I have several loves in my life including my family, my friends, art, and food. I am actually probably what some might call a "foodie." I don't generally like terms like that, but it is what it is, I suppose. It's a funny thing for me to say, frankly, as I was once an extremely picky eater and hated eating. I think most of the food that my parents could get me to eat had to contain an unhealthy amount cheese and carbohydrates. (My diet was something like: cereal, grilled cheese, quesadillas, mac & cheese, etc.)
Some things have luckily evolved as I have aged and I have grown to love trying new foods. I am (usually -- minus some mishaps while traveling or on holidays) very health conscious, and I have developed a sense of how foods make me feel. It is an absolutely incredible feeling to know exactly what I am consuming and how it changes my daily functioning. I think the foods that we consume can have such an incredible influence on how we feel and even how we think. I think we often forget that food is fuel, and not just there for tasting good. Thankfully, there are so many ways to have the best of both worlds!
Here are a few of my most recent, quick and easy recipes.
Tropical Cucumber Smoothie
Ingredients
2 Cups Organic Kale, Spinach, Chards
1/2 Cucumber
1/2 Fuji Apple
1/2 Cup Organic Frozen Mango Chunks
1/3 Cup Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Almond Milk
Prep the fruit for blending. Peel the skin off of the cucumber and apples with a potato peeler. Cut cucumber and apple into smaller pieces (If you have a not-so-great blender like me, this really helped!). Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. I would suggest putting the larger fruit pieces in first and the greens on top. My blender had a hard time getting through all of that dark-leafy-goodness and I had to stop blending midway to stir the ingredients around a bit with a spoon.
This recipe is perfect for one.
Cucumber Rolls
Ingredients
1 Cucumber
Spread, like hummus or cream cheese
Kale
Smoked Salmon
** You will also need toothpicks
Begin by cutting the ends off of the cucumber. Use a potato peeler to cut the skin off of one side of the cucumber. Place peeler perpendicular to cucumber and peel at one side of the now flat side of the cucumber. Peel cucumber into thin, flat strips. Lay out cucumber strips flat. Spread a thin layer of a spread of your choice along the strips of cucumber. Place a layer of kale on to the spread. Then, place a layer of small pieces of salmon on to the kale. Carefully roll together and apply toothpicks in an "X" to secure.
