Category Archives: Recipes

Green Juice Recipe Cost Breakdown

A couple of weeks ago I posted two green juice recipes. I like both of them and have incorporated a daily 16oz juice into my routine. I do think the green juice is helping with my weight loss as it appears to be working to remove all of the old junk in my system.

I had a couple readers ask me how much it costs to make the “green lemonade” green juice. This is definitely my favorite and you seriously won’t be able to tell that you aren’t drinking a freshly-squeezed lemonade (except for the color of course!).

I’ve changed the recipe slightly from what is posted here. I’ve started to remove the apples and replace it with stevia as the sweetener. Both methods are super sweet but I wanted to remove the sugar as much as possible. Eventually I am guessing I will try it without any apples but for now we move in steps.

One note – every juicer produces different volumes of juice. I use the Omega 330HD juicer which John says has one of the highest output amounts so your costs might vary slightly.

Here is the Green Lemonade recipe and approximate cost for each ingredient. This assumes a double batch and produces about 64 ounces of the green lemonade juice.

Updated, lower sugar, green lemonade recipe:

  • 3 organic fuji apples – each weighing a little less than a pound at $1.99/lb – $6.00
  • 1 hot house/english cucumber – $1.50
  • 2 large lemons – $1.60 (I like my juice tart)
  • 10 stalks organic lacinto/dino kale – basically a big bunch – $1.99
  • few droppers of stevia – call it $0.02

Total price – $11.09

Price per 16 ounce mason jar – $2.75

While $2.75 is certainly higher than a coke for $1.50, the nutrients and how your body will feel when you drink the juice makes up for the difference in cost. I am sure that if I made larger batches, I could get the cost down even further.

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Strawberry Green Superfood Smoothie Recipe

Strawberry Green Superfood SmoothieToday I’d like to share my go-to green smoothie recipe. I don’t know exactly why but I find myself making this superfood smoothie more than any of the others. I think part of it is that the strawberries give the smoothie a great texture unlike the pineapple which tends to be thinner (still tastes great).

The superfood part of the smoothie comes from the Acai berry powder I use. It looks like ground coffee but the good part is that it doesn’t change the taste of the smoothie at all. I find that when I drink smoothies with Acai in them, I have extra energy.

Strawberry Super Green Smoothie Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • one banana (can be frozen or fresh)
  • 6 ounces apple juice (I used organic)
  • 6 ounces water
  • 2 cups of strawberries (for reference, below is a photo of the strawberries I used, they were very small so there are a lot of them)
  • spinach – as much as you can fit into your blender (doesn’t change the taste of the smoothie)
  • acai powder – (I used one tablespoon per the Navitas Naturals package but check the label on your package)

Strawberry Superfood Smoothie

Directions: blend until reaching desired consistency, makes approximately 28 ounces

One note: depending on how much spinach you add, the smoothie will become a not-great looking color. If the color bothers you, just put the smoothie into a non-clear cup or thermos. Remember the color isn’t important, it’s the nutritional value of the smoothie that is key!

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Mango Green Smoothie For Weight Loss Recipe

Mango Green Smoothie for Weight LossI love my morning green smoothies! There’s nothing like a green smoothie for weight loss. So far every superfood smoothie recipe I’ve tried has tasted great and I look forward to sharing my concoctions with ya’all. Today’s smoothie menu is a Mango-rific Super Green Smoothie!

(check out all of my smoothie recipes)

And remember the most important part of making your own smoothies: experiment! First, it will help you find the recipes and the ingredients you enjoy and second, it will help you get great variety in the nutrients your putting into your body.


Mango Green Smoothie Recipe
 

Prep time

Cook time

Total time

 

Author:
Recipe type: Drinks
Serves: 1

Ingredients
  • one banana (can be frozen or fresh)
  • 2 cups mango chunks (it’s about 30 chunks)
  • 6 oz orange juice (freshly squeezed or not)
  • 6 oz water
  • one teaspoon maca powder (optional; this is the superfood)
  • one tablespoon chia seeds (optional; if you add the chia seeds, make sure you consume the smoothie after blending because otherwise the chia grows like the chia pet and will make the smoothie a bit like pudding)
  • spinach (as much as you can fit in your blender – I used about ⅓ pound or 4 huge handfuls)

Instructions
  1. Blend until you reach your desired consistency

This recipe makes about 28-32oz of smoothie and I used a Blendtec blender to whip it up. I used organic spinach, organic orange juice, organic banana — the mango chunks were conventional.

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Pineapple Green Super Smoothie Recipe

I love me some morning green smoothies! Not only do they wake you up because they are so fresh and cold, but they can also help you lose weight. I can definitely say that my current weight loss path is heavily influenced by the morning smoothie. Is it different than a bagel or a donut or some processed crap from McDonalds? Sure. Is it better than those things? Absolutely!

I’d like to share some of the green smoothie recipes I’ve been using to help me lose weight and get amazing morning energy. I think the biggest key with the smoothies is to play with the ingredients – try lots of things until you find the smoothies you like and then keep experimenting!

pineapple green super smoothiePineapple Green Super Smoothie Recipe:

  • 12oz liquid (I use a mix of orange juice and water)
  • 2 cups of pineapple chunks (I use frozen to help chill the smoothie)
  • 1 large banana (fresh or frozen)
  • as much spinach as your blender can hold (fresh)
  • 1 teaspoon raw Maca powder
  • 2 drops of liquid stevia (optional: makes the smoothie sweeter)

Blend ingredients until desired consistency. I find the pineapple leaves me with a bit thinner smoothie than some of the other fruits.

You will end up with about 32 oz of smoothie. I am drinking this size daily but when I started I was doing only 16oz and left the balance in the fridge for the following day.

And don’t worry about the spinach, you won’t taste it at all so jam as much as you can into the blender jar. I bought a Blendtec with a 96oz jar solely for the purpose of being able to add as much spinach as a I can.

The Maca powder is a “superfood” and while it smells like caramel, it doesn’t change the taste of the smoothie.

So get out there and smoothie your mornings – I guarantee you will feel great!

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Cinnamon Sweet Potato Recipe

During my first cooking lesson, we made a very simple sweet potato side dish. Below is the recipe – I am calling the dish, “Cin-fully Sweet Potato”. I have always been a white/russet potato person but this super simple sweet potato recipe has instantly converted me. Apparently sweet potatoes (or are they yams??) are a very healthy vegetable and cinnamon is also good for your body. I think this dish is an awesome snack when  you need a quick energy boost.

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Recipe:

Ingredients (total time: 12 minutes):

  • 1 sweet potato (the potato in the pictures below is a 1/2 pound garnet sweet potato)
  • powdered stevia
  • cinnamon (I used organic korintje cinnamon)
  • optional: powdered rice milk powder

Step 1: slice the sweet potato into semi-thick slices. I sliced the potato a pinch too thin.

sweet potato

Step 2: boil water and place sweet potato slices into steamer. Steam for approximately 9 minutes or until just barely soft.

sweet potato

Step 3: Remove sweet potato slices from steamer and let cool until warm (not cold/room temp). You want the potato to be somewhat warm so the cinnamon and stevia melt into the potato. Be careful removing the steamer basket as it will be hot – I can tell you it hurts! Once at the warm temp, put the slices into a bowl and toss with a pinch of stevia and some of the cinnamon.

sweet potato

Step 4: Place slices on a plate and dust with more cinnamon. I like it with a good amount of cinnamon as you can see in the image below. You can also dust with the rice milk powder (not used in the below picture).

Serve and enjoy! I would say the 1/2 pound potato serves one or possibly two as a light side dish. I stored the slices in the fridge for a couple of days for easy snacking.

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