Probiotic Smoothie

I like this one because it gives a bit of help keeping intestinal balance, plus, it tastes good!

6 oz. or 3/4 C. Plain or Vanilla Soy Yogurt with cultures
1 Orange
6 Frozen Strawberries
1/2 C. Frozen Blueberries
Truvia if desired

Blend and, Voila!!

Juice. Ya Gotta Like It!

With 13 days under my belt and a few more to go, I've got to be able to prepare juices that I can handle on order to keep going. When I started it was a bit difficult because I was so new at it that I had no idea what fruits and veggies to combine, so I just picked out what sounded good and boy was I disappointed! For 3 days in a row I made myself drink juices that were terrible. I even made it a matter of prayer to try to figure out how in the world I could make this work for me. Anyway, as I thought through it I realized that I really like my citrus smoothie so maybe I should try using those fruits for juice. I did and it became a base for doing a little mix and match. This is my basic breakfast recipe with a few variations included:
First I gather my fruit and veggies.

I include:
1 Grapefruit
3 Oranges
2 Carrots
a 3" chunk of Cucumber
2-3 Kale leaves

Then maybe some
Strawberries
Or Cranberries
Or an Apple
Remember that grapefruit and cranberries are a bit sour so you want to combine them with something sweet. It also helps to think the other way around when making up your own recipes. You don't want juices that are too full of sugars, even if they are natural :) Before I finish my batch of juice I taste it to see if I like it. I usually do because I start with a tried and true combination but sometimes I need to adjust for the sweetness level. With the strong flavor of the oranges and grapefruit I can get away with adding things like Kale and Cucumber. After the juice is deposited in the collection pitcher, stir the juices together before serving. I especially like to dilute my juice with some ice.
If you line the pulp bucket with a produce bag it will make clean up easy! Also, you can recycle your pulp and peelings by blending them in your blender and making a lovely garden smoothie for composting the garden!

Orange Ambrosia Cup How-To

This little fruit cup is both easy to make and impressive, and I'm no whiz at cutting fancy shapes out of fruits and veggies! First of all I measured from the top of the orange down about 1 1/2". This left enough of the orange to make a nice sized cup. At that point the orange measured horizontally at 10" around. The scallops on my flower cookie cutter are 1 1/4" so this meant I could evenly draw 6 scallops.

Next I cut the top off the orange with a citrus knife taking as much of the ink off with it as I could. The rest of the ink I washed off carefully with water and a scrubbie thingy.
Then I cut and scooped out the fruit of the orange and put the pieces into a bowl for use in the fruit salad.


After getting the orange cut up I added a small banana, sliced, stirring it to coat the slices with orange juice preventing them from turning brown, and 4 cut up strawberries. The empty orange had about a 1/2 C. capacity and this little fruit salad fills 2 orange cups very nicely. I think I could have put more fruit in the cup than the picture shows. Of course you can fill this little cup with whatever combination of fruit is your favorite. I put a little coconut ribbon on top before placing the strawberry.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

And Now, How To Protect Your Garden

I've found a safe and effective way to spray my garden veggies for bugs! While I'm no expert I'm giving tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow crooked neck squash, pumpkins and strawberries a go for this year. After googling and reading recipe after recipe, here's one that I made up myself that uses ordinary household items and repels multiple pests. It's safe for the garden and non-toxic to those of us who'll be eating those vegetables as well:

GARDEN BUG CONTROL SPRAY-
1C. Water
1T. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Garlic Clove
1-2 Dashes of Hot Pepper Sauce
like Tapatia
1T. Biodegradable Liquid Soap (preferably)
or Dish Soap

Liquefy all ing. in blender except liquid soap. Strain through a cloth, if necessary. Pour into spray bottle, add dish soap, cap and shake just to mix in. Allow bubbles to dissipate, and fill the rest of the way with water, to make 32 oz.

Try spraying a little on each variety of plant and wait for 2-3 days to make sure it will not damage the plant. (My plants are fine.) Spray in the early morning or late in the evening, when temperatures are at their coolest to keep leaves from burning. Spray onto both sides of the leaves. Repeat every week or as often as needed. If you get the leaves wet when watering you'll need to respray.
I know it's early in the gardening season but we've had ours for 3 or 4 weeks out there and so far it's working on those pesky little critters!

Here are the resources I used:
ehow home, GardenMandy, and Recycle your day

PS. The Garlic will also prevent that destructive mold from appearing on the squash.
PS. Again. I found out that sprinkling corn starch around the garden repels hornworms.

Here's to growing a great garden!

How-To Freeze Ice Cream In A Plastic Bag

Summer is coming fast and some days our weather here is already in the high 80's. Strawberries are in full swing at the fruit stands, too, and it's time for a good strawberry ice cream recipe. This freezing method is great for Family Night or as a party activity for the kids.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

Blend in blender:

3 Egg Yolks
2C. Coconut Milk or Milk of Choice
1/4C. Xylitol (or sugar)
Pour into saucepan and bring to scalding on med. heat. DO NOT BOIL. Cover and cool to room temp. and place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Almost liquify in blender:

2+ C. Hulled Strawberries
1/4C. Honey or Light Agave (or sugar)
1t. Vanilla
Chill.
Stir mixtures together. Pour 1/2-1C. ice cream mixture into sandwich sized ziplock freezer bags. For each sandwich bag you will also need a 1 gallon freezer bag and a friend. You will need at least 4. Fill gallon bags half full with ice. Sprinkle ice with about 1/2C. table salt. Add one bag of ice cream to each gallon bag and turn over and over to churn and freeze ice cream. Putting a towel on the table is a good idea for soaking up any spilled water (or, heaven forbid! Ice cream!!)

For a simple and easy 5 minute vanilla recipe click HERE.
And for more info click HERE.

Fresh Strawberry Cobbler!

Until recently I'd not seen a recipe for making cobbler with strawberries, but now, for me cobbler will never be the same. I wanted to make ice cream to top it off with in a picture but I couldn't wait for the ice cream!
Here is the recipe:

Strawberry Cobbler

In a cold saucepan place -
1/2 C. Agave Nectar or sweetener of choice
(if using a dry sweetener increase water to 1C.)
3/4C. Cold Water
1 Tbs. Cornstarch
Stir to blend in cornstarch and simmer til thickened.
Remove from heat and add -
3C. quartered fresh Strawberries
Pour into greased 8" pyrex.

In separate bowl mix -
1 C. Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 1/2 teas. Baking Powder
Dash of Salt
3 Tbs. Coconut Oil
1 Tbs. Agave
1/2 C. Coconut Milk or milk of choice
Mix together well till soft dough forms.
Spoon onto berries. Bake at 400 deg. for 25 min. Cool and serve. Delish!!

Sweet Succulent Strawberries

Did you know that not just oranges, lemons, grapefruits and such are high in Vitamin C? Strawberries are citrus too! But, 1/2C. of strawberries has only 23 calories while grapefruit can be as high as 47! Bring on those luscious berries!
Fresh Ice Cream and Cobbler coming soon.
"Tis the season!