then place another sheet of waxed paper on top and then use a rolling pin to even it all out. Or you can roll it into balls and dust with coco powder for delectable bon bons! Let it chill in the freezer and enjoy!

An Even Greener Smoothie!

I have been on the lookout for fruit free smoothies on my quest to naturally resolve my digestive issues and I found one! Check this one out! And it tastes good. No, its not sweet, but it does have a creamy pleasant taste and I had no issues swallowing the whole glass! So many green smoothie attempts have ended in me gagging  since I have a very strong gag reflex, which doesn't help when I am trying so hard to be healthful! But the journey to a healthier way of eating, is all about finding healthy and TASTY ways to build a healthful diet that you can sustain and this recipe accomplishes both! There is a big difference between being "on a diet" and "eating a diet". When a person goes "on a diet" it is always short lived and usually treated like a punishment. What makes a life long difference is to just eat a healthy diet, all the time!   

Ingredients

Fruit Free Green Smoothie

Altered from the recipe found: here

• ½ organic cucumber, chopped
• ¼ cup parsley
• ¼ lemon, peeled
• 1 tsp Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
• ½ avocado, pitted and peeled
• 1 romaine heart
• ½  cup coconut water (or water)
• 3 ice cubes

 

I just discovered this website where you can type in your recipe and voila! Out comes the nutrition information! When eating Paleo, food doesn't often come with nutrition labels, so its hard to know exactly what the difference is between pure natural whole foods and other commercially packaged foods! But WOW! Take a look at this baby! What a whopper of a nutrition label! (I had to add the extended version too because I was so excited!)

And apparently romaine lettuce is a source of protein, who knew? Check out the low down on romaine and learn 10 Surprising Nutrition Facts About Romaine Lettuce!

THE REAL LOWDOWN ON

the

Fruit Free Green Smoothie 

Liquid Salad! (aka. Lemon Ginger Green Smoothie)

The Great Green Smoothie of Deliciousness! 

Look at that amazing smoothie! Even the picture makes my mouth water (good thing I am sipping on said smoothie at the moment!) This smoothie is so easy to make, it doesn't use a ton of fruit so its lower on the glycemic index and it tastes AMAZING! Yay! I was very skeptical of how liquid salad could taste good....believe me when I say, its delicious! The lemon, ginger and coconut oil are sort of like the salad dressing! The coconut oil and almonds help lend some creaminess to the whole thing (you could also use almond or coconut milk in place of the water) and honestly, I hardly eat a salad without apple in it, so obviously that had to go in! ...I still can't rationalize why the banana works with the whole salad-in-a-smoothie flavor concept I had going there...ah well! It works with all the flavors, so who needs to question it?


Lemon Ginger Salad-in-a-Smoothie
Recipe:
1 Romaine Heart
1/2 cup Water
1 Banana
1/2 Apple
1 TB Coconut Oil
1/8 cup Almonds
1/2 of a Lemon (with the peel cut off)
3/4" cube of Fresh Ginger (I left the peel on)


Method:
First blend up the romaine heart with the water in your high powered blender (like a Vitamix), then add in everything else and blend till smooth! Pour all that goodness into a glass and sip it down while subscribing to my blog! ;) Ha ha! Just kidding, but not about the part of sipping all that goodness down!

I hope you enjoy!
-JJ

Healthy Gluten Free Chips and Dip!

I discovered how to make a very satisfying chip and dip combo! The best part? No gluten, no sugar and no hydrogenated fats! Yum, now thats my kind of a snack! I have no specific recipe, just add as much or as little of each ingredient to suit your needs/tastes! I love lemon, so I added a lot :)

How to:
1. Take half an avacado and mash it up a bit.
2. Add some fresh squeezed lemon juice.
3. Add salt, paprika and a bit of chipotle powder to taste.
4. I added some delicious unpasteurized organic grated cheese to the mix (you may try substituting fresh coconut or coconut oil or nuts [I added a pecan on top of my chip before Iate it and it was surprisingly amazing!] to add some creaminess if you are lactose intolerant).
5. Thinly slice half a cucumber.
6. Enjoy your crispy, tangy cucumber chips and dip! :)

The Rum Runner Restaurant Review

The Rum Runner at first appears very modest from the outside, but after pulling open the oversized plank door, complete with a lion doorknocker, you will step into a different time. There above you hangs a large wooden propeller and an old canoe with an old stil perched above the entrance. The food was quite decent indeed, I ordered the California Chicken Burger with a Greek side salad. In my opinion the Greek salad really benefited the California Chicken Burger since I really would have liked a touch of something savory to really set off the flavors of the guacamole and bacon. The salad dressing and olives helped fill in that little touch of something that missing from the flavor palette. With that said, the bun was perfectly toasted and of a high quality bread, the red onion was slightly cooked to make for a soft delicate flavor, the chicken was tender, moist and was grilled just right! The salad had a bit of a twist with the addition of green olives and the dressing may have been house made (or just a really good quality bottled dressing?). My dad had the Stuffed Chicken Breast with white wine sauce and a hint of jalapeno on a bed of rice. The amount of jalapeno was just right, at first you will not even taste it, but after a moment of chewing just a hint of spice comes though, without risking the loss of any taste buds! Magnificent!

Magic is happening :}

There's nothing like being productive in the studio! Ah! :] Aren't you just loving the chartreuse and pink chalk combination? I would post pictures of my dress...but I am waiting till its done for the big reveal! I am super excited! I just hit that point were I was getting tired and was kind of wanting to quit....but then I kept going and suddenly I could see it coming together and I was suddenly spurred on with new energy! So often in life, we give up just before the sun breaks through the clouds, but don't give up! Stick it out and discover the what can be accomplished from sticking with it to the end :)

Canada Day BBQ Extravaganza!

Oh, Canada Day! ;) Its like the 4th of July, but with less fireworks/corn on the cob/fireflies and celebrated in red & white instead of stars & stripes. And since there is not much point anticipating fireworks that will never match those of my childhood memories, it really is best to simply engulf ones self in cooking...and eating a huge BBQ extravaganza!

To start off the show, I took some chicken legs with thighs attached, brushed on some Cattle BoyZ BBQ Sauce and then moved on to smother a pork loin (in between the bacon and pineapple) with some Cattle BoyZ BBQ Sauce, then put on some Canadian bacon with just a touch of Cattle BoyZ BBQ Sauce, then I put on some fresh pineapple rings with a brushing of Cattle BoyZ BBQ Sauce and then when that was all nearly cooked I put on the pan of grilled cheese sandwiches...without Cattle BoyZ BBQ Sauce (but I wish I did put some on as it was cooking! ...however, that didn't stop me from dipping it in some of the sauce after it was grilled!)

Okay, so you may have noticed I just mentioned Cattle BoyZ BBQ Sauce way too many times in a row...but let me tell you! This is not just BBQ sauce, it is amazing on everything that I have so far dipped into it! Not just okay, but amazing! And I usually don't care for BBQ sauce, so they did something very right! ;D And the best part...its made locally, right here in Alberta! Its so perfect for Canada day! ;)

Here is a picture of two bottles of BBQ magic (and trust me, you are going to want two of them)

The two pack pictured above is the pack that I got a Costco! This size and the two of them strapped together are a Costco exclusive. But don't fear, if you live outside of Alberta you can order them online or pick one up at Sobeys or Safeway!

Anyway....back to the BBQ...

This was probably the most amazing grilled cheese ever! French bread slices with grated mozzarella, cheddar and maple cheddar cheese (notice the maple? That's right! We are patriotic down to our french maple grilled cheese sandwiches!) 

Grilled fresh pineapple....MMMM! My friend said this was her favorite part of the meal! The sweetness complimented the pork loin, chicken and bacon beautifully! 

Ta da! This is the end result! ...well, actually the end result was half of the dinner party taking turns on the couch...

Stop Your Whining and Get Out There and WORK IT! ;D

    Sometimes we all need some motivation. Sometimes that motivation comes in the form of a hug, a coffee date with a friend, a pat on the back with some encouraging words, but sometimes it comes in the form of a good swift kick in the pants! My sister is always the one to give me the swift kick in the pants by telling me to stop complaining and just get it over with! No sympathy there! But often we are trying to be too "politically correct" and telling a person "its okay, its not your fault, I am sure things will work themselves out" when sometimes we just need to be told to "stop your whining and go fix the problem!!!" (Now don't get me wrong, we all need a hug sometimes. But sometime we also need to flush our self centered whining down the drain!) Last week for instance, I was afraid of ruining a hat that I had spent so long making, but I couldn't figure out how to trim it in a way that it would look well finished. I was so afraid of ruining it. But sometimes we have to just take the plunge. I was afraid of ruining it and this fear was paralyzing. I couldn't finish the hat, I couldn't move on to the next one, it needed to be resolved...the pressure was too much!!!! So I just did what I feared the most...I ruined it! It was kind of liberating, I got out my tubes of Windsor and Newton paints and I had fun without fear! I knew that in the end it would be ruined, so there was nothing holding me back! Sure, maybe I wasted some expensive paints and a whole lot of time stretching that hat to perfection, but good things did come from that hat, even if no one else can see it:

1. I learned that after stepping back to look at the shape that I was so precious about, that I didn't really entirely love it anymore (but that I would like to create a new hat block inspired by that form).

2. If I hadn't have gone crazy with my imagination I would never have seen that the shape looked like paint being squeezed from a tube and now that it was painted I realized that is what the form was simply demanding to become!

3. I realized you can't let fear stop you. Sometimes it ends in a less then perfect fairy-tale-ending. But hey! Now you aren't pacing around wondering "What if this?" "What if that?" "What if I pick the wrong one?" <---this at="" cream="" font="" ice="" like="" me="" shop="" sounds="" the=""> Sometimes our fear of the unknown is more frightening then the unknown its self. And the sooner you conquer it, the sooner you can stop wasting energy on useless fretting and get it done with!

     

As for my motivation? I am going to do a daily blog Get-Up-and-Be-Productive-Inspired-Motivated-Focused type of post to give myself a little jump start and to stay inspired in my studio practice! My blogging topic shall be: A Dose of Inspiration a Day, Keeps the Hesitations Away.

What inspires you?

Leave me a comment!

Well that's all for now, ta ta darlings!

-JJ