Afternoon Green Juice (without a juicer)

After catching onto the Tik Tok Dalgona coffee trend for a few days, I decided to find a different afternoon pick-me-up - my fun afternoon green juice. I use a blender to make this and don’t mind the pulp, but you can always strain through a cheese cloth to get rid of the pulp. Always modify depending on what’s in your fridge that day.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Around 1/4 cup of frozen fruit (either banana, mango, or pineapple)

  • 1 tsp maple syrup

  • 1 cup of spinach or kale

  • Juice of 1/2 lemon (I use fresh squeezed but can always use juice)

  • 2-3 small chunks of fresh peeled ginger

  • 1 tsp turmeric

  • 1/2 cucumber

  • 1 celery stick

  • 1/2 green apple (without seeds or insides)

  • Water - start with a little and only add if its too frozen to blend

All Things OATS

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Don’t we all love a casual morning with a nice cup of coffee (or tea) and some delicious OATMEAL?

THE BASE: I use these Bob’s Red Mill Old Fashioned oats. The oats need to cook well for them to taste delicious. Add 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, 1 pinch of salt, and cover with a napkin—microwave for 2 minutes. Make sure to use a wide-mouth bowl so that the entire pot cooks.

THE TOPPINGS: THE BEST PART. Some basics you need for the oats to taste good: cinnamon, sweetener of some type, fruit, and a crunch. Some of my favorites include maple syrup, flaxseed mill, cacao nibs, unsweetened coconut, chia seeds, banana, dried fruit, nuts (sliced almonds, walnuts), and berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries work best). I will typically choose cinnamon, maple syrup, flaxseed or chia, fruit, and one other topping to ensure that I taste all the flavors, and it isn’t too overwhelming.

THE PLACEMENT: Even if you aren’t a self-proclaimed food blogger like me, make your oats look pretty! Take the extra two minutes to place all of your toppings as a restaurant would. Fun placement makes eating the oats even more fun. Check out the pictures below for fun ideas.

OVERALL, I love oatmeal, and I hope that these topping ideas will help you to have a fun morning!

Israeli Food: Vegan Version

I find Mediterranean food itself to be mainly plant-based. My trip to Israel included many plates of hummus, pita, and falafel full of veggies. In celebration of Israel’s Independence Day, I decided to make homemade pita, homemade hummus, tabouli, and roasted cauliflower.

HOMEMADE PITA

For the pita, I used the NYT cooking recipe. Takeaways: This is easy and delicious. I used a simple baking sheet, and my pita decided not to “pop.” I found this article on King Arthur’s website about the “pop” and how to achieve it. Basically, you need an “old cast-iron Garland gas oven” or some other scorching oven. Regardless, these pitas are delicious. Also, I used bread flour instead of whole wheat and made sure to sift it before adding it in.

HOMEMADE HUMMUS

HUMMUS! The easiest item in the world to make. I’ve nearly perfected my own recipe but used this one as a base until I get the hang of it myself. I topped my hummus with olive oil, parsley, paprika from The Spice House, and toasted pine nuts.

TOASTING PINE NUTS: Heat small pan. Add a small amount of oil & heat the oil. Add the pine nuts. Make sure to not BURN the pine nuts. It takes around 2 minutes.

TABOULI

INGREDIENTS FOR COUSCOUS: 1 cup of couscous, 1 cup of boiling water, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp sea salt

INGREDIENTS FOR MIX-INS: 2 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp lemon juice, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, scallions, peppers, capers, minced garlic, cracked pepper, sea salt

TO MAKE COUSCOUS: Add couscous, olive oil, salt, and mix. Add boiling water, cover with a plate, and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Fluff the couscous and let cool.

MIX-INS: Add the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, pepper, and salt to the couscous. Mix. Dice the veggies and add to the couscous. YUM!

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

My mom and I used this recipe.