11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes. Make your own Milk, Jam, Nut Butter and Syrup for an Extra Healthy Smoothie

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1 Katherine Kyle 1

2 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes Make your own Milk, Jam, Nut Butter and Syrup for an Extra Healthy Smoothie Copyright 2015 by Katherine Kyle. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, shared or republished without express written permission of the author. Please do not share this book with others. Please visit for more smoothie recipes and articles. If you find an error in this book, have a suggestion for improvement, or have a question please contact support@greenthickies.com. Disclaimer This book has been written and published strictly for informational and educational purposes only. This book is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. The statements in this book have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This book is not intended to serve as medical advice or to be any form of medical treatment. The author is not responsible for any adverse effects that may result from the use or application of the recipes and information contained in this book. 2

3 Katherine Kyle Table of Contents 11 ESSENTIAL SMOOTHIE STAPLES RECIPES 4 01 CHUNKY MONKEY SMOOTHIE TOPPER 5 02 DATE PASTE RECIPE: SWEETEN YOUR FOOD WITH WHOLE FRUIT 8 03 HOW TO MAKE COCONUT CREAM WITH JUST ONE INGREDIENT HOW TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER WITH A BLENDER OR A FOOD PROCESSOR HOW TO MAKE ALMOND MILK HOW TO MAKE COCONUT MILK: A CREAMY, SWEET AND DELICIOUS DAIRY ALTERNATIVE HOW TO MAKE CARAMEL WITH JUST ONE INGREDIENT HOMEMADE COCONUT BUTTER HOMEMADE RAW VEGAN DATE SYRUP RECIPE (DATE HONEY/ DATE NECTAR) RAW RASPBERRY CHIA SEED JAM MAKE YOUR OWN ALMOND BUTTER 42 I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! 44 3

4 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes Did you know that a lot of the processed smoothie ingredients that you buy at the store contain less than desirable ingredients? Many of the ingredients in store bought almond butter contain preservatives linked to cancer. And a lot of the commercial coconut milk cartons contain refined sugar. Some of the cans of coconut milk contain other undesirable preservatives. So what can you do? Make your own ingredients for your smoothies! Why settle for less than the best when you can make many of these ingredients in a very short amount of time and they taste so much better! 4

5 Katherine Kyle 01 Chunky Monkey Smoothie Topper Are you looking for a way to liven up your smoothies? It can sometimes be boring drinking smoothies all the time. I have been drinking my GreenTHICKIES for breakfast and lunch for over 3 years now so I do know what it s like to miss chewing meals. Now you can have the best of both worlds with a healthy smoothie that is quick to drink, portable and delicious, but with that added crunch that turns drinks into meals. This Chunky Monkey Smoothie Topper is like a chunky granola so you could also eat it with milk or yoghurt and fruit. It s so delicious I just find myself eating it straight out of the box. Ingredients 1 cup Oats or Dried Coconut 1 mashed Banana 3 tablespoons Peanut Butter 1 tablespoon Dairy Free Milk or Almond Butter 1 tablespoon Sunflower Seeds ¼ cup Raisins or Chopped Dates 5

6 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes Instructions 1. Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees F / 150 degrees C 2. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl 3. Spread the mixture out on a non stick baking tray or using a non stick baking mat 4. Bake for 15 minutes 5. Remove and break into bite sized pieces 6. Bake for 5 more minutes 7. Remove and cool for 1 hour before storing in an air tight container 6

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8 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes 02 Date Paste Recipe: Sweeten your food with whole fruit One of the questions I get asked a lot is: what is the healthiest sweetener? My answer is always any sweet whole food still pretty much in its original form. I think anything that s been extracted and heavily processed and preserved isn t going to be anywhere near as healthy as a whole fruit, such as dates. Dates are so good for you as they contains loads of vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron and magnesium and are great for constipation and weight loss. A perfect post-holiday addition to your diet! What is Date Paste? I used to put whole dates, raisins or any dried fruit straight into my smoothie but now I generally just use Date Paste. This is also referred to as date syrup or date honey. It is basically just pureed dates. You can buy it, which saves you the hassle of making it, but it won t be as fresh as making it yourself. I like to make my own as it s cheaper and healthier. It also blends much easier and saves time pitting dates every time you make a smoothie. 8

9 Katherine Kyle 5 Ways to make Date Paste There are several ways to make date paste, you can: 1. Use a blender: You may need to use quite a lot of water with the dates, and this is easier with high-speed blenders. 2. Use a food processor: This uses less water than a blender but the date paste won t be as smooth. 3. Use a pestle and mortar: This is great for small quantities of date paste but requires a bit more effort. 4. Hob method: Simmer pre-blended date paste in a pan to reduce the amount of water content in it, or you can simmer first and then process once it s cooled. 5. Use a fork: See my Date Syrup recipe on page 36 for instructions on how to leave your date syrup to pretty much make itself in the fridge! How long can I store Date Paste for? Date paste will keep for at least a week in the fridge and about 3 months in the freezer. I usually make a large mason jar s worth every couple of weeks and it seems to last fine for this length of time. I would advise you to make this in bulk as if you re like me you ll soon be using this in everything! What foods can I use Date Paste in? Any liquid sweetener (honey, agave nectar, maple syrup) in most recipes can be replaced with date paste. I use date paste in pretty much everything including: o o Smoothies/ GreenTHICKIES Ice cream/ Sundaes 9

10 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes o o o o o o o o o o o o o Yoghurt Puddings Cakes/ Pies/ Muffins/ Sweet pastry Pancakes Savory dishes such as stews or beans Homemade peanut butter Homemade healthy Chocolates Homemade bread Porridge/ Oatmeal Granola/ Cereal Add it to hot drinks such as cocoa/ hot chocolate/ tea/ coffee Salad dressings Baked/ Stewed fruit What type of dates should I use? Use any type of dates that you like, but make sure there are no added ingredients as sometimes dates are coated with syrup to make them look shiny. Fresh whole dates are the healthiest as they are the freshest but personally I use dried pitted dates as I get through so many of them. How much date paste should I add to my recipes? If you are making baked goods I would replace the liquid sweetener with exactly the same amount of date syrup as it may alter the consistency if you change the quantity of wet ingredients. However, for other recipes you might be able to experiment with the quantity a bit more. For smoothies and recipes where it s easy to adjust the amounts I would just add the date paste to taste. The date 10

11 Katherine Kyle paste is watered down with water so it may not be quite as sweet as other sweeteners, so you might need to add more if you want it a bit sweeter. My GreenTHICKIE recipes usually call for between ¼ and ½ a cup of dates. I would add in exactly the same amount of date paste, but you can easily adjust this. Optional extras for your date paste To make a gorgeous tasting sweetener you could include any one of the following ingredients: o Vanilla o Pinch of salt o Cinnamon/ Nutmeg/ Mixed Spice/ Ground cloves/ Ginger o Lemon/ Lime juice or zest o Almond/ Mint/ Orange essence o Cocoa/ Cacao/ Carob powder Ingredients 2 cups pitted dates Soaked in 2 cups water (keep the soak water and follow the directions below) 11

12 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes Instructions Soak the 2 cups of dates in 2 cups of water overnight or for at least 8 hours. Keep the soaking water for the recipe. FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD Drain the dates but reserve the dates and add them to the food processor with just enough water (start with 2 tablespoons) and process until it's as smooth as you can get, scraping down the sides as needed. BLENDER METHOD Add the dates and just enough water to blend the dates until smooth. Start with 1 cup of the reserved date soaking water. PESTLE AND MORTAR METHOD Add just enough dates for the recipe you need with a splash of water if required. Use some muscle power to grind the dates into as smooth a paste as you can manage. HOB METHOD If you want your finished date paste to include less water you can either blend the dates with the soaking liquid in a blender then simmer in a saucepan until the paste has reduced. Or you can add the dates with the liquid straight to the pan, simmer until the water has reduced and then leave to cool and process with the food processor until as smooth as you can get it. 12

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14 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes 03 How to make Coconut Cream with just one ingredient This recipe was inspired when I bought myself a Magic Bullet blender. I already had a Vitamix which was brilliant! but it was not so great for making really small batches of things such as this Coconut Cream. When my baby boy started eating solid foods I tried something different to exclusive baby-led weaning that I did with my little girl, so I needed something to make him small batches of sloppy stuff. So of course I took advantage of my great new kitchen gadget and literally started whipping up all sorts of things. There is actually a whipping attachment with this Magic Bullet and the container is so small that you don t end up wasting any food, which also makes it so quick to wash up. I love it! So much that this recipe makes a regular appearance in my house now. You don t actually need to use a blender for this recipe, you could quite easily use a hand mixer, just a hand whisk or even just eat the coconut cream as it is! How to make Coconut Cream This recipe is so simple and it s only got one ingredient! Of course you can jazz it up with a variety of different flavors and I ll give you a few suggestions in the recipe. 14

15 Katherine Kyle You can serve this cream anywhere you d normally use cream. The simplest and healthiest is just to serve it with fruit. I actually made Chocolate Orange Puddings topped with this Whipped Coconut Cream. Yum! Ingredient 1 Can Natural Coconut Milk OPTIONAL EXTRAS o Juice from 1 Lemon plus the zest o Juice from ½ Orange plus the zest o ½ teaspoon Cinnamon o 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract o 1 tablespoon Maple syrup or Raw honey Instructions 1. Leave the can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight. This allows the cream to separate from the coconut water. 2. Either turn the can upside down, open it and pour off the water (keep and add it to a smoothie or GreenTHICKIE or drink it) 3. Or open the can and spoon out the cream from the top of the can 4. Now whip it either giving it a quick blend in a blender or use a hand mixer, whisk or just simply eat it as it is. 5. Add in some of the optional extras for different flavoured cream. 15

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17 Katherine Kyle 04 How to make Peanut Butter with a blender or a food processor Continuing with my mission to make everything from scratch I knew Peanut Butter would have to make an appearance. Organic Peanut butter without any nasties is expensive and I wanted to have complete control over my own ingredients. This homemade peanut butter just happens to be the most gorgeous peanut butter I ve ever tasted too! How to make Peanut Butter I have tried this recipe 2 different ways: one way with a very cheap food processor and another with my high-powered blender (Vitamix). It works really well both ways but the Vitamix is faster as it only takes 1 minute and you can t get better than that for something you make yourself. I bought myself a big batch of organic peanuts for this recipe which will see me through many batches of peanut butter. I like buying in bulk to save money but also get better quality. To make this recipe you roast your peanuts in the oven, leave them to cool, then add the rest of the ingredients and either process in the food processor or blend in the Vitamix. The food processor method is a bit easier although it takes longer. If I can do it with a cheap food processor I m sure it s possible for anyone. 17

18 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes There is a bit of a knack involved with using the Vitamix. I had tried and failed several times to make peanut butter in my Vitamix. The instructions I d followed said to turn my machine to high quickly and use the tamper to press the peanuts down for 1 minute and then stop. When I first tried this my machine made such a loud noise I was scared I d burn out the motor so I didn t have the guts to continue with the machine on high. I tried to blend the peanuts with the machine on low and ended up burning out my motor anyway. It did start working again thankfully but I didn t want to risk that happening again. A few weeks later I was determined to try again and this time I turned the machine very quickly up to high and pushed the peanuts down quickly and managed to stand the noise for a minute. After that time I had peanut butter. Yay! It is very easy to do but you ve just got to have confidence in your machine. Ingredients 3 cups Raw Peanuts 2 tablespoons Oil (Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Cold Pressed Oil) 1 tablespoon Sea Salt 1½ teaspoons Sweetener (Honey, date paste or maple syrup etc.) 2 tablespoons Oil (Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Cold Pressed Oil) 18

19 Katherine Kyle Instructions 1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F / 175 C 2. Rinse the peanuts and toss with the 2 Tablespoons of Oil and the salt 3. Spread out in a single layer on a baking tray (you might have to use 2) 4. Roast for minutes rotating the pans half way through 5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool Food Processor Method a. Add the peanuts, the other 2 tablespoons of Oil and the sweetener to the food processor b. Process until the peanut butter is as smooth as you want it c. You will have to stop and scrape down the sides every so often Vitamix (High Speed Blender) Method a. Add the peanuts, the other 2 tablespoons of Oil and the sweetener to the blender. b. Get your tamper ready in position. Turn the machine on and quickly up to high and start immediately pushing the peanuts down with the tamper until you've got peanut butter. Don't leave your machine running any longer than 1 minute or you risk burning out your motor. Similarly this won't work unless your machine is on high and you risk burning out your motor. 6. Transfer Peanut Butter to a Jar. This will keep for 2 months in the fridge. 19

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21 Katherine Kyle 05 How to make almond milk Almond milk is another of my absolutely essential smoothie ingredients. I use this in so many of my smoothie recipes that it has earned its rightful place in this book. But it took me longer than I would have liked to get a recipe that I actually liked. I always used to buy my almond milk from the shop thinking I was being healthy. Then when I read about hidden chemicals lurking in a lot of processed foods, I started trying to make pretty much everything from scratch. Almond milk is another processed food and doesn t actually have much goodness left after processing The only good thing about buying processed almond milk is that it s often fortified with Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 which are harder to come by especially if on a vegan diet or living in a cold climate with little sunshine. So, if you do cut out processed foods that contain these vitamins you might want to supplement. The first time I made almond milk I just didn t like it. I wanted something that tasted like my unsweetened Almond Breeze and my homemade almond milk tasted rich, a little bit bitter and a bit sickly. I m not sure if it was my pregnancy taste buds playing up when I first started experimenting but I tried various different recipes and didn t like any of them. I made them thick, thin, tried different brands of almonds but it wasn t until I added some sweetener in the form of dates that I actually liked it. I m not sure why that is as I usually didn t need all my food sweetened but when I made a recipe containing dates and vanilla I absolutely fell in love with it and couldn t stop drinking it plain. I 21

22 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes never fancied my Almond Breeze just on it s own so I knew I d found a good recipe. I will give you the option of leaving the dates out though, and you can try it both ways. How to make Almond Milk For this recipe you will need some whole almonds, and a nut milk bag to strain your milk. I have used nut milk bags for making green juice from the blender, almond milk, coconut milk, coconut cream, homemade vegetable broth and other delicious drinks. Some people also like to use cheesecloth which is a bit cheaper. I ve never tried using cheesecloth and the nut milk bag just seemed a lot easier to me. All you do is soak your almonds in water overnight, then blend up your almonds with water, and dates, vanilla and salt (if using) and strain in through the nut milk bag couldn t be easier! The Almond Milk will keep in the fridge for about 3-4 days but check it before you use it. The amount made for this recipe can be used for about 4 servings of GreenTHICKIES (2 recipes that serve 2) that are made with milk. If you want to use Date Paste in this Almond Milk you can find the recipe for date paste on page 8. 22

23 Katherine Kyle Ingredients 1 cup Almonds 5 cups Water OPTIONAL EXTRAS o ½ cup Date Paste (or pitted dates or use healthy sweetener to taste) o Pinch Sea Salt o 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (or a chopped vanilla pod or teaspoon of ground vanilla) Instructions 1. Soak the almonds in enough water to cover them overnight for about 8 hours. Drain the almonds and rinse them. 2. Add the almonds, 5 cups of water (and the dates, salt and vanilla if using) into your blender. Blend until smooth. 3. Put the nut milk bag inside a large bowl. Pour the contents of the blender into the nut milk bag. Close up the bag and squeeze it gently until you can't get any more liquid squeezed out. 4. You can either throw away the almond pulp or use it for a different recipe. The internet is full of recipes for almond pulp! 5. Store your milk in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. 23

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25 Katherine Kyle 06 How to make Coconut Milk: A Creamy, Sweet and Delicious dairy alternative Here is another great dairy-free milk recipe for you. My first homemade milk was Almond Milk, which I absolutely love. But as soon as I tasted this homemade Coconut Milk I was blown away. It s so sweet, creamy and delicious I knew I had found my favourite milk! Another important reason for me to settle on this coconut milk recipe was that it s much cheaper for me to buy Dried Coconut in bulk than it is to buy almonds in bulk. So that was settled, my new favourite milk was decided. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If you love coconut, it s pretty hard not to love this recipe! How to make Coconut Milk This coconut milk recipe is a substitute for dairy milk. So it s got pretty much the same consistency as full fat dairy milk. This means it s great on cereal, in GreenTHICKIES and just as a drink in its own right. It s not as thick as the creamy coconut milk that you get in a can. All you need is either a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to strain the milk, but it s extremely quick to do this. 25

26 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes Ingredients 1 cup Dried Coconut (shredded or desiccated) 2 cups Hot water 2 ½ cups Cold Water 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (or 1 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon ground vanilla) 1/2 cup Dates (Pitted) (or 1/2 Cup Date paste) Pinch Sea Salt Instructions 1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender 2. Strain the milk through a nut milk bag or cheese cloth 26

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28 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes 07 How to make caramel with just one ingredient You will never believe how good this caramel is when it actually only has one ingredient. It is a vegan honey just made from apples. Now you don t have to go without your caramel any longer. You can use it as a honey substitute, as a syrup that you control the thickness of, instead of unhealthy corn syrup. It is also much cheaper than buying expensive healthy sweeteners such as maple syrup or agave nectar. As this recipe only contains apples, it is perfect for a number of diets including vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, paleo, unprocessed and most healthy diets. Best of all, this recipe is refined sugar free so you know that all this sticky goodness comes straight from the healthy apple. This recipe couldn t be easier but it s not quick. However, it s worth it for the thick sticky syrup that you get at the end of it. How to make Caramel To make the caramel, you just take 1 liter or about 4 cups of apple juice. You can use whatever type of apple juice you like. To make things easier, you can use a carton of store bought apple juice but if you want to be ultra healthy, you can juice your own apple juice if you have a juicer. Some people don t see what the point of juicing your own apple juice is, if you are just going to cook it anyway, but it s still healthier and fresher to use freshly squeezed apple juice rather than store bought apple juice as you have complete control over the 28

29 Katherine Kyle ingredients. You can use organic apples and you know it s not been heavily processed or been sitting in a warehouse for a very long time before it gets to you. I, however, don t have a juicer so I just used a carton of apple juice and it works very well. I m sure the flavour would also be better with freshly squeezed apple juice. All you do is bring the apple juice to the boil in a large pan and then simmer it until it turns a dark color and reduces in quantity. This will take anywhere from between minutes depending on the size of your pan and how hot the pan heats. Just be sure to watch it when it s been on for a while as it can very easily burn. If you stir it you ll see how thick it is. The longer you leave it, the thicker the syrup will become. If you want to test this to see whether it s ready, take a small spoonful out and place it in a bowl until it cools down. You can now check whether it s syrupy enough for you. Be careful with it when you are pouring it as it s very hot. Make sure there are no young children around. Pour this into a glass jar or a bowl, cover and store in the fridge. When you want to use it, you may find it has hardened so you can either leave it at room temperature for a while or you can place the glass jar inside a bowl of boiling water to melt it quickly. 29

30 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes How to use caramel Now you can use your new syrup in any number of gorgeous ways. For example you could: o Add it to your smoothies or GreenTHICKIES o Top ice cream with it o Use it as a dip for fruit o Use it as a jam or fruit spread o Sweeten cakes, puddings or breads The possibilities are endless just use your imagination! Ingredient 1 liter Apple Juice (Fresh or from a carton) Instructions 1. Bring the apple juice to the boil in a large pan. 2. Simmer the apple juice for minutes until it changes color and thickens. 3. Test the syrup be placing a teaspoon of apple juice on a plate, wait until it cools to check the thickness. 4. Turn the heat off when the syrup reaches the desired consistency. 5. Pour straight into a jar and allow to cool. (Carefully. It is very hot.) 6. Store in the fridge. 7. When you want to use it, if you want to soften it, place the jar inside a bowl of boiling water until it melts slightly (if required). 30

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32 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes 08 Homemade Coconut Butter Have you ever tried coconut butter before? It s absolutely gorgeous in loads of recipes such as on top of pancakes or toast, and it s especially good in smoothies or GreenTHICKIES. This coconut butter recipe is so easy to make as it only uses one ingredient. There is a lot of confusion surrounding coconut products so I m going to try and explain the differences between some of the coconut products. The difference between coconut butter and coconut oil Coconut oil is just the oil extracted from the coconut where as coconut butter is the whole coconut ground up into a butter. Coconut oil can be used in place of other oils and has a very subtle coconut taste. Coconut butter tastes very much of coconut and is a lot thicker and creamier so it s nicer used as a spread if you enjoy the taste of coconut. Coconut Butter is actually the same thing as Creamed Coconut (Not coconut cream. Confusing I know!) Coconut butter is often sold in a jar where as creamed coconut is usually sold as a block. Both are the same thing. Coconut butter/creamed Coconut will melt at high temperatures and will normally be a solid block especially if you keep it in the fridge. The difference between creamed coconut and coconut cream Coconut cream is the cream that is left on top of the whole blended coconut when it s been sitting a while, and is a thick liquid the same consistency as dairy 32

33 Katherine Kyle cream, whereas creamed coconut/coconut butter is the whole coconut blended and is usually solid, the same consistency as a butter kept in the fridge. This is a recipe for coconut butter which is the whole coconut usually in a solid state. Sometimes when I haven t got round to making this myself I buy Creamed Coconut from my local store. This is kept in the Asian section as it s often used for making curry. You can also buy Creamed Coconut or Coconut Butter online. They are the same thing even though they have different names and look completely different. Coconut butter is often a lot more expensive so look out for creamed coconut if you want to save some money or make your own for a lot less. The main thing to look out for when you are buying coconut butter is that it s made with 100% pure coconut. Homemade Coconut Butter Recipe This recipe is so easy to make and the best part of all is it only has one ingredient which is dried coconut. Where you live this might be called shredded coconut, dried coconut, desiccated coconut or coconut powder. They are all fine but it has to be the fine grains of coconut, not flakes as it won t process properly. You can use either a food processor or a high-speed blender to make this. I ve tried both and my high-speed blender was a lot quicker, about a minute in total. The main thing is you ve got to add enough coconut so it covers the blades properly when they re spinning round. As this is warm when you make it, it will be a thick yet soft consistency. You can store it in an airtight container such as a jar. You don t actually need to keep this in the fridge and it will go rock solid if you do keep it in there. Depending on how warm your house is the consistency will vary when it s kept out of the fridge. If it s totally solid when you come to use it the best thing to do is to place 33

34 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes the jar in a bowl of boiling water for just long enough for it to melt a bit. Then you can add it to your recipes. Coconut butter in smoothies Coconut butter is absolutely gorgeous in smoothies or GreenTHICKIES. It gives them such a rich creamy flavour and texture and you can make a much creamier smoothie than simply adding the dried coconut to your smoothie which can be a bit gritty depending on your blender. Ingredient 4 or more cups of dried coconut (small grains not flakes of coconut) Instructions FOOD PROCESSOR 1. Process the coconut in the food processor stopping to scrape down the sides when required. This may take minutes depending on your food processor. HIGH SPEED BLENDER 1. Blend the coconut on medium to high power stopping to scrape down the sides. If you use a Vitamix you can use the tamper to make this even faster. This may take 1-3 minutes. 34

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36 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes 09 Homemade Raw Vegan Date Syrup Recipe (Date Honey/ Date Nectar) Are you trying to decide between all the healthy sweeteners out there? There is too much choice and most of them aren t as healthy as they claim. They are also usually very expensive. So what s the alternative? Make your own quick, simple and very healthy date syrup. Finally, the search is over for the healthiest sweetener! I m always trying to decide whether to use maple syrup or agave nectar. They are both very expensive and I don t like using them too often as they are both heat-treated or processed. Honey raises the blood sugar levels and isn t suitable for vegans. I do like adding dates to my smoothies but if a recipe calls for a liquid sweetener I become unstuck. Not anymore. This date syrup is a perfect liquid sweetener and unprocessed. It is much cheaper especially if you buy dried dates. It also hardly takes any work to make it. What could be better than that? I made this date syrup for the first time in my Healthy Cherry and Coconut Hot Fudge Sundae recipe. I really prefer using whole fruits such as dates to sweeten my recipes rather than sweetener as I think it s much better for you to eat the whole fruit rather than part of it, as it s fresher and has more nutrients. This date syrup contains the whole date and it s so easy to make. It is actually a raw food too as fresh dates are usually in an untreated state (still check the ingredients, though, as they sometimes glaze them with other sweeteners). 36

37 Katherine Kyle Date Syrup Health Benefits Dates give you a very quick source of energy. Within half an hour of eating them, you will feel revived if you are lacking in energy. For that reason they are great just before a workout. Yes they are very high in sugars, but natural fruit sugars that the body actually needs. Dates are also great for constipation and many other health problems. Dates are a whole fruit which in my opinion makes them far superior to other sweeteners. Have the best of both worlds with this healthy date syrup. You can either eat it straight from the bowl for a quick energy boost or here are some serving suggestions: o Added to your GreenTHICKIES or other drinks o Dip apple or melon chunks into it o Replace jam on crackers, oat cakes or rice cakes o In baking instead of other syrups o Added to ice cream o Replace sugar in tea or coffee o Added to yoghurt o Top your oatmeal or porridge with it o Spread it on some celery with some almond butter How to make date syrup All you do is add some dates, such as medjool dates to about ½ cup of water, cover and put it in the fridge. Leave it at least 24 hours and stir it a few times. The dates dissolve in the water and produce a gorgeous yet very healthy syrup that you can use in all your recipes. 37

38 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes For all date syrup recipes you may need to double the amount of date syrup as this recipe contains half water, half dates. Ingredients 1/2 Cup Water ½ Cup Pitted Dates (any type) VARIATIONS You can add any of the following ingredients to change the flavour: o 1 teaspoon vanilla o 1 teaspoon cinnamon o 1 teaspoon ground ginger OPTIONAL EXTRAS Soak the dates in: o Coconut water o Orange Juice Instructions 1. Pit the dates by making a slit down one side and removing the stone. 2. Add the dates to the water in a bowl. 3. Cover and leave it in the fridge. 4. Leave it at least 24 hours and stir it a few times whenever you remember. The dates dissolve in the water and produce a syrup that can be used to replace any other type of syrup or liquid sweetener. 5. If you need this date syrup more quickly, you can always blend it, but you may need to increase the quantity and use a high-speed blender. 38

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40 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes 10 Raw Raspberry Chia Seed Jam Why eat unhealthy processed refined sugar laden commerical jam when you can whip up a batch of this delicious healthy chia seed jam? Ingredients 1 Cup Raspberries 2 Tablespoons water 1 Tablespoon date paste or maple syrup 2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds OPTIONAL EXTRA o 1 Cup Greens Instructions 1. Add all the ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. You might have to add some more water to help it along. 2. Add to a saucepan on a medium heat until it begins to bubble. Reduce the heat and whisk it until it thickens. This will take about 3-5 minutes. 3. You can keep this in the fridge in a sealed jar for up to 1 week. 40

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42 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes 11 Make your own Almond Butter Can t eat peanut butter? No problem. Replace peanut butter with almond butter in any recipe. You will adore this just as much. I certainly do! Ingredient 3 cups almonds Instructions 1. Add almonds to a food processor and pulse until a smooth almond butter forms. You will need to keep stopping and scraping down the sides every so often. 42

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44 11 Essential Smoothie Staples Recipes I want to hear from you! Thank you so much for reading my book. I hope you have enjoyed these recipes and are inspired to create some of your own! I would love to hear from you! Please me at support@greenthickies.com if you have any comments or suggestions about any of these recipes. Ready to step up to amazing health and reach your ideal weight? Please join us for the FREE GreenTHICKIES challenge at 44