Easy Vanilla & Strawberry Almond Milk Recipe

If I knew how easy almond milk was to make I would have been making it a long time ago! I don’t know why it seemed so daunting to me. There’s only a few easy steps. Fear not if you do not have a Vitamix! This can be done in any high speed blender. One thing you may want to buy for this is a nut milk bag to strain into. These are very cheap and can be bought at most health food stores or online.  If you can’t find this you may use a fine sieve strainer as well.  Or better yet, if you need the fiber and don’t mind an unstrained almond milk, drink away without removing the pulp!!

Vanilla Almond Milk

Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup almonds, raw preferably

1/4 cup agave syrup or 1/2 cup dated pits

A pinch of sea salt

5 cups of water

1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon of alcohol-free vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. 

Strain almond milk through a strainer or nut bag. If using a nut bag squeeze to remove all liquid. 

Will keep in fridge for up to 4 days.

Strawberry Vanilla Almond Milk

makes 4 servings

1/2 cup almonds, raw preferably

1/4 cup agave syrup or 1/2 cup dated pits

A pinch of sea salt

5 cups of water

1/2 vanilla bean or 1/2 tablespoon of alcohol-free vanilla extract

2 cups of strawberries, fresh or frozen

Use same process as above.

This was so delicious! Reminded me of the syrupy strawberry stuff I added to milk when I was little, but this is free of artificial dyes and nasty sugars. Its actually healthy for me 🙂 I enjoyed drinking this straight up and also used it as my milk for cereal/granola. Yummy!

Macomile Tea recipe

I made a beautiful tea yesterday that I was so happy to discover. My friend posted a Maca hot beverage recipe and I took that experimented with a few additions. 

I tried it with black tea, green tea and chamomile. All were great but I’m sharing with you my favorite and most beneficial version using chamomile. 

Chamomile is a very soothing flower, helping with stomach aches, easing the symptoms of irritable bowel, promotes elimination and helps overall digestion. It has immune boosting properties, helps in fighting off colds, can relieve menstrual cramps and it is a very good sleep aid. Drink this tea before bed for a lovely calming effect or just when you feel like getting cozy. It does just that! Don’t feel like getting cozy or calm and rather have a little pick-me-up in the mornings? I enjoyed a cup this morning with black tea and it was the perfect way to start my day. Mix and match with your favorite tea 🙂

Maca is an ancient Peruvian root that has been used for thousands of years as an immune strengthener, a libido enhancer, and endurance/stamina increaser. It also helps promote hormonal balance for both men and women and is beneficial towards sleep quality. It doesn’t stop there though. It is a rich natural source of calcium, magnesium, iron and manganese, as well as a wide range of protein amino acids. Maca root also supplies vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B12, C, D and E. It has a nutty, slight caramel flavor that pairs perfectly with the chamomile.

Drink up!

Macomile Hot Tea

1 cup milk of your choice (I like almond)

1 tsp honey or sweetener of choice

1 tsp Maca root powder

1 chamomile tea bag

sprinkle or pinch of cinnamon

Warm milk in a small pot. Add tea bag and let steep for a few minutes. Next, whisk in the Maca root powder, stirring constantly. Then add honey and cinnamon, whisk all together. Serve immediately. 

Trader Joe’s now sells raw organic wild honey!

Red Lentil Sweet Potato Coconut Soup

Red Lentil Sweet Potato Coconut Soup

from the Green Lean Bean

I wrote the directions for a Crockpot method but feel free to cook this in a traditional method using a pot. Let simmer until thickened. 

Ingredients:

2 cups dried red lentils, soaked for 2-4 hours, then rinsed.

1 tsp coconut oil

1/2 cup onion, minced

4 small garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tbls cumin

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp curry

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 cinnamon stick

1 tbls tomato paste

1 tsp minced ginger

1/2 tsp of salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

2 (32 oz.) containers of Veggie broth

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 (14 oz.) can of coconut milk

baby spinach leaves, to garnish
lemon juice 

Turn crock-pot on High to warm up. Place coconut oil, onion, garlic, ginger and all of the spices in the bottom of the crock-pot and let coconut oil melt and mix until all incorporated. Add broth and stir. In the mean time, cut the carrots and sweet potatoes and add them to pot. Cover and let simmer on High for up to 8 hours. (Mine took just about 8 hours to thicken) With an hour still remaining, add can of coconut milk and mix thoroughly. Serve with spinach leaves as a garnish and fresh cracked pepper.  Squeeze a little lemon juice on top–the acidity brings all the flavors together very nicely. 

1. Soak dry lentils in a bowl of water. 

2. After 2-4 hours, drain and rinse. (I use a nut milk bag)

3. Add oil, minced onions, minced garlic, minced ginger and all spices to pot. Mix well. 

4. Add broth.

 5. Cut sweet potatoes and carrots. Add to pot. 

5. Add lentils to pot. Cover and let simmer for 8 hours if using a crock-pot. Remember to take cinnamon stick out before serving!

6. Before serving add can of Coconut Milk.

7. Serve with fresh cracked pepper, lemon juice and garnish with spinach. 

Enjoy!

Motivation!

Today was a good day for me. I began my workout routine again. I’m tired of sitting all day. I sit in my car for 2 hours on my way to work, I sit at my desk for almost 6 hours straight, get back in my car again for another 2 and then most likely will plop myself on the couch after dinner to only sit again. No wonder my back has been giving me problems lately! The cold weather demotivates me to workout but it’s time ladies and gentleman, to get my butt off that seat and get it into gear. I told my boyfriend that if he joins me at the gym, it will keep me motivated. He agreed, which I am so excited about. Gym! Here I come! My friend Lauren suggested to leave my yoga mat out all the time and as simple as that may sound it actually works. If I have something staring at me in the face, its going to be hard to walk by it. I don’t know about you, but a yoga mat on the floor is always a warm invitation to stretch. Even if I stretch for a few minutes, I know my body will thank me. 

It snowed here last night  and it was a good excuse to stay inside all day. Perfect opportunity to get some workout time in. My boyfriend is away this whole week, so I didn’t feel guilty rearranging the living room into my little gym for the day. I did have one BIG distraction though! My cat. Bowie loves the yoga mat. He bites it, tries to crawl under it and attacks my feet when I am in the middle of a sun salutation….not fun! Oh and then I caught the little bugger eating my mulberries that I just bought…silly cat. 

These are the two videos I did. The Get Ripped is intense. I picked a few workouts instead of the whole video because I want to start slow so I am not too sore. I highly recommend her videos – they are great with getting you fast results. Denise Austin I just absolutely love. I think I own every single one of her workout DVD’s. Her soothing voice and flow of exercises is easy on the mind and body while having just enough challenge to work your body in a great way. 

You want to know what has been motivating me to finally attempt to get the body I’ve always wanted? This. I am a huge Pinterest fan and spend way too much time on it. One board that I have and one I will always look at before I work out is the motivation board. 

Yay! 

Afterwards I finished with a spoonful of Glutamine (to prevent muscle soreness) and a big protein shake. 

Post-workout Popeye smoothie:

Almond milk

big handful of spinach

teaspoon of powdered greens

teaspoon of Maca powder

scoop of Sun Warrior Protein Vanilla flavor

one banana

I have a big pot of Red Lentil Sweet Potato Coconut Stew in the Crockpot as well. My house smells really cozy. Now time to start a fire and get in my jammers and fuzzy socks 🙂 

When its done, and if its good, I will share the recipe with you tomorrow!!!

stay warm and healthy

xo

Put out that fire: anti-inflammatory foods.

Inflammation is a word derived from the Latin word meaning ‘fire’. What is inflammation? It is a reaction our body creates as a mechanism to protect itself. When the body is under stress of any sorts, it’s a natural reaction for it to attack whatever is causing this distress. This reaction can happen for things such as bug bites, abrasions, hives, etc. Sometimes though there is a thing called chronic inflammation when the body is continuously exposed to harmful stimuli, which can tax the body, and often times confuse it in identifying which invaders are bad and which are good. If the body is under constant stress often times this a welcome mat to disease. The defense system starts to get over stimulated, weak, and mixed up, therefore it starts attacking the body’s own tissues. This is known as an ‘auto-immune disease’. Crohn’s and IBS are classified as an autoimmune, just as arthritis, tuberculosis, cancer, & dermatitis. There are 80 known forms of auto-immune to this date and it is a common occurrence, effecting 5-8% of Americans. Did you know that 75% of those are women? Hmmm….interesting. 

Many can argue why we have Crohn’s. I think we can all agree that something triggered our immune system, resulting confusion in our body’s ability to fight inflammation. Scientists can agree that its a cause of environmental influences interacting with genetic factors. Something threw things off balance. We may never know what exactly caused it for ourselves as individuals but at least technology is getting closer to understanding an overall cause. 

Our bodies will always have a high chance to be in over-drive, under-drive or simple mass confusion but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to control it. I find it’s very easy to let our minds think that Crohn’s has a the upper hand and that we do not have control over this painful and debilitating disease.  My goal here at The Green Lean Bean is to make people aware that you shouldn’t allow disease to dominated you. I know thats easier said then done – trust me, I’ve been in the darkest places with Crohn’s, but know there is hope.  I have learned though over the years from my own experiences and by reading and listening about others, that we CAN have a say in our improvement. 

• Get ample rest – 8 hours or more each night. Take naps if you can too. 

• Get your heart going with light exercise such as rebounding or walking. 

• Make your body more flexible with yoga or stretching. This will also allow your organs to work more properly. 

• Calm the mind with deep breathing, meditation, and/or yoga.

• Get out in nature and take in what the earth has provided for you. Breath fresh air, appreciate all the colors, feel the breezes running through your hair, say hi to your neighbor. 

• Avoid or eliminate all together dairy, sugar and gluten. 

• Eat a diet rich in plant foods, fruits and antioxidants. Increase the intake of anti-inflammatory foods. 

One step I would like to highlight from above that can help in fighting the imbalance that our body’s have is eating a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods. Nature has given us so many foods that are enriched with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties and we should take full advantage of incorporating these into our lives. Even if you do not have an auto-immune disease, you should eat more of these foods to help avoid disease and illness. Aim for variety, include as much fresh produce as possible and avoid fast food and anything processed or filled with sugar. 

Few things you can always find in my pantry that help combat inflammation are:

• Turmeric (I take in high-concentrated pill form)
• Boswelia (an ayurvedic Indian herbal supplement)
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Cinnamon (sprinkled on cereal, in smoothies and tea/coffee)
• Curry (sprinkled on sandwiches/salads and to make curry stews)
• Chili pepper
• Kale (salads, smoothies and pesto’s) 
• Ginger (in fresh juices, added to soups, and pickled ginger in salads and sandwiches)
• Parsley (added to soups, salads, sandwiches and pasta dishes)
• Almonds (almond milk, raw almond butter, morning snack = handful of almonds)
• Omega-3 supplements (this can be in fish oil pill form or flax oil added to smoothies)
• Raw chocolate
• Green Tea
• Homemade Chicken Soup (freezer is always stocked)
• Honey

The list doesn’t stop there though! There is a huge amount of anti-inflammatory foods. This nifty Anti-inflammatory Food Pyramid will be helpful in showing you. 

Your goal is to not just add one or two of these things a day but to have an overall large intake of these healthy foods. That is when you should feel the difference. Medicine may help with inflammation right away but eating food as medicine can take up to two weeks to notice a response within your body. 

Avoid Sugar!

I can’t stress enough how bad sugar is on the inflammatory response. It is known that sugar suppresses the immune system. It is one of the most toxic foods for your digestive lining, stripping it from healthy bacteria, causing a PH balance and making it harder for your body to heal.  Some of you may not feel immediate results from sugar intake like I do but it could be silently effecting your levels of inflammation and you may not even know it. I see it as one of the worst things you could ingest if you are suffering from an auto-immune disease. I know for me, it’s my worst enemy. Avoid it for awhile and add it back in and see if you notice a difference. 

In the next few weeks I am going to share some super-duper AI recipes with you! 

Be well. 

xo