Tag: Spinach

2 Summer Smoothie Bowls

1 Comment

Smoothie bowls are my ABSOLUTE favourite breakfast! They’re so refreshing, and make me feel like I’m having a treat on vacation somewhere. You can pack a bunch of veggies in there without even noticing, and the topping combos are endless. ENDLESS!

It took me a while to get the perfect smoothie bowl thickness, but I think I’ve finally cracked the code. You want to have the ingredients as cold as possible, and limit the amount of watery fruits that you put in your smoothie. The base of all of my smoothies is a frozen banana, because that’s what makes them thick and creamy. If you don’t like banana you can try using mango, because I’ve found it has a similar effect. The ingredients might take a little while to come together in the blender, but eventually they’ll form a mixture that’s almost like soft serve in texture. Using a tamper is critical here, because you can continually push the ingredients towards the blender blades.

In this post, I’ve included two different recipes for summer smoothie bowls, because I couldn’t decide which one to pick! One has banana, berries, and spinach, and the other has banana, spinach, kale, and watermelon. Yum! My watermelon didn’t get completely frozen, and so the result was a slightly more watery smoothie bowl. Make sure that you leave it in the freezer at least overnight! These recipes are definitely some of my favourites though, because they TASTE LIKE SUMMER and allow you to get some greens in!

Lets talk toppings. Really anything goes when you’re topping your smoothie bowl, but some ideas are more fruit, granola, dates, nut, seeds, and nut butters. I like a few different toppings on my bowl because it keeps things interesting. Some granola recipes that go GREAT on smoothie bowls are my Nutty Granola and Chocolate Coconut Granola. I’ve also been known to top my bowls with a Seedy Energy Square or two….. it’s so good!

I hope that these recipes get you hooked on smoothie bowls!

Berry and Spinach Smoothie Bowl

Serves: 1

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Bowl:

  • 1 frozen banana (sliced)
  • 3/4 cup frozen blueberries
  • 3/4 cup spinach (not packed)
  • 2 tbsp water

For the Toppings:

Directions:

  1. Add all of the smoothie ingredients to a powerful blender and blend on low, using the tamper to push the ingredients down.
  2. Once the ingredients are starting to come together, turn the speed to medium and continue using the tamper. It may seem like you need to add more water, but continue until a thick, soft-serve like mixture forms. This can take a few minutes.
  3. Scoop the smoothie into a bowl and top with the strawberries, granola, and peanut butter.
  4. Enjoy!

Greens and Watermelon Smoothie Bowl

Serves: 1

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Bowl:

  • 1 frozen banana (sliced)
  • 3/4 cup frozen water melon chunks
  • 1/2 cup kale leaves (loosely packed)
  • 1/2 cup spinach (loosely packed)
  • 1 tbsp water

For the Toppings:

Directions:

  1. Add all of the smoothie ingredients to a powerful blender and blend on low, using the tamper to push the ingredients down.
  2. Once the ingredients are starting to come together, turn the speed to medium and continue using the tamper. It may seem like you need to add more water, but continue until a thick, soft-serve like mixture forms. This can take a few minutes.
  3. Scoop the smoothie into a bowl and top with the chopped dates, granola, and peanut butter.
  4. Enjoy!

I know I’ll be enjoying these bowls all summer long! Thanks for reading and I’ll see you Wednesday:))

Yours Truly,

Olivia

Tuna and Avocado Poke Bowls

1 Comment

I’m so excited about this recipe! You don’t even know. Obviously with the pandemic going on I haven’t been eating out as much, and yesterday I was just craving something different. Something that made me feel like I’m at a restaurant somewhere. The ingredients that I had on hand didn’t seem very restaurant-quality (canned tuna isn’t exactly a star protein), but I came up with something that HIT. THE. SPOT.

I love tuna poke- I love raw fish of any kind, really, but getting a big chunk of tuna steak is kind of expensive and it’s not the kind of thing that I just have lying around in my fridge. HOWEVER, I do have a large quantity of canned tuna. I mixed it with mashed avocado, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and ginger to make an amazing mixture that definitely reminds me of delicious poke! Plus I formed it into little balls to serve, which really brought the restaurant vibe!

For the other components of this bowl, I tried to get creative and really have fun. We have some HOMEMADE pickled veggies people! Homemade!! They’re so simple to make and sooooooo tasty! Plus you have some wild rice, which contains tons of good-for-you vitamins, spinach, thinly sliced cucumbers, and a sprinkle of hemp hearts. Delish!

I really hope you give this bowl a try! It’s so fun to make and eat, and makes for a slightly-fancy at home dinner for when you can’t go out. Enjoy!

Tuna and Avocado Poke Bowls

Serves: 2

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Tuna:

  • 1 can of light chunk tuna, drained (I used yellowfin)
  • 1/2 a ripe avocado
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger

For the Pickled Veggies:

  • 1/2 a large carrot, cut in half width-wise and shaved into thin strips with a veggie peeler (see Thai Ribbon Salad)
  • 1/4 of a red onion, sliced very thinly
  • 1 cup white vinegar
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced

For the Bowl:

  • 1/2 cup wild rice
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • A couple of handfuls of spinach
  • 1/2 a cucumber, sliced thinly
  • Hemp hearts or sesame seeds for topping

Directions:

  1. Combine the wild rice with 1 cup of water in a pot. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes, until all of the water has evaporated. Then remove from the heat, fluff with a fork, and let stand for 5-10 minutes.
  2. After the rice starts cooking, mix the vinegar, garlic, and chilli flakes in a small bowl. Add in the shaved carrot and thinly sliced red onion, trying to make sure that most of the veggies are covered by the pickling liquid. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a least 35 minutes to pickle.
  3. In a medium sized bowl, mash the half avocado and stir in the soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sesame oil and tuna.
  4. Once the rice is cooked, stir in the rice vinegar. Split the rice up into two serving bowls, and top with the pickled veggies, cucumber, a handful of spinach, half of the tuna mixture each, and some hemp hearts or sesame seeds.
  5. Enjoy!

Hope you’re all having a great week! See you Friday;))

Yours Truly,

Olivia

Berry Banana Smoothie Pops

Leave a comment

Hi guys! Since we all could use a little ray of sunshine right about now, I made these delicious Berry Banana Smoothie Pops that will transport you to a sunny beach😎😎 They’re delicious, refreshing and healthy, plus you only need four ingredients to make em! If you have a lot of frozen berries on hand, this is a great way to use them up. I’ve been loving frozen berries lately because you can incorporate them into so many things, and they’re delicious just warmed up and served with granola. I also used spinach and avocado in these pops, which add nutrients but aren’t detectable! What are you waiting for? Go make yourself some!

Berry Banana Smoothie Pops

Serves: Makes 7-8 pops

Total Time: 10 minutes to fill moulds, then freeze overnight

Ingredients:

  • 1 small ripe banana
  • About 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen mixed berries
  • 1 packed cup of spinach
  • 1/2 a ripe avocado
  • 1/2 cup water

Directions:

  1. Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender. The smoothie should be pretty thick.
  2. Spoon the smoothie into popsicle moulds, making sure not to over fill them. Stick in the popsicle sticks and place in the freezer overnight to freeze.
  3. Run some warm water over the moulds to loosen up the popsicles before removing them from the moulds.
  4. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;))

Veggie Pasta

Leave a comment

Hey there! I haven’t posted a pasta recipe in a while, and this one is AWESOME, so I thought why not post it? The sauce isn’t a super traditional-tasting one, it uses cumin and chilli powder and some other spices, but the end result is delicious. Also it comes together in like fifteen minutes so that’s pretty sweet. Pasta is just one of those foods that’s so comforting and filling, and by adding a ton of veggies to it makes it feel lighter and healthy too, so you get the best of both worlds. Hope you love it!

Veggie Pasta

Serves: 2-3

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 white mushrooms
  • 1/2 a red onion, diced
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tbsp cumin
  • 1/2 tbsp chilli powder
  • 1/2 tbsp paprika
  • 1/2 tbsp oregano
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • handful of spinach
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup water
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2-3 servings of lentil or whole wheat spaghetti, cooked

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add in the mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and garlic, and cook until the veggies are soft.
  2. Add the tomato paste, chickpeas, spices and water into the pan ans stir until everything is combined. Let cook for about 5 more minutes.
  3. Put the spinach in the pan next, and cook for an additional 2 minutes until it has wilted. Season with salt and pepper, then remove from the heat and mix in the spaghetti. Enjoy!

3 simple steps later and you’ve got yourself an awesome meal;)) Have a great weekend everyone!