Funky Soup!

After returning from a long weekend, family reunion trip several states away, I realized just how much "stuff" was nearing the end of it's life in our refrigerator and on our counter! Yikes! So, I decided to make soup. Let me start by saying I have never really made soup in my life...not without strict adherence to a recipe anyway. Well, today's soup was a complete "winger" and quite surprisingly, it turned out to be a winner, too!

I was going to name the soup Coconut Curried Swiss Sweet Potato Chard Soup with Quinoa, but then decided Funky Soup was easier to say (and remember!). :)

Here's what I did to make Funky Soup:

Got out a huge stock pot. Put a healthy dose of coconut oil in the bottom.

Meanwhile, washed and chopped celery and carrots. I did roughly a whole celery plant (stalks) and about 6 carrots. I was lazy and threw them into my Blendtec on the "Food Processor--Chop" cycle. It turned out just like I wanted. Added this to the stock pot.

Added fresh garlic. I used 2 large cloves and mashed them with my Pampered Chef garlic press.

Turned the heat on the stove and stirred the veggies around. If you have fresh onion, you can add some in this step, too. I only had dried onions (from Just Tomatoes....YUM!), so I added them towards the end of this step so they wouldn't stick to the bottom of the pot and burn.

After the mix started smelling really good (and BEFORE it started burning...), I added in 8 oz. of organic vegetable broth (purchased from Amazon in tetra paks). Stirred.

Added a bunch of whole tomatoes to the Blendtec and pureed. Added about half of the puree to the stockpot. Stirred.

Added a can of organic coconut milk to the tomatoes in the Blendtec. Pureed. Added to the stockpot. Stirred.

Added about a cup of quinoa to the stockpot. Stirred.

Washed, cut into circles, skinned, and quartered two large sweet potatoes. Put the chunks into the stock pot. Stirred.

Added some hefty dashes of curry powder, cumin, and sea salt.

Later added some cinnamon and nutmeg, and some more sea salt.

Over time, added additional water to the pot. Probably in the neighborhood of 6-8 cups.

When the sweet potato chunks started to soften, added in some Swiss Chard (with stems removed). Prior to adding, ran the greens through the Blendtec on chop mode. Stirred.

Waited until greens were wilted. Ate a bowlful...and another...and another. :)

Maybe I was just really hungry. Or maybe I just created a kitchen masterpiece. I guess we'll see when DH gets home whether this Funky Soup winger is really a winner or not. :)

Seasoned raw cauliflower = POPCORN!

Well, sort of anyway. :)

So, I stumbled upon this video by The Renegade Health Show awhile back in my hunt for raw foods and decided to try the recipe for seasoned cauliflower that was supposedly a good substitute for popcorn.

It is super simple to make. You cut up a head of cauliflower and put it in a ziplock bag. Then add nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper (optional), and salt to taste. Work the seasonings into the cauliflower by grabbing and squeezing the bag. Once it's well worked in, you can simply eat the cauliflower or dehydrate it (to make it more like actual popcorn).

The first time I tried it, DH and I both really enjoyed it. So much in fact, that we ate it all before we even thought about attempting to dehydrate it.

Well, cauliflower was on sale at Harris Teeter this week, so I grabbed a head specifically for this purpose and the desire to make it hit me today at lunch! So, I whipped up a batch. I ate a large handful (or two or three) of the seasoned cauliflower with my lunch, but there was lots left over since DH is at work and not at home to help me polish it off, so I threw the rest into the dehydrator. Assuming I can stay out of it for a few more hours (I've already broken into it once), I'll get to try the dehydrated version.

Does it taste like popcorn? Well, maybe not so much. I mean, if you handed it to me and said, "Here, this tastes like popcorn! Try it!" I'd probably say, "Well, it's good but it doesn't really taste like popcorn," but if you handed it to me and said, "Try this! It's really good!" I'd probably try it and say, "Yeah, it is. It kind of reminds me of popcorn." Subtle difference, but it's there nonetheless.

Anyways, this is definitely a fun snack or side dish to have, and it is pretty much guilt-free! And if you like cauliflower already like I do, this is certain to be a snack you'll love!

A couple of things on my radar...

I'm terrible about finding things I want to try but not having time at the moment to devote to them, and then forgetting about them entirely...

So...

Here are a few things I've come across that I definitely DON'T want to forget!

Heavenly Homemakers' Creamy Mac and Cheese

Heavenly Homemakers' Homemade Soft Pretzels

Heavenly Homemakers' Honey Whole Wheat Bagels

VegWeb.com's Black Bean and Quinoa Salad

MadeInTheRedBarn's Etsy Shop: Towel House Dispenser for "un-paper" towels

Ok, that's it for now! Maybe I can finally close some browser tabs now and actually get something done! :)

Frothy Hot Coconut Cacao for a Rainy Day!

I just so happened to stumble upon The Nourishing Gourmet's blog post for Rich, Dark Hot Cocoa (Dairy and Refined Sugar Free) today while the kids were napping. One look out my windows at the dreary sky was all it took to convince me I *needed* to make some and FAST!

I waited until my 2yo DS woke up so he could share the warm drink with me, then I gathered up my ingredients. Using TNG's post as a guide, here's how I made our Frothy Hot Coconut Cacao:

Step #1 -- Empty one can of organic coconut milk into the Blendtec blender jar. I used Roland brand, bought when on sale at Amazon.com. I used the full fat version.

Step #2 -- Add roughly 1/4 cup of organic raw cacao powder. I used the Navitas Naturals brand, from Amazon.com.

Step #3 -- Add roughly 2 cups of water. I used tap water. (Note to self: need to research water filters)

Step #4 -- Add honey (or other sweetener) to taste. I added 3 big squeezes from a honey bear jar of local raw honey my mom brought me back from a recent trip to Florida.

Step #5 -- Blend.

At first, I tried blending on level 1, then up'd it to level 5. It mixed fine but just wasn't warming the drink up the way I had hoped. Then I switched the setting to "Soup" and after one cycle it was nice and warm. If you wanted warmer, you could always do one more cycle, but for us, it was perfect. You could also warm this up in a pot on the stove if you wanted.

The best part about the drink was that it developed a nice froth on top that lasted all the way through to the last sip of...ahem...TWO mugfuls! The froth made the drink feel very "upscale coffee shop." :)

Overall, I'm super pleased with how it turned out. It was perfect because it warmed us up on a rainy day, and the coconut definitely felt springy! Mmmm... This definitely hit the spot!

Homemade Dishwasher and Laundry Detergent

I have been wanting to try my hand at homemade dishwasher detergent and also laundry soap for awhile now. I finally got the chance to whip up a batch of each this weekend. Since I've not done this before, I didn't want to make a huge amount of either just in case the particular recipe didn't work for us. My plan is to try these recipes out first, and then if we like them to buy the ingredients in bulk and make a large amount to have on hand.

A few months ago, I did attempt a liquid dishwasher soap recipe that was just okay. We recently moved and I'm not in love with our new dishwasher even when we use commercial detergents like Cascade, so there is probably nothing wrong with the recipe at all, it just doesn't always work that great for us, especially if there is food dried on the dishes. Regardless, I wanted to try a powdered recipe this time.

Thanks to a post on Diaperswappers, here's the recipe I made.

Homemade Dishwasher Soap (powder)
*1/2 cup Borax
*1/2 cup Washing Soda
*1/4 cup coarse salt
*1/4 cup food grade citric acid

Use 1 tablespoon per load. Use white vinegar as the rinse aid.

A few notes:
*I found Borax and Washing Soda at Ace hardware. They come in a box about the size and shape of a cereal box. They were with the laundry products. If this recipe works, I will attempt to find where I can buy these in bulk to save even more money.

*My food grade citric acid came from a wholesale Frontier coop order. I've also read you can find it at Whole Foods, beer brewing shops, and other speciality food shops. I've also read you can use packages of lemon Kool-Aid as a substitute if you can't find citric acid.

*I add the white vinegar in the dispenser where I would normally put the Jet Dry.

*If you use 1 tablespoon per load, this amount will wash 24 loads of dishes.

We've only tried it once or twice and so far so good, but I'll definitely post later when I have a better grasp of how it's working for us. I'll also work on figuring out how much this cost but it is definitely really cheap! I'm crossing my fingers that this works!

Now, on to the laundry soap. I have to admit I am a die-hard Tide user. I love the way it works and I love the way it smells, so switching to homemade is going to be difficult to do. The reasons I want to switch though are to save money, cut down on chemicals in my home, and do what's best for the environment.

Here is the recipe for the laundry soap that I tried for my front loader:

Homemade Laundry Soap (powder)
*1 cup grated soap
*1 cup borax
*1 cup washing soda

Use 1/2 to 1 tablespoon per load for a front-loading washing machine.

A few notes:
*For bar soap, I read you could use fels naptha, Kirk's castile, or really just about anything. I used a Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Castile bar because that's what I had on hand (purchased from Trader Joe's).

*I found the Borax and Washing Soda at Ace Hardware. They come in boxes similar in size to cereal boxes and I found them in the laundry/households section.

*I grated the soap by slicing it into strips with a knife and then putting it into my Blendtec blender. I read that it wasn't recommended to do in a blender, but it worked fine for me. I ran it through one cycle of "grind grains." Just beware it doesn't get too hot if you do try a blender because the heat will melt the soap and make it clump together again, thus defeating the purpose! You can also hand-grate the soap or use a food processor.

*This is a powder recipe. I also read about how you could make a liquid version using these same ingredients but adding water and melting the soap. From what I read, the liquid version was actually recommended for front loaders and the powdered for top loaders, but I'm giving the powdered a try first because it will take up so much less space and be less work to make (and I'm all about LESS work!). From what I've read, some people say you have to dissolve the powder recipe in hot water before adding it to your wash if you're not washing with hot water, but since I've only used it once or twice, I really can't comment on that just yet.

*For a fabric softener, I've been using white vinegar in the pull-out dispenser just like I would commercial fabric softener.

*You can read more about homemade laundry soap at the Duggars site: Favorite Family Recipes. Since they wash clothes for like 20 people, I'm sure they know what they're talking about!!!

I've used the laundry soap along with the white vinegar 3-4 times so far. No issues noted yet, but I'm sure it will take a few weeks/months before I can make a good call on how the recipe is performing over time.

If this one doesn't work out, I'll definitely check out this TipNut site for another recipe to try!

So, that's that for now. If these work out, I will definitely be back to post photos, tips/tricks, a cost breakdown, where to buy the ingredients (in bulk), how best to store, and more! In the meantime, I've found a laundry recipe that is supposed to work for cloth diapers, so I am going to whip that up and see how that goes!

Have you tried any homemade cleaners? Feel free to share your recipes! I'm always looking for something new to try! :)

HappyGreenBee: Organic Baby/Toddler/Kids Clothes SALE!!!

Thanks to a deal post from The Thrifty Mama about two weeks ago, I learned about a great clearance sale on baby, toddler and kids ORGANIC clothing at HappyGreenBee! I immediately headed on over to check it out and was amazed at how much ORGANIC clothing was in their clearance store! I loaded up on dresses, pants, shirts, kimono tops, tights, skirts, a swimsuit, a blanket, and even several organic dolls for my DD. Everything was priced between $2-$8 with most things I bought being $4-$5! And every bit of it was ORGANIC!


Well, my order arrived last week and I have to say I am impressed with the quality of the clothing. I really like how HappyGreenBee used red-head safety pins to attach their size and information tags (made from recycled materials I might add) to the clothing instead of the normal plastic tags most other companies use. The clothing itself seems to be well made and it looks nice. The material has a nice texture to it and the colors are vibrant! Some of the patterns are a little "loud" for my tastes (which I suspected when I purchased), but they'll make great play and sleep clothes if nothing else. And my favorite thing of all is that I was able to buy clothes for my DD that matched the clothing the organic dolls are wearing! TOO CUTE!!


I am seriously thinking about placing another order for larger sizes of some items just to stock up while it's so cheap! Especially since shipping is FREE for orders over $35! This is really a great deal for ORGANIC clothing and I'm so happy I ordered! I will definitely check back on this site often.

Creamy Dreamy Almond Butter!

Ok, so on my 4th try, I think I've finally done it -- I've made creamy, dreamy, drool-worthy almond butter! And to think I nearly gave up entirely!

One of the reasons for us buying the Blendtec blender (which is THE best blender in the whole wide world) was so that we could make our own nut butters. However, that didn't go exactly according to plan.

Try #1 Failure: Used 1 cup of almonds straight from the bulk bins at Whole Foods. Obviously this wasn't a large enough amount for my big 3 quart blender jar and so it just didn't work.

Try #2 Failure: Used 3 cups of almonds straight from the bulk bins at Whole Foods. I blended one cycle at level 1, then several cycles at level 5, scraping down the sides each time. This turned out okay, but wasn't creamy and was difficult to spread. I think I should have blended for a longer time.

Try #3 Failure: Used 3 cups of almonds from the bulk bins at Whole Foods, soaked for 24 hours, then dehydrated for about 12 hours. I blended the almonds one cycle at speed 1, then multiple cycles at speed 5, scraping down the sides each time. After 40 minutes of blending, I had nothing that resembled almond butter. The contents of my blender jar were steaming (so much for RAW almond butter!) and I was super frustrated. I added some coconut oil, and eventually some water, and what I ended up with was some sort of watery tasting almond paste (think toothpaste) and it was disgusting! What a waste of perfectly good almonds! :( I think the real problem here was that my almonds were not completely dried before I tried to make the almond butter, or perhaps it was the type of almonds I used.

Try #4 Success: Used 3 cups of organic unpasteurized carmel almonds purchased from Anderson Almonds (an almond farmer in California), soaked for 24 hours and then dehydrated for 24 hours. I blended the almonds one cycle at speed 1, then several cycles at speed 5. There was very little scraping to be done and I didn't time it, but I bet it was done within 10 minutes. I didn't have to add anything to the almonds as they blended. (Ignore the little piggies in this photo!)

When it was done, I literally POURED it (with a little help from my handy dandy scraper) into the jar to put into the refrigerator! Amazing!



While I did remember to grab at least a few cell phone shots of the finished product, I didn't get any photos of the process, so I really found this post to be helpful in showing the stages the almonds go through when making nut butter. The beautiful photos give you a good idea of what to expect. I obviously used my blender and the photos here are from a food processor, but the results are similar. The only stage I didn't see while blending my almond butter was the one where a ball develops; for me it went straight from crumbly to the oils beginning to release.

So now I have creamy, dreamy almond butter and fresh baked bread in the house! Guess you don't have to guess what I'm about to go have for a snack! :)

There are WORMS in my house!

...and I *love* them!

A few weeks ago, I finally convinced DH to let me have a worm bin for vermicomposting. Since we are eating so many more vegetables and fruits now, we have a lot of food scraps that we were just throwing away. How wasteful!

I had to work for months dropping hints about the worm bin before I got DH to agree to it. And even when we were making the bin, he wasn't too thrilled about it. But he did it, and now we are almost ready to harvest our bin for the first time!

I am so excited about how easy it is, and my 2 year old DS absolutely LOVES helping me feed the worms every day. He helps me to scoop away some of the bedding to create a hole (we use a spoon to do this...hey, I said I love the worms, not that I love *touching* them!), then he puts in a few handfuls of food scraps. When we get ready to close the bin back up, he always says "Bye-bye, worms!" I love it! Our first little science project.

So, you want to know more details?

Here are the directions we followed to create the worm bin. I actually had two totes in the garage identical to the ones in the photos leftover from my teacher days that had been used to store books in my classroom library. I read the instructions to DH and he drilled the necessary holes, and we assembled the totes into the proper configuration. We also worked together to cut and soak the newspaper. For grit, we stole some dirt out of a plant that had some to spare. So, the cost of my worm bin was $0! Even if you buy the totes though, it shouldn't cost more than $10-$12 I'd think. You can buy fancy commercially made worm bins that look nicer if you want for around ~$100-$150, but FREE works for me!

The worms on the other hand cost me $20 for a pound. I found the red wrigglers on Craigslist and apparently that's about the going rate for a pound of composting worms. From what I've read, a pound is roughly 500 worms. A worm can eat about 1/2 it's weight each day, so a pound of worms should be able to eat about 1/2 a pound of food a day! And the worms will reproduce, so eventually I should have enough worms that I can share -- I hope to convince my mom to let me start a worm bin for her!

Overall, this is a super easy venture. And after just a few weeks, my bin is almost ready to be harvested! The vermicompost will be a great addition to my garden and my yard plants.

The only problem is we still have way more food scraps than my worms can eat, so I am now working on convincing DH to let me have a compost tumbler. I'm not quite there yet though! I also want to build a square foot garden, but since we just moved here in November, it hasn't happened yet. There is still a lot of "moving in" to be done before we get around to starting new projects, so it may be next year before the garden becomes a reality.

Finally...sandwich bread!

I have been trying to find a yummy, healthy, and easy bread to make that we can use for sandwiches, toast, and just for munching on. I think I may have finally found it. This bread came out soft, light, easy to cut, and it tasted great!

For duplication purposes, these are the exact steps I followed to make this bread in my bread machine:

Honey Wheat Oatmeal:
*Stir together 1-1/4 cup water (just over 100 degrees), 1 packet active dry yeast, and 1/2 cup or maybe little more of honey and let sit for 10 minutes
*Pour the water mix into the well of the bread machine
*Add 1-1/2 cups bread flour, 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup (thick) rolled oats, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and 2 tablespoons olive oil
*Set to (regular/white) bread/specialty - light crust

Not quite 4 hours later, voila sandwich bread! Yum!

DH came home from work yesterday and made us great sandwiches for dinner using this bread. He met the kids and me (after our evening walk) at the neighborhood playground where we dined at the picnic table and then played until dusk. I love, love, LOVE my family!

And I also LOVE this bread! I really hate to mess with the recipe since it turned out so perfect, but I wonder if I can up the whole wheat flour to bread flour ratio without ruining it...hmm...

I also can't wait until I order my own grains so I can freshly grind my own flour before baking. So excited! This recipe might just have DH convinved to let me go for the bulk order. Yay!

Homemade Bread

The local Wheat Montana coop is ready for orders this month. We've never ordered grains in bulk before, but I want to. DH has said that we need to make sure we could and would use the stuff we would buy.

We moved back in November and several months before that I got a bread machine from Freecycle. I had started experimenting with making my own bread occassionally. So, I decided I'd better drag out the machine and get back on track to prove to DH that ordering from the coop would save us money.

Once we order the grains, I plan to grind the flour myself in the Blendtec. But for now, I'm just using the flour we have on hand until it's all gone.

Here is the recipe I made yesterday. It came from the Joyful Abode blog. I tweaked it just a bit.

Here's what I did:
*Dissolve a little over 2 teaspoons of yeast in a cup of 110 degree water.
*Add 2 generous squirts of honey and stir. Let sit for 10 minutes to get foamy and exciting.
*Dump it in the bread machine’s well.
*Add 3 cups of flour (I added 1-1/2 cups each of whole wheat and bread flour)
*Add 1 teaspoon of sea salt
*Add 1/4 cup olive oil
*Set the machine to the sandwich bread/white bread/light setting.

My machine took not quite 4 hours to make the bread. It turned out pretty good. Perhaps a little more honey would have been nice if we planned to eat it plain, but it was quite yummy with various spreads we put on...like my Farmer's Market find of strawberry creamed honey. Mmmmm!!!

Here are two other recipes I came across that I want to try this week:
1. Honey Wheat Oatmeal Bread
2. Sunflower Seed Whole Wheat Bread

As I learn more, I also want to experiment with making sprouted breads. And maybe one day I'll be brave enough to try to make my bread in the oven, but after several miserable failures a few years back, I'm thrilled I can even make bread machine bread turn out okay!

Do you have a yummy and healthy bread machine recipe I should try?? :)

Swiss Chard Smoothie!

We visited two new Farmer's Markets in our area today and were stoked that we finally found local AND natural/organic produce! We came home with bags and bags of greens (spinach, swiss chard, beet greens, bok choy, lettuce, arugula), tomatoes, strawberries, green and sweet peppers, fresh baked bread, free range eggs, and even strawberry creamed honey! Yum!

When we got home, I proceeded to make our first Swiss Chard smoothie ever. I wasn't so sure after the first sip, but it quickly grew on me and by the end I would say I was maybe not loving it, but definitely heavily liking. DH went so far as to say it was delicious and that I needed to write down the "recipe."

So, here is what I put in my Blendtec blender, per DH's request:
*1-1/2 frozen bananas (you could use fresh)
*2 cored apples (peeled b/c they weren't organic)
*10-15 frozen blackberries (it was the amount we had left in a bag in the freezer)
*healthy dose of chia seeds
*Swiss Chard (probably 8-10 large leaves with stems)
*about 1/2 of an 11oz. tetrapack of coconut water (I used Zico brand)
*about 1 cup of water

I packed it all in and blended on the Whole Juice setting for one round. It made two full tall glasses with enough leftover for me to fill up my 2-year-old DS's Safe Sippy 2 straw cup. DS drank it all and asked for more! I've found he drinks "green" smoothies better when he can't see what color they are! I learned this after I discovered he was drinking the smoothies that came out a pretty pink or purplish color, but wouldn't touch the ones that were green or brownish, even if they weren't all that different in taste. In his Safe Sippy 2 straw cup, he drinks whatever smoothie I put in there because he can't see what it looks like! lol)

Coconut Kale Smoothie!

Okay, so finally I have come up with another yummy smoothie recipe.

Coconut Kale Smoothie
*2 large ripe bananas
*roughly 1 head of kale (I used stalks and all...just not the MAIN stalk of the plant)
*hefty dose of raw hempseeds
*hefty dose of raw cacao nibs
*jar of failed coconut milk yogurt

Add all ingredients to blender (Blendtec) jar, and add cold water until total liquid reaches 4 cups. Blend on "whole juice" setting or until smooth.

Ok, now what you might ask, is "jar of failed coconut milk yogurt"? Well, this is what you get when you try to make coconut yogurt from dried coconut. I used my Wilderness Family Naturals coconut chips to make coconut milk. You basically the coconut chips with water to your blender, blend, then strain...repeat once. I found a video on U-tube and rolled with it. Then I followed the steps to make yogurt and used a Yogourmet packet as a starter. I put the jars into my dehydrator and waited 24 hours.

But instead of thick, creamy, So Delicious style coconut milk yogurt, I got funky separated coconut milk liquid. There was the teeniest bit of stuff that resembled yogurt, but for the most part the recipe was a failure. I've never had kefir, but I'm guessing from what I've read, it must be similiar. So, I gave the thickest parts of the "yogurt" to my son mixed in with his grain cereals, but I didn't know what to do with the liquidy parts...until I was making my smoothie.

I just went for it and dumped it in. And it really MADE the smoothie. The smoothie didn't really taste like coconut OR like yogurt, but it definitely didn't taste like a KALE smoothie, if you know what I mean. It was quite delicious! In fact, I've made the same smoothie for the last two days!

Now, how can you recreate my failed yogurt? Well, I'd say don't try to. You could use real coconut milk yogurt, coconut kefir, or just experiment with other types of yogurts or kefirs. Let me know what you find out!

Split Pea Barley Burgers and Raw Pasta Sauce

Okay, these weren't originals, but they're pretty tasty!

Split Pea Barley Burgers courtesy of the happyveganface blog

Fresh Tomato Sauce (raw) for pasta

Mmmm....

Yummy, yummy Kale Salad -- all RAW!

A week or two ago I signed up for The Daily Raw Inspiration email. I have to admit I haven't paid much attention to the once a day emails until today. The title, Kale Salad Recipe Music Video, was just too tempting to ignore, so I checked it out!

The video is only 3 minutes long, it's set to cool music, and it's nicely edited! Plus you get to see a family of young kids prepare and, most importantly, EAT the greens!

We already had all the ingredients on hand, so I tried this for lunch. I didn't measure anything, I just dumped in what felt right after watching the video. Hey, I figured if the little 9 year old boy in the video could do it without measuring, so could I!!

Here's what I used: locally grown kale--chopped, Bragg's raw apple cider vinegar, pink Himalayan sea salt, olive oil, Nutiva shelled hempseeds, cumin powder, nutritional yeast. When I had it all tossed up, I tasted it and added a little more vinegar, salt, and nutritional yeast.

It was delicious! My 2yo DS even ate about 1/2 a cup full of the kale salad, and he doesn't normally eat ANYTHING green! Yay!

I ate a Corelle pasta dish full of the salad, and thought about making something else to go with it, but I'm glad I didn't. It was surprisingly filling!

I think we'll have the leftovers tonight as a side salad with dinner so DH can try it, too!

Bulk Buys: Organic Strawberries & Almonds

I have been busy in my kitchen putting away bulk purchases the past few days. Buying in bulk is something we've just started doing to become more green...and save some money, too! Buying in bulk reduces packaging waste, saves on fuel costs, and is generally cheaper than buying in smaller quantities. Not to mention it means we always have food on hand as well as less trips to the grocery store, and with a 2 year old and a 7 month old, that is a blessing...for me AND the other shoppers! :)

While I have been buying in bulk from Amazon.com over the past 2 months, I had my first experiences with buying in bulk directly from farmers this week. Buying directly from farmers ensures you get the freshest products, reduces fuel costs, and generally saves you money since you eliminate the middle man.

Earlier this week, I got strawberries. Not just any strawberries. Organic, hydroponically grown strawberries...about 50 pounds of them! We use strawberries a lot in hot cereals and in smoothies, so I wanted to buy a bunch while they were fresh and freeze them. Fifty pounds of strawberries should last us a really long time! :)

Now, here in North Carolina, strawberries won't be ready for picking for another month or two. But Florida strawberries are ready NOW! My parents were just down in Florida visiting relatives, so I asked them to look around for an organic strawberry farm while they were there. Why organic? Because strawberries are on the Shoppers Guide to Pesticides' Dirty Dozen list! This list details the 12 produce items you should always buy organic because of their high pesticide load when grown non-organically.

Well, my parents not only found me organic strawberries, but hydroponically grown ones as well at the Parke Family HydroFarms. While hydroponic strawberries weren't a requirement of mine, it definitely was an interesting experience for my parents since the plants are all grown in vertically arranged pots, so there was no bending or kneeling required to pick the strawberries! Because my parents were kind enough to pick the strawberries themselves, they saved me about $50! So, what does 50 pounds of organic strawberries cost? About $100. Because of the quantity and because they picked them, the strawberries cost $1.99 a pound. That's cheaper than non-organic strawberries in the grocery stores!

When I heard my parents were able to find organic strawberries, I searched on Craigslist to find a FoodSaver. I was able to find a Vac 900 with 2 rolls of bags, a few pre-made bags, and a canister for $35. I figured this way I'd be able to vacuum seal the berries to keep them as fresh as possible. This was a pretty good deal considering 2 rolls of bags cost upwards of $19.99 + tax by themselves.

So, late on Tuesday night, my hand-picked strawberries arrived. Everyone was tired, so we waited until the morning to get them put away.

On Wednesday morning, I got to work on the strawberries while my mom played with the kids (read: kept them out of my hair). I had researched on the internet the best way to freeze strawberries, so I had a rough plan in mind. I think what I did ended up working really well.

First I topped (cut off the green top of the strawberry) and washed them. I had 5 flats total and I did one flat at a time. After I washed a small batch of them, I laid them out to dry on flour sack towels. Once I completed an entire flat, I hand placed them on cookie sheets lined with wax paper so that none were touching. Then I stuck them in my mostly empty garage freezer (another great Craigslist purchase...3 year old Frigidaire commercial freezer for $75) to harden. While they were freezing, I started on the next batch. After about an hour or so, I removed the frozen strawberries from the freezer and vacuum sealed them in FoodSaver bags. Ideally now I'll be able to open the bag and remove single strawberries instead of huge clumps!

So, from the "fields" to my freezer in about 24 hours!!


My second large bulk purchase arrived today: truly raw organic almonds!


We'll use them for almond butter, trail mixes, nut toppings, and raw desserts! Yum! In trying to learn more about the raw diet several weeks ago, I learned that most almonds labeled as raw, really aren't. A California law passed a few years ago requires that farmers steam pasteurize their almonds before they are sold, though they can still be labeled as raw. Unfortunately, this process "kills" the enzymes in the almonds and they are no longer living foods. If you soak these steam pasteurized almonds (labeled as raw) they will not sprout, like truly raw almonds should. The California law does have a loophole though; it does not specify that almonds sold directly to consumers be pasteurized. So, if you want truly raw almonds, you have to either buy imported almonds from Spain, or buy directly from a California almond farmer. I chose to do the latter.

After much research, I settled on Anderson Almonds.


My local health foods grocery quoted me a price of $12.99 for organic almonds (which aren't even really raw). Anderson Almonds sells their organic almonds shipped to your door for $8-10 a pound AND they are really, truly raw AND shipping is included in that price! If you order 5-10 pounds, you pay $10/lb and if you order 25 lbs you pay $8/lb. I had a few questions before ordering, so I emailed them and received fast, courteous replies. When I was ready to order, I called and talked to the owner himself. I gave him my credit card number to pay for the 25lbs of almonds ($200 even). He told me they normally take about 6 days to arrive, and on day 6, guess what UPS dropped off at my door?? That's right, my organic, raw almonds!!

I noticed right away upon opening the box that these almonds were carefully graded. There were virtually zero broken, cracked, or chipped almonds...very unlike the bulk bin almonds I had been buying from Whole Foods which, although "whole" were most definitely not!



I immediately went to work to freeze my almonds. I like to store my almonds for daily use in the refrigerator in a 1/2 gallon mason jar. So I figured out how many cups of almonds it took to fill up my 1/2 gallon jar: 8. Then I got out my measuring cups; I used the 2-cup one as a scoop to fill up the 4-cup one.


I put roughly 8-cups of almonds into each food saver bag...


...and vacuum sealed.


I ended up with 11 bags which immediately were placed in my freezer.

I can't wait to try them, but figured I'd finish using my not-really-raw raw almonds from the grocery store first. I'll be sure to update you on them later and show off some recipes using them!

Here are the 25 pounds of vacuum sealed organic raw almonds in my freezer:

I now have an entire shelf of organic strawberries and most of a shelf of organic raw almonds!



Now, off to enjoy the rest of this unseasonably warm Friday evening...and maybe munch on a few fresh organic strawberries I hid in the back of my refrigerator!! ;)

Homemade Baby Food

Making your own baby food is a great way to be green. The benefits are tremendous and it really isn't as difficult as it sounds. Just think: you will have virtually nothing to trash or recycle since you can use reusable containers, you will know exactly what is in your baby's food (i.e. fresh wholesome foods and NO preservatives or other ickies), and you can compost the food scraps, which is something I hope to get started with very soon...but that's a whole other post!

I am happy to say that I made 95% of my son's baby food. He's 2 now, so he survived! :) I started him on solids at 6 months which is the age recommended by the World Health Organization (courtesy of an article on the KellyMom site), to help lower the risk of him developing any allergies, and because as they say, breast milk is best!

I highly recommend the Super Baby Food book by Ruth Yaron if you are considering making your own baby food. It is a great (GREAT!) reference book showing when your baby can eat what foods, how to cook them, how to store them, and so on. It's loaded with recipes and just chock full of information. My 2yo still eats the Super Porridge recipe almost every day for breakfast. Sometimes I eat it with him! Seriously, get the book!!

My little girl is just about to turn 7 months old, so this past Saturday I made her first baby food meal: avocado! This was my son's very first meal, too.

Making your baby's own avocado baby food is about the easiest thing you can ever do, and it is super healthy. You won't find avocado baby food on the shelf at your grocery store either because they can't find a way to preserve it (according to our pediatrician at our most recent wellness visit), so unless you make it, your baby won't get to enjoy creamy, nutritious avocado.

Making your own baby food isn't very difficult to begin with no matter what you choose to make, but it doesn't get any easier than avocado:

1. Make sure your avocado is ripe. It should "give" when you lightly squeeze it. If it's hard, leave it on your counter for a few days until it's ripe. Once ripe, it will keep in your refrigerator for several days.
2. Wash the avocado.
3. Use a knife to cut the avocado in half lengthwise. Your knife will hit the avocado seed; don't try to cut through it, just continue to cut all the way around the seed. (Once you've done this a time or two, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.)
4. Pull the avocado halves apart.
5. Use a spoon to scoop out one half of the avocado into a bowl. I either eat the other half myself, use it to make guacamole, or I leave the seed and skin on, cover it with the other now empty skin, and put it in a covered container in my refrigerator to use later (the next day). If you scoop out the extra and put it in the refrigerator, it will turn brown and look disgusting. Leave it in the skin and cover it with the other skin, and it will stay pretty green and fresh.
6. Use a fork to mash the avocado until smooth.
7. Serve your baby yummy, healthy, fresh avocado baby food!

Easy peasy! No cooking involved and minimal cleanup...well, except the baby!

A Dinner of My Own Making

That's always scary. At least in my house. But this time it turned out okay. DH had two helpings of the beany pasta dish, and DS chowed down on it, too!


My personal fav of the day were the seasoned brussel sprouts.


DH groaned when I bought them (yes, groaned out loud in a grocery store like a little boy!) but he freely admitted that he liked them once I cooked them up. He actually preferred them steamed without any seasonings like I made them the day before, but I preferred the seasoned ones.

So, here are the "recipes" I created:

Beany Pasta Sauce:
*can of organic black beans (undrained)
*2 chopped tomatoes
*roasted garlic (I used Just Roasted Garlic from Just Tomatoes)
*oregano
*basil
*Just Hot Vegetables (from Just Tomatoes, ordered through an online coop)
*Just Crunchy Onions (from Just Tomatoes, ordered through an online coop)
*taco seasoning

I heated the pasta sauce over low heat while I cooked a package of whole wheat penne pasta in a separate pot, stirring frequently. (Using beans that had been soaked and cooked would have been more economical, healthier, and more earth-friendly, but I am still working on being prepared ahead of time...)

Then I drained the pasta and ladled sauce onto the pasta on each person's plate. We topped it with freshly grated cheddar cheese purchased from the coop (a community owned grocery I just found out about).





Brussel Sprouts:
I had lightly steamed these the day before and used some of them in a recipe (that flopped, by the way), so for today's second chance, I cut them in half and put them into a skillet along with...
*a good drizzling of extra virgin olive oil
*curry powder
*rosemary
*paprika
*garlic powder

...and stirred them around until well-coated and heated through. Then I put them into our bowls and sprinkled with some freshly ground Himalayan pink salt. Tasty!



Sometimes my creations end up really yummy and sometimes they're just okay (read: awful!), but luckily both of these dishes turned out pretty well and were well-received. :)

Recipes from Raw on $10 a Day (or Less!)

For dinner one night this past week, I made three all-RAW recipes from Lisa's Raw on $10 a Day (or Less!) blog. I stumbled upon this site a few weeks ago and have really been enjoying trying out her recipes. She is so creative and her photography makes everything look SO good! (My photos pale in comparison to her works of arts, so be sure to follow the links and check out her site!)

From Lisa's website, we tried the Banana Salad, Creamy Cucumber Soup, and Apple Cinnamon Cookies.

For once, I followed the recipes to a "T"...with the only exception being that for the Creamy Cucumber Soup, I used a red onion instead of a "regular" onion (although she didn't specify a type) and I also added some of the diced red onion on top of the soup as well.

Here were our thoughts on each dish, along with some photos:

*Banana Salad -- We loved the presentation of this salad (especially the coconut flakes!), but didn't think the dressing really melded well with the ingredients. We would definitely try it again, but would go with a different type of dressing...not sure what though...hmmm....





*Creamy Cucumber Soup -- We both LOVED this! It tasted incredibly fresh and light. It would make a great summer soup on a hot day because it tastes so cool and refreshing. DH liked the chopped cucumber and onion on top and actually wished there were more of it; he prefers chunky soups, and I have to say I agreed. We were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked this recipe! It turned out a beautiful light green color, and looked quite fancy, even though it took less than 5 minutes to whip together!





*Apple Cinnamon Cookies -- I had a little bit of difficulty making these in my Blendtec. I think it was just because the amount I was making was pretty small and I was using the big 3qt jar, so most of what needed to be blended kept getting stuck under the blade. A food processor probably would have done a better job, but with continued scraping down of the sides, and some patience, I was able to get a sticky dough which rolled nicely into cookies. These were absolutely delicious, but a bit thick (think peanut butter), so I'd recommend a nice glass of your favorite milk (cow's, coconut, almond, etc.) to wash these down with! The spices in these cookies are absolutely perfect; you won't believe they're raw! Yum! (Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo taken of these before we devoured them! Oops!)

Collard Smoothies!

On Saturday, I scored a HUGE bag of locally grown collards at the Carrboro Farmer's Market for $2! Woo hoo! On Monday, I decided to have a collard green smoothie for breakfast.

It went something like this:
*2-3 bananas
*raw cacao nibs
*raw chia seeds
*4-5 collard green leaves (washed and de-stemed)
*1 cup frozen blueberries
*organic raw hempseeds
*water and ice

I was unsure how it would turn out, but it ended up being quite delicious! DH and I both enjoyed it!

Today, I made another one that was okay. I have to admit that Monday's recipe was better though.

Today I did:
*1 banana
*5-6 collard green leaves (washed and de-stemed)
*1/2-1 cup frozen blueberries
*whole organic quartered apple
*chia seeds
*raw cacao nibs
*water and ice

It wasn't bad. It just wasn't as palatable as Monday's.

Now I'm just wondering what to do with all those other collards! :)

You are a foodie, aren't you??

foodie: a person who has an ardent or refined interest in food

Today, for the first time in my life, I was labeled as a foodie. I took it as a great compliment. I am very interested in food, especially since I've been reading and researching about eating RAW foods and increasing my family's fruit and veggie intake while reducing processed foods and all the icky things that go along with them.

So, here's what this "foodie" had for dinner. :)

I made a huge amount of homemade hummus (from dried chickpeas) a couple of weeks ago, and after tiring of eating the hummus as a dip, I winged a hummus salad. Well, DH raved about it so that I decided to make it again.

First, I made the hummus. I normally soak my chickpeas for about 24 hours, then slow cook them in my crock pot or on the stove until soft, but since I didn't plan ahead, I dove into the pantry for a huge can of organic chickpeas DH had bought as a "backup" plan. I poured most of the liquid out of the can, and then dumped the chickpeas and remaining liquid into my Blendtec. Next I threw in every yummy thing I could think of and blended it until smooth: some roasted garlic cloves (from Just Tomatoes, ordered through a coop), some Just Onions (from Just Tomatoes, ordered through a coop), several whole sprigs of fresh cilantro, a chunk of jalapeno pepper, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, some raw sesame seeds, freshly ground peppercorns, and pink Himalayan salt. I added and tasted and added some more until it tasted the way I wanted.

Then I made the salad. I put organic mixed baby greens onto our plates. Then I topped them with slivers of organic red onion and organic celery, and grated organic carrots. I sprinkled raw sunflower seeds over all of it, and then gave us each a big glob of the freshly made hummus right in the center.

Right before serving, I swirled olive oil over the entire plate, including the hummus and then drizzled balsamic vinegar over the greens (avoiding the hummus). Sorry, I didn't get any post-drizzling pics...I'll do better next time! ;)

DH loves this and I think it is great, too!


As a side, I made fresh apple sauce. I simply washed, cored, and sliced 3 apples using my handy dandy apple gadget


(I love how quick and easy this is. You can also have the gadget peel the apple if you desire. It does it at the same time it's coring and slicing. We eat apples raw as snacks a lot thanks to this gadget, and I've just found that it makes dehydrating the apples a cinch since it cuts really uniform slices.)

I threw the apples into my Blendtec and added a few ounces of coconut water and around a cup of water. I like to squeeze in as much healthiness as possible, so I threw in a couple of handfuls of greens as well; these could be omitted for a standard apple sauce, but we like it GREEN. I also threw in just a bit of cinnamon.

I blended until smooth (not long in this baby!)...

and served it up! Normally when I make this, I add spinach and the color is a much prettier green. This time, I used the same mixed greens as I used in our salads since that's what we had on hand, and it came out much darker, I think because there were some purple-y greens in the mix. It still tasted great, but looks much prettier when using spinach. DH ate two bowls!

After dinner, I was still craving something...something sweet...dessert! I had read Sheri's post about her version of Larabars on the Green and Crunchy blog, but had never even tried a Larabar myself. Earlier in the day though, I had been talking to another mama on one of the Diaperswappers' threads who was trying to eat more raw, and she had experimented with Sheri's recipe. So, I thought, why not??

I put a cup of raw cashews into the Blendtec. Most people do this in a food processor I think, but I don't have one, so I tried it out in my 3 quart Blendtec jar. I pulsed the cashews until they were roughly chopped (just a few seconds). Then I pitted and roughly chopped about a cup of Medjool dates. I added a few at a time and pulsed until things started to combine. I scraped the container down once to be sure all the nuts were getting mixed well. I also added some organic flax meal, organic chia seeds, and vanilla. I pulsed the blender until the mixture began to stick together like dough. Then I dumped it into a bowl with a flat bottom and pressed it down so it was even. I noticed the mix was a bit "damp" to the touch (Did I use too many dates??), so I threw some raw dehydrated coconut chips and more flax meal into the blender and pulsed until it was roughly mixed and chopped. I sprinkled the coconut flax flakes on top of the cashew bars, put a lid on the bowl, and stuck it in the freezer for about an hour. When we were ready to eat it, I pulled it out and cut it into fourths...

...and served us up a slice!

I was surprised how nicely the Vanilla Coconut Cashew bars came out of the bowl and how the pieces stayed together so well...very bar-like!

The taste was pretty darn yummy, too! These definitely hit the spot!

I'm looking forward to trying various combinations for these bars--using different nuts, trying different additions. I think my next version will have some raw cacao. Yum!

What do you think a fun combination would be?

Trail Mix

I am a snacker. Always have been. Probably always will be. One thing that has changed recently though is my choice of snacks. Instead of a whole sleeve (or two!) of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, I'll have something a lot more health conscious. This doesn't mean I have to sacrifice my chocolate or that it can't be delicious!

One snack I have come to really love (read: CRAVE!) is trail mix. I've had various trail mixes throughout my life, but really started to get into them when I found a couple of varieties I liked at the health food store Trader Joe's. Problem is, they're fairly expensive, and unless you buy different varieties, they're always the same. Since I have started buying in bulk and have begun to learn to use a dehydrator, I really enjoy creating my own trail mixes.

Here are some of the "pros" of creating my own mixes:
*I can whip up a snack in minutes
*I can have as many or as few ingredients as I want
*It can be a different mix every time or I can repeat my favorites
*I can include more variety than store bought mixes
*I control the ingredients, so I can be sure there are no unnatural additives or preservatives
*I can ensure my dehydrated fruits and my nuts/seeds are really raw for added nutrients
*Since I buy all my ingredients in bulk, creating the mix is much cheaper than buying a small bag of pre-made trail mix
*Because I buy in bulk, I always have ingredients on hand that make nice trail mixes
*I can make as much or as little as I want

When I buy foods in bulk, I take out a portion for daily use to keep in an airtight jar or canister. The rest of the food is stored away in an appropriate place (i.e. pantry, freezer). As my daily portion runs low, I simply refill from the larger portion that has been stored.

To make my trail mix, I simply pull out the containers with the ingredients I want to use and scoop the desired amount into a bowl. I mix the ingredients up with my fingers, and TA-DA! There you have it: instant (healthy) snack!



Today's trail mix consisted of:
*Raw Coconut chips (Wilderness Family Naturals -- I blogged about these yesterday!)
*Organic Raw Pepitas/Pumpkin Seeds
*Raw Sunflower Seeds
*Dehydrated Apples (Just Tomatoes, purchased through a coop)
*Dehydrated Bananas (homemade)
*Dehydrated Cherries (Just Tomatoes, purchased through a coop)
*Dehydrated Blackberries (Just Tomatoes, purchased through a coop)
*Organic Rolled Oats
*Raw Almonds
*Raw Cashews
*Organic Goji Berries (Navitas Naturals, purchased through Amazon subscribe & save)
*Organic Raw Cacao Nibs (Navitas Naturals, purchased through Amazon subscribe & save)

It only took a minute or two to throw together, but WOW was it yummy! And filling! I didn't produce any plastic waste that needs to be thrown away, and I ate a wide variety of fruits, nuts, and seeds. I even snuck in a few grains!

Now, this trail mix wasn't perfect. Ideally, I'd have liked for it to have been all raw, but I am just getting into this and learning more and more. To be as "green" and thrifty as possible, I feel I need to use up my on-hand ingredients first. I have purchased a lot from Just Tomatoes through coops in the past and actually have a large order on the way now. I am pretty sure these dried fruits (while super delicious) aren't dehydrated at temperatures that are considered raw. My goal now that I have a dehydrator of my own is to begin dehydrating my own fruits more and more; and actually the banana chips were dehydrated by me, but I'd better stop there because that's a WHOLE other post! :)

So, what do you like in YOUR trail mix??

Wilderness Family Naturals

I had heard good things about Wilderness Family Naturals through all my internet research of raw foods. One of the products that is recommended to buy from them is their dehydrated coconut. It is so highly recommended because they dehydrate it at a low temperature (98 degrees) so that it retains its nutrients. Also they don't add anything to it. It's JUST raw coconut!

So, I decided to try their coconut chips; they also offer fine and large flakes. I really wanted the 25 pound bag since it is so much cheaper per pound, but there were out of stock, so I ordered 2 of the 3 lb. bags to try it out first, with the plan of snatching up a 25 pound next time if I indeed liked the product.

I ordered on Tuesday, March 2nd and it was delivered this afternoon! I ripped into the box immediately. It was well packaged and came in two large, clear plastic bags with resealable zipper tops. I tore into one. The description on the bag says, "You will notice a delicate crispness when you crunch them between your teeth and a melting of the delicious coconut oil as they dissolve in your mouth." That describes the taste to a "T". AMAZINGLY, good!

As I was snacking, I noticed the bag I had ripped into had a "best by" date on it: May 2, 2011. My first thought was "Oh, no!" I hadn't checked the dates on both bags and it is a pet peeve of mine to not eat the oldest first. So, I checked the other bag and was shocked that it said "Best by date: January 22, 2010." I did a double-take. This one was already past it's best by date. Upon further inspection, the coconut was noticably more aged as well. The fresher bag I had just opened had coconut that was uniform in color and very white. The older bag had coconut that was just a shade darker and also had pieces that were starting to brown near the edges. With a glance, I would have never noticed, but with close inspection, I could tell the one bag definitely had older coconut. Now to be clear, it didn't look "old" or bad or gross, just didn't look as fresh as the newer bag.

So, I shot WFN a quick email using their online form:

I literally just received my 2 x 3lb bags of coconut chips I ordered a few days ago. I am thrilled with the fast shipping and I cracked into one of the bags right away. Delicious! As I got ready to put the other bag away however, I noticed the coconut in it was a darker shade with some brown edging as opposed to the bag I had just opened that was pure white. The tag on the back of the unopened bag says best by January 22, 2010.

In no time, I had a reply:

We do GREATLY apologize. We here at WFN are aware that a few of the old bags got sent out and we apologize again for this. I will be shipping a new bag to you immediately. The coconut that is turning is still fine to eat as that is just a best buy date. Please enjoy the new bag as well as the first bag.

Again…I am so sorry…we just had no way of tracking who got the old bags sent to them. Thank you for your email!

Thank you,
K----

I replied:

Hi K----,

Thank you for the prompt reply. You caught me while I am still munching on the coconut from the bag I opened! haha This stuff is delicious! Thank you for sending a new bag. I had read great things about your business prior to ordering from you and I now see they are true!

On a side note, I stumbled upon a youtube video posted by WFN for "Extraordinarily good seasoned popcorn" about a week ago, and my family is now addicted! This is seriously THE. BEST. POPCORN. EVER.

Thank you again for the very courteous service. I will definitely be a repeat customer!

And literally 3 minutes later, she had replied again:

Glad to hear…the popcorn actually is good. The smell fills up the office from time to time and makes everyone hungry!

Enjoy…and we are happy to hear your satisfaction. We try and please everyone as much as possible.

Take Care!

Thank you,

K----

So, I just want to say, that I am one seriously pleased Wilderness Family Naturals customer. And I will definitely be ordering one of those 25 pound bags of coconut whenever they're back in stock. In fact, I may have to load up on some more of the 3 pounders because I can't seem to keep my hand out of the bag!!

Another thing I just noticed while perusing their website is that when you order with them, you earn up to 5% of your subtotal in points that you can use on your next purchase. So, I have already earned $1.75 in their customer rewards program that will apply to my next order! Woo hoo!!

Oh, and by the way, if you want to know more about that Extraordinarily good seasoned popcorn, check out this post.

Smoothies!!

Ok, here is way too much information on smoothies. A couple we are friends with recently began to make smoothies after hearing me talk about them, so I typed up some information for them. I meant to send them a simple recipe, but it ended up being a novel, so I thought I'd post it here to help others who might be new to smoothies. Hopfully some of this will be interesting and not bore you to death. :)

----------
Here is the smoothie I started out with that got me addicted:

Dr. Oz Brain Boosting Smoothie
1 banana
1/4 cup blueberries (frozen)
1/2 cup apple juice
handful of hemp seeds (from Whole Foods; but you could substitute flax seeds, flax meal, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.)
*If you wanted to make it green, just add a handful of spinach, and if you need more liquid add a little water.

Here is a good one we had yesterday: Apple-Spinach Juice (I made this in the Blendtec though, so not sure how well a regular blender will blend the apples...you might want to add only a bit at a time)
*cored and cut up apples (3)
*spinach (couple of handfuls)
*enough water to get your blender to spin and get the consistency you want

I don't normally go by recipes for my smoothies since I like to wing-it (this is sometimes good and sometimes really terrible), but here is what I've learned from reading a ton and from my experience:
*if you want it to be sweet, (always) start with a banana (or 2...or 3...)
*if you want to thicken it, add 1/2 to 1 avocado (can even be a pudding-like consistency it's so thick; also chia seeds thicken)
*liquid sweeteners: honey, agave, maple syrup -- but beware, these are concentrated sweeteners, so still aren't THAT great for you; same with fruit juice...better to use the whole fruit when possible and avoid the processed juice
*whole food sweeteners: banana, other sweet fruit, pitted medjool dates (helps to soak the dates in water first to soften them; they have these in Harris Teeter next to the bananas and you can buy them one by one if you want to try)--whole food sweeteners are the best in my opinion
*when making green smoothies, your ratio of fruit to greens should be about 60% fruit to 40% greens--though I would err on the side of more fruit to begin with
*the best starter greens for smoothies are spinach and romaine lettuce because they have very mild tastes (you probably won't even notice they're in there except that the smoothie may be green). never use iceberg lettuce as it has virtually no nutritional value. you can also use kale, collards, mustard greens, etc. but I wouldn't start out with those as they definitely have a much stronger green taste.
*other "green" add-ins that we have tried and liked: cucumber (my new fav), carrot, celery, tomato, mint, cilantro
*fruits we've tried: blueberry, strawberry, banana (if you really get into this, you can buy the clearanced--already brown--bananas at Harris Teeter for $0.20 per pound--they usually have a ton of them...you can even freeze them), blackberry (very seedy in a reg blender), avocado, kiwi, raspberry, apple, mango, plums, pears
*other add-in ideas: flax seed or meal, hemp seed (love these), chia seeds (love these), cocoa or cacao powder or nibs, almond or peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, goji berries, sunflower seeds, oat bran, granola, any nuts, coconut water, coconut milk, dried or fresh herbs

One of my favorite fruit smoothies (The Skinny Monkey...hey, I didn't name it!) is simply:
*banana
*honey
*skim milk
*granola

And another is:
*banana
*cocoa powder
*peanut or almond butter
*milk
*honey

You could easily sneak some greens in there too and probably not even taste them.

We typically use water as the main liquid in our smoothies, but if you're craving something creamier, then you can make a milk-based one. Or you can add nuts along with water and that creates a "nut milk" so that would also be creamy.

Ok, I'm done now! haha Get blending!