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.

Recipe: 8-ingredient Quinoa Salad

We initially debuted this 8-ingredient Quinoa Salad during National Vegetarian Month on 10TV with Valencia Wicker and Ross Caruso – watch here if you’d like. This dish is quick, delicious as well as gluten- and dairy-free! Enjoy!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
8 servings

Ingredients
2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup chopped radishes
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Instructions
Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well. Garnish with cherry tomatoes.

Burgers & Frittatas: Five Star Foodies

A couple of months ago, as you may remember, we spoke about vegan grilling options. To our delight, the quest for finding a darn-near-perfect veggie burger was achieved when we found Five Star Foodies in the Kroger frozen food section.

In the past decade or so, food companies have been stepping up their game when it comes to their veggie burgers. No longer is the only option a frozen gray disc made of soy protein, gluten, and questionable flavorings.

We’ve been to local restaurants with great veggie burger options and made recipes from scratch; however, if you just want to run into your grocery store and secure yourself a delicious, easy dinner, this might be for you.

Why you might like the Five Star Foodie products:

You’re vegan or plant-based and want a delicious burger

A great variety of artichoke burgers beyond the original recipe include French Herb, Indian Tandoori, Thai Coconut, and Italian Herb. We recommend doubling the deliciousness by topping with one or more of these options: guacamole, mustard, crunchy lettuce, fresh parsley or cilantro, and salsa.

You’d like to secure your 3 burgers for less than $6

Beyond burgers, they have vegan frittatas that are soy & nut free, gluten-free, 70% organic and non-GMO. Our personal favorite is the Potato Parsley one and we recommend adding some salsa or hot sauce on top.

You have friends or family members who are vegan or gluten-free

You like an ingredients list that is pronounceable and easily identifiable as food items

Why you may NOT like these products:

You still believe that the word ‘vegan’ means tasteless or ‘only for vegans’

You’re a vampire.

Your name is Gaston; you’ve eaten between 4 and 5 dozen eggs a day for years now and stubbornly refuse to switch things up and try a vegan frittata.

We’re stretching our creativity here :D. There’s only one thing to do, try a food item and see if you like it!

Want to learn more? Check out Five Star Foodies products and more.

*This post was not sponsored (but we’d certainly not mind if it were *nom nom nom*).

Kinda Big ‘Dill’ Potato Salad

We recently celebrated National Potato Day by sharing this recipe, and the result, with Laura Borchers and Jeff Booth on WBNS 10TV. Now we’re sharing it with you and the rest of the world!

But first, some fun facts about potatoes: they were first cultivated by the Inca in South America about 7-10k years ago; the English word ‘potato’ comes from the Spanish ‘patata.’

Americans eat about 124 lbs of potatoes per year; Germans eat about twice that.

Potatoes are relatively low in calories yet they pack a nutritional punch in terms of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber!

Serves 4
Prep time: about 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 lb potatoes (we used 4-5 red potatoes for a bit of color in the finished product)
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup chopped red onion
1 cup plant-based mayo (the one we used included avocado oil and aquafaba as the first two ingredients)
1 tbsp mustard
1/2 tbsp dill
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tbsp tumeric

Instructions
Boil potatoes until tender and easily pierced by fork (about 10 minutes). While the potatoes cool, mix the rest of the ingredients together well in a bowl. Once potatoes are cooled, combine with the mixture. Refrigerate and let the flavors meld for at least an hour (it’s best-tasting the next day).

As mentioned in the tv segment, these are recipe guidelines – have fun and try variations with bell pepper, parsley, and even hot sauce!

Recipe: Avocado Egg Salad

We’re celebrating National Egg Salad Week by sharing two delicious recipes – Avocado Egg Salad (made without mayonnaise!) AND an egg-less, vegan version with chickpeas. Pull those leftover, hard-boiled eggs from the fridge and let’s get started!

Avocado Egg Salad (vegan optional)
Serves 2-3
Prep time: 8 minutes

4 organic large eggs (substitute a 15oz can of drained chickpeas for eggs to make vegan)
1/2 avocado, pitted and chopped
1 tsp mustard
1/8 cup green onions, chopped
1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar or lime juice (helps prevent browning of avocado)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dill weed
Pinch of paprika
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Mash avocado in a medium bowl then repeat mashing when you add the hard-boiled eggs (or chickpeas) to the bowl. Mix all other ingredients into the bowl, except paprika.

Egg salad is best served chilled. Stick mixture in the fridge for at least 1/2 hr before garnishing with paprika and enjoying on your favorite bread, on top of a bed of greens, or in a wrap.

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!

Recipe: Turkey Breakfast Sausage

Oh my, how savory the turkey sausage patties! A perfect pairing with a over-medium egg and hot sauce. At this point, you have two choices: devour with your eyes or get cooking so you can devour them with your mouth.

Bonus: no scary ingredients from typical store-bought sausages with their nitrites and other questionable agents. We also added tons of garlic for the health properties related to winter wellness!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey (ours from MKM family farms at farmers’ market)
2 tbsp coconut oil (feel free to substitute olive oil)
4 cloves garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp oregano, parsley, and fennel seeds
1 tsp salt & pepper
2 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette for de-glazing pan
hot sauce

Instructions:
Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat and cook onion and garlic until golden-brown. Remove from heat and add onion to mixing bowl along with turkey and combine. Then add the oregano, parsley, fennel seeds, salt & pepper and mix thoroughly by hand. Form patties by hand to be about 3 inches in diameter and about 1/2″ inch thick. Cook in skillet about 5 minutes on either side or until inserted meat thermometer registers 165°F and meat is fully cooked. Add balsamic vinaigrette to de-glaze the pan and cook on a lower temperature so meat soaks some up.

Happy breakfast-ing!