GREEN REHYDRATION SMOOTHIE

I consider myself to have rhythm. Maybe not a ton, but enough. I'm too shy to dance at weddings or parties but I can carry a tune and I was a song-leader in middle school and high school, so you know, I can move to a good jock jams song. Have you been to a serious spin class? Like, at a real studio with a dark room and extremely loud music. It's hard and in a season where I'm short on free time, it seems like the most efficient workout in an hours time. So, this teacher I like, Catalina, she plays great music, most of which I don't know but I can tell it's hip. She has dark curly hair that she wears up and is bleached on the bottom and she says things like "you do you" (the permission I take upon myself to sit down in the saddle for a minute while we are supposed to be up sprinting). She instructs the class sort of like you're dancing on the bike. You keep this cadence with your pedals and you follow her choreography to crunch on the bike and thrust your hips back and forth and she gives encouraging little snippets throughout. Unfortunately, there is a giant mirror in front so you have to watch yourself try to follow her moves and I actually laugh a little bit about how off-beat I usually am. But I am sweating! And I'm wearing stretchy clothes to actually work out! So I don't care that much. I just recently started exercising again, and not just for vanities sake, which I have used as motivation in the past, but for my mental health as well. I've had a tough time adjusting back to life since Cleo joined our family. For me, it was harder in a completely different way than the transition to one child. It's been largely hormonal, combined with lack of sleep and alone time, and unrealistic expectations which is the Achilles Heel of my life. I appreciated this vulnerable post from Anna. It took too many months to figure out that doing one small thing for myself each day, makes me a better mother and wife and human to other people. It doesn't have to be big, maybe a spin class, a short walk without kids, a girly date, or making myself a real lunch and sitting down to eat it. I can't do all of these things each day, but I can usually do one of them and that helps minimize the breakdowns. When you spend a large part of your day taking care of other people, there has to be some point when you recharge your own batteries or you will deplete yourself. I am only suggesting this because I was trying to be the "every woman" for too long. Some days I still find myself trying, but it is exhausting. I'm in process of balancing the energy required to care for my family, but not giving up things that fill me up to do so. I can't do it all, and asking for help or giving things up or ordering take out doesn't mean I failed. I don't think you have to have kids to relate to that feeling. 
So I come home from said classes with my ears ringing and starving. I've eaten breakfast prior and it's too early for lunch but a hearty smoothie can tide me over. My default is some combination of almond milk, protein powder, frozen banana, cinnamon, cocoa and peanut butter but now I mix it up with this one I found in David and Luise's new book

GREEN REHYDRATION SMOOTHIE // Serves 1-2

Recipe adapted from Green Kitchen Smoothies by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl
I added the avocado to David and Luise's recipe because I have found that adding some natural fats, be it avocado, flaxmeal, nut butter, or even all three if I'm feeling ravenous, staves off my hunger much better than a smoothie without any fat. I am still breastfeeding quite frequently and need that extra fat in my diet too. It also helps balance blood sugar, even though this particular smoothie isn't super sweet. If this is acting as a meal for you, a 1/4 cup old fashioned oats can help thicken it up. 

1 celery stalk
1 small frozen banana
half of a small avocado
1 gigantic handful baby spinach or other leafy green
1 Tbsp. plant-based protein powder
1/2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
1 cup coconut water
juice of half a lime
a few mint leaves, optional

In a high-powered blender, blend all ingredients until completely smooth. Chill if desired. This smoothie is best enjoyed the day it is made. 

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Entrée, Gluten Free, Salad, Side, Summer

ROASTED TOMATO + CORN SALAD

Roasted Tomato & Corn Salad . Tomatoes . Sprouted Kitchen

Every now and then I do a cooking class or cook for small dinner parties and a version of this salad has happened a handful of times lately. It's not so much that it's a life changing combination of ingredients, as it is an example of how I build a green salad in general. A friend called it "my spiritual gift" so I suppose I may be in the field I was made to be in. I start with greens, often mixing lettuces for monochromatic shades of green (kale and romaine, arugula and butter lettuce etc.). I add another fresh, seasonal vegetable (here, shaved fennel), something sweet (here, both corn and roasted tomatoes), crunch and fat (nuts and cheese). I also keep color and texture in mind, using my mandoline frequently for raw vegetables because a huge chunk of carrot throws off the loveliness and ease in eating a green salad. Dressings are a wild card but this is where I can tie things together. Maybe it only needs oil and vinegar and salt if there is plenty going on or kale slaws can handle something extra lemony. I like heat with corn and tomatoes so I threw a jalapeno into an otherwise basic vinaigrette below. I add a sprinkle of parmesan for depth of flavor and to thicken it up a bit but it by no means tastes super Italian. Perhaps this all makes more sense in my head than written but I feel like once you have a general proportion you like, you can make a great salad with whatever is in your fridge. Sometimes it's helpful to start with a recipe, so tweak the one below however you'd like.  

Roasted Tomato & Corn Salad . Corn . Sprouted Kitchen

ROASTED TOMATO + CORN SALAD // Serves 4

I understand roasting the tomatoes takes some time, but I do a double batch in advance and have them on hand for both salads and eggs. You could substitute ripe peaches or nectarines here, as they can stand in for your tender and sweet element (I also love this salad from the archives while we're talking nectarines). I have been really into pine nuts lately but am bummed they have become so pricey. You could sub in almonds or walnuts here. 

1 pint baby tomatoes
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper
1 head of butter lettuce
1 small fennel bulb, shaved thin
1 ear of corn, grilled and cooled
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
4 ounces sheeps feta cheese

// jalapeno dressing //

1 jalapeno
handful of cilantro
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. honey
1 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
juice of half a small lemon
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
 

Roasted Tomato & Corn Salad . Tomatoes . Sprouted Kitchen

Preheat the oven to 350' and line a baking sheet with parchment. Halve the tomatoes and toss them in the olive oil, salt and pepper. If they aren't good ones, you know the type, I'll sprinkle a bit of sugar. Spread them on the baking sheet cut side up and roast for 20-25 minutes until dried on the edges. Remove to cool completely. They will dry up more as they rest. 
Blend all dressing ingredients together and set aside. The dressing can be made up to a week in advance. The remaining salad ingredients are written prepped, so from this point, you just need to dress and assemble. Because butter lettuce leaves are larger, this salad plates best with the lettuce and fennel being dressed, and then the tomatoes, corn, pine nuts and feta cheese sprinkled on top of each portion. This prevents all the heavier goodies from falling to the bottom.

Roasted Tomato & Corn Salad . Sprouted Kitchen
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Dessert, Gluten Free, Summer

CANTALOUPE AND MINT YOGURT POPS

Cantaloupe & Mint Yogurt Pops . Sprouted Kitchen

It may be beach season but our past few weekends have been spent working on the yard. I am hosting one of my best friends' baby shower here next month and while I can't completely overhaul it how I'd like, it has been in need of some sprucing. Curran runs around naked with the hose, Cleo rolls around on a blanket under a striped umbrella, yelling when she's on her tummy for too long but refusing to flip over. Hugh is sore and his back is completely sunburnt from weeding and planting ground cover but the "American dream" or something right? I trim the few plants that I haven't killed yet and water judiciously given the drought situation. Everything looks on the brink of being completely parched - which I am not sure whether to blame on my water conservation or lack of interest in gardening all together. Probably both. Naps. Food. Work. Crying. Laundry. The days are spent so quickly and I go to bed regretting that we didn't do anything "special" today. Maybe it's the news lately or my sensitive spirit but I know that our days are finite. I've been teary over the recent tragedies in Istanbul and Orlando. It could be any of us, really. And while I can't guarantee my people are safe at all times, I want our days to feel rich in love. At the end of each one, I want to feel like that day was marked by something and it's tough to keep in perspective that sometimes those marks are delicate and small and don't necessarily have to take much effort. I want some sort of miraculous balance between fun and new and intimate and social and productive but I know we don't get to have all that in the scope of the day. It is only when I can sit alone and quiet, that I see that even these days in the backyard with the baby buns and sunburns ARE a beautiful part of our finite days. Our memories and photos of these first few years with young kids may largely be at home and I am only recently starting to come to terms with that. I do need a vacation, but watching my boy giggle through the sprinklers and request that his sticky popsicle be cut in pieces because it hurts his teeth is it's own brand of wonderful. 

As a major fan of fruit in desserts, I was so excited to flip through Yossy's new cookbook. It's divided by season and then ingredient but still has adaptations for other fruits within the recipes. It's admittedly on the richer side of my normal fare but I find desserts to be more crowd-pleasing that way anyhow. And sometimes Hugh and Curran are my crowd. She has this pistachio pound cake in there that looks amazing and a super simple looking strawberry tart. It'll be perfect for summer meals outside. Curran chose these popsicles and while I'm sure he would have eaten anything from the book, they were perfect for these warm summer days.  

Cantaloupe & Mint Yogurt Pops . Sprouted Kitchen
Cantaloupe & Mint Yogurt Pops . Sprouted Kitchen

CANTALOUPE AND MINT YOGURT POPS // Makes 6-12 depending on molds
Recipe from Sweeter off the Vine by Yossy Arefi

Yossy asks for a teaspoon of orange-flower water which I do not stock. I went for the zest and juice of one lime which I thought was a perfect substitute with the melon and mint though I am sure the original is wonderful. We have a small, flimsy $1 popsicle mold from Walmart as our freezer is configured in such a way that makes it hard to fit in a full size mold. If you don't have molds, you could churn it in an ice cream maker for frozen yogurt or even just drink it as a smoothie. The sweetness dulls once frozen so keep the mix a little sweeter than you'd like your finished product.

12-ounces seeded and chopped cantaloupe
1 cup full fat greek yogurt
1/3 cup mild honey, to taste
1 Tbsp. fresh mint leaves, packed
zest and juice of one lime or 1 tsp. orange-flower water

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Taste the mixture and adjust the level of sweetness if necessary by adding more honey, one teaspoon at a time (I did not find it needed any more). Pour into frozen pop molds and freeze the pops until completely firm, at least 6 hours or overnight. 

Cantaloupe & Mint Yogurt Pops . Sprouted Kitchen
Cantaloupe & Mint Yogurt Pops . Sprouted Kitchen
Cantaloupe & Mint Yogurt Pops . Sprouted Kitchen


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