Mmmm, Juicy! The Perfect Green Juice Formula

During the heart of winter in the midwest, I find myself craving color and aliveness in my food more than ever.

Starting the day with a big glass of green juice is a great way to get a quick dose of both. The great thing about green juice is that there's no 'perfect recipe' - almost anything goes.

That said, some combinations may leave your juice tasting a  bit more like 'earth' (as my friend Steph says) than others.

To leave the hard-core earthiness in the soil and out of your glass, I've found this to be the ideal three-part formula:

• Part One: High water-content veggies (cucumber, celery)
• Part Two: Dark, leafy greens (spinach, kale)
• Part Three: Fruit for sweetness (apple, pear)

With that in mind, my favorite green juice often looks something like this:

• 1/2 - 1 cucumber
• 1-2 sticks of celery
• A big handful of kale
• A big handful of spinach
• A small handful of parsley
• A chunk of ginger
• 1-2 apples, pears, or 1 of each

The only downside of juicing is the ratio of fruit/veggies to juice...so much produce for so little juice! To avoid going broke to feed your morning green juice habit (a legitimate fear I have from time to time), I recommend buying produce in bulk, shopping local farmer's markets, and modifying your juice a bit based on what's on sale and what's in season.

Anyone else have a favorite 'juice formula?'

Happy Juicing!

Protein-Packed Pumpkin Pie Smoothie (try saying that five times fast)

This time of year, I hop on the pumpkin-flavored-everything bandwagon just as much as the next gal. I was working from a coffee shop earlier this week and giggling to myself, as every single woman who stepped up to the counter to order asked the same damn question:

"Do you guys have a pumpkin spice latte?"

We sure do know how to define stereotypes.

This morning, I was looking for something a bit more substantial – and the result was this smoothie.

When it comes to smoothies, I don’t really like to measure anything, but today I did in order to calculate that this baby contains 29.9 grams of protein! If you are like me, feel free to just throw these ingredients together in your blender using the good old-fashioned eye-balling-it tactic to determine quantities.

1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt

½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 banana

Job hazards of licking the blender bowl-
pumpkin spice smoothie on the nose!

½ cup pumpkin puree

¼ tsp vanilla

1 TBSP honey (more or less to taste)

¼ cup of your favorite granola (just throw it into the blender, or sprinkle on top for a bit of crunch and fancy-looking garnish)

a few chunks of ice

Blend and enjoy!

Nourish: Ooey, Gooey, Healthy (yes seriously) Scotcharoos

Before the Vanishing Act

I was lucky enough to be raised by a mom who is, among other amazing things, quite the baker. I loved coming home to check out the selection of desserts on the counter or in the breadbox. One of my favorite treats to come home to was scotcharoos – those amazingly delicious, peanut butter and corn syrup-filled Rice Krispies bars topped with chocolate. It was not abnormal for me to finish off half the pan in one sitting.

While I still can’t pass up the originals, I was thrilled to discover a healthier (and corn-syrup free) version while playing around with variations of a recipe I'd received that morning (thanks Kym!).

These not only taste just like the real thing and have a prep time of 5 minutes, but they might even help us ward off heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes.

"Thanks, Mom, for letting me lick the mixing bowl!"

The only problem? They seem to rapidly vanish from the refrigerator each time I make them.

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup ground flaxseed

1 cup Rice Krispies

Melt together the honey and peanut butter. Stir in the vanilla, add the flax seed, and finally add the cereal. Roll into three-bite-sized balls or press into a small pan. Refrigerate, enjoy, and consider letting your dog pre-wash the mixing bowl before you put it in the dishwasher.