I saw some recipes on pinterest about making a "fake" ice cream out of bananas, so today we decided to try it.  I peeled and froze 2 bananas a few days ago, so I would be prepared whenever I was ready to make this, however you could just do that  couple hours ahead of time. The "ice cream" came out really creamy and tasty, even the kids enjoyed it! :)

After freezing the bananas the first thing I did was chop them up, and put them in my food processor. I would have to say this would be easier in a blender, but I dont have one. 

After pulsing for a bit, you will have a bunch of little crumbs, this is when you might want to add other fruits.  We chose to add blueberries, next time we are going to use strawberries. I added 1 cup of frozen blueberries, but you could add fresh too.

All blended up, and creamy! Super yummy, and great consistancy. AND ONLY FRUIT!!! :)

Ingredients:

2 frozen bananas
1 cup blueberries

Place bananas in a food processor of blender and pulse until in crumbs, then add blueberries, and pulse until smooth.   This made approximately 4 scoops of "ice cream".

Today's lunch was homemade black bean salads, they were super, and homemade!  I started with my organic black beans, I added a little bit of cumin, chili powder, paprika,  granulated garlic to them, and about 1/2 of the black bean can with organic vegetable broth. I boiled it at a low temp. for about 20 mins. Then,  I used my homemade tortilla shells, wiped  a very small amount of olive oil on each side, sprinkled a little bit of granulated garlic, cumin, & chili powder on them, and then baked them at 350 degrees until each side was golden brown.. This one happend to poof up into a bowl, but most of them were flatish like a tostada shell. :)  If you want taco bowls you can drape them over the bottom of a small oven safe bowl.  I just cooked mine on a cookie sheet.  In the meant time I took some sour cream and added a little bit of hot sauce, cumin, chili powder, paprikia, fresh chives, and fresh cilantro and mixed it up, made a southwest dressing for on top.  Then I topped my tortillas with a little romain lettuce, shredded carrots, shredded red peppers, cheddar cheese, black beans, and a little of the southwest dressing. Super yummy!  

This meal looks somewhat large, but its rather small, just a thin layer of lettuce, cheese, and black beans. :)  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

5 Small Red Delicious Apples (cored)
1 Green Apple (cored)
1 Large Orange (peeled)
5-6 baby Carrots
1 Kale Leaf

Place everything in your juicer, and then enjoy! I always place ours in the frige for a little while so that it is nice and cold. The juice we have made so far, the kids even really enjoy! :)

I saw a recipe on pinterest for a cilantro pesto, to put over tacos, and it inspired me to make a cilantro marinade. 

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken breast cut into small cubes

1 bunch of cilantro
2 Cloves Garlic
a couple slices of sweet onion
the juice of one lime
1/8th cup of chicken stock

6" Corn Tortillas

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Opptional  items

Red Peppers
Onions
Sour Cream


Place cilantro, garlic, onion, lime juice, and chicken stock into a food processor and blend until its all into tiny bits.  Pour over the chicken, and allow to marinade for at least one hour, but it can be stored over night, or placed in the freezer.  Once the meat has been marinated heat a frying pan over medium-high heat add about 1 tablespoon of olive or safflower oil.  If you are going to add red peppers and onions you can add those to the pan and sautee for a minute or so, then add the marinated chicken. Cook until done, stirring occasionaly. It will take approx. 5-6 minutes.. Serve with warm, corn tortillas and top with your favorite toppings.   
  

Todays juice was super yummy too!

4 Apples - 2 Green, 2 Red Delicious
Approx. - 4 Strawberries
1/2 to 1 Cup green grapes
1 Banana
1 Kale Leaf

Again this makes about 16 ounces, I had one 8 ounce cup for breakfast, and it was delicious. :)

Tonight we tried grilling pizza on our charcoal grill for the first time, and I am not going to lie it was not the easiest thing to do! I need to read up more, on some better approaches!   I knew it was going to cook quickly so I got all our toppings prepared first, then I lit the grill, and then I made out the pizzas.. The one recipe I did read said to put the dough onto the grill first and then add all your toppings, but by the time I got all my toppings on the bottom was done!

All our toppings prepped and ready! We had green onions, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, Jalepenos, kale, green peppers, sweet onions, olives, and on one of the pizzas had organic italian chicken sausages sliced thin.. Along with Mozzarella, and cheddar cheese.

I based the top and bottom of the pizza with an herb infused olive oil I made early in the day so the flavors would infuse into the oil. That was super yummy! I added 1 garlic clove sliced, some crushed red pepper, and parsley.

We had our pizza long side a salad, overall it came out nice. And aside from the italian sausage on some of the pizza, it was all homemade! I made the sauce too. The second pizza came out far better then the first, because I was prepared for it to cook so quickly, but I still had to bring both of them back inside and broil them for a few minutes to get everything melted on top, and the crust golden brown on the top.. Overall it was a fun experience, and will be something I do again. Next time I think I will try it on the gas grill where I can adjust the heating better!

As, our diet slowly changes, we have been trying most days to fill our plates atleast 1/2 way with fruits and vegis.  The health benefits of doing this is so extreme;  we have already noticed a dramatic increase in energy, and overall feeling well..

Ingredients:

2 sides of a bell pepper
1 patty pan squash
1/2 Sweet Onion
5-6 White Button Mushrooms
1 - 2 Leaves of kale
2 Green Onions
3-4 Garlic Cloves
1/2 Cup Zucchini
1-2 tsp Olive Oil
1 small pinch of sea salt
a little bit of crushed black pepper

Chop up and toss all vegis together in some aluminum foil, or a bbq safe roasting pan.  Cover with aluminum foil, and once they begin to soften up uncover for a few minutes and then enjoy!   You could also do this with so many other vegis., this just happens to be what I had in the fridge today! 

We made our first batch of juice tonight to go with dinner, and it turned out fabulous! It wasn't a really exotic flavor combination, never-the-less it was our first experiment, and we loved it!   We really want to get into eating kale, so we thought this would be a great way to incorporate it into our diet!
 

Ingredients:

4 Apples We used 2 Red Delicious, and 2 Granny Smith
1 Cup Red Grapes
1 Leaf of Kale

I washed everything VERY well, and then cored the apples, and sliced them so they would fit into the juicer. Put them all in the juicer, and then we enjoyed 2, 8 ounce cups of fresh juice. It was super delicious!  

There is no reason you "have" to bake this you could just shred cheese over the top and mix it in, and let it melt.  However, I just thought it was easier, and reminded me a little of lasagna. It's kind of cheesy and yummy!

Ingredients:

1 Jar organic pasta sauce, or homemade
2 - 3 Cups cooked linguine noodles
1 cup mozzarella, parmesan, romano cheese


Directions:
Follow the directions for your linguine and cook until almost done. Drain off all the water and mix about 1/2 of your jar of sauce in with the noodles. Then, in a baking casserole, cover the bottom with some of your sauce. Next, cover that sauce with a thin layer of cheese, and then top with all your noodles.  Top the noodles with the remainder of your sauce, and top that with the rest of the cheese. Cover, with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 mins, then uncover and broil until the top is bubbly.