prior to sauteing up a healthy batch of beautiful rainbow chard {i make mine with a little EVOO and diced shallots}, i like to sit back and admire the colours and patterns this wonderful vegetable creates…
puts a whole new meaning to “eat the rainbow” eh?!
this one is SUPER yum and i just love the colour!!! another great post-workout drink!
- frozen mangos {about 1/4 cup}
- frozen pineapple {about 1/4 cup}
- frozen bananas {about 1/4 cup}
- coconut milk {about 1 cup}
- splash of orange juice
- handful of fresh spinach
- a couple pitted dates
- sprinkle in some golden flax seeds
i’ve somehow almost got it down to a magical science now- that whatever i put in my vitamix makes *just enough* for this glass jar i drink out of {which i believe is about 12 ounces}:
isn’t that colour awesome?!?!
happy {meatless} monday everyone!
these are SO SO SO SO SO GOOD! i planned on just eating a few and saving some for lunch the next day, but i ended up devouring the whole batch in under 5 minutes! so delicious!
i’ve introduced you to kaniwa a few times now… and this is one of my new favourite things to do with it!
i am all about texture – i love it in both food and foto. kaniwa has plenty of texture and the most fun little crunch. you know how quinoa has that little “pop” kind of crunch going on?! – well kaniwa is like that but it’s much smaller and it’s just so fun to eat! i also love belgian endive for that reason – fun to eat and TEXTURE! so, when i combined the two in this recipe, my taste buds and senses were dancing because it was just so completely delicious and enjoyable! and healthy and simple and easy and all of those things i like to promote here at food and foto dot com!
so without further ado, here is a recipe that’s great as an hors d’oeuvres, snack, light dinner, fun brunch… or blog-worthy dish 
another amazing item i will have to blog about again soon – english peas. there are only a few other produce items that make me think of spring like english peas do. i’m trying to encourage it to hurry and get here – we are due for more snow this week, blast! i know we need the moisture, but i just wanna wear flip flops and t-shirts already!
i digress -
ingredients {makes about 8-10 “boats”}:
- 1 medium-sized belgian endive
- 1/4 cup tomato, chopped
- handful of fresh english peas, shelled
- 1 cup kaniwa {you do not need to rinse it}
- about 2 tablespoons honey {preferably local}
- pat of your favourite butter {or substitute} Continue reading
as we know, i’m all about DIY in the kitchen.
between skyrocketing food prices and the need for healthy, organic, fresh food – i have to find a balance so that i can still continue eating well, but also still afford to pay rent – and honestly, owning a vitamix has helped tremendously in that arena. even though it was a steep investment initially – it’s actually helping me save money by making a lot of things at home!
for example, this homemade applesauce. i did make some once a while back with my potato latkes. but i hadn’t tried it with the vitamix, yet.
applesauce isn’t something i just go out and buy. in fact, i’m not actually much of a fan of apples. i love the flavour and i love apple juice, but i just have never been one to eat handheld fruits. i’m more apt to eat grapes, mangos, berries, and bite-size typed fruits. it’s just one of those idiosyncrasies of mine… i’ll eat apple slices with some nut butter, that’s more my style oorrrrr, this delicious applesauce…
and whoa – was it easy to make!
step 1. buy some apples.
i opted for honeycrisp because they were on sale and approaching the end of their season… plus, these were super cute and smaller than most. have you noticed how BIG apples are getting lately?! it’s just not natural… i’m like “i can’t eat that in one sitting!” haha. these honeycrisps were perfectly-sized and came in a 3-pound bag. Continue reading
have you ever had a champagne mango?
not quite the same as your common mango, which are typically more oval-shaped with green and red hues to the skin. champagne mangos start off green, but are yellow when ripe…
the champagne mango is shaped almost like a tear-drop or in some ways to me it is shaped more like a nut…
fun with shapes…
champagne mangos originate from mexico… and they are just heavenly. Continue reading
another good one… i’m hoping all of these tropical-type drinks will convince nicer weather to stick around, instead of more snow! {we got another 6 inches or so here in colorado – boo!}
- frozen pineapple
- fresh mango
- fresh kiwi
- coconut milk
and if you want, throw in a little frozen banana…
this one is a nice balance of sweet and tart, it’s very refreshing, and makes me want to be on the beach!!
and it also needs a little umbrella…
i LOVE this one!
- fresh strawberries
- frozen pineapple
- 1/4 frozen banana
- coconut water
*glug glug* – what a pretty colour! cheers!
side-note : i use frozen bananas because i believe it takes over the flavour too much when using fresh, plus it’s a cheap way to save overripe bananas. just chop ‘em up and freeze ‘em. then you can use a little at a time. some things are just better fresh, and others work fine frozen – like berries or pineapple. last week i just happen to catch fresh strawberries on sale, so i hooked it up! plus, mixing it up with frozen and fresh helps the smoothie stay cold. if you want to use only fresh ingredients, just make sure to throw in a little ice 
so yesterday i showed you that i made some dehydrated fruit, right… delicious mangos and honeycrisp apples – nom nom, right… well, may i just first comment on the difference in flavour from a fresh mango and a dehydrated one? i really believe the taste is very different. i mean they are both outstanding, i don’t have a favourite. but they do taste way different.
and i suppose that applies for apples, too… but mangos – i just love love love dried mangos! something about ‘em…
i {barely} saved a few of each and threw some in with a smoothie that included frozen mixed berries, fresh spinach, 1/2 a banana, some orange juice, a little grape juice, splash of almond milk and some ground flax seeds.
one is never really certain just what colour the smoothie will turn out. at least the way i do it sometimes… lots of colour in there, doesn’t always blend to the prettiest, but this turned out great! and a pretty dark reddish-purple. oh, and it was for sure delicious!
cheers!
i need a dehydrator. it just feels like a really good investment to make, and you know me i’m all about DIY in the kitchen! my former roommate let me borrow hers when i was living there, and i became an insta-fan! there’s something about dehydrated fruit – particularly apples – that i just love!
and these little honeycrisps steal the show, no doubt. Continue reading
well folks, unfortunately i haven’t been feeling so great over the last few days… aches, pains, watery-eyes, stuffy-nose, sore-throat, the whole {nasty} bit… it’s okay, i will patiently let it run its course… but what better way to cure what ails me than to drink some colour…
MAGENTA, in this case
- frozen mixed berries {about 1/4 cup}
- orange juice {about 1/2 cup}
- 1/2 fresh pear or apple, cut in half
- 1/2 large boiled red beet {could also do raw}
- 2 or 3 pitted dates {one of my favourite go-to sweetners}
- splash of almond or coconut milk
- squeeze of lemon or lime
- filtered water
i heart the vitamix. you just throw this all in and crank it on high until well-blended. then drink, enjoy, and watch your skin glow and your system restore itself!
have a great weekend! i’ll be taking mine nice and easy…
i just love seasonal produce. i love looking forward to something…
we are so spoiled – especially in the US – to get food whenever we want it… including produce. and it baffles me when people complain about the taste of blueberries in january.
anyway – this is one piece of amazing produce that you can only get your hands on at select markets for about a month or so out of the year, usually beginning mid to late february. they are called sumo citrus. and they are completely out of this world!!
i know what you’re thinking… “that looks kind of like a clementine, i’ve had clementines… i love them!” well, i love them, too. but this is not a clementine or a cutie or a tangerine or anything you’ve ever had that’s orange… unless, of course… you HAVE had one… {have you?!}
it’s the most amazing piece of citrus i have ever eaten. for real. Continue reading
have you ever seen this amazing vegetable?!?!
if you have spotted it before in the produce department, you may not have even known it was edible…
it kind of looks like something that grows on mars, right?!
considered part of the broccoli family, romanesco is somewhat of a misnomer, because it’s actually part of the cauliflower family and should be cooked as such… Continue reading
have you ever seen or heard of an ugli fruit?!
this is an ugli fruit. also known as “uinq” fruit, because apparently the name “ugli” wasn’t very PC.
i mean, either way i think it’s beautiful. look at that colour!
ugli {uniq} fruit is from jamaica and is similar to a grapefruit. it’s more like a pomelo but the skin isn’t quite as thick. the flesh of an ugly fruit is super sweet and juicy. i add mine in smoothies as well as eat them as a snack. when throwing it into my vitamix, i keep the white part included – it’s loaded with extra fiber. or just juice it – yummy!
the tree that produces this fruit has been around since the early 1900s! their season is just about over, so grab yours today! you can find ugli fruit at many health food stores like whole foods market nationwide.
this juice may help with any post-st-paddys-day feelings of lethargy… hey – no judgement, but if you had maybe one too many green beers to celebrate, this drink will help you recover and feel replenished!
- 1/2 apple
- 1/2 pear
- 1/2 frozen banana
- few frozen pineapple chunks
- one or two dates to sweeten {or honey}
- almond milk
- orange juice
- LOADS of spinach – gives it that pretty colour, but you can hardly taste it.
i also put a smidgen of my green powder mix in to boost the nutrients…
throw in the blender {vitamix is my bff} for a minute or so and chug it down!
and it feels so good to be back! taking even a week or two off from blogging felt so weird. but it gave me time to adjust to my new apartment and learn my way around my new kitchen. i can’t wait to show you guys my new stove/oven… it’s so retro! i’m switching things up a bit too – no more rigid monday through friday titled posts – just blogs about things i love to eat, things i see, and things i feel. i will still share recipes and photos, but the format will be different. i found myself getting a little too obsessed with coming up with new recipes all the time… food and foto will be more like a diary of some of my favourite things – to include recipes, photos, and life experiences. PLUS – i’m going to have a small garden this year – so watch for info on that! i also want to talk about astrology and energy. things are changing, a shift is happening and i believe it’s vital to talk about what we are experiencing, as it continues to unfold rapidly!
thank you as always for reading and for your dedication and support!
have a wonderful day!
i was super lazy this weekend – we got about 14 inches of snow here in colorado. all i have been doing is eating comfort food and watching a felicity marathon. so i admit i didn’t prepare a meatless monday recipe for today… though, i really want to make some of these soon…
i’ve posted about these yummy zucchini pizza strips before… but i’ve been craving them, so i wanted to {re}share… they are SO GOOD!
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i had no idea there were so many varieties of apples.
autumn glory is my new favourite kind of apple. ever heard of it?! better yet, have you tried one?!?!
i love the colour… Continue reading
when i tell people i have a vitamix they usually ask two questions :
1. do you love it?
2. how often do you use it?
and i always say, “yes. and every day!”
and i really do. i use it at least once a day to make a smoothie. usually for breakfast or with it or before i head to work in the afternoon. i use my vitamix every single day. and i love it! i’m working on perfecting recipes to share on the blog of other amazing things it does. for example : nut butters, soups, flours, and sorbet to name a few.
but it was still love at first sight and i’ve been falling in love more every day. how can i not?! heavy duty, all one-piece, little to no food waste, easy cleanup – what more can you ask for in an all-purpose kitchen appliance?!
this creation was one of my favourites to date :
ever since the groundhog told us we’ll have an early spring, i’ve been itching to put on some flip-flops and have a picnic in the sun! – i got spring fever!
spring always makes me think of opportunity, new beginning, an open horizon. we’ve stepped into a new year with force, with power, with purpose… and now we are on the brink of an early horizon line, full of promise and bright shining light, endless colour, and tons of potential!
vitamix - i highly recommend investing in one. they are incredible machines! i juice every day now!
i whipped together a different blend of juice this time from random stuff i had inside the fridge…
