I have posted a couple of smoothie recipes including my "Beginner's Green Smoothie" here in the past. Because I have a smoothie for breakfast almost every day in the summer, I get bored of the same old recipes pretty quickly. I imagine that you do too!

So, here are a couple of resources for you:

Website: Angela from Oh She Glows created the Green Monster Movement site that, among other super helpful things, provides a ton of green smoothie recipes. Check it out!

Book: Victoria Boutenko's Green Smoothie Revolution is an excellent resource for recipes as well.

A while back I wrote about a raw chili that I had enjoyed for dinner. Since I loved the "nut meat" portion of the meal so much, I created a raw "pasta" meal using similar ingredients. Instead of noodles, I used a potato peeler to cut raw zucchini into ribbons. I topped the zucchini with a raw tomato sauce and some "nut meat".

I received a honeydew melon in my CSA box the other day and decided to "smoothie it". This is naturally sweet and super healthy. Perfect for breakfast on a sunny summer morning! I'll give you the basic recipe and then some options for "kicking it up a notch". Enjoy!

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

My interest in raw foods has been gradually growing over time and I have recently been incorporating more and more raw meals into my diet. Why raw? For a good overview, see the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute explanation here. For me, eating raw means eating whole and living (think sprouted) foods. Eating this way makes me feel great and like I'm burning clean fuel. My goal is not to transition entirely to a raw foods diet- I love "hot-out-of-the-oven" things in the colder months. I simply want to expand my recipe repertoire by experimenting with new ways of preparing whole foods. Now that it is 90+ degrees, I'm ready to leave the oven off for awhile and enjoy all of the fruits and veggies that are in season this time of year in their most natural state.

Raw chili: Tonight I made raw chili with nut "meat" created by Ani Phyo (recipe here). The chili had a great flavor and the nut "meat" was fantastic (I added fresh cilantro to mine). I'm already looking forward to lunch tomorrow because I know I have leftovers!

Dessert: After the chili I was craving something sweet. I invented this (almost raw) dessert that I called "choconana"- delish! We ate this so fast that I forgot to take a photo but here is my recipe.

Choconana
Serves 2
1/4 cup unsalted macadamia nuts
1/2 cup raw cashews
4 pitted dates
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 vanilla bean)
~1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
~ 1/2 cup water
2 bananas

I have some more raw meals planned for later in the week. I will share my discoveries and creations with you. If you have a favorite recipe or website about raw foods that you would like to share, I'd love to hear from you!