Kiwi Pear Basil Smoothie

Hi ! Hope you all are keeping well and enjoying summer to the fullest. We've been busy packing our way off USA. With only three weeks left to go to India, the move is finally feeling more real every day. Piece by piece our furnitures are selling off, cardboard boxes are getting filled and stacked around the corners. Our car is sold and right now, we are pretty much dependent on friends and rentals to move around. The move is a little confusing for our toddler. He was born here and to him, India has always meant holiday. He cannot yet understand the need to give away everything before leaving for India... Guess it'll take sometime before the idea of moving countries sink into him..

Kale Cucumber Smoothie

Memorial Day weekend was delicious. I ate everything I had been abstaining from. Pizza, ice cream, soda, doughnuts, chips.. you name it. To counter it all I was determined to start the week on a healthy note.. So this morning I resumed my yoga schedule, ate a light breakfast, brisk walked in the campus, pushing my toddler around the place and for lunch blended this kale cucumber smoothie and later followed it up with two tablespoons of granola and some blueberries for dessert. Ahh... bliss ! It was so darn satisfying...

Pineapple, Orange & Celery Juice

My toddler is a healthy eater by choice. Given the option between a slice of pizza and lentil-rice, he invariably chooses the latter. He loves fish, likes boiled eggs, adores yogurt but the one thing that he refuses to eat, rather drink are juices. Store-bought apple juices he can do, but something about freshly made juices repulses him. He simply does not like them...

A Green Detox Smoothie...

Today we are travelling to Texas. Husband has a conference to attend, so son and I tagged along to visit my cousins who live there. With all the packing, cleaning, etc yesterday was pretty hectic. So much so that sitting down for lunch was not an option. Of course I could skip lunch altogether.. but thats not so good... right ? So I hopped over to to Swathi's,  Zesty South Indian Kitchen for inspiration .. and minutes later blended up this gem of a smoothie for myself...

Made with Baby Spinach, cucumber, orange juice, apples and pomegranate, this Green Smoothie can come in quite handy when you are looking for a quick antidote for your holiday decadence. The recipe is inspired by Swathi's Green Goddess Smothie. I did not have most of her ingredients in hand so I made a concoction of my own and was mighty pleased with the blend. I do not know why I do not make smoothies more often. They get done so quickly and if made with the correct ingredients they can be so satisfying and refreshing ... 

Homemade Apple Cider

While Apple Picking was fun, what we realized over the week was that eating the 10 lbs of apples.. raw isn't that fun.

no matter how much you like apples you cannot eat too many of them. so i looked up if i could make some cider at home. turns out you can. if you have 3 hours in hand. agreed 3 hours is a lot of time. but you really do not have to do much. just quarter the fruits and cook them with the spices and 3 hours later sip on the best apple cider ever...

  

Homemade Apple Cider  Recipe Source: Gimme Some Oven

ingredients     10 medium sized apples (I used an assortment of  Ida Red, Mutsu and Jonamac.)  1 orange 3/4 cup light brown sugar 4 sticks of cinnamon 1 tbsp of whole cloves 1 tsp whole allspice 1 whole nutmeg or 1 tsp ground nutmeg (I used the latter) water to cover (see notes below) 1-2 tbsp molasses* *skip molasses if you are using dark brown sugar.     -  the method wash the apples and oranges thoroughly and roughly cut them in quarters and place them in a large stock pot. you do not need to peel or de-seed the fruits. add the whole spices and 1/2 cup of sugar to the pot, fill the pot with water till it is almost full and bring it to a boil.  stirring occasionally, cook the fruits uncovered over medium heat for about an hour.  if you are using molasses and/or ground nutmeg, stir them/it in at this point. then cover the pot, reduce the heat and simmer the juice for another 2 hours. while the fruits are cooking, periodically mash them using a spoon or potato masher.also taste and adjust the sugar and spices. when the cider is ready allow to cool. then sieve off the fruit pulp and the whole spices through a cheesecloth and serve it hot or refrigerate.  be sure to heat cider before serving. it tastes best when slightly warm.

the only thing that you need to keep in mind is that the pot in which you are cooking should really be big. otherwise the end product is going to be thick and pulpy and the you'll really have to work hard to squeeze out the cider through the cheesecloth. also the yield will be less. this happened to me. so i thought i should mention it.
Sending the first two photographs of Homemade Apple Cider to "The Colour Me Photography Challenge Series" ~ Colour Me Brown, a photography event at +Priya's  place The Humpty Dumpty Kitchen. 

Also Sharing this at the following weekly parties..

Monday Food : Made with Love Mondays, Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Melt in your Mouth Mondays, Inspiration Monday Party, Sharing Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Maniac Monday Linky Party,Mix it up Monday, The Scoop

Tuesday Food:  Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Tasty Tuesday, Hearth and Soul blog Hop

Wednesday Food : What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2

Thursday Food: Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  

Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes