My first date with my husband was to a juice bar. Until then the closest I’d gotten to a health juice was a V-8 in a Bloody Mary. He ordered a single ginger shot for each of us (hmm… intriguing!), but then he ordered a disturbing green powder (algae, seaweed and chlorella) dumped into a batch of kale and yam juice!!! WTF? My life flashed before me. Okay, maybe this green potion was responsible for his gorgeous Dorian Gray good looks, but how would I fit into his dietary program? More urgently, what the heck was I going to order? A demure “Cool as a Cucumber” (celery/cucumber/apple) sounded both doable and necessary in that moment…little did I know it was the beginning of a very slippery slope…

…Marriage soon followed, but that’s not the slope I am talking about. Nine months into holy matrimony we decided to do a cleanse together, and that’s when life got really slippery. Wheatgrass, more of that damn green powder from our first date, and grocery carts full of greens (spinach, kale, chard, cilantro, parsley, Romaine, arugula, dandelion), and green stuff (cucumbers, limes, avocados, apples and loads of ginger) became our staple items as we made love to our Vita-mix blender three times a day and even in between “meals.” By the end of three weeks we had to admit we really wanted to chew something, but we were happily hooked on blending and juicing mostly green things for the rest of our lives.

Although the slippery green slope has not made us extremely popular, our skin is clear, our eyes are bright and most important, for the first time in my life anyway, I am living craving-free! There must be something to these greenish juiced concoctions, no?

Though it definitely takes a leap of faith to down a muddy greenish-colored drink, (especially when you’re used to orange, purple, red, “rosé” or dare I say “champagne-color” instead), I sure am glad I made that leap of faith into green juicing all those years ago.

Here’s a couple recipes that can be made into either green smoothies or green juice for those of you who also want to attempt a leap of faith and see where it leads you…I guarantee it won’t be to the doctor’s office.

The Puddle Jump

Ingredients:
• 1/2 frozen banana, ½ cup frozen green grapes or ½ cup pineapple chunks
• 1/2 head romaine lettuce
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 cucumber
• 5 or 6 stalks celery
• 1-2 cups young Thai coconut water, unsweetened almond milk or fresh squeezed orange juice (or a combination of any of these).

Optional Ingredients (use one, some or all):
• 6 fresh mint leaves
• 1 or 2 teaspoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a Vita-mix blender and blend until smooth.

To Serve:
- Drink as is for a smoothie.
- Or if you prefer less pulp/all juice pour the mixture through a mesh nut milk bag.*

The Jumbo Jump (less kid-friendly** than The Puddle Jump)

Ingredients:
• 1/2 frozen banana or ½ Granny Smith apple
• 1/2 bunch kale, arugula, chard or spinach
• 1 bunch parsley or cilantro
• 1 cucumber
• 5 or 6 stalks celery
• 1-2 cups young Thai coconut water, water or coconut water kefir

Optional Ingredients (use one, some or all):
• 1 Tablespoon super green powder***
• 6 fresh mint leaves
• 1 or 2 teaspoons agave nectar
• 1 lemon or lime (peeled if desired)
• 1-2 inches fresh ginger root, peeled
• Dash cayenne
• 3 T Chia seed gel

Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a Vita-mix blender and blend until smooth.

To Serve:
- Drink as is for a smoothie.
- Or if you prefer less pulp/all juice pour the mixture through a mesh nut milk bag.*

* Purchase nut milk bags from Whole Foods or my website. Here’s the link: http://www.streamlinednutrition.com/shop/nut-milk-bag.html

** Kids like crazy straws for sipping drinks that might not entice them otherwise. Kids are more likely to eat what they make, so let them jam stuff through the top of the Vita-mix (with lid on) and/or through the juicer. The noise and action really turns kids on.

*** Whole Foods carries a lot of different brands of super green powders. Super green powders have greens, algae, seaweed, wheat or barley grass, and the best brands also contain pro-biotics and/or enzymes. Brands I like include: Amazing Grass, Vibrant Health and Body Ecology. If these powders gross you out, enjoy a green powder free smoothie or juice and then in the last few tablespoons of the drink, stir in the green powder and chug the rest of your drink like a tequila shot.

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 T cumin seed
• 1-2 lbs raw brussels sprouts, shaved thinly on a mandolin
• 1-2 T grass-fed organic butter or more extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and lots of freshly ground pepper to taste

- Warm the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and cook until wilted and translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Turn heat down to medium and stir in the cumin seed and cook for another few minutes.
- Turn off the burner and add the shaved raw brussel sprouts and either the butter or extra-virgin olive oil and toss until the brussels sprouts and onions are fully mixed.
- Add sea salt and pepper and serve.

Variations
- this is a semi-raw brussels sprout dish. If you prefer your brussels sprouts more fully cooked simply leave the burner on and continue to sauté the sprouts with the onion until they reach a level of doneness you find appealing.
- if you are into cheese this dish is lovely with some shaved parmesan or Vegan Parmesan sprinkled over the top.

• 1 turkey carcass, meat and skin removed
• 1 onion, quartered
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 lemon*, quartered
• 3 celery stocks, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 2 carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces
• Assorted sprigs of fresh herbs: rosemary, marjoram, thyme, parsley
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds (optional)
• 1 teaspoon pepper corns (optional)
• Enough water to cover

Directions

- Break up turkey carcass and place it in a 6 quart slow-cooker.
- Stud onion quarters with one clove each and add to the slow cooker.
- Squeeze the lemons over the carcass and add lemon quarters to the slow-cooker
- Add remaining ingredients and enough water to fill the cooker and cover all ingredients.
- Put temperature to Low power and cook for at least 12-18 hours.
- When done, strain the liquid from the solids. Discard solids and allow the liquid to cool.
- Skim any visible fat from the liquid. Refrigerate the liquid for one hour. More fat should have risen to the top. Remove the fat.

Storage
- Use broth in a soup or store in the freezer in ice cube trays or small Tupperware in amounts that can be used for your favorite recipes.

Variations
- Use a chicken carcass instead of turkey.

* Broth is very healthy, especially for skin and hair health. It is full of collagen and minerals. Lemon juice helps to extract as much mineral from the

Ingredients

• 1 head garlic
• 1-2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb baking potatoes, peeled, cut into one inch chunks
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
•1 2/3 cup (1 15oz can) cooked chickpeas, mashed or pureed in a food processor
• ½ cup organic milk or unsweetened almond or rice milk
• 4 T organic butter or 3 T extra-virgin olive oil
• Pinch of ground nutmeg or mace
• Fresh ground pepper and sea salt to taste

Directions

- Preheat oven to 350º. Cut top 1/3 of garlic head off exposing tops of each clove. Place garlic upside down on a square of foil. Drizzle with 1-2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil and wrap foil tightly around the head. Wrap another square of foil around the first for insulation. Roast garlic head for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool.

- Bring a large pot of water and 1 teaspoon sea salt to a boil. Add potatoes, bring back to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer for 12-15 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Drain potatoes and return to pot. Place pot over high heat for 30 seconds to dry potatoes. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and add the butter.
- In a saucepan warm the milk for 1-2 minutes. Squeeze roasted garlic cloves out of their skins into the milk. Add the rest of the salt and stir until salt and garlic are incorporated into the milk. Pour milk mixture over the potatoes and begin mashing.
- Add the chickpeas and spices and continue mashing until smooth. Add more milk or butter if necessary to achieve a desired consistency.

Variations

- Replace chickpeas with another pound of potatoes.
- Replace the chickpeas with another kind of legume. White canelli beans work great too.
- Leave out the garlic. Flavor instead, by adding 1 T fresh herbs such as rosemary or thyme or 1 cup fresh minced parsley or watercress.
- For even more protein and less fat add 1 cup organic cottage cheese during the final mash, and reduce butter and milk by one half in previous steps.

• 2 acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch cubes
• 6 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 16 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced paper thin
• 8 shallots, peeled and sliced paper-thin
• 12 scallions, cut length-wise and then cut into one-inch pieces
• 4 jalapenos, cored, seeded, cut in half length-wise and then thinly sliced
• 7 inches of ginger root, peeled, cut into thin coins and sliced into matchsticks
• 3 packed cups basil leaves, cut into thin strips or “chiffonade”
• Juice of two limes (4 Tablespoons)
• Sea salt and lots of freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add acorn squash and cook until tender (about 10 minutes). Drain in a colander and set aside.
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large deep-sided sauté pan. Add the garlic, shallots, scallions, jalapenos and ginger. Stir often for about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes more.
- Add the cooked squash to the ginger mixture, and toss to incorporate squash without mashing squash up. Add the basil, gently tossing some more and cook uncovered another minute until basil is fragrant, but still bright green.
- Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
For the Dressing:
- Roast pine nuts on a cookie sheet in a 350º oven for 10 minutes until toasted. Cool.
- In a small pot bring raisins or currants and sherry wine to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until raisins or currants are plump. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest and ¼ cup of extra-virgin olive oil. Stir in the toasted pine nuts.

For the Salad:
- Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook 5-7 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and continue cooking 1 minute. Add 12 cups of kale and stir until coated with oil. Stir in ½ cup water, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 1 hour. Remove from heat and toss with about ¾ of the dressing.
- Tear or slice the raw arugula, dandelion and/or radicchio into thin strips. Toss with the remaining dressing and set aside in the refrigerator for at least one hour to marinate.
- In a large salad bowl, toss the marinated greens with the cooked greens (cooked greens can be warm or cold) and capers (if using) adding all of the remaining dressing.

To Serve and Store:
- Place salad on a platter or divide between individual serving plates and then top with grated Parmesan or place a couple dollops of burrata cheese alongside.
-Salad keeps in the refrigerator for 3 days. Eat cold straight from the refrigerator, room temperature or slightly warmed if desired.

• ½ cup dried chanterelle mushrooms
• 12 ears corn
• 2 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Zest of two lemons (2 teaspoons)
• Juice of one lemon (1 Tablespoon)
• Sea salt and lots of freshly ground pepper
• ½ cup unsweetened plain almond milk (optional/as needed)

Directions

- Soak mushrooms in boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse well. Slice into ¼ inch pieces.
- Cut the corn from 6 ears of corn and blend in a Vitamix blender, adding small amounts of almond milk if needed to get a blend going. Pour blended corn kernels through a nut milk bag held over a medium-size mixing bowl or large liquid measuring cup. Squeeze out all of the corn “cream” and set aside. (Throw out the corn pulp).
- Bring a pot full of salted water to a boil. Cut the corn kernels from the remaining corn and add to the boiling water. Boil for 3 minutes. Drain.
- Heat the extra-virgin olive oil over low heat in a large sauté pan. Add the shallots, garlic and soaked chanterelle mushrooms and sauté until soft about 10 minutes.
- Increase the heat and add the corn kernels, the corn “cream” and cook stirring constantly for about 3 more minutes. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper and serve.

Variations

- Try using shitake mushrooms instead of chanterelles.
- Leave out the mushrooms and substitute coconut milk for the almond milk.
- Purée entire completed dish or leftovers with some broth in the Vitamix and eat as a soup instead.

Soup Ingredients

• 2 poblano chiles
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced
• 1-2 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 lbs carrots, cut into coins
• Leaves from 8 sprigs fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• Sea Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 cup Greek-style plain yogurt (optional for garnish)
• Chopped fresh oregano or cilantro leaves (optional for garnish)

Directions

- Preheat oven to 375º. Place poblano chiles on a baking sheet and brush with a tiny bit of the extra-virgin olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes (10 minutes each side) until skins start to brown and puff. Remove chiles from oven and immediately place them in a brown paper bag. Roll the top of the bag closed tightly, so that the chiles can steam for 10 minutes. Steaming will make the skin removal easier. Remove chiles from bag and peel and seed them. Discard peel and seeds.
- Meanwhile, in a large soup pot sautée the onion and the oregano in the remaining extra-virgin olive oil for about 5 minutes until onion is soft and translucent.
- Add the carrots and vegetable broth to the onions and bring to a boil. Boil about 10 minutes until carrots are soft.
- In a blender purée the poblano chiles with the carrot soup. Taste for seasoning and add sea salt and pepper if desired.

To Serve:
- Ladle soup into individual serving bowls and top with a dollop of plain yogurt and freshly chopped oregano and/or cilantro.

Ingredients

• 3 bunches of greens, (use a mixture of greens such as mustard greens, dandelion, chard or kale with some spinach for sweetness)

• 1-2 large yellow or red onions, peeled

• 2 inches fresh ginger root, peeled and sliced in rounds

• 6 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes

• 2 T extra-virgin oil, such as sesame, unfiltered grapeseed or olive oil

• Sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

• 1 cup plain Greek-style yogurt (optional)

Directions

- Bring a large soup pot of water to a boil.  Wash greens, discard stems and roughly chop leaves.  Place leaves in pot of boiling water and boil for two minutes.  Drain greens and set aside.

- In a food processor puree the onion, garlic, ginger. Heat the oil in the soup pot and add the puree’d vegetables to the pot.  Add the chili flakes and sauteé for approximately 10 minutes.

- While vegetables are sauteéing puree the greens in the food processor and when vegetable mixture is done, add the pureed greens to the pot and stir gently to combine.  Taste for seasoning and add sea salt, freshly ground pepper and more chili flakes if desired.

Serve

- Eat hot or cold with some plain Greek-style yogurt to cut the heat of the chili flakes and ginger.

- Or serve alongside your favorite grain, or mixed with cooked lentils.

- Or try wrapping greens and a dollop of yogurt in a warm sprouted corn tortilla.

Ceviche

Making ceviche is so magical.  How is it possible that citric acid in limes can “cook” raw fish?  Well, it doesn’t “cook” the fish actually; it “cures” the fish ridding it of impurities and making the flesh a firm heavenly texture.  Allow at least six hours to cure.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs raw white flesh flat fish, such as tilapia, flounder or sole, cut into bite-size pieces

• Juice of 8-10 limes

• 4 large red or regular watermelon radishes, finely julienned on a mandolin

• 2 jalapenoes, seeded and minced or 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes

• 1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

• 6 kumquats, sliced in 1/16 inch thick rounds and quartered

• 20 yellow and/or red cherry tomatoes, halved and quartered

• 1 medium red onion, minced

Directions

- Place pieces of fish in a glass or non-reactive bowl or baking dish.  Pour the lime juice over the fish making sure all of the pieces of fish are submerged.  Refrigerate fish for at least 6 hours or overnight, until fish is cured.  (Cured fish will no longer be transparent, but will be opaque and white in color).

- Meanwhile combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl making a salsa-esque mixture. Refrigerate salsa until fish is cured.

- When fish is cured, mix with the salsa and serve.

Serve

- Eat with a fork or scoop up with a tortilla chip.

- Try wrapping ceviche in warm tortillas or lettuce leaves and squirt with a little plain Greek yogurt, guacamole or Raw Sour Cream.

Variations

- Add some chopped avocado to the ceviche just before serving.

- In place of the kumquats, try a mango, a papaya or 8 thinly sliced pitted green olives.