So, as may be surmised, I am no longer in Paris. It's been almost a year since my last blog post and today marks exactly one year since I flew off to the place where I fell in love with real croissants. They ruined me for all croissants state-side, which is a sad loss (though, pro-tip-- Trader Joe's has amazing frozen croissants that you proof and bake yourself).
Speaking of food, sorry for never following up with Food Tips, Part 2... I'm sure you all (all= my parents) are sorely disappointed. I still stand by Part 1, though! International flags = bad food! Oh, also, since obviously all I can talk about is croissants, never buy a croissant ordinaire, only a croissant au beurre-- the former is made with margarine, the latter with real butter. If they're not labeled, you'll be able to tell because the butter croissants won't be crescent shaped, they're sort of straight-ish, which is something that is apparently regulated by the French government.
Okay, so all of that to say-- no longer in Paris, now in California (well, actually, now now, I'm in Arizona, but I'm going back tomorrow morning), and my eating habits are decidedly more Californian-- aka, vegetables instead of butter. As pretty much anyone who knows me can tell you, I have a small (not small) obsession with green smoothies right now. I've been trying to get my parents on the bandwagon and finally succeeded this morning with a delicious kale-coconut concoction. In hopes of keeping them on the wagon, I'm going to type out some tips I've learned and some semi-recipeish type things.
Green Smoothie Tips!
1. Put the greens in the bottom of the blender before adding the other ingredients
2. A small scoop of chia seeds add good nutrients and you won't even notice they're there
3. Half a frozen banana in the smoothie adds a nice texture and makes it cold (aka more smoothie-like vs. juice-like). To make this process easier, peel a bunch of bananas, break them in half, and put the halves in a baggie. Make sure the halves aren't touching so that they don't freeze together. Then put the bag in the freezer and pop one out every time you make a smoothie.
4. I think you can make these with pretty much any green, but I have only tried with kale and spinach. Both are great.
5. Spinach has a bit milder flavor than kale, so if you're making some sort of fruit smoothie, you might as well add a handful-- you won't notice the difference and it'll add iron, etc.
6. Frozen blueberries are also a great addition-- tons of antioxidents and delicious.
7. It's nice to add some sort of liquid. I usually use unsweetened almond milk or unsweetened coconut milk (from a carton, not a can). I get the Whole Foods generic 365 brand; it's good and inexpensive.
8. Protein powder can be a good addition, especially if you have a mother who is convinced that you can never get enough protein.
9. Almond butter is also a good source of protein! Though the addition of brown into the mix doesn't always make the most appealingly colored drink...
10. You can mix these up at night, refrigerate them, and then have them ready to go in the morning.
Have fun and experiment! You really can't go wrong.
Recipe type things (more like ingredient suggestions)
1.
A big handful of spinach, two slices of pineapple, a whole banana, a bit (about a cup) of almond milk, chia seeds
2.
3 stalks of kale, a big handful of spinach, about a cup(ish) [just eyeball it] of frozen blueberries, half a frozen banana, chia seeds, almond milk (approx. 1 cp.), 1 scoop of protein powder, a bit of ginger, lemon, an apple for taste
2.5
All of the above minus the protein powder, ginger, lemon, and apple
3.
3-4 stalks of kale, the meat from a young coconut, the coconut water from the same coconut, a whole banana (frozen or not frozen), cinnamon to taste
4.
Kale, spinach, frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, almond milk
5.
Spinach, mango (frozen chunks are fine too), coconut milk-- (this would probably also be great if you swapped out the coconut milk for coconut flesh/water)
6.
One frozen banana, 2 pitted fresh dates, 1 tablespoon almond butter, 1 cup almond milk, a pinch (to taste) of cinnamon
