Tag Archives: blender

Easy roasted banana dessert

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My friend Kris made this and shared, and wow, it was so delicious, I had to try it at home. It’s so easy, I’m sure I’ll be making it often to satisfy my desire to have something sweet without any kind of added sugar or sweetener.

Roasting fruits and veggies brings out the sweetness.

You’ll need a few ripe bananas. The skin should have some brown spots but not be solid brown. A few is 3-6 bananas. I saved them in my refrigerator until I had enough.

Image courtesy of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Preheat your oven to 350. Peel the bananas and place on a sheet pan. For easy cleaning, use parchment paper under the bananas. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

Place the roasted bananas into a blender. Add one can of full-fat coconut milk. (I prefer organic with no guar gum, which Trader Joe’s carries.)

Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Blend to a consistent creamy texture. Pour into a jar or glass container and refrigerate for a few hours to help it firm up before eating.

You could sprinkle it with ground Ceylon cinnamon and/or cardamom for a little added spice if desired. It makes a delicious dessert, and it’s simple.

Hot green nourishing soup

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I don’t know about you, but after the excesses of holiday eating, I’m so ready for something simple and nourishing.

I was inspired by a recent segment on The Splendid Table podcast about basic green soup.

I also am a big fan of The Soup Peddler‘s (colorful Austin vendor of soups, juices, smoothies, and more) green detox broth.

Here’s my mashup, made in an Instant Pot using an immersion blender. I now have some good simple eating for the week and some to put in the freezer.

You can easily make this vegan or Paleo using your own adaptations. Recipes are for inspiration!

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons of ghee, bacon grease, coconut oil, or olive oil
  • 2 large yellow onions, peeled and sliced
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • black pepper to taste (optional)
  • 3 cups water, vegetable broth, or chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup Arborio rice (improves texture after blending)
  • 16 cups of leafy greens, herbs, broccoli, and zucchini (whatever is green and in season), coarsely chopped
  • 4 cups water, vegetable broth, or chicken broth
  • a pinch of cayenne
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • any other seasonings desired
  • olive oil to garnish

Steps:

  1. Set Instant Pot to saute and add fat, onions, salt, and pepper.
  2. Stir occasionally while cooking for 5 minutes, lid off.
  3. Stir, put the lid on, seal, and pressure cook for 20 minutes. Release pressure and remove lid. Onions should have a nice caramel color.
  4. Stir in 3 cups water or broth and 1/4 cup Arborio rice. Put the lid on, seal, and pressure cook for 1 minute. Release pressure manually and remove lid.
  5. Stir in the green veggies and add 4 more cups water or broth to Instant Pot. Pressure cook for 4 minutes. Release pressure and remove lid.
  6. Use an immersion blender in the pot, blending until contents are liquified.
  7. Add cayenne and lemon juice to taste. Adjust seasonings as desired. Garnish with olive oil.

Green drink recipe

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It’s a day off for me, which means no classes and nothing on my schedule until this evening. That’s rare in my life. Massage school is on break for a week. My program, 3 full days a week, is called “the intensive” for a reason.

I felt in need of an energy boost, so I just made myself a green drink. I made mine in a blender, not a juicer. I like the fiber! I’d love to get a VitaMix when it’s time. They’re so versatile (but expensive).

Into the blender went the following:

  • 2 cans of coconut water
  • 2/3rds of a peeled cucumber
  • half a bunch of Italian parsley
  • a bunch of kale
  • a stalk of celery
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 T turmeric powder
  • 1 T spirulina powder
  • 1 T maca powder
  • 3 T flax-seed oil
  • 1 T flax seeds
  • 1 T hemp seeds
  • 1 T chia seeds
  • pinches of herbs from my garden: spearmint, peppermint, rosemary, thyme, basil

All organic where possible. This makes enough for 5 or 6 servings.

It tastes pretty darn good (even for a green drink), if I do say so myself. I take that to mean that my body needs it.

I’ve learned not to put too much garlic in. And if I’d had fresh ginger root, I would have peeled and added it, but what I had was rather shriveled, more ready for the compost pile than consumption.

Not only do I feel virtuous for taking the time to lovingly create and consume this concoction, but the vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, enzymes, fiber, and the anti-viral/fungal/microbial/cancer, rebalancing, detoxifying, immune-boosting, energy-boosting properties of these ingredients will rejuvenate me down to the cellular level.

It’s very nice to do something for those hard-working cells that rarely get any credit!