Experiments in juicing.. or more correctly smoothing.

So I got a ninja today.. and as expected it is fairly compact in shape, efficient, and has sharp blades. With it's lovely efficient size and power I began to explore the possibilities of juicy smoothy goodness.
The on hand fruitage was as follows a kiwi, a really ripe pear, apples, and for something green- spinach.
Smoothed drink one:
1/2 pear roughly chopped peeled and cored.
1/2 c spinach no stems
1 peeled kiwi
5 ice cubes
It was dee-lish-ous!
Smoothed drink 2 for the children
1/2 pear roughly chopped peeled and cored
1/2 c spinach no stems
1/2 green apple- not peeled but cored.
1 tsp honey
5 cubes of ice
Green and delicious! Nom!!

Home made chaitacular and chocolate chip oatmeal cupcakes!

So the other day I was in the kitchen with the Wuminator chopping up veggies for potato and kale soup when I decided to make some delicious chai concentrate and these rather tasty and low fat gluten free chocolate chip oatmeal "cupcakes".
The chai idea was inspired by NPR, yet another reason why it is so awesome!

Now I did not have the ginger root, so I actually melted some of my Ginger People ginger chews. I also recommend using a tea infuser for the tiny spices. Makes it easier to remove them when the time comes. I cooled mine a bit and poured it into a pitcher. You mix it half concentrate and half milk/milk substitute. I use almond milk or soy. You can heat your chai latte up or serve it cold over ice. I used my Awake tea by Tazo, so good. I may try this again with green tea and see how that is.

Chai Tea Concentrate

4 1/2 cups water

10 black tea bags

1 vanilla bean, split in half (or 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract added at the end)

1 stick whole cinnamon

3-inch piece chopped fresh ginger

7 whole cardamom pods

2 whole star anise pods

10 whole cloves

1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the tea, spices and orange zest, stir and remove from heat and let steep 15 to 20 minutes. Strain out the spices and tea and add the brown sugar, honey and vanilla extract if using. Stir well to combine.

Recipe dos!! The nice thing about this recipe is whoever did the non vegan version had it all converted for dietary facts and even weight watcher points. It came out to 120 per cake, but with almond milk that cuts the calories a bit because it has only 45 calories per cup instead of the 90 per cup in skim milk. And aside from being local and tasty you get to have chocolate chips and whole grains for breakfast with some fruit. These were really popular with the kids and Lacey as well. Not too much a of a pain to make and it makes a fair few so that gives me some easy peasy gluten free snack items for the boys! I decided to play with the recipe further and actually did raspberry chocolate chips and half raspberry extract and half vanilla extract. Nom. I think next time I will try orange! I baked mine in silicon baking cups on a cookie sheet, saves time since you can bake them all at once.

GF Chocolate chip Oatmeal cup cakes -a breakfast idea
Ingredients:
3 cups old-fashioned oats- gluten free
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder alum free
1/2 teaspoon salt
Egg replacer for 2 egg whites and 1 egg
1 ¼ cups unsweetened almond milk
¾ c mashed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1.    Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly mist 18 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray.
2.    Combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed.
3.    In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites, egg, mashed banana, milk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until blended together. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4.    Spoon the oatmeal mixture evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Bake uncovered for 18-22 minutes or until oatmeal is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Yields 18 oatmeal singles.