Super Green Avocado Smoothie

Since giving up baking for Lent, I've been off the blog for a while and have been living off fried rice and smoothies for the past, eh... three weeks or so. I hate to admit that I've also been consuming my fair share (and yours) of biscotti and bagels slathered with more cream cheese than you can imagine. But it's cool- it's "reduced fat". Ha! I wish I can consider myself to be "reduced fat" since Ash Wednesday. Whatever, though- dieting is what tomorrow's for right?

I will say, though, that despite the constant existence of fried rice (home made, thank you very much) in my system, I do manage to pack in some essential food groups. Fruits and veggies, my friends... fruits and veggies. 

Do you want to know why I love smoothies? It's because unless a salad is loaded with nuts and goat cheese, I would never go out of my way to order one at a restaurant. So, since I'm not one to shovel greens into my mouth with a more civilized version of a pitchfork, I drink my vegetables. Yes, ma'am, I do. And about five servings of them per meal!

The smoothie that I am the biggest fan of contains avocadoes, spinach (which you cannot taste), mango chunks, lite coconut milk, and a bit o' water to increase the drinkability of this mega nutrition shot. If you're trying to save calories, you can certainly skip the coconut milk. I have also used Earl Grey Creme tea in place of water, which adds an interesting flavor. 

This makes two servings. 

Ingredients:

1 avocado

2 cups frozen mango chunks

1/3ish cup coconut milk

A giant handful of spinach... maybe 3-4 cups?

1 1/2 cups water

Method:

1. Blend. 

2. Enjoy. 

Store the left over serving in the refrigerator. It'll last a few days. 

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Broccoli Quiche

You've figured out by now that I don't mind sparking up the oven when it's nearly 90 degrees outside. Call me crazy, but eating yogurt for dinner gets really old after a while, and by a while, I mean 30 seconds. First of all yogurt is not satisfying and second, yogurt is not satisfying. This is why I whip out "winter recipes" even when you can see steam rising from the pavement.

I adore quiche. It's easy to prepare, is packed with flavor (as long as you do it right), and is always excellent the next day. If you want to reduce the calories in this recipe, omit the pie crust. I have done this several times, (I suppose it ends up being a sort of fritatta), and it's still amazing.

Ingredients:
1 pie crust
2-3 cloves pressed garlic
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella (I use 2%)
4 large or extra-large eggs (use egg substitute if you're cutting calories)
1 1/2 cups milk (I always use skim, and it's a-o-k.)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cups broccoli (If you're using frozen vegetables, make sure you thaw and DRAIN it, otherwise your pie will be very, very watery)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan (this isn't necessary to the success of this recipe, but it's so. so. so. good.)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350'.

2. In bowl, beat eggs. Mix in salt, pepper, and garlic.

3. Add broccoli and mozzarella cheese.

4. Press pie crust into bottom of pie plate. Pour egg-broccoli mixture into crust. Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Let set for a few minutes before serving.

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Pinata Pasta (Get Your Mexi On.. Kinda Sorta?!)

What in God's name is Pinata Pasta? Well first, I boil up a box of pasta, then just before it's al dente, I rip up a few colorful sheets of tissue paper and stir it into the water. This causes the paper to appear the way wilted spinach does. I then drain the water, add a bunch of other crap to the pasta-tissue mixture and devour like no other. You don't believe me? Good. I didn't think anyone was thaaat much of an ignoramus.

Pinata Pasta is basically like any ordinary pasta salad that you've had, but I think it's important to remind y'all that sometimes it's okay to revert back to old recipes. Plus, this is so colorful that during consumption, you'll feel as though you're riding a unicorn through a rainbow, which is not something I ever felt while eating traditional pasta salad. Seriously though, bring it your next summer cookout and you'll be a superstar... at least in my eyes.

Ingredients:
1 box of whole wheat pasta (I'm usually a shell girl, but I used these fantastic ribbed elbows that were absolutely perfect)
1 bottle of  salad dressing- I used Kraft fat free Parmesan Asiago (I know there are chemicals in this, but my thighs are at stake here, which means anything goes!)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
1 large cucumber (not those weird ones that come wrapped in plastic)
2 cans black beans
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method (It doesn't get much easier than this):
1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Make pasta.


2. While the pasta is cooking, chop all vegetables, including spinach. To chop spinach, bunch it up and run a knife through it. You'll end up with skinny shreds. Skinny-- that's the theme du jour.

3. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it. I don't normally rinse my pasta, but I always do when making pasta salad. So rinse with cool water until the pasta is no longer hot.

4. Transfer to a large bowl and mix all the vegetables in. Pour salad dressing over and stir until you feel that you've gotten a fierce enough workout to qualify as an arm wresting champion. If you're going to eat this right away, it shouldn't need any salt, but it will probably require a dash or three the next day. Pin It