Smoothie Update

I meant to jump on here a few days ago and share an update about our challenge. Oops. Things have been really busy here the last couple days. But here we are, so a little bit about the smoothies and the week.

 

Things have gone really well! I have explored some new smoothie ingredients (no not the cabbage). But I kinda feel like doing the challenged pushed me to add new fruits and veggies to our fridge. It was really exciting to go shopping and have so much colour in the cart, and even more exciting in the morning opening the fridge and choosing what to mix up!

Something I found a big help for busy mornings was prepping the night before. I got the jars clean and ready, the blender out, and prepped some of the fruits and veggies so they were ready to pop in the blender in the morning. We started out the week with 3 smoothies a day, and some healthy snacks. As the week progressed we incorporated healthy meals and focused on including lots of veggies. There were a few moments of weakness, but overall we are pretty proud of the healthy eating choices!

Here is a list of a few ingredients I wouldn't have reached for a week ago, and am so glad I tried!

• spinach, blends well with little taste
• zucchini, blends well
• fresh ginger, grated, gives a refreshing zing
• sweet potato, baked, 1/3 of the potato adds some fibre and tastes creamy (to me)
• baked beets, sweet and provide a brilliant colour
• avocado, creamy, great fats
• hemp hearts, creamy, protein packed

And I will leave you with my favourite recipe from the week, which just happens to be a green smoothie and tastes divine!  

Sweet Green Smoothie

• 1 banana
• 1/2 avocado
• small handful of spinach
• 1/2 small zucchini, sliced
• 1/4 cup of plain greek yougurt
• 1/3 cup frozen bluberries
• drizzle of raw local honey
• grate a little fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• Blend together, and add water to make the consistency you prefer

Happy Smoothie Making friends! What is your favourite recipe?
xox
Margot

The Art of Preserving Part I: Starting Out

I have had a few people ask about canning so I thought I would do a three part series over the next three weeks that talks about what you need, some tips and tricks, and a few recipes also. I learned how to make jam while I was living out in Newfoundland. The family I lived with spent quite a bit of time during the summer and early fall harvesting local berries and jarring and preserving them. I was amazed at the time they spent doing this, but once I learned how I realized it was all worth it!

My mom bought me this book at a garage sale, and it is an awesome resource for all kinds of preserves. The first time I made jam by myself I used the recipe in this book for strawberry jam and it turned out really well. These recipes are traditional jam and preserves, but nowadays for jam most people just pectin, and pectin boxes come with recipes inside them. However, I would recommend an older recipe book, if you can find one on your grandmother's shelf or at a used book store perhaps, and take a look through to see the traditional canning process.

 

So what do you need? Above is the basics for making jam. Jars, sugar and pectin. Many recipes also call for lemon juice, and of course you need fruit! And below is a simple canning set you can get at most places that sell other canning supplies. It includes leveler/measurer, magnet to pick up sterilized lids, tongs for pulling jars our of boiling water, and a funnel that fits exactly to smaller jars. I mostly use the magnet and the funnel, but the whole kit is useful and definitely affordable.

As you probably know all the tools and jars that you use need to be sterilized. Make sure the jars are clean and dry, and I usually put them in a low temp (175F) oven during the cooking of the jam. The jar lids and all the tools you will be using, including any spoons or ladles, should be doused in hot water. I usually put all the tools in a large bowl or measuring cup and pour boiling water over top.

Finally, making jam can become a bit of an obsession so you should make sure to have a cool, dry place to store all your pots! I had to make some space in our pantry but it was well worth it to stash all our homemade jam!

I hope that is a little helpful, now you can run out and get all the supplies you need. I will be back next week with the cooking process, and a couple easy recipes! So far this year I have made strawberry, raspberry and blueberry jam - I think I might try mixing a few soon :)

xox