Super Easy Whipped Coconut Cream Freezer Pie with a Mint Swirl and a Chocolate Coconut Crust

I am in the middle of getting ready for a big trip and my practice is picking up, which means I haven't had much time to cook, let alone blog. I usually have a few blog posts in reserve, but none of them are just ready to post. So today, I am going to be lazy, and share with you an amazing dessert recipe that is not mine at all but that is from one of my favorite blogs, The Spunky Coconut. This coconut cream freezer pie was surprisingly super easy to make, and was to die for! 


All you need is full fat coconut milk, dates, grated coconut, raw cocoa powder, fresh mint, lemons, vanilla and honey. It took me 15 minutes to make it and I brought it to a party for the 4th of July. I am not very much of a baker or dessert maker, so let me tell you: this is a no brainer, and it will impress the crowd! The delicious and refreshing mint swirl made every bite taste like a mojito :)


Go check it out right here.

Crunchy Quinoa and Kale Salad with Tarragon dressing

A couple weeks ago, my son had a celebratory event at his school, which happens twice a year. Our ritual, over the past two years, has been to go eat out afterwards, to celebrate him, his learning and his progress. This year, we ended there late and were running out of time, so we decided to go to Whole Foods. I love their salad bar and always browse it, even if I don't buy anything, just to get inspired. And sure enough, there was this salad that I HAD to replicate. It was crunchy, which I love, fresh, and had two of my favorite ingredients: kale and quinoa!
I made it at home a few days later, and it didn't quite taste the same, so I tried to make a fancy dressing to go with it and the result was pretty nice. Tarragon is not an herb that I have used much, but I LOVE it. It has a unique, refreshing taste and I love it in salads. 
When I made the salad again for a friend, I took pictures of it, brought it to her house, added some avocado on top and sprouted beans on the side for added protein, only to realize the next day, as I opened my fridge, that I had totally forgotten to put one of the main ingredients in the salad: celery. So the picture doesn't reflect exactly what the salad looks like, but just use your imagination and add celery to that mental picture :)

The good news about this salad is that you can find all the ingredients at Trader Joe's, which now sells ORGANIC dino kale, one of my favorites! So get in the kitchen and try it, it's so easy!

Salad:

1 bunch of dinosaur (lacinato) kale, chopped finely
3-4 cups cooked quinoa
10 stems celery, chopped finely
3 apples, chopped in cubes
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup pecans

Mix all the ingredients in a big salad bowl

Dressing:
1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup fresh tarragon
1/3 cup water
1 shallot
1/2 tsp herbamare or sea salt
1 tbsp agave or maple syrup

Put all the ingredients in a small blender and blend until you obtain a creamy texture.





Pour the dressing onto the salad ingredients and mix thoroughly. Let it sit for an hour before serving (preferably) so the kale can soften with the dressing. This salads keeps well in a closed container in the fridge for about 3 days.

Beet and raspberry "Grink" smoothie

Still struggling with the color of your green smoothie? Yet trying to increase you or your kids' s vegetable intake? I've got the perfect combination smoothie for you!

Try this:
1 raw beet, peeled and sliced
1 nectarine or peach
1 cup frozen raspberries
3-4 cups kale, swiss chard or spinach
juice of 1/2 lemon
2tbsp chia seeds
2-3 cups water
sweeten to taste with stevia powder or any other natural sweetener (except sugar)

Blend until you obtain a creamy smooth texture. Your smoothie will look something like this:

So even though you have lots of greens in there, the beet and the raspberry definitely win and give it a beautiful bright pink color.

If you think beets have an earthy taste and you usually avoid them like pest, now is the time to try this recipe. The fruits and stevia counterbalance the earthy taste and the lemon juice gives it a nice tangy twist. You can also add more fruits to your smoothie if you are extra sensitive to that taste. Beets are an excellent source of iron, magnesium, calcium, and phosperous! They are also considered a fiber food and contain vitamins A and C as well as niacin! 

Beets contain folic acid which is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells. This is especially important for pregnant women or anyone undergoing physical healing. And lastly, they are an excellent immunity booster, detoxifier and a cancer fighting food.

And did you know that you can also eat the beet leaves? They are excellent, sauteed in the pan with a little bit of olive oil, garlic and salt. Not bitter at all. 

So no excuse, go and buy yourself some beets and try that smoothie. Look at what happened to ours:

A little heads up though: if you have a regular blender, like my Ninja Master Prep, or an Oster or something like that, it might be hard to get a really smooth texture, because the beet is a really hard vegetable. Make sure you blend long enough and add more liquid or a little bit of orange juice if you like.

For a perfectly sweet smoothie, check out the 3hp Omni V blender, by clicking on the logo in the right margin of this page. This will blend as well as a Vitamix or Blendtec for about half the price. I'm saving up for one and will do video demos once I have it in my kitchen!