Living Healthfully: Blueberry Vanilla No-Milk Shake

During the summer months especially, I crave sweet, creamy, thick, frozen treats.

In years past, when I wasn't as conscious about health and sugar intake and was still consuming dairy, I'd normally satisfy the craving with a Starbucks frappacino or, on special occasion, a Culvers milkshake {I cringe at this now as I remember the shock I'd voiced when I was first diagnosed with gut flora imbalance last year. Back then I asked how such an imbalance could be. Now I ask how such an imbalance could NOT be!}.

So, anyway, though no one could pay me to drink either of those treats now, I still do daydream about healthy shakes, especially on hot days.

After making no-dairy ice cream for the kids this week, I decided to get brave in the kitchen and attempt to recreate a healthy sweet, creamy, thick frozen drink -- without sugar and without dairy.

A challenge, yes, but not impossible with the help of the sweet herb Stevia, a little good bacteria and some high quality ground vanilla beans.

The first try was a dud. Oy was it bad.

The second? So good.


The third? Awesome!


My treat-snob husband who groans at the thought of subbing probiotic milk for real make says this drink tastes more like a custard shake than a milkshake, but he agreed it was good tasting with amazing consistency. I've included alternate ingredients for those who can handle more sweetness. 



Ingredients:
Probiotic Milk:
1/2 Cup of Filtered Water
10-12 Drops of Stevia*
1.5 Tablespoons of Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Powder or ground vanilla beans
1 Tablespoon of lecithin granules 
1 teaspoon of Maca Root Powder
1 Tablespoon of probiotic powder {like Acidophilus; we use Primadophilus Kids}

1/3 heaping cup blueberries {if you have no sugar sensitivity,  use 3/4 cup of blueberries}
1/2 large avocado
1/3 cup of frozen spinach
1 cup of whole-cube ice



Directions:
First, make the probiotic milk by blending all ingredients expect for the probiotic powder for 30-45 seconds at 10 in a Vitamix or Blendtec or blender of choice.

Add the probiotic powder and blend on low for about 10 seconds.

Add the blueberries, avocado and frozen spinach to the blender and blend on high for about 45-60 seconds, The mixture should turn creamy and thick like a shake. You may need to add additional water to help smooth it out, so have about 1/2 cup on hand while blending.

*John advises those who are not/have not been on a sugar-restrictive diet to add one tablespoon of agave syrup or coconut sugar and omit the Stevia for a truer shake taste.



Lastly, enjoy!

Hey, while we're talking about REAL food that's real good and real good for you, maybe whip up your shake and then head over to the Real Food Summit and enjoy this tasty treat while feasting on some food for thought regarding health, eating real food and preventing/reversing disease. Specifically, I recommend the Joel Salatin talk -- SO GOOD!

Thanks to Neilsen-Massey Vanillas for sending me a bottle of sugar-free and alcohol-free Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder to help me get creative with new recipes while still adhering to my gut-restoring diet! No other compensation was received for a shout-out in this post. 

Living Healthfully: Curried Quinoa and Sauteed Vegetable Salad

This versatile dish has been a staple in our house since half of us have bid gluten a not-so farewell.

We love eating this curried quinoa and sauteed veggie dish for a variety of reasons: it's tasty, it's healthy and it's versatile, perfect for eating alone or atop a bed of greens.

We also love taking this dish, adapted from a Body Ecology Diet recipe, to parties and picnics because even gluten lovers think it's fabulous, so perhaps give it a spin this weekend as we celebrate Memorial Day. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of soaked {eight hours} quinoa

1.5 tablespoons of curry powder

1 teaspoon of Herbamare or sea salt

2 tablespoons of extra virgin coconut oil {you *could* use butter, but it's SO much better with coconut oil!}

2 medium sweet onions

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

1 cup of peas

Directions:

First begin boiling 2 cups of water for the quiona. Add the quinoa to the boiling water with a bit of oil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and allow the quinoa to sit and continue to fluff while continuing with the recipe.

Chop all veggies into small chunks and put each aside in separate bowls.

In a large skillet pan, melt the coconut oil and add the curry powder and Herbamare or sea salt. After about 30 seconds of letting the spices simmer in the oil, add the onions to the mixture. Simmer until translucent. Place in a separate bowl after cooking.

Add a bit of coconut oil to the same pan, sauteing the squash and zucchini. Mix the cooked squash and zucchini with the curry and onion mixture. 

Boil the peas until tender. 

By this point, the quinoa should be fluffy looking. Remember that sauteeing pan? Add the cooked quinoa to the sauteing pan with a bit of coconut oil and roast it for about 5 minutes. This brings out a nutty flavor. 

In a very large bowl, mix the quinoa with the curry and veggie mix. Add the peas and the chopped raw peppers and enjoy!

{For more awesome gluten-free recipes, like the artichoke asparagus salad pictured with the curried quinoa above, I highly recommend the Body Ecology Diet book! Please know that links to the Body Ecology site are affiliates and if you make a purchase through them {thank you!}, I receive a bit of commission.}

Everyday Life: On Grace through Green Macaroni

All is quiet upstairs now.

He's gone to bed hungry after refusing to eat his dinner tonight. There was a storm of angry tears and frustration first, though, along with a sinking-stomach feeling settled deep in my body.

We're no longer caving to all his wants for food that isn't delivering him the nutrition he really needs.

Three long days of torture for the mother-heart, I tell you.

This trying to do what is right, what will nourish and heal his body instead of allowing his cravings and desires to infiltrate reality as needs.

It feels like a battle of epic proportions, taking on the 2 year old and his food preferences for only carbohydrates, meat and dairy. Nothing green goes in unless its been finely shredded and mixed in with another food. And that's only a recent development.

I cling to it, and I cling to His feet.

This is about so much more than whether our toddler eats green beans.


And yet, it is exactly about our toddler eating green beans, too.

Because like with anything else in life, the mind and the will directly relate to the health and the strength of the body and both the heart and metaphorical heart.

This battle is mind/will and strength/body combined in a doozie of a saga.

I know what his food preferences lead to -- they lead to catching every cold that comes his way as well as long-term illnesses parents pray their children will never face.

This sugar-loving, acidity-forming, antioxidant-lacking diet doesn't lead us down paths we want to tread.

Try explaining that to a two year old who knows the wonders of cheddar bunnies, though, on his tongue.

We must grow, though. Him in his tastes and me in me ability to determine how to best help him make healthy choices.

And all the while be sure that enough grace is laced into the hardballs life naturally throws in our faces; I must keep reminding myself that we parents don't really have to teach our kids the hardness of life. Life teaches that on its own.

But grace.

Grace must be lived out, shown with flesh on.

So while there will still be the movement toward healthier eating for sure; we'll probably never repeat him going to bed hungry again.

I know; one missed meal won't hurt his body. It's true. He will learn to eat his dinner if we continue to tow the hard line. But maybe the line can be towed without the fast-forward jerkiness that comes from my desire to teach him to eat well and eat what's served nownownow.

I don't know if I know what that looks like in real practice, in real life. Maybe love, maybe grace while still standing firm looks like the green macaroni we had for lunch today -- when I blended spinach into the cheese and milk and made a green cheese sauce for his quinoa/kamut/amaranth/durum noodles.

I really just don't know.

But I do know this -- neither his belly nor his heart are overflowing with anything but anger and emptiness tonight.

And, when thinking, that's not a place I'm willing to go again.