Green Chocolate Smoothie - Raw and Vegan

Green Chocolate Smoothie

Green smoothies pretty much rock my mornings.  Chocolate (cacao) smoothies rock my afternoons.  Put them together and oh my gosh!  Pure bliss. 

Chocolate, meet green.  That's exactly what I did with this smoothie and let me tell you... it was SO yummy that I practically licked the mug clean!  Okay okay, so I really licked it clean ;) 

Green Chocolate Smoothie

Green Layer:
1 cup zucchini, roughly chopped
1 handful baby spinach
2 dates
1 large frozen banana
1 Tbs flax meal
1 1/2 Tbs cacao powder
1/4 cup water (adjust as needed)

Blend in powerful blender.  Transfer to separate container and put in freezer while making next later.

Creamy Layer:
1 large frozen banana
1 heaping Tbs almond butter
1/4 cup water (adjust as needed)

Blend well.  Layer in tall glass as you wish and enjoy.  I topped mine with cacao nibs for a bit of crunch, but it's seriously yummielicous as is.

Peace☮
Rocki

Green Custard Smoothie - Raw & Vegan

Green Custard Smoothie - Raw & Vegan

Cherimoya - also known as the custard apple, and for good reason.  You can read more about this OMG! fruit in my Cherimoya Parfait recipe post.

I do believe that cherimoya is my most favorite fruit of all.  Well, right next to mangos, bananas, blueberries, watermelon... Anyway, it's in my top 5 at least, that's for sure. 


Green Custard Smoothie - Raw & Vegan

Custard layer:
1 small cherimoya - peeled and seeded
1/2 banana
water - enough to blend with (amount varies due to fruit size)

Blend, pour into separate container and set in freezer while making next layer.

Green layer:
1 frozen banana
1 non-frozen banana
2 handfuls baby spinach
1 tsp Matcha Green Tea powder (optional)
1 Tbs flax meal (optional)
1/2 cup water - adjust as needed

Blend in powerful blender.  Alternate each layer in a tall glass as you wish and enjoy!

Peace☮
Rocki

Buddha and my Green Custard Smoothie

Blueberry Plum Green Smoothie

Blueberry Plum Green Smoothie - Raw and Vegan

My daily breakfast is a smoothie, typically green as they are my favorite, or sometimes all fruit.  Occasionally I'll have a chia fruit parfait, but smoothies rock my mornings.

All, if not most, of my smoothies contain superfoods of some sort.  This one, which is actually a green smoothie in disguise, contains the superfoods: dried Goji Berries (upcoming post soon about this nutrient rich superstar) and Matcha Green Tea powder (see Green is the New Orange for more info on Matcha). 

So lets get to the recipe for this super healthy and uber delicious smoothie.

Antioxidant Boost Blueberry Plum Green Smoothie

2 handfuls baby spinach
1 cup blueberries
1 plum (pit removed)
1 Tbs Goji berries
2 frozen bananas
1 Tbs flax meal
3/4 cup coconut water or plain (adjust as needed)
1 tsp Matcha green tea

Blend all ingredients well.  Due to blenders vary (I use a Vitamix) as well as the size of fruits, you may need to adjust the water.

Enjoy this super healthy and delicious tasting smoothie!

Peace☮
Rocki

Becoming Raw Book and Rocki's Tropical Peachy Green Smoothie

Becoming Raw Book and Rocki's Tropical Peachy Green Smoothie

If you're new to raw or thinking about becoming a raw vegan, I highly recommend this book: Becoming Raw.  This is one of the first of several books I bought when Mark and I started on our raw path almost 2 years ago.  I keep this informative guide book in my kitchen and still reference it - and learn something new each time.

While this is not a recipe book, it does have a few in there.  But in short, it is a complete book filled with science-based raw vegan nutrition from A to Z - and much more. This easy to read book is packed full with a wealth of information and truly is an "essential guide to raw vegan diets".

I'm including my smoothie recipe in this post since I do have it pictured.  That would be rude of me if I didn't ;)

Tropical Peachy Green Smoothie

2 handfuls baby spinach
1 peach (or 1 cup frozen)
1 large frozen banana
1 Tbs dried coconut shreds
1 piece peeled turmeric (approx. 1")
1 Tbs flax meal
1 Tbs maca powder
3/4 cup coconut water (adjust as needed)

Blend in a powerful blender and enjoy.

Peace☮
Rocki

Cherimoya Parfait - Raw Vegan Smoothie

Cherimoya Parfait - Raw Vegan Smoothie

I have a new love and it's name is Cherimoya!  I won a tropical fruit box on Instagram via one of the other IG accounts I follow.  Anyway, the fruit box arrived from Melissa's Produce and I was floored by the amount of fruit that was in it!  Most of them I had never had, but have been wanting to try.  I was beyond excited!

This delicious custard like fruit (it is also known as a "custard apple") is amazing and I'm completely hooked - so is Mark.  It's a little bit of work to get all the big seeds out and scrape the fruit off of the peel - do NOT eat the peel - but believe you me it is more than worth it!   

Cherimoya Fruit

This took a bit of time with the layering process as I wanted it to look as delicious as it tastes!  Friday's are my days off so I had plenty of time. I was going to also garnish it, but I love the way it turned out as is. And the taste... out of this world! Like a pudding smoothie.

Cherimoya Parfait Smoothie

Green layer:
2 frozen bananas
1 huge handful spinach
2 Tbs hemp heart seeds
1 Tbs flax meal
1/2 cup water (adjust as needed)
1 tsp Matcha Green Tea Powder (optional)

Blend, pour into a separate container and put in freezer while making next layer.

Cream layer:
1 cherimoya - peeled and seeded
1 frozen banana

Blend, pour *half* of the mixture into separate container and put in freezer.

Orange layer:
With remaining cream layer in blender, add 1 Tbs goji berries and blend.

Take the containers out of the freezer and get ready to create!  After each layer, put the glass in freezer for about 5-10 minutes to let it set up (not frozen solid). With a small spatula or spoon, slowly add in another layer - start around the rim/inside of the glass first then work your way into the middle - this helps to keep the layers separate.  Do as many layers as you wish or simply blend everything together.  You can eat this super thick n creamy delicious parfait smoothie with a spoon or drink it with a straw. 

While waiting in between layers, you can do Sun Salutations or the dishes - your choice. Enjoy!

Peace☮
Rocki

Green is the New Orange - Raw Vegan Smoothie

Green Smoothie - raw, vegan and gluten-free

Want a quick, nutritious and tasty way to start your day?  Try my Green is the New Orange smoothie.

One of the ingredients in this green smoothie is Matcha green tea powder.  Matcha is like no other green tea as you are ingesting the whole leaf and is 10 times more nutritious than other green tea's. You can drink it straight as a hot tea, add to smoothies or other recipes.  It has a very green, earthy herbal type flavor and aroma.  I love it and can drink it straight, but if you're not into greens, you may want to add sweetener to it.

The health benefits of Matcha are numerous and some are:
*Rich in nutrients
*Energy Booster, but *not* like caffeine - it is subtle, does not cause the jitters and provides 4-6 hours of mild steady energy
*Powerful Detoxifier and Antioxidant
*Boosts metabolism and burns calories
*Calms and relaxes while keeping you alert

It is said that over a thousand years ago Monks in Japan would drink Matcha tea during long meditation to keep them alert yet calm. This is due to Matcha is rich in L-Theanine.  But not all Matcha tea's are the same. I use Organic Ceremonial Grade which is a high grade quality powder - do your research.  One final note - if you're new to Matcha, start with 1/2 tsp for about 1 week then 1 tsp per day max - in my opinion.  I drink it almost every day and can definitely feel the benefits.

Green is the New Orange

2 handfuls spinach
1 tangelo
1/2 cup mango
2 bananas
1/2 cup water (adjust as needed)
1 Tbs flax meal
1 tsp Matcha

Blend until smooth and creamy, pour into mug and enjoy!

Peace☮
Rocki