Amazing Grass review: day 05

I'm out of the Amazing Meal smoothie supplements and I've been up and out of the house sans smoothie the last few days- BUT Never Fear. I've had Green Superfood Energy Bars to keep me kicking!

that's some super food, there.

I've previously tried the Chocolate flavour in the line; it's sold at the convenience store by my work which is shocking and awesome and they're a great grab-and-go hefty snack that keeps me going for a while at work.

They all seem to have a very similar base of Amazing Grass grasses blended with a great mix of nuts and dates and magic pixie dust. Or something. Here's the *actual* ingredients if you're going to be fussy.

stop looking at me like that.















Now, because of the high nut content, I find that 8-9 grams of fat is a little high if you're going for a low/curtailed fats diet, at least all in one go. But, again, it's the fats in the nuts and seeds that allow for this bar to stick-to-your-ribs for quite a while and keep you going; so, not a snack for sittin' around the house, more of a snack while hiking around or on your feet at work sorta-thing. I also get a bit of a kick on how long the ingredients list looks because of all the times to work organic is used. Makes my toes curl a bit in glee to the honest. I love that it's Real Food in convenient bar form.

Today, however, I had the Berry energy bar! So good! No chocolate coating (so 8 rather than 9 grams of fat) and you could really taste actual berries in the bar, along side the base of chewy dates and large chunks of nuts and seeds. Here's the stats for this bad berry boy. NOTE- cranberries is the *second ingredient*. In something berry flavoured. Crazy, right? Like I said, real food. Neat.

At work, we're divided into two equal camps- generally speaking, if you like dates, you'll like these bars. If you don't, based on the survey of the 4 of us at work, you won't enjoy the texture or taste of these bars either.

I think you're crazymad if you don't like dates, but then again I think olives taste like pure poison, so who am I to say, right?

Amazing Grass review: day 4

This mornings smoothie was served to me in bed along with blueberry waffles and tea, because I have the greatest boyfriend ever. What a great start for the day.

FYI, these waffles are a godsend. Vegan AND gluten free AND super tasty!

good morning, pomegranates!

I had the Amazing Meal Pomegranate Mango Infusion with my morning smoothie and it added a great berry blast to it. I found it slightly more grainy than the other ones, but still good. I think if I'd dissolved it in the almond milk first, then blended it, it would have taken care of that. A trap for young players, as my dad would say. (Hi dad! I love you!)

Here's the smoothie Johnny made for me cuz he's the best.

1 cup almond milk
1 banana
giant handful of strawberries
1 serving pomegranate mango infusion.

sweet and simple! If I'd had raspberries or something, I'd probably have added that too. I've never done raspberries in a smoothie, maybe the seeds would be weird but I bet it's pretty good.

I also had a KILLER juice for dinner. I woke up sniffly, and I wasn't sure if it was the dry air or the first incursion of the winter plague that's going around- but I'm having none of that!

Pep In Your Pants Juice
3 large carrots
2 tangelos
1 pear
3" of fresh raw ginger.

juice the heck out of it and enjoy. Spicy and frothy and amazing!
...I might have another one right now, you know.  With a giant salad, because that's how I roll.

OH! I also made one of my favourite dips, baba ganouj today. I've just enjoyed puttering in the kitchen now that the renos are almost done, it's such a pleasure cooking in there. Most baba ganouj is crazy fatty due to huge amounts of olive oil and tahini, but I cut them down to the bare minimum and it's still way flavourful (and only 47 calories and 3g fat per 2T). Most commercial baba ganoujs have mayonnaise in them (barf) to make it 'creamier' but of course, it makes this traditional dip *so* not vegan.

here's the recipe!

My Low Fat Baba Ganouj Recipe

2 eggplants
1 T olive oil (or less!)
2 T of tahini (you can cut this back to 1 T if your eggplants are smaller).
2 T minced garlic, ideally roasted
1.5 T lemon juice
1 T sriracha sauce (or more, to taste)
dash fresh black pepper
dash himalayan sea salt
dash smoked paprika
dash liquid smoke.

thoroughly wash and remove stickers from your two eggplants. Pierce repeatedly with a fork and roast at 400 for an hour, rotating once at 30 minutes. You want them to be really soft.

Cut the stems off and place in a food processor along with the rest of the ingredients, and puree well.

Vegan, Gluten Free, and low fat. Ta Daaah! (and not a trace of mayo. Why would you even do that.)

Amazing Grass review- day 3

Ladies and Gentlemen- we have a WINNER.

This morning's smoothie featured Amazing Meal Chocolate Infusion. I figured, after a kinda-sorta shitty day yesterday, I deserved to start my (very snowy!) Friday off with chocolate for breakfast.

I may start *every* day off this way for a while. Dang, this stuff is good.

Here's what I made.

1 c. almond milk
2 tangelos
1 banana
1 serving chocolate heaven of heavenly delights.

here's a run down of what this single serving of powder has in it. Keep in mind this is for a 2000 calorie a day diet- which is waaaaay more than I usually eat, so the percentages are higher for me. This was so tasty my brain is trying to tell me that I just ate junk food. Except that I feel amazinger.

Amazing Grass review: day 2

So I was scrubbin' up in the shower this morning thinking about what I was going to put into my morning smoothie, and I had this whole plan for using the chocolate flavoured Amazing Meal powder...

and then I reached into the Magic Box of Samples and pulled out the Vanilla Chai powder and that was that!

Here's what I had with it:

2 tangelos
1 banana
1 cup strawberries
1/2 cup water.

I was feeling stubborn today and didn't want to put in almond milk for some reason. Hours later it occurred to me that it would have been way more chai flavoured if I'd used almond milk. I had originally wanted an orange-chocolate thing goin' on. But, when life hands you chai protein powder, you make lemonade.

Isn't that how the saying goes?

Never mind.

Once again the powder blended seamlessly with the smoothie, adding a subtle vanilla flavour to my juice. I will say that I am a fan of strong spice and enjoy me some home made chai tea regularly, so my bar is somewhat unreasonably raised for spice level in most foods. (I do use Sriracha sauce like ketchup, so fair warning). So, it was good and tres subtle which is sometimes what you want in a powder additive to a smoothie or juice. I personally was hoping for something richer and creamier...which is hilarious when talking about a healthy protein & grass powder. It did add a lovely vanilla spring to my smoothie's step which was delightful.

I will definitely try this one again on my own ticket, and this is what I will put it in next time. You should try it this way!

1/5 c. almond milk
1 banana (or more, depending on how thick you want it)
1/4t cinnamon,
teeny pinch nutmeg
1 T agave syrup
1 juiced tangelo or 1/4 cup orange juice (but why are you still drinking store-bought!? buy a juicer already!)
...maybe a T or pureed dates? That sounds damned delicious. I suggest Medjool dates, they're the richest. Then again, I love dates.

I had a ton of energy this morning which lasted until I got to work. I was going to have something else for breakfast, but I was full until around 12 when I just snacked on an apple. (Fuji, my current faves).

For lunch I had a Green Superfood energy bar. Once again I thought I'd start at the beginning and I had the Original Flavour (green wrapper).

For such a small bar, it was surprisingly filling. 210 calories, 70 from fat (8g, which is a little high for me, but for a whole lunch or a snack when I'm working out, that would be perfect).

Here's the complete deets.

I loved the incredibly complex flavour. It was nutty, and chewy, and soft and tasted like dates and rich creamy organic goodness. It was a surprisingly lovely shade of dark green, and chock full of little nut pieces and delight. I LOVE how, if you look at the ingredients list, it's all *actual food*. If you're sceptical, it's ok. You can't taste the broccoli. Promise.

Green Superfood review! Day 01.

The great folks over at Amazing Grass asked if I'd like to do a review of their stuff, since I like it so much and I get gushy about things I like. OF COURSE I would, don't be crazy!

My package arrived in the mail yesterday and boy was I surprised! I was expecting samples of some of their Green Superfood powders but look what I got instead!

Holy Product, Batman!!

That's a sample of 4 Amazing Meal flavours, 4 different Green Superfood whole bars, a mix and go sippy cup and a huge handful of Green Superfood plant powder drink additives! Way more than I was expecting. Super nice. All of them are vegan with the exception of the yellow wrapped bar, which has whey protein in it- so Johnny will be a guest reviewer! Stay tuned.

So, this morning I thought I'd start at the beginning and have the Original Flavour Amazing Meal powder in my morning green smoothie. A sachet/serving is 90 calories and 10g of protein and 6g of fibre. Now, many powder additives can have a chalky or gritty flavour and really change the taste of your smoothie. 

This is what I had for breakfast: 

1 cup almond milk

1 cup parsley

2 cups spinach

1 cup kale

1 banana

1 lemon

blended with the powder. You couldn't taste anything untoward at all- just pure green delicious goodness! Afterwards I felt great and stayed fuller for longer than I normally do.  I'd definitely recommend this powder for a green smoothie if you're not usually a fan of this sort of thing, but would like to reap the health benefits found in it. 

Here's whats in it:

Today I have gone 'over' on my iron, protein and fibre thanks to this bad boy. I can't wait till tomorrow to try the Chocolate flavour.

I'm not sure if it's related to this, but I've been awfully "regular" today as well. It might just be my body re-adjusting post cleanse, though. I've also been craving high fat foods ALL DAMNED DAY. It's really terrible. I should have a smoothie with a ton of fruit, that'll fix my li'l red wagon.

Sticky Habits

The only way I could get back to sleep last night was to plan my morning smoothie, which somehow convinced my body back to dreamland. OK, body, I get it. You really want the smoothies to be a regular habit.

I'm in.

BREAKFAST:
1 cup almond milk
2 cups spinach
1 cup parsley
1 cup kale
1 banana
1 scoop Green Superfood.
1 T raw ginger
juice from 1 lemon.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

while I'm enjoying tea and home made cocoa and warm meals, there's nothing like a whole pile of raw food to get you going. I crave raw fruits and vegetables like I never did before this cleanse.

I've fallen into a current routine of raw smoothie + green tea for breakfast, raw lunch and raw snacks throughout the day, and a hot meal in the evenings. I've gotten used to not having a hot breakfast, and the tea warms me up so I'm good to go.

green smoothie + green tea = breakfast of CHAMPIONS! If you, like me, often find that green tea on a sorta empty stomach can make you nauseous, add a T of avocado or raw peanut butter to your smoothie- the fat will help coat your tummy so the green tea won't upset it. I am a delicate flower, apparently.

while I'm thinking on it, here's my go-to

VEGAN HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPE

1.5 cups almond milk (or milk sub of your choice.)
1 heaped T of raw organic cocoa powder
2 heaped T of raw organic cane sugar

whisk the sugar and the cocoa powder into the almond milk in a small pot on the stove. Whisk occasionally until good and warm (it will boil over super fast if you get it too hot, it *must* be watched.)

If you made this with a candy thermometer in the side of the pot, you could make sure it didn't get heated up too much and would still be raw foods.

I think I might have *just* been inspired to make chocolate apple flax crisps. Stay tuned!