Avocado Chocolate Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 avocado, pitted and scooped
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 frozen banana
1/4 cup nonfat vanilla greek yogurt
1 tablespoon almond butter
3 – 4 tablespoons skim milk
1 tablespoon melted chocolate

Almond Joy Truffles

Wow. Avocado in truffles? I still struggle with the chocolate and avocado combination but maybe it’s time to get over it and eat some almond joy goodness. These truffles would make a perfect last-minute gift!

 

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado, mashed
1/3 cup unsweetened raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Recipe: theroastedroot.net

Skinny Mexican Pizza

Delicious! I love the use of tortillas...there is added crisp and for sure it's lighter, healthier and yummy.

Ingredients

6 whole wheat flour tortillas, medium sized
1 pound lean ground turkey
seasonings – salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, oregano
1 packet of beef flavored “flavor boost” (concentrated stock)
1 pkg Taco Bell taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
1 can Taco Bell fat free refried beans
1/2 cup chicken stock
medium Taco Bell taco sauce
salsas of choice – Herdez red salsa and green salsa verde
1 diced tomato
1 small can sliced black olives
Mexican blend grated cheese
2 fresh green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
serve with – reduced fat sour cream, spicy guacamole

Recipe: http://menumusings.blogspot.sg/2012/06/skinny-mexican-pizza.html

Avocado Brownies

 

 

I really love chocolate avocado cake, never try brownie, but of course, it has to be even better. I will give it a try!! Would you?
Once I also made a cake with condensed milk and avocado, it was to die for!! Even if not so healthy.

Ingredients

200 g. (1½ cup) avocado flesh* (very ripe, but not brown)
1 cup (240mL) coconut sugar OR ½ cup (120 mL) honey*
2 eggs
1 cup (240mL) dark cocoa powder (a bit more than 1 dl.)
100 g. dark chocolate (I used 85% cocoa)
1 tbsp. water
½ tsp. baking soda

Recipe: http://thesmoothielover.com

Healthy Avocado Chocolate Cookies

OMG! They are delicious! I never thought about making cookies with avocado. I don’t use butter anymore, so haven’t made cookies in ages. These are definitely a new staple in our diet! A must try!

 

Anyone wondering – strange as it seems, you can’t taste the avocado at all, it just adds a really nice texture. Also, the coconut sugar doesn’t actually taste like coconut, it’s really sweet and if anything it has a slight caramel flavor to it.

 

Ingredients

• 100 g. avocado flesh* (very ripe, but not brown)
• ½ cup coconut sugar** (a bit more than 1 dl.)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup dark cocoa powder (a bit more than 1 dl.)
• 50 g. dark chocolate chunks (I used 85% cocoa)
• 1 tbsp. water
• ½ tsp. baking soda

Recipe: http://thesmoothielover.com/healthy-avocado-chocolate-cookies/

Quinoa Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies

Here are seven health benefits of quinoa:

1. Quinoa is one of the most protein-rich foods we can eat. It is a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids.

2. Quinoa contains almost twice as much fiber as most other grains. Fiber is most widely known to relieve constipation. It also helps to prevent heart disease by reducing high blood pressure and diabetes. Fiber lowers cholesterol and glucose levels, may lower your risk of developing hemorrhoids and may help you to lose weight as it takes a longer time to chew than does other foods because it makes you feel fuller for longer and is less “energy dense” which means it has fewer calories for the same volume of food.

3. Quinoa contains Iron. Iron helps keep our red blood cells healthy and is the basis of hemoglobin formation. Iron carries oxygen from one cell to another and supplies oxygen to our muscles to aid in their contraction. Iron also increases brain function because the brain takes in about 20% of our blood oxygen. There are many benefits of iron some more of which include neurotransmitter synthesis, regulation of body temperature, aids enzyme activity and energy metabolism.

4. Quinoa contains lysine. Lysine is mainly essential for tissue growth and repair.

5. Quinoa is rich in magnesium. Magnesium helps to relax blood vessels and thereby to alleviate migraines. Magnesium also may reduce Type 2 diabetes by promoting healthy blood sugar control. Other health benefits of magnesium include transmission of nerve impulses, body temperature regulation, detoxification, energy production, and the formation of healthy bones and teeth.

6. Quinoa is high in Riboflavin (B2). B2 improves energy metabolism within brain and muscle cells and is known to help create proper energy production in cells.

7. Quinoa has a high content of manganese. Manganese is an antioxidant, which helps to prevent damage of mitochondria during energy production as well as to protect red blood cells and other cells from injury by free radicals.

      Ingridents:

• ¾ cup raw quinoa
• 1½ cups water

Dry

• 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free All-Purpose Baking Flour - see note
• ½ cup freshly ground flax seed
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch sea salt

Wet

• ½ cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons grape seed oil, melted coconut oil, or walnut oil - see note
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Add-ins

• ⅓ cup dairy-free chocolate chips
• 1 cup shredded zucchini, lightly packed, wrap in a clean kitchen towel and ring out extra juice.

Recipe: http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2013/09/quinoa-chocolate-chip-zucchini-breakfast-cookies/

10 Vegetables Herbs you can regrow from waste

Some foods are easy to regrow at home from leftover scraps, and some of them can even be grown right on your kitchen counter.
Onions, garlic and fresh herbs are staples in a lot of dishes, and they may be inexpensive, but when you use them on a daily basis it can add up.
Here are 10 vegetables and herbs you can buy once and regrow forever.

#1. Garlic
When garlic starts to sprout, the little green shoots are too bitter to cook with. Rather than throwing away sprouted cloves, you can put them in a glass with a little water and grow garlic sprouts. The sprouts have a much milder flavor than garlic cloves and are great in salads, pasta and as a garnish.

#2. Carrot Greens
The ends of carrots you usually chop off and throw away will grow carrot greens if you put them in a dish with a little water. Set the dish in a well-lit windowsill and you'll have carrot tops to use as a garnish or in salads

#3. Basil
Put a few basil clippings with 4-inch stems in a glass of water and place it in a spot with direct sunlight. When the roots are about 2 inches long, you can plant them in pots to grow a full basil plant.

#4Leeks
Leeks are awesome for soups, and it turns out they're easy to keep around because they grow in water just as easily as green onions. Just take the base of your leeks, cover them in water, and leave them in the window with some sun for a few days. You should start seeing them sprout right away, and within a week or so you'll be able to trim off parts to use in recipes.

#5. Lettuce
If you have a stem from a head of romaine lettuce that's still intact, place the stump in a bowl with about ½ inch of water and put it on a windowsill. You'll start to see new leaves in about 2 weeks, and they'll be full grown in 3 to 4.

#6. Bok Choy
Just like romaine lettuce, bok choy can be regrown by placing the root end in water in a well-lit area. In a week or two, you can transplant it to a pot with soil and grow a full new head.

#7. Onions
Plant the discarded root end from an onion in a pot or directly in the soil outside to regrow. You can harvest it early and get fresh green onions or wait until the bulb is fully developed.

#8. Ginger
Like onions, ginger root can be planted in soil to regrow, but the process is a lot more lengthy. It can take a few months for it to sprout, and you should be able to harvest a fully grown bulb in 8 to 10 months.

#9. Mushrooms
Plant mushroom stalks in soil with some compost or used coffee grounds and keep them in a moist environment, preferably where it will be cool at night. They can be tricky to grow, and within a few days the stems will either start to sprout new heads or rot.

#10 POTATOES
Taking potatoes from produce back to growing is a great way to keep more waste out of the garbage. You can grow any variety of potato you like, it should just make sure the scrap has ‘eyes’ growing on it. With a potato that has a strong presence of eyes you can chop it up into 2 inch square pieces. Make sure each piece has 1 – 2 eyes. After you’ve cut your potato into pieces leave them out in room temperature for a couple of days. Leaving the pieces out allow the cut surface area to dry out and become callous which will prevent the pieces from rotting in the ground.

#Bonus Fennel
Fennel has a strong enough taste that it's pretty rare you'll need more than just a small cutting from one. If you'd like to keep one around all the time, it's worth just regrowing one you have. Just take the bulb, put it in a cup, and fill it up with water so the bulb's covered. Stick that jar in the sun and within a few days it'll start sprouting up. Replace the water every couple of days and trim off a bit of fennel when you need it.


Source: http://nurserylive.com/10-vegetables-herbs-you-can-regrow-from-waste