Green Monster Smoothie Recipes

The Green Monster Movement has become a hit with those seeking a more healthy lifestyle, so I thought I would chip in with a couple of green monster recipes of my own:

Banana Hippie Green Monster

Dig it baby!

Blend:

• 1 cup of chopped spinach
• 1 banana chopped
• 1 heaped tablespoon of shelled hemp seed
• 1 heaped tablespoon of hemp protein powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried wheatgrass
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried barleygrass
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried spiralina
• 1 cup of apple juice

Waldorf Salad Green Monster

Made with real waldorfs!

Blend:

• 1 stick of celery, washed and chopped
• 1 apple, chopped - seeds and all
• 1 handful of walnuts
• 1 heaped tablespoon of shelled hemp seed
• 1 heaped tablespoon of hemp protein powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried wheatgrass
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried barleygrass
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried spiralina
• 1 cup of grape juice

Serving:

Blend, decant to a glass and enjoy!

Note:

These monsters are packed with wholesome goodness and they give a huge boost to your energy levels, so they are good for the morning or when your energy level begins to subside in the afternoon. It is best not to drink monsters before you go to bed, or you will have trouble getting to sleep.

Suki Noodles in Soup

This delicious soup noodle is easy and quick to prepare. The addition of Thai or Chinese Suki Sauce is optional, but gives the soup a nice flavour and a spicy kick. This is a vegetarian version I am posting for my friend Kerry, but you can add any cooked meat or seafood of your choice and use fish or chicken stock instead.

The noodles used are bean-thread vermicelli or cellophane noodles, and they soak up about 10 times their weight in liquid, so they make for a really substantial soup.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 500ml clear vegetable stock
• About 2 slack handfuls of your choice of chopped or shreaded vegetables. Cabbage, carrots, beansprouts, mushrooms and green beans are excellent.
• 1 garlic clove, finely sliced (optional)
• About 2 slack handfuls of bean thread vermicelli
• 1/2 tsp of good quality rock salt
• Dash of light soy or mushroom soy sauce
• Dash of hemp oil (optional)
• Dash of sesame oil (optional)

Garnish:

• Chinese or Thai suki sauce (optional)
• 2 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
• A sprinkle of raw beansprouts (optional)
• 1 tbsp of hulled hemp seeds (optional)
• 2 tbsp of sprouted beans and seed mix (optional)

Method:

In a large saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a gentle simmer, then add the remaining ingredients. Return the soup to a simmer and continue simmering for a further 3 minutes, or until the noodles taste ready.

Add your choice of garnish and serve immediately.

Enjoy! 

Falafel

Makes 25-30 small patties (serves 4 as a main course)

Adapted from Salwa Abuamsha’s recipe

Falafel are crispy fried chickpea or bean fritters, seasoned with herbs, cumin, and coriander seeds. Salwa serves hers with tahini sauce (1/2 cup tahini, 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, and 1/2 – 1 tsp. salt) and tomato-onion salad. Falafel are delicious either on their own or in a pita sandwich. To make good falafel there are four important rules: 1. Don’t use canned or cooked chickpeas. 2. Soak dried chickpeas for at least 24 hours. 3. Process chickpeas until they’re very finely ground and easily hold together when formed into a ball. 4. Let dough rest before shaping it into patties. I like using a 1 Tbsp. scoop (size 60) to shape falafel, but some people prefer larger patties.

1/2 lb. dried chickpeas (1 1/3 cups) or peeled, dried fava beans

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp. freshly ground cumin

1 tsp. freshly ground coriander seeds

1/4 tsp. cayenne (ground red pepper)

1 tsp. salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Soak chickpeas in water for at least 24 hours. Rinse and drain chickpeas; spread out on dishtowel to dry while you prepare remaining ingredients.

Put chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, freshly ground black pepper, baking soda, and baking powder in food processor. Process until chickpeas are thoroughly puréed and ingredients form a very smooth dough; this can take up to 5 minutes of processing (remember to scrape down sides of bowl from time to time).

Let dough rest for 30 – 60 minutes. Scoop out tablespoons of dough; if using a 1 Tbsp. (size 60) scoop, fill scoop with dough, then level off. Form dough into balls and then flatten slightly to form small patties. Let rest for 30 minutes. (Falafel may be made ahead to this point).

Heat oil to 350°F. Fry falafel in four batches, turning them over when half done, until they’re golden brown (if you put too many in pan at one time, the oil’s temperature will drop and falafel won’t cook right). When done, place each batch on paper towels to drain; falafel cooks quickly so watch carefully to make sure they don’t burn. 

Serve immediately.

Read more: http://www.laurieconstantino.com/recipe-index/falafel/#ixzz2VjotiBHh

Reproduced from: http://www.laurieconstantino.com/recipe-index/falafel/