Perfect Iced Coffee!

 

Coffee. What a wonderful thing. 

When I think of coffee so many good memories come to mind. I think of reading a good book or having a deep conversation with a friend at a coffee shop. I think of being overseas and getting to enjoy a Starbucks Via packet early in the morning before starting work.  I think of a Saturday morning with no plans and time to rest and relax.

Unfortunately, coffee also brings to mind a season over a year ago when my heart suddenly decided to react negatively to any type of caffeine. Heart palpitations that led to panic attacks were no fun. Thankfully I realized that caffeine was the cause and I no longer lay awake at night wondering why my heart is racing.

I'm so thankful that decaf coffee is actually a "thing" so that I can still enjoy a delicious cup a joe.

Speaking of which, this recipe for iced coffee is spot on. I've tried a few different ratios and this one takes the cake. In the past I've tried brewing a pot of coffee and chilling it in the fridge and it just never tasted rich enough. Then I got introduced to Americanos (espresso diluted with hot water) and now I'm hooked. Americanos have such bold flavor while still allowing you to drink more than a small shot of espresso. So why not try out the same theory with iced coffee?

Basically this recipe is for a coffee concentrate which you add cold water too. It's just like making an Americano, but cold.  If Americanos are your coffee drink of choice, you have to try this out!

Iced Coffee Concentrate

(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coffee grounds (choose your favorite brand!)
• 4 cups cold water

Directions:

1. Pour the coffee grounds into a pitcher and then pour the 4 cups of cold water on top.
2. Stir well and place in the fridge overnight.
3. After the coffee has sat overnight, stir the mixture one more time and then pour through your coffee maker with a filter in place, or strain through layers of cheese cloth over a new container.
4. Use equal parts coffee concentrate and water for the perfect cup of iced coffee (or adjust to your own strength preferences.)
5. Enjoy!!

 

Mix 1 cup of coffee grounds with 4 cups of water. Stir and let sit overnight in the fridge. 

Strain through a coffee filter or cheese cloth. 

 

Use equal parts coffee concentrate and water to make the perfect cup of iced coffee!

Eat Consciously,

Faith

Who Am I?! (Plus a Mocha Protein Smoothie Recipe)

Before I get to the deliciousness that is in that mason jar I have to talk about something.

Last night I wanted to do a spin class.

WANTED. Even after running five miles already in the morning. Who am I??

I hate spinning. It is my least favorite form of exercise (at least until after it's over when I love how I feel). I am so bad at it and the entire 45 minutes is agony. It takes a lot to get me sweating, but after five minutes in a spin class I am sweating from my shins, forearms, nose...it's painful.

But for some reason I felt the need to get out some more energy after dinner so I went to the last class of the night at our gym which was spin. I didn't hate it either! We'll see if I go to another class anytime soon though. Don't get your hopes up.

Like I mentioned, I went for a five mile run yesterday morning. I would love to run a marathon this year, but I know I'm prone to injury so I'm working on changing my form.

The first mile I ran in Nike Frees which make me land on the forefront of my feet instead of heel striking. I always feel so light and quick when I run like that, but you have to start with short distances to build up your feet strength and calf muscles. 

I'm glad I was only going a mile and then switching shoes because it was quite chilly here in Florida yesterday. As in 45 degrees with decent wind. After my first mile in my Nikes I came back and put on my Asics, grabbed ear warmers and headed back out for four more.

I'm hoping to build up more endurance in my Nike frees so that I can run longer distances with less chance of injury. We'll see how it goes!

Now onto the deliciousness. During my run I was thinking about what I wanted to eat once I finished. Anyone else do that? Our good friend Garret had just stayed the night and had made a ginormous pot of coffee even though there were only three of us. I was trying to think of how to use up all that extra delicious, Starbucks coffee and decided I should try out a mocha smoothie using my new Hemp Protein Powder from Trader Joe's. 

This smoothie is super easy to make and will definitely give you your daily dose of caffeine. You can use any kind of chocolate protein powder that you have on hand too.

Mocha Protein Smoothie

(Makes 1 Serving)

 Ingredients:

· 1 cup strong brewed coffee

· 1/2 cup almond milk

· 1/2 frozen banana

· 1 serving chocolate protein powder

· 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

· 3 ice cubes

Directions:

1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth.

2. Enjoy!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

A Berry Refreshing Smoothie

Cute post name, right? I thought so. This is going to be short and sweet, but I wanted to share with you all a quick, refreshing beverage. First of all, while I call this a smoothie, the base is water so it's not as thick as you may think. It's still full of nutrition and truly is refreshing. Don't let the color scare you away either. I really think we ought to say, "Don't judge a smoothie by it's color," because so often when you blend veggies and fruit together you end up with a nice, murky color. There's nothing much we can do about it, except get over it and drink up. Once the deliciousness of these murky drinks hit our tongues, we usually don't care about the color anyways. 

Making this beaut is simple. Place 1 1/2 cup of berries, 1 1/2 cup of greens, 1 cup of water and 1/2 cucumber in a blender and blend until smooth. That's it! Enjoy this drink on a hot day or after a good, sweat producing workout. 

A Berry Refreshing Smoothie

(Makes 1 serving)

 Ingredients:

· 1 1/2 cup mixed berries

· 1 1/2 cup greens (kale, spinach, etc.)

· 1/2 cucumber

· 1 cup water

Directions:

1.  Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth.

2. That’s all!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Ginger Spice Chai

My trip to India last year was quite the adventure: a 16-hour overnight train ride, idol worshipers blocking the street, head bobbles that left me confused, and tons of people.  While I just mentioned what sound like negative aspects, I absolutely love all five weeks I was there. The people were gorgeous, the clothes were colorful, the smiles were white, and the food...ah, the food was amazing. Dal, Chicken Masala, Curries, and of course lots of chai.

In India you can get chai almost everywhere you go. I could order it at any hour of the day from our hotel's kitchen and there were always vendors on the side of the road with a crowd of people around them. As our English speaking friends told me: Chai is to India as Coffe is to the U.S.

Before I left for my trip to India, my boyfriend at the time (now husband) took me to get my first chai from Boston Coffee House. I loved it! But once I got to India I quickly found that American chai is so very different from authentic Indian chai. In America, our chai - while amazing - is made from powdered mixes and tons of milk. In India, it's the spices that make the tea so amazing. Cloves, cardamom, ginger...it's aromatic. While it takes a bit of time to make, it's not labor intensive and so worth the wait!

Ginger Spice Chai

(Makes 2 servings)

 Ingredients:

· 2 cups water

· 1” piece of ginger root, peeled and sliced

· 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

· 5 cardamom pods

· 1/2 cinnamon stick

· 1 star anise

· 2 bags black tea

· 3/4 cup Almond milk (or other milk)

· 1 tablespoon liquid sweetener of choice (agave, honey….whatever you have)

*If you don’t have all of these ingredients, just use what you have and I’m sure it will still be delicious!

Directions:

1.  Bring the water and all of the spices to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan.

2. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the spices to simmer for about 30 minutes.

3. Strain the liquid through some cheese cloth into a bowl or another pot and then return the liquid back to the saucepan.

4. Add the tea bags and allow them to steep for 5 minutes.

5. Remove the tea bags and stir in the milk and sweetener.

6. Return the saucepan to the burner and bring back to a simmer.

7. Enjoy the smell of your house while you enjoy your ginger spice chai!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Chocolate Cherry Zucchini Smoothie (a.k.a. Chocolate Shake)

I am currently training for a half marathon in December. It's my THIRD attempt at training for one - I always get injured. This time I'm making sure I cross train and get in a swim or bike session to cut down on the pounding on my joints. So far so good. I've worked up to 7 miles and have actually ran 7 miles for my long run three weekend in a row because I'm ahead of schedule. 

Usually I go for my long runs on Saturday or Sunday morning. I just get up and go. I love running in the mornings and being able to see the sun rise. BUT my body doesn't like running in the mornings. It's still asleep. I always feel so slow and sluggish. So this weekend I decided to go for a run in the evening. The weather has started to cool down so it was a great temperature. So many people were outside walking their dogs or having a picnic which made it a good people-watching-while-running-kind-of-night. I felt great too. Not sluggish like my recent morning runs. Unfortunately, even though I felt great, I ended up running slower than I usually do in the mornings. Weird. 

Anyways, I've been wanting to try out this chocolate cherry smoothie that has zucchini in it for a while and I finally bought some frozen cherries to do so. I was looking forward to it the entire time I was running. Hey, an motivation helps right? 

And praises, I wasn't disappointed with the result! Seriously. Try this smoothie. It tastes like a chocolate milkshake...except there is no dairy and you even get a serving of veggies in your belly!

Chocolate Cherry Zucchini smoothie

(Makes 2 servings)

 Ingredients:

· 1 1/2 cups almond milk (half frozen into ice cubes)

· 1 medium zucchini, cut into chunks NOT sliced

· 1 cup of frozen sweet cherries, pitted

· 2 tablespoons almond butter*

· 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

· Splash of vanilla extract

* I haven’t tried this with any other nut butters yet, but I’m sure it would taste just as good!

* If you want a sweeter smoothie, add in either 2 dates OR 1 tablespoon liquid sweetener of choice.

Directions:

1. Place all of the ingredients in a high quality blender and blend until smooth. You may need to stop and mix the ingredients a couple of times to help the blender along.

Notes: Adapted from here.

Let me know if you try this with a different kind of nut butter or added sweetener!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Green Kale Smoothie (3 Ingredients)

I think one of the best things about going vegan is that I eat a wider variety of produce. You kind of half to start branching out with your fruits and veggies if you cut out all animal products. I bought kale for the first time today and figured I'd start out easy with a smoothie. It turned out great and was so simple! I'm hooked.

                                               

Green Kale Smoothie

(Makes 1 serving)

                                                 

 Ingredients:

· 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

· 1/2 frozen banana

· 1 cup kale

  Directions:

1. Place all three ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

2. There is no step two. Just Enjoy!

I think the next time I'll experiment with some other ingredients like ginger, flax seed, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Nutrition: Cals: 115; Fat: 3 grams / Carbs: 21 grams / Fiber: 4 grams / Protein: 4 grams / Sugars: 7 grams

Five-A-Day Smoothie

So, you know how we're supposed to eat five servings of fruit and veggies a day? The fruit part has always come easy to me. I. Love. Fruit. And while I love vegetables too, it's hard to eat five servings a day when you only get two meals a day to fit them in instead of three. Unless broccoli for breakfast is your thing. In that case, more power to ya.

I started putting spinach in my smoothies a while back, but the other day my husband Brett and I worked out with another couple and afterwards they made us smoothies...and added carrots to them. Now I know that there are tons of juices made with vegetables, but when you suck out all the juice from fruits and veggies, you end up missing out on all the fiber. We can't have that now can we? So after trying the smoothies with carrot in it and not tasting any carrot, I figured I should try adding both spinach and carrots in a smoothie and see what happens. And let me tell you, I was pretty pleased with the result.

Don't fear the spinach and carrots. Try it. You won't even know you're starting to check off your veggies for the day.


Five-A-Day Smoothie
Serves 1-2

• 1 banana
• 4 medium strawberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 large carrot, washed and cut into chunks
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 1 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1 T. flaxseed
• 1/8 t. ginger root, peeled and minced

Place all the ingredients in a blender (my fruit is usually frozen). Blend on ice setting. You will probably have to stop often and mix the ingredients. I don't like my smoothies too liquidy, so I don't mind putting in less liquid and having to stop in mix a few times. 

Share with someone else or keep it to yourself!

Look at all those awesome ingredients! So many nutrients about to enter your belly.