Green Drank

As much as I love sitting down to a big 'ol bowl of greens, sometimes it's not always practical. As someone who is always on the go, a liquid lunch is an easy way to consume a large amount of fruit and vegetables, but without all of that dang chewing.

Now.. the difference between fresh juice and a green smoothie is the fiber content.  Juicing, removes all the fiber, but leaves you with a nutrient dense, power packed beverage that is easliy assimilated by the body, giving you a quick boost of energy. Smoothies on the other hand, retain their fiber, which is why they will leave you full, longer. I'll usually reach for a juice when I feel a cold coming on, or haven't been eating as healthy as I should, whereas a smoothie can take the place of lunch when I'm running around and need something to keep me going.

I like packing my smoothies with lots of goodness.  Fruit, greens, nuts and seeds, and superfoods like maca, spirulina and raw cacao.  Not only are these great for you body they can give you a serious boost. Throwing some greens in your smoothie is a great way to sneak some vegetables into your diet.

If you are new to the green smoothie phenomenon, start out slow. Add a small handful of spinach or chard to your next blended drink and then work your way up to heartier greens like kale. Most smoothies contain a good amount of fruit which easily masks the bitterness of most greens.

The green drank is the new purple drank. Jump on the bandwagon and get your green on!

Green Drank (makes one drink, approximately 16-20 oz.)

2 bananas
1/2 c. frozen mango
3/4c.-1 c. coconut water
3 leaves of kale, finely chopped
1 T. ground flax seed
2 T. hemp seeds
2 dates, pitted
2-3 ice cubes

Place everything in a blender. Blend until smooth and drink it up!

grilled salmon with roasted sweet potatoes and mango red pepper salsa

You got all that?
So.. this is supposed to be a vegetarian blog.  Once in a blue moon I get an intense craving for fish, be it some seared tuna on a salad or some really good sushi, or some beer battered haddock.
This was one of these times. So, whatever.  Vegetarian food 97.2333% of the time.
I picked up some wild alaskan salmon and got to work.
I was up at the camp and wanted some simple sides, nothing that would require more than twenty minutes of prep time. 
Sweet potatoes are delicious roasted.. I cut 'em up, tossed with some extra virgin olive oil, chipotle powder, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.

I threw 'em on a sheetpan and roasted at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Done.

Mangos were on sale at the asian market so I decided to do a quick fruit salsa. This goes great with fish, but is equally tasty with some tortilla chips or eaten straight out of the bowl with a spoon.

Mango Red Pepper Salsa

I mango peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small jalapeno, minced
1/3 c. red onion, diced
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
salt, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.