Good Greens & Additions For Smoothies

Good Greens For Smoothies:

(Wash first)

Spinach
Silver Beet
Swiss Chard
Parsley
Dandelion greens (small amount) 
Celery, including tops
Cucumber
Lettuce - green and red, romaine etc
Boy choy
Beet greens
Mint
Kale
Sprouts
Cabbage

Good Additions For Smoothies

Cinnamon
Raw honey
Lemon juice
Ground flaxseed
Ground almonds
Ground sunflower seeds
Ground pumpkin seeds
Spirulina powder
Peanut butter
Cereal - oats, bran, wheatgerm etc

Basic Smoothie

I love smoothies.  

They're such a great way to get a quick, nutritious, delicious, economical meal - and you can't ask much more than that now can you?  Fruit smoothies are great, but adding some greens to make a green smoothie makes them even  healthier.

This is my basic smoothie recipe which can easily be adapted to use whatever you have on hand.

Basic Smoothie
-3 tablespoons of natural yoghurt or low fat cottage cheese
-Fruit - whatever you like.  I often use an apple and a banana, or peaches and a banana.
-1 teaspoon of raw (liquid) honey.
-Dash of cinnamon.
-Enough liquid so that the mixture can be blended - use water or juice or milk or soy milk or rice milk, whatever your preference.
Put into a blender and blend.  Drink, enjoy!

To make a basic green smoothie just add a handful of greens to the above - for example spinach,  lettuce or parsley.
 

How To Cut Up Pumpkin

 

One day while surfing the Internet I happened to stumble across a forum where many people were lamenting how hard it was to cut up a whole, large pumpkin.  I've noticed over the years many people have a problem with this, especially those who have less strength and flexibility in their hands for various reasons.

Years ago I decided to cut up a pumpkin with an axe.  I was young and reckless, what can I say?   It worked fine but it was a bit - well, rough too.  Then I suddenly hit upon a better idea - the meat cleaver!   It worked like a charm.

Simply put down a good solid chopping board if you are using the kitchen bench, place your pumpkin on it, take your meat cleaver and with a handful of short, sharp chops you will have your pumpkin cut up in no time at all.  So clean, so simple, so fast and so stress free!  Of course if you have a wood chopping block this is also a perfect place to chop up your pumpkin.

If you use a good and sharp meat cleaver this works well even if you do not have particularly strong or flexible hands. 

Egg Sandwich Filling

Having lovely hens who produce rich, golden-yolked, free range eggs is one of the simple pleasures of life. 

It's so easy to hard boil some eggs, add them to a garden fresh salad with some homemade dressing and voila, a healthy and delicious meal!

And a nicely made egg sandwich is always popular.

Egg Sandwich Filling

Ingredients

6 free range eggs

1 tsp good quality dry mustard powder (hot)

2 Tbsps of milk (or water)

4 spring onions

Mayonnaise

Salt & pepper or your favourite seasonings

Method
Hard boil and mash the eggs with the back of a fork.

Mix the mustard powder into a paste with the milk.

Finely chop 4 spring onions (white and lower white/green parts only, not the tough upper green leaves)

Mix the mustard paste and spring onions with the mashed eggs with enough mayonnaise to form a good consistency for spreading on bread.

Add seasonings.

Spread on your favourite bread.

If you don’t have any spring onions then fresh chives are an excellent alternative.

If you have plenty of eggs you can always whip up a cream sponge.

Some of the girls at Kewmarnic Cottage.