strawberry mojito salad!

alas, this one is alcohol free, you boozebags!

seeing as it's strawberry season, there is no better reason to make a strawberry salad. a plain mixed fruit with strawberries salad is boooriiing. so i began thinking...
seeing a picture of those tasty strawberry mojitos that my sister ritualistically makes this time of year, inspired me! strawberries + lime + mint + booze = tasty! let's cut out the booze so we can all keep our day jobs, and viola!
fresh, strawberry salad!
i used about two quarts of strawberries (those little green containers) and the juice of three limes. i have a citrus press, which i love. i highly recommend investing in one. i added a packet of the organic mint leaves, found in the produce section. i threw the mint leaves & the juice of the limes into the food processor. altogether it produced less than a quarter cup of "dressing", if you will. i tossed that with my cut up strawberries and let it sit in the fridge for about a day.

*note: after a couple days, the chopped mint turned. it doesn't taste any different, but it is much less attractive. next time, add the chopped mint and lime as you eat.

dessert sans chocolate?!

...here we are again...
desserts!
no chocolate!
though, i suppose in this case, we could be a snack. yum!
i made a kick-ass fruit salad for the easter festivities. cantaloupe, strawberries, fresh pineapple, green grapes -- delish! i was going to add mango, but there was no more room in the bowl. (a happy misjudgement that panned out well, as i went on to make mango salsa. woot!) then, to go with my delicious easter fruit salad, i made some type of marshmallow-cream cheese-cool whip fruit dip. it was a holiday, i got a little crazy!
my fruit salad for this week is fresh pineapple, strawberries, and green grapes. i love fresh pineapple. it's becoming less of a pain in my ass to cut up, i think, because i've been doing it so frequently. plus, i learned a wonderful trick. take the core of the pineapple, and throw it in my smoothies in the morning. (too tough and fiber-y to eat, but i will be damned if i throw it away any longer!) i added a little vanilla to give some depth of flavor. while i was cutting all my fruit up, i had some type of hybrid artist-chef moment. i was struck by the color in produce, it's truly vibrant and outstanding. inspiring, even. and that is something i can get behind.
so, with the beginning of spring upon us, i've taken a minute to admire all of the produce i've cooked with today. color, shape, pattern.... appreciate it all!
it makes the food taste better, i promise!
alas, no fruit dip, we're back on track from here on out, slackers!

be a smoothie monster!

plain and simple.
do it. i promise, you'll love it.

the first smoothie i had was kale, mixed berries, flax seed and some ridiculous array of protein powder. i looked into this glass that was bubbling thick bubbles at me, as if it were some cartoon animated tar pit, and i, was revolted. so, after giving it the good 'ol tequila treatment ---- believe it or not... it didn't totally suck!

for starters, i loathed smoothies. they were all thick, heavy, and gross. alas, i have discovered the secret to outstanding smoothies!
wait for it ---- make them with tea! i prefer apple cinnamon celestial seasonings. that's my favorite. i start off with steeping a couple cinnamon apple celestial seasonings in barely-warm water for a good ten minutes. then, bring on the fruit!

peaches + mixed berries
mango + blueberry
peaches + strawberries
mango + kale + blueberries
kale + blueberries + banana
raspberry + unsweetened chocolate almond milk (delicious for dessert!)
banana + strawberry + unsweetened chocolate almond milk + pb2 (this one too!)

our possibilities are endless!
the biggest bonus to this whole half-frozen early-morning extravaganza, is how long these smoothies keep me full.

so bust out your cuisinart, ninja master prep, or mortar and pestle.
it's smoothie time, bitches!

and don't forget the rangers cup.
its the only way that these smoothies will work.