Superfood Smoothie {Dairy Free}

For a good portion of my life I've had stomach issues. I've taken Prilosec, Zantac, Pepto Bismol, Tums, etc. You name it and I've probably tried it to help me with the pain I feel after and sometimes before eating. I've tried to really clean up my diet since having my son and struggling to loose the last 15 extra pounds I gained during my pregnancy. Recently, I have decided to go completely dairy free. At first it was hard because I am an avid fan of cheese on everything, but the longer I go without the easier it gets. An added bonus to keep me from ordering the cheese coated pasta is the fact that now my stomach is feeling much better. At first I was just switching out regular milk for coconut milk, almond milk, lactose free, and the soy varieties. However, as I'm getting more strict about it I'm noticing more and more that many packaged items I was using the ingredients say "Contains: MILK". My favorite protein powder even contains dairy! :( I was so sad about this because this seemed to be the only brand I could find where my smoothies didn't taste gritty. I have yet to be able to find a Dairy Free version of Optimum Nutrition protein powder, so now I am on the hunt for a Vegan protein powder. Currently I'm trying Vega Protein & Greens Vanilla. It's okay, but it's not my favorite. It has an odd aftertaste and makes the texture of my smoothie more gritty. I'm curious what other vegans like to use as protein powder.

No matter what protein powder I use I still have a favorite for my smoothie mix. Lately I'm obsessed with putting chia seeds in everything. I've even been looking up recipes to make chia seed pudding or chia seed gels to drink. I love Mama Chia drinks but the sugar content seems higher than I'd ideally like. To make the smoothie above in my Ninja blender I threw in frozen strawberries, spinach, 1/2 a banana, chia seeds, unsweetened So Delicious coconut milk, Vega protein powder, and a handful of ice. I can't seem to make green smoothies that look green, but my guess is that the ones you buy are full of green food coloring. I'll have to experiment more and see how green I can really make my smoothie. 

Healthy Spinach Salad

My husband and I recently went to Goldberg's with some friends for Dinner. We hadn't originally planned to go to Goldberg's, but with the holiday season all the other restaurants around were 1-2 hour waits. Who has the time to wait that long for the seats, let alone the extra 30 minutes to get your food? Therefore, after looking around we settled on Goldberg's for dinner. They have a pretty amazing Mexican Spiced Hot Chocolate as well as a delicious Spinach Salad. The hubby and I love Spinach Salads. We try one at every restaurant we go that offers it. After all these taste tests of Spinach Salads out at restaurants we finally decided to make our own. 

The ingredient list wasn't huge and I definitely liked that. I want to try out different ingredients on my salads to see what's my favorite. I added purple onions on this salad, but I may go without next time to minimize the acidity in this salad. If you're like me and have issues with heartburn then raw onions are not always your friend. After cutting everything up I also ended up adding in Strawberries. The sweetness of the Strawberries and the Dried Cranberries make the perfect combination with the crunch of walnuts and cucumbers. I think I'll also try out Blue Cheese vs. Feta Cheese to see how the flavors differ in this salad.

In each Salad I had Spinach, sliced Red Onions, halved Cherry Tomatoes, sliced Strawberries, crumbled Feta Cheese, Walnut Pieces, dried Cranberries, and sliced Cucumbers. I started out topping it with Kroger Lite Balsamic Dressing. I wasn't a huge fan of the flavor of it compared to dressings I've had at Restaurants. I wanted to make my own so I tested out some ingredients. I found a simple mixture that tasted amazing. 

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Homemade Sweet Balsamic Vinaigrette

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Honey
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 tsp of Balsamic Vinegar 
• 1 pinch Fresh Basil 

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined. 

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What's your favorite homemade dressing? I will definitely be making more homemade dressings since they taste so much better and can usually be made with ingredients I have around the house. 

Healthy Sunday

After a few days of splurging during the holidays I've decided to be extra healthy on Sunday. I started my morning with a jog through my neighborhood then did a Yoga video on Xbox Fitness. Getting outdoors and enjoying the weather is by far my favorite way to get in an exercise. If not that, then I have to say Yoga is my second favorite. I wish I had a nice Yoga studio near me that I could go to regularly, but thankfully I at least have Xbox fitness and assorted workout videos to get me by.

After my workout I went by Whole Foods to get my groceries for the week. I picked up a lot of fruit and veggies to use for my juices. I also picked up a few salads for my fiancé and I for lunch.

I went with the FILL IT UP salad bar. You can fill the bowl full with anything from their salad bar or hot bar for only $12. It was a huge salad. I threw in mixed greens, broccoli, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, tofu, hard boiled eggs, sunflower seeds, cranberries, with a vinigairette dressing. I picked out a Salmon Caesar Salad for my fiancé. He loves salmon and caesar salad so this was the perfect mix. 

After lunch we got to work cleaning our veggies and fruits and chopping them up to prep for juicing. I used my amazing Breville Juicer to get the job done. 

I used a mix of peaches, oranges, strawberries, cucumbers, ginger, carrots, and spinach power mix. It was a very colorful mix that smelled amazing, and it tasted even better. I feel like juicing is the best way for me to get all the vitamins and minerals I need without having to remember to take a billion vitamins.

Now I can use this boost of energy from my yummy juice to help me finish a few projects around the house.

<3 Kelly Jean