Good Morning Green Smoothie :)

Good morning! Today I found myself still slightly sick from a sore throat, but having enough energy to feel ready to take on all that is life.  A standard morning in my shoes (when I'm not running out the door for work at 6 am) usually involves starting my day off with something green - and that green something is most often KALE.  This morning I grabbed some leftover beans & fresh cut tomatoes from my fridge thinking I'd just heat the beans on the stove, sautee the kale, and add an egg for an extra protein kick.  Upon returning from my garden with fresh picked kale I stood in my kitchen staring at that beautiful leafy green feeling stuck on whether my body wanted the original hot meal I had thought or if it wanted a cold raw smoothie... I was probably staring at the kale for 5 minutes going through this debate un-wavered when I just kicked myself out of it and went for the smoothie, as I haven't had one in a couple weeks and my body is feeling low so it is probably best to pump it with raw animal-protein-free love!  Green smoothies are one of my favorite things in life - they can be so versatile and are ALWAYS so delicious!  This is my basic go-to recipe:

Ingredients: 

- Almond, Coconut, or Hemp milk (or another non-dairy/non-soy based milk - I also try to stay away from rice milk so my only consumption of rice is in it's true form)
- 1 cup (approximately) Frozen Bananas
- 4-5 leaves of Kale
- 1 tbsp. raw cacao powder (optional - I just love chocolate ;) AND when chocolate is in this raw form it is actually AMAZING for your body and gives you a lot of energy to tackle your day!)
- 1 tbsp. Udo's 3-6-9 Oil (optional - as someone who's only animal-protein source is an occasional egg I know that my body needs an extra boost of those essential fatty acids - Udo's get's theirs from a plant-based source... even if you eat meat it is important to supplement with essential fatty acids, whether it comes from a fish source or plant)
- 1 scoop of Garden of Life's Raw Meal (optional - again, as someone who rarely eats animal protein, even though my diet is pretty well rounded and based in LOTS of vegetables and whole grains, I want to make sure my body is getting all that it needs and has the added boost to perform at it's peak performance)

Directions:
1. Blend bananas with non-dairy milk until smooth.
2. Add kale and blend until all kale is broken down.
3. Add cacao, Udo's oil, and Raw Meal. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour into a mason jar (or other available drinking vessel) for on the go usage... Enjoy!

*This usually lasts me either until lunch or to a later/lighter breakfast (the latter is usually on days when I'm up and going by 6am).

*Feel free to use a different green of choice (spinach is a great one!) and experiment with your own ingredients - I often get as crazy as adding: local bee pollen, pitted dates, goji berries, chia seeds, raw maca powder, matcha green tea powder, wheat grass powder, dulse flakes, etc. Go wild! You can also create a base with berries and water and/or a fruit juice - I did this for a long time starting out, which makes it much sweeter... it was too much fruit for my body to handle so now I pretty much stick to bananas as my only fruit.

Raw Bitter Arugula Pesto (vegan/gluten-free)

As an anything green enthusiast, one of my top favorite leafy greens is definitely arugula; with a lemony flavor and a slight bitterness, it is too aromatic and delicious to pass up.  This year I decided I would try growing it in my garden so I could have constant access to this wonderful vegetable.  However, I had never realized exactly why the arugula you buy in stores has such small leaves, while the plant, if left to it's own devices, grows very large leaves - up to almost a foot in length and 3-4 inches wide (if not larger).  Although this is quite beautiful and looks like it will be tasty, just as kale and collards have large leaves... it turns out that the larger arugula leaves get, the more bitter and almost unbearable they are to eat in anything too close to their natural format.  This all being said, I still love this vegetable too much just to dig it up out of my garden or compost all of the large leaves.  That is where this recipe for Raw Bitter Arugula Pesto comes into play!  I needed recipes which make good use of the bitterness of the large arugula leaves, but also make it edible.  Here's a simple recipe that takes less than 5-10 minutes to whip up in your food processor!

Ingredients

large handful of large Arugula
1/2 Cup Raw Walnuts or soaked Raw Almonds
3/4 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
4 cloves of Garlic
a pinch of Sea Salt, to taste (optional)
a sliver of Lemon, to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Harvest a large handful of large arugula leaves, unless it is store bought - in which case, it won't be nearly as bitter.

arugula plant

handful of arugula

2. Remove arugula leaves from stems and rinse well.

3. Peel garlic cloves and chop in a food processor.

4. Add walnuts and olive oil to food processor. Process.

5. Add arugula and process.

6. Add sea salt and lemon to taste.

7. Remove into a jar (or other storing container) and enjoy! Keep in the refrigerator after opening - can also keep in the freezer.

Raw pestos are very delicious on raw pasta (zucchini noodles!), veggies, or mixed with rice, just to name a few.  I also mixed some of this pesto with pizza sauce for a much more exciting flavor palate on my pizza!