It’s hard to believe that it’s been 4 months since my last things I’m loving lately post. Apparently, I wasn’t too excited over anything in the winter! Not surprising. Here are a handful of things I’m loving lately…feel free to share yours below too.
1. Goji Berries in smoothies
I don’t buy goji berries often due to their steep price, but they are fun for a treat now and then. And boy do they pack a nutritional bang for their buck! This particular mix above is made up of a 1 whole seedless orange (peeled of course), 1 tbsp soaked goji berries, 1/3 cup soaking water, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 3/4 cup strawberries, coconut oil and ice. A vitamin C powerhouse.
2. Fresh mint in smoothies
So far I’ve been able to keep 2 mint plants alive for the past few weeks (knock on wood). I love adding a handful of mint leaves into my morning smoothies for a fresh pick me up. Just one more way to sneak some green into your day.
3. Buckwheat Crispbread crackers
These are just about the simplest crackers on earth. The ingredients list? Organic buckwheat. That’s it. I admit, I’m not a huge fan of the flavour of these plain, but they sure are great dipping vehicles for hummus and guacamole.
4. Homemade Beet Juice Lip Gloss
When I posted this on Instagram the other day, a lot of you were curious about it so I figured it was worth mentioning. I’m wearing the homemade gloss in the pic below – the beet juice gives a light berry stain and the vitamin E oil works as well as a clear gloss. You could also use coconut oil, but it won’t give you that lasting sticky shine. All you do is cut a small piece (maybe 1cm x 3cm) of red beet and then rub the cut side (juicy part) of the beet all over your lips until it looks evenly distributed. Top with a thin layer of vitamin E oil all over your lips and smack ‘em around to spread. The key is to make sure your lips are not dry or cracked before putting on the beet stain or the juice will settle in dry patches. Can it be blended into a pre-made mix? I haven’t tried it yet, but I’d like to. I assume you’d have to extract the juice and then mix it with the vitamin E oil in a small jar. Does it last long? I’ve never found any lip glosses to last very long, so I’d say it’s about the same.
5. Sprouting seeds
I finally took the plunge and bought my first bag of sprouting seeds! Well, make that a year ago. They got shoved to the back of my cupboard and forgotten. I absolutely love sprouts on wraps and salads so it’s time I started making my own. I’ll try to report back once I’ve gotten the hang of it. I checked on them this morning (see below) and I’m seeing the first signs of germination.
6. Homemade Maple Butter
In workout news, I recently made a second batch of Maple Butter! There really are no words to describe how good this stuff is…you really just have to taste it for yourself.
7. Zen Budda Buttery-style Spread (Raw, Vegan, Gluten-free)
A golden, buttery spread made from coconut oil? Yes, you heard that right! Coconut oil, olive oil, hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powder, and sea salt are the only ingredients in this vegan, raw, and gluten-free spread. It’s nothing like Earth Balance, but it’s more of a cheesy spread that works great on toast, garlic bread, or crackers. I think I’m going to have to try and re-create this for the blog sometime…
8. Gain Abs App
In other workout news, I love (to hate) this app – not only is it simple to use, but it’s the only thing that can force me to do 4 planks in a row! Well, make that 3 planks in a row because I usually skip the last one. You can specify the plank duration, rest duration, and how many sets (does anyone actually do more than 1 set?). I like to spontaneously drop on the office floor for a mid-day plank assault! Arrrrrr. It’s probably the worst 3 minutes of my day, but it just works so good and cursing like a sailor really helps with the pain.
What foods, products, or apps are you loving lately? Share below.
Loving this great list. I actually put mint in my green juice as well and it totally adds a ZING!
Will definately try the maple butter and look for the Zen Budda . Love your posts and can’t wait to check out the new wellness book. You do GLOW! You go girl!!
Oh please share the amounts of orange, strawberries and lemon in that gorgeous smoothie??? I need to try it! Thank you. What a wonderful website.
I did in the post :) enjoy!
What a fresh looking smoothie! I will have to try that maple cream after my sugar detox!
I love growing sprouts! Thanks for the reminder. My favorite website for sprouting is www.sproutpeople.org Tons of information on things you can sprout, seeds, kits and my FAVORITE is the videos to help out.
I’m going to sprout tonight!
Have you tried the salted version of the crackers (green packaging), they taste a lot better in my opinion, though I love the plain ones too. They also have chestnut flour crackers that are just amazing (but sweet).
Too bad I can’t find affordable and good quality maple syrup in France, your maple butter looks delicious!
not sure if someone has mentioned this in the comments yet, but you should check out asian markets (chinese specifically because i know they use them) for goji berries. they’re WAY cheaper there. goji berries are a normal ingredient in chinese cooking.
Wow, the beet juice makes WAY more of a visual impact than I’d have thought it would. Very pretty.
hehe, that’s funny about the beet lipgloss, going to try that tomorrow :-)
I am completely addicted to sprouting! Got organic wheat (for wheatgrass), broccoli and sunflower sprouting in my kitchen right now.
And like you, I have been using mint and goji berries more lately – just made a juice yesterday that was delicious: pink grapefruit, blood orange, carrot, ginger, mint. Yum!
I’m tempted to give making maple butter a go whenever I see you post a photo of the luscious spread. Too bad maple syrup is so expensive, otherwise I’d be making jars of the stuff!
I love mint in smoothies! It gives them such a great flavor! I need to try the maple butter…sounds amazing!!
Still stalking and loving your blog, Angela!
Lately I’ve been doting on maca powder, matcha green tea powder, and raw cacao powder in my daily smoothie(s). Hurray for superfoods! I’ve also tried the goji berry trick and your post reminded me that my stock is empty!
I can’t get enough of raw kale salads marinated in a dressing of apple cider vinegar, tahini, nooch, and whatever spices are tickling my fancy that day. Throw some roasted root veggies on top and I suddenly become a bottomless pit.
P.S.
I made your chocolate peanut butter rice crispy treats for a university bake sale last week and they were a hit! Although I decided to use sunflower seed butter to lessen the allergy factor, they still turned out delicious. <3
Much love!
Sounds like we love many of the same foods! So glad to hear the PB crispies were a hit…thanks for making them!
lovely post Angela where do you get the buckwheat crisp breads at?
Beet juice lipstick..looks great on you..how creative!
I just wanted to say I can’t wait for your cookbook to come out! I keep checking on here to make sure I haven’t missed anything ;) I’m a huge smoothie fan, but I have to say the most amazing thing I’ve ever eaten is the Crazy Woman Chocolate Blender Pubbing. I would eat it every single day if I let myself! haha
Thanks for all your great information!! :)
Aw, thank you Janna that means a lot to me!
The gain abs app sounds interesting. I haven’t heard of yet. I’m going to download it so I get my plank on too.
I’m love fresh mint lately too… in mojitos ;) I love your beet lip gloss, great idea!
The Buttery Spread looks awesome. Please re-make it!!!! I recently discovered the taste of hemp seeds. The only way to describe it is luxurious!
I just pulled out my vitamix from a long winter of not using it and made my first sprouts in awhile. Spring always helps me eat cleaner.
Where do you get the Buckwheat Crispbread crackers?
I buy them at Organic Garage, enjoy!
Isn’t fresh mint amazing :) and the homemade maple butter sounds tasty!
Bwa ha ha! My version of “cursing like a sailor” involves shouting out “happy place” things: “silence!” “free time!” “cara cara oranges!” “Seeing my kids drink a green smoothie without whining about or spilling it!” Planks, man. I hate them, but I LOVE them.