Category Archives: Beverages

Jun13

Creamy Orange-Vanilla Smoothie

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Growing up in a suburb outside of Atlanta, my free time was often spent hanging out at Perimeter Mall with my friends. Checking out black light posters and other stupid stuff at Spencer’s gifts; and on a good day, getting an Orange Julius. Making this little smoothie takes me back to that time. I can still picture it all.

I don’t really know what was in an Orange Julius. Probably some things I wouldn’t want to have now. But what I put together today is simple, yummy and perfect for a summer afternoon by the pool. I started with some toasted coconut almond milk from Califia Farms. This is my new favorite brand. I get it at Whole Foods. Check it out.

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Apr1

Mexican Chocolate Elixir

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So I’m prepping for a yoga and chocolate tasting workshop that I’m going to lead next week (wanna come?) and I remembered this amazing drinking chocolate that I had in Santa Fe last summer. If you are ever there, be sure to check out Kakawa Chocolate House. It’s super cool. They have a ton of different chocolate elixirs to choose from and you can taste any one of them first…which of course, I did. And don’t you just love the word ELIXIR. Makes me think I’m drinking something magical and healing sent down from the Mayan gods.

They have all kinds of interesting flavors added to the drinking chocolate including ancho chile, lavender, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange and rose to name a few. Some of the drinks are a little more bitter because of the higher cacoa content of the chocolate used and others are sweeter. For this recipe, I stuck with a traditional Mexican flavor combination using almonds, cinnamon and Mexican vanilla.

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Dec11

Carrot Sweet Potato Juice

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SWEET POTATO JUICE??? Wah??? Um, yes! It’s awesome.

Got this idea today after yoga class. My friend Mayra and I were talking about juicing. (This is a typical post-yoga class conversation, btw.) I mentioned that as it has been getting colder, I mostly want to juice carrots. They seem more warming to me; because of their color, because they are a root vegetable and because they go really well with ginger.

Mayra told me about her friend or maybe her sister or maybe her sister’s friend who combines carrots, sweet potato and ginger for her cold weather juicing. SWEET POTATO???? Wah??? How cool! So I immediately went home to try it.

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Sep10

Green Smoothie Deconstructed

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I love it when people ask me what I put in my green smoothies. This is the kind of conversation that I truly look forward to having with someone. It’s a fun give and take. I know the way I make my smoothies has been influenced by what I have learned from other people and a lot of experimentation.  ‘Cause, let me tell you, I have made some pretty yucky smoothies in my time.

So I thought I’d break down the different components of my smoothie. This is SO not scientific in any way. I’ll share some nutritional info, but do your own research and trial and error to see what is right for you.

Liquid Base

Nut milk

Rice milk

Coconut milk

Coconut water

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Aug5

Iced Rooibos Chai

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So do you ever go on vacation and pick up a new thing that you don’t regularly do at home? Like taking an early morning walk everyday or sleeping late and reading a book in bed or getting a massage. Whatever it is, when you’re on vacation it feels extra special, right?

I just got back from a two week road trip to Northern New Mexico. One thing that I adopted as my vacation thing was drinking chai tea almost everyday. It all started when we went to an Ayurvedic Indian restaurant in Santa Fe called Annapurna’s World Vegetarian Cafe.

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Jun4

Pineapple Basil Slushie

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I crave it. You get to read about it. Really wanted this today. It’s getting pretty warm down here in Houston, and this little drink made me so happy.

Also, our basil plants are finally doing well. So every time I look outside they seem to be calling my name…”Hey you, foodie yoga girl, do something creative with us.”

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May1

Mango Cinnamon Horchata

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With Cinco de Mayo coming up, I thought it would be fun to make a batch of homemade Horchata, a sweetened Mexican rice milk drink. Before moving to Houston, I’m not even sure if I’d even heard of this drink. The first time I tried it was at a farmer’s market on a hot day. It was flavored with strawberries and immediately cooled me off and I fell in love.

Horchata is very light and tastes great served over ice. For my recipe I adapted one from David Lebovitz who got his inspiration from Fany Gerson’s book Paletas. You start by grinding uncooked rice in a blender until it resembles cornmeal and then soak it overnight in water. I’m not usually big on soaking things, I’m more of a spontaneous cook, but this was a fun experiment.

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Apr23

Beet Red Juice

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I’m usually a green juice girl all the way. But, oh my, this is really good. Fun departure from my usual morning juice. It’s so great to get nutrients from different sources and a rainbow of colors.

So to make Beet Red Juice, place the following organic fruits and vegetables in your juicer:

1 cucumber, chopped in large chunks

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 beet, chopped

1 cup black or red grapes, taken off stem

1 red apple

Pour into a fancy glass and love it.

Apr3

Fruity Spa Water

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Lately, my kids have been asking me to buy them Vitamin Water, ugh. Have you read the label on that stuff? The list of ingredients is super long…IT’S WATER for Pete’s sake. Some of the flavors can have up to 32 grams of sugar. Yikes. Or if you buy the Vitamin Water Zero the sweetener is listed as erythritol and rebiana (stevia extract) which might be fine for some people, but smacks of chemical engineering to me.

So, I decided to put my bare yoga foot down and say no to Vitamin Water, Gatorade and Powerade in my house. I’m not naive. I’m sure my kids will still drink this stuff from time to time, but I’m not buying it any more.

As an alternative, I proposed to keep jars of water in the refrigerator with yummy combinations of fruit. My boys were actually a little excited about this. I’ve seen this idea floating around Facebook and thought it was worth a try.

We put filtered water in mason jars filled about 3/4 of the way and added:

Orange + Lemon + Apple

Pineapple + Mango + Kiwi

Lemon + Cucumber + Mint (for me)

They are all really refreshing. You can get as creative as you like here. For a sports drink, you can fill a water bottle with half Fruity Spa Water and half coconut water for electrolytes.

Mar19

Eat More Kale

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I’m obsessed with kale. There, I said it. I eat (or drink) it practically every day. It’s loaded with tons of nutritional benefits. Google it.

But true confession, I haven’t always been a fan. Several years ago, when I lived in Cincinnati, OH, I belonged to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. And no matter the season, it seemed like we always had lots of kale included in our share. At the time, I didn’t really know what to do with it and frankly had not acquired a taste for it.

Not sure when I turned the corner, but when I began eating more clean vegan meals, I reintroduced kale to my diet. I started by adding it to my smoothies and have branched out from there. Here are a few ways l like it. Once you get hooked, you won’t go back. Trust me.

Green Juice:

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