Recipe: “The Blood of Care Bears”

In the quest for unending youth and beauty, legend has it that Countess Elizabeth Báthory would bathe in the blood of her human servant girls (over 600 are said to be victims of this female serial killer).

What have we done to the cherished Care Bears of your childhood? Worry not – Cheer Bear, Bedtime Bear, Good Luck Bear, and Love-a-lot Bear have not been mammocked or torn asunder. Their plush limbs have not been forced through our juicer; however, the color you see may belie that.

Thus, we have named this drink “The Blood of Care Bears” (though, as you’ll see, we much prefer the youth- and energy-enhancing properties of food). Your quest to become an enchantress can begin with your shopping cart.

Sidenote: juicing fruits and vegetables leftover at the end of the week is one of our favorite strategies to help prevent food waste, which is a major problem here in the U.S.

Have fun with it!

Prep time: 10 minutes for rinsing produce, chopping (if necessary) and set-up of juicer

Servings: about 2, 16 oz glasses

Ingredients

4 small beets

1 heart celery

1 whole cucumber

1/2 bunch of parsley (optional)

4 carrots

1-2 pears (depends on level of sweetness you desire)

1″ ginger root (it has some kick!)

Instructions

Remove seeds from fruit. With juicer set up, follow manufacturer’s directions for inserting fruits and vegetables carefully. The order recommended is generally softer produce followed by harder produce (so ending with ginger and beets). Juice until your heart’s content or you run out of produce. Fresh juice is best consumed immediately after juicing, though it may last 24-48 hours in the fridge.

St. Paddy’s Shamrock Smoothie

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Ireland and worldwide as both a religious and cultural holiday. This 17th of March, whether you feast on stew and Irish soda bread or fill up on green beer, this drink provides a healthy way to connect with your Irish heritage or is great for a morning-after hangover cure.

Ingredients

3/4 cucumber
1 medium apple
4 stalks celery
10 leaves romaine lettuce or 2 cups
1/4 cup parsley
4 cups water

Instructions

Rinse and prep all produce. Use either a high-speed blender or a juicer (we opted for blending to keep the fiber). Add all ingredients and blend until smooth. This recipe makes 32 ounces. Because the nutrients breakdown soon after making the drink, plan to drink within 1-2 days or share a healthy pint with a friend.

Also, the tradition of getting pinched if not wearing green is alive and well! Apparently Irish immigrants believed wearing green made you invisible to leprechauns and fairy creatures. They would pinch others as a reminder to wear the color and therefore protect themselves from those devious troublemakers. Double up with your green juice and clothing!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Our 14-day Green Smoothie Challenge is coming soon! We’ve been working hard on ingredient pairing, grocery list building, and taste-testing (okay, that part is pretty easy :)) so that we can bring you a complete, and convenient, DIY way to boost your energy and vitality everyday for 2 weeks. Stay tuned for more details!

Nori Veggie Wraps

We are about to blow your minds: nori isn’t just for making sushi. In fact this seaweed can be used to make what is arguably one of the best wraps. Ever. Someone here loves this so much she ate it for lunch every single day last week and then again today. There is something about the blending of all these flavors and yet still being able to taste them separately that drives our taste buds wild. Hopefully it does the same for you.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4  (or two hungry people)

Ingredients
4 sheets of dried nori (typically found in the ethnic section of the grocery, or pick some up at your local Asian market)
4 big romaine or red leaf lettuce leaves
1.5 cups mung bean sprouts (we advise against canned; go for the fresh ones- we found some at Raisin Rack)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 radishes, sliced
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cucumber sliced
1 tomato, diced
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup peanuts (optional)
Dressing:
2 Tbsp tamari (gluten-free soy sauce, or use regular if you’re not gluten-sensitive)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tsp toasted sesame seed oil

Instructions

Chop all your veggies. Put each leaf of lettuce on a place and place nori sheet on top before filling with all the vegetables listed. For your dressing, mix the tamari, apple cider vineger, and toasted sesame seed oil all together in a small container and then pour over each open-faced veggie pile. Keep as-is to eat or roll up into a wrap. Caution: it’s a bit messy (mainly because we were devouring it) so keep a napkin or paper towel handy.

This is before we put even more veggies in!