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VEGAN Beautifying Beet Smoothie

Posted on March 7, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

A silky smooth treat filled with ingredients that are clean and satisfying. This vegan version of my Beautifying Beet Smoothie is guaranteed to leave you feeling beautiful from the inside out!

That’s right folks, the pink lady is BACK!

I couldn’t help myself last week while I was sipping on glass after glass of princess nectar and practicing my newfound love for winter exhibitionism…I just had to see how it would taste with a little vegan spin on it!

Oh ok, you got me…I totally ran out of cottage cheese! But I DID have a package of my favorite extra firm tofu from Trader Joe’s that was only two MONTHS out of date!

See, I’m getting better! 😉

I also decided to mix things up a bit and added some grated ginger which I thought gave it a little “ohhh, what IS that?” flavor. Yet another reason fresh ginger reigns supreme!

Vegan Beautifying Beet Smoothie

By: Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Cook Time: N/A

Keywords: blender breakfast beverage snack dairy-free high protein vegan vegetarian beets #strangebutgood

Ingredients (Serves 1)

1/2 cup extra-firm tofu
1/2 medium raw beet, cut into smaller pieces
1 handful raw beet greens/stems
1/4 medium avocado
1/2 medium banana (optional)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Tablespoon maple syrup (or other preferred sweetener)
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon carob powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4-5 ice cubes
Hemp seeds for garnish

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender and process until smooth.
2. Transfer to wine glass (because you’re a VEGAN princess) and top with crunchy hemp seeds!

The thickness and creaminess of this version is just as great as the original and it still only takes MINUTES to make…unless you forget the avocado on the first go-around, spill the carob powder, and then have to pick out a piece of spoon from the bottom of the blender…

Wait, whaaaaaaat?!

Note to self: Sleep depravity is all fun and games until someone loses a spoon!
I wonder if plastic is vegan?? 😉

And because I simply can’t ignore my ADD tendencies…

♫ Just BEET It, BEET It, BEET It, BEET It

My favorite smoothie, now vegan
Showin’ how creamy, sweet is in sight
If you hate meat, then this is delight ♫

Strange BEET Good

Now head on over to Sprint 2 the Table and see what creative combos are lurking in Strangeville today! Laura and I will just be over here working on our moonwalk! 😉

♫ Just BEET It, BEET It
Just BEET It, BEET It
Just BEET It, BEET It
Just BEET It, BEET It… ♫

Any stupid mistakes lately? Please, share with the class!

Posted in Recipe, Strange But Good | Tagged avocado, beets, ginger, smoothie | 25 Comments

Winter Rants & Other Rambles

Posted on March 6, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Hey hey, it’s Thursday!

Annnnnnd cue the randomness!

Behold: Snowpocalpse!

1. It sleeted and hailed all night Sunday and come Monday morning, we had one gigantic sheet of ice UNDER about two inches of snow. And whatever has thawed in the last couple of days only refreezes each night. I swear I lose a life each and every time I have to skate my way through the parking lot at the hospital…

2. Or when I have to hike up the mountain that IS my driveway! Poor little Elvira has had to sit out in the cold every single day this week while I pull out my ropes and harness in order to make it to the front door!

3. But get a load of the forecast for the next week! LOOK AT TOOOOOOOESDAY!?!
Yep, that’s Tennessee weather for ya! And for all my metric friends out there, 68°F = 20°C…yeah, I know!

4. I was honestly a bit surprised to find eggs still on the shelf when I went to grab some groceries the other day. And yeah, let it be known that I only went in for EGGS!

Question: Anyone tried these Al Fresco sausages before?
‘Nother question: Who wants to come over for breakfast?

Bring biscuits!

5. I actually ran by the store after my doctor’s appointment. Remember how I told you guys I was going to be seeing a therapist for my insomnia? Well how about during our next appointment, he wants to HYPNOTIZE ME!! After being asked if I would be comfortable trying this technique, I laughed a little and said BRING IT…just don’t make me bark like a dog! 😉

6. After Meghan linked up to an article on bee pollen the other day, I took my bottle out, blew off the dust, and sprinkled it onto yes, ANOTHER bagel! This time with blueberry (jam) spiked quark which I’ve decided that I sorta kinda like…but only when it’s mixed with sweet stuff.

7. A friend told me about Molly Gabraith’s 28-Day Love Your Body Challenge that’s currently going on this month and even though I’m a few days late, I’m totally jumping in on this! I think I’ve come leaps and bounds in the area of self-love since this summer, but lately, I’ve been feeling more of an indifference toward my body with the occasional, “ohhhh look at ‘dat ass!” and well, to be honest, I’d like the scale to tip a bit on that…pun definitely NOT intended!

8. So how about Tuesday was National Pancake Day…and the Pancake QUEEN did
NOT celebrate?! #fail

Sorry guys…I’m still just not feeling it!

9. Oh and speaking of feeling…I FEEL like I’m coming down with a cold! Not sure if it’s the weather or my friend’s son who sneezed all over me the other day, but my throat has been sore ALL week. Needless to say I’ve been sucking down Emergen-C like it’s my job. Favorite flavor? Pink LemONNNNNade! 😀

Use coupon code QQQ940 for a discount at iherb.com!

10. Since I started cruising through all of the “moody” playlists on Spotify, which have a LOT of incredible indie tracks I might add, I’ve realized something…Lorde is pretty freakin’ awesome! I know, I know…I’m behind the times, but I don’t care, especially when I have this song on repeat!

Thank YOU to Amanda, my savior for Thursday post ideas! Now hop on over to Spoons and see what everybody else has on their minds this week! 😀

What song have you been loving lately?

Who wants to join me in the Love Yourself Challenge?!

Posted in Randomness, Thinking Out Loud | Tagged grocery haul, insomnia, music, P28 Bread, pancakes, sick, winter | 32 Comments

WIAW: The Random Edition

Posted on March 5, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

What’s up, my little party animals?

Is everyone recovering well from yesterday’s FAT fest? I’ll be honest, it completely slipped my mind that yesterday was Mardi Gras! I’m not catholic, but in years past, I have participated in Lent just to ~~show how masochistic I am~~ challenge myself. Yeah, don’t think I’ll EVER forget the year I gave up nut butter…or the number of spoonfuls of peanut butter I ate straight from the jar come Easter morning! Ha!

Mmm, speaking of peanut butter…let’s get on to the eats…the delicious, yet somewhat random, for today’s What I Ate ~~Monday~~ Wednesday!

Obviously I started another food phase this weekend, because when I rolled out of bed, all I wanted was another peanut butter bagel! But since I’m out of bananas (I know, Amanda…the insanity!), I plopped on some SUPER ripe persimmon slices and then layered on the TJ’s chocolate coffee “sprinkles”!

On my way out the door, I brewed up a big cup of vanilla creme bruuuuLAY coffee to have at the start and halfway through my shift for the night. To be honest, neither one of these flavors even comPARES to my vanilla hazelnut, which I’m now maybe kinda sort of hoarding, but well that’s nothing a little cinnamon can’t ~~cover up~~ fix! 😉

As the case has been lately, this day involved yet another snack plate…though this one was assembled AFTER the fact to showcase the items I noshed on over, get this, FOUR HOURS! I know, I’m weird! I would just nibble a bit and then put it away and then nibble a bit and then…yeah, you get the picture…literally! Ha! 😉

Anywho, we have here a whole carrot, stick-ified, half a Pink Lady apple (which I know is a favorite among a lot of you!), about a cup of cold pre-roasted kabocha, and a handful of Stacy’s salty pita chips with some sweeeeet Apricot Riesling Greek cream cheese (a mouthful in more ways that one) for dipping!

Around 2ish, 3ish or hell, I don’t know, whenever I got hungry, I had the second half of my coffee along with an apple pie Quest bar…another of my TOP favorite flavors!

So true story ~~bro~~: In the middle of my shift, I got the HUGEST craving for vegetables…crisp GREEN vegetables. Of course, I had no such animals (don’t even try to understand my brain) with me but I seriously started fantasizing about green smoothies, salads, and you guessed it, a little broccoli kissing (again, don’t even TRY!). Knowing I was lacking in the way of fresh produce at home, I started flipping through ideas of what I DID have that I could make FAST once I got home…

Broccoli & Sesame Tofu Stirfry

And this broccoli and sesame tofu stir fry was born about 15 minutes after walking through the door! Oh boy let me tell you, it hit THE spot!

All I did was saute some onions and tofu in a bit of toasted sesame oil, tossed in some thawed from frozen broccoli, and stirred it up with some of TJ’s soyaki sauce! Oh and on a whim I decided to pile it all on top of some yam noodles that I’ve had in my fridge for so long I’ve forgotten where they came from…oops?

Also, not one, not two, but THREE liters of water for the day! Guess I’m making up for all the dehydration over the weekend, huh? 😉

And even though we’re in a new month, I’m pretty sure daydreaming about greens warrants the “Love Your Veggies” button, amiright?! 😉 Be sure to hop on over to Peas & Crayons and check out all the other link ups today and I’ll see you back here tomorrow for a bit of randomness!