Cherry Lime Fruit Bliss Smoothie

Put the lime in the smoothie...

Smoothie yumminess continues.
And this blend kept a smile on my face long after the cup emptied.

Cherry Lime Fruit Bliss Smoothie

1 ripened banana
1/2 cup frozen cherries
6 frozen strawberries
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
few slivered almonds (optional)

Squeezing in the lime juice.

Look at that extra.

Prelude to almond in college mug.

Mmmmhmmmmm.
Sweet icy cold fruit, citrus zest, and a little spice makes everything all nice to drink.
I may have become an official full fledged smoothie addict and thankfully sharing is no longer a priority. Except when blogging of course. :)

A Vegan Strawberry Peanut Butter Frosty

Slightly thick & creamy, this fruity treat is much better than that strange stuff at Wendy's.

I promised bananas all week, didn't I?
Tomorrow is market day, so please bear with the lack of banana. Besides, I wanted to explore making frozen treats without the aide of the yellow ripened fruit. Though I love it immensely, other sweet fruits deserve spotlight too.
Like these frozen strawberries for example.

Vegan Strawberry Peanut Butter Frosty Ingredients

6 large frozen strawberries
2 tablespoons Peanut Butter And Company's Mighty Maple peanut butter
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Three of 6 ingredients for a fiber/protein enriched sweet treat!

Blend ingredients. I mainly used the puree/whip functions.

Minutes later, a happy spoon sits in wait.

Was never a huge fan of artificial strawberry flavoring. It always left that false, sugary taste on the tongue and that feeling always left me thirsty for water due to throat scratchiness.
This is that love of dipping strawberries into peanut butter turned into a yummy frosty!
Natural and nutty- a very satisfying, chilled treat for any strawberry-peanut butter fanatic, it tasted amazingly delicious and nutritious.
Next time will include additional strawberries atop.
Perfect on hot steamy days when the skin feels like it's melted.

Baked Chickpea "Sloppy Joes:" The Happy Very Tasty Accident

Just another kitchen mishap that turned wonderful.

Since the excitement over my first handmade burgers and fresh out of black beans, my eyes leered over to the chickpea can with gleeful intentions.

Plus seeing as I loved the peanut butter, this new cooking intuition said, "use it again!"

So I listened....

Chickpea "Sloppy Joe" Ingredients

1/2 can drained and rinsed chickpeas

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 cup of cooked diced carrots

2 tablespoons Peanut Butter & Company's Mighty Maple Peanut Butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cooked brown rice and carrots mixed into chickpeas. Camera blurred from hot steam...

Yummy. I had just a little spoonful sample first...

Mixing in peanut butter and other ingredients. Then add into a blender or food processor to

Two patties on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 40 minutes. Flip over.

But the ketchup made it all the better.

On the first flip, when the burgers mischievously decided to collapse, I almost cried and gave up on them, starved enough to almost make a peanut butter and preserves sandwich before lunch break was over.
But alas, hope told me and deprived stomach to wait twenty more minutes.
Now I regret not capturing that blessing in disguise.
Because no longer patties, this turned into a yummy mess that needed lots of napkins.
Good fashioned flavor wasn't so easily sabotaged- for the sloppiness lying on the wheat bread held great promise, especially with the bright kitchen light shining down on the two crisp, browned "patties" like they were holy sandwich treasures.
The peanut butter is fainter and the spices are a match for the chickpeas. Just absolutely delicious!
So glad I made two of them. :)

Blueberry Banana Cake Topped With Apple Almond Cream

Mmmmhmmm blueberries.....

Well, it's a special friend's birthday today and though he despises sweets of any kind, this is a healthy dessert that will possibly change his mind.

Blueberry Cake Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 ripened bananas, blended with a tablespoon water
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and a nine inch cake pan.
Mix all dry ingredients together.
Mix until smooth two ripened bananas with water in a blender.
Combine banana mixture with dry.
Fold in blueberries.
Pour into cake pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Blueberry cake batter.

Look at how the blueberries melted into corners of the pan. Delightful!

Not as puffy and big as most cakes, more like a thicker pancake or bread.

And there are bursting blueberries melted into every nook and cranny.

Apple Almond Cream

1 apple
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sliced almonds
6 blueberries
2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Chop an apple. (I used gala).

Add all ingredients until a blender and mix until smooth.

This so looks like a scone! But it's not. Blueberry cake with apple almond cream it is!

Originally planned on making a crumble brown sugar oatmeal topping for this birthday dessert.
Glad I changed my mind.
For him, it was imperative not to have an overload of sugar and this succeeds due to using fresh fruit. The bananas were present, but blueberries stood out, taking control of the cake and the little tangy zip in the foamy nutty apple almond cream balances out.
For some reason I don't see this special reserved treat lasting too long.
But I placed apple almond cream in the fridge and will whip it by hand once it gets colder- want it to have a fluffier, lighter consistency.
Will have another slice later and top the cream with a few fresh blueberries.
Overall another keeper.  :)

Carrot Spinach Strawberry Smoothie

One my way to a fantastic fruity, vegetable smoothie.

It's fun throwing things in a blender and seeing what happens. That's just part of celebrating creative, free spirited excitement, but in a kitchen setting.
An avid lover of Naked and Odwalla juices, I decided to make my own. 

1 large banana, ripened
5 strawberries, frozen
1 cup fresh spinach
1/2 chopped carrot
6 frozen cherries
2 tablespoons cold water

Place all ingredients in blender, making sure to chop the carrot!

Icy cold, refreshing goodness.

A perfect delight with bow tie pasta coated in spinach-chickpea sauce.

It's delicious!
This I guarantee as an amazing chilled beverage.
With the addition of flax seed, cacao powder, spirulina, and maybe wheat grass, the health benefits will fly out of the window. Definitely inspiring ideas to try for next fruit and vegetable packed smoothie! :)

Yellow Squash Raspberry Ice Cream

Turn this yellow squash into ice cream?

In a prior post for my cold treats series this week, I specified that no sugar would be added to my recipes, but in using squash as a primary ingredient, the sugar was desperately needed... 

Ingredients

1 frozen banana

Butternut Squash Puree
1 squash, chopped and cooked
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup plain soy milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Pan fried in olive oil for 20 minutes in a medium heat covered skillet.

Mixed all ingredients in a blender adding raspberries last.

Refrigerated puree and froze a banana overnight.

12 hours later, took out puree and banana.

Blend puree and banana.

Cover and freeze.

It was peculiar tasting.
The whole experience quite similar to picking petals off flowers groaning, "someone loves me, someone loves me not..." One minute, I liked it and the next it was no, how can I bear to continue.
Sweet, tart, and coolly refreshing on taste buds, warm spices and squash were surprisingly delicious. I just wish this delightful "autumn" divine treat had crispier oats. (granola maybe?) Next time sans bananas and using raspberries solely as a topping and not an actual ingredient in the ice cream itself. Those two fruits were definitely the downfall of experiment.
While eating, I had a major hunch that one doesn't have to cling so tightly to the belief that a banana alone makes the best vegan ice cream. It has a strong flavor that refuses to be a background note.
So thus will make squash puree, maybe add a bit or orange or lemon extract, agave nectar, and freeze it. 
Then we'll see if my suspicions are right on the nose!

Banana Peanut Butter Fruit Smoothie Freeze!

What better to have with spinach brown rice salad than an iced cold smoothie freeze?

This week it's all about making ice creams, smoothies, and popsicles to combat humid weather and cool overheated body. With the starring ingredient being..... bananas!
Seven days of summer desserts using few ingredients and no added sugars (fruit is all the sweetness one needs!).
Fun times...

Banana Peanut Butter Fruit Smoothie Freeze Ingredients

1 banana
1 cup soy milk (8th Continent used here)
2 tablespoons Peanut Butter And Company's Mighty Maple Peanut Butter
handful of frozen cherries and raspberries
sprinkling of sliced almonds (optional)

Place banana, raspberries, frozen cherries, milk, & peanut butter in blender.

Blend very, very well.

Top with almonds & freeze for an hour or two.

Enjoy!!!

On a 91 degree afternoon this fruity, creamy concoction was the perfect cool off treat!