Spring always brings fun food adventures and this time was no exception. I just finished my two-day Holistic Food Preparation course (a requirement for my holistic nutrition program) with the lovely Eva Cabaca from Live Nutrition School and oh my, what an amazing experience. I wasn’t sure what to expect but Eva’s cooking style and eating habits are quite different from mine, so I really enjoyed being a part of a very different kind of kitchen and got some interesting ideas about foods that I haven’t really experimented with in the past. Eva has an incredible wealth of knowledge and culinary wisdom that she generously shared with us. One of my favourite parts was going on a walk at a nearby park and and picking nettles, garlic mustard, and ground ivy to incorporate into our afternoon recipes. It’s incredible that the day before I could walk through that park and notice nothing but grass, trees, some plants, etc.. and now I’m able to recognize that there’s FOOD! Wild, nutritious, free, and amazing food. I’m so excited to take Herbal Medicine with Eva later in the program but in the mean time am am really inspired to experiment more with the herbs that I’m familiar with and have available.
Since my last grocery store visit resulted big bunches of herbs to play around with, I’ve made you two herb-loaded smoothies. The first is a very basil-y smoothie, made with kefir, avocado, and dark buckwheat honey. The basil is pretty intense in the amount I suggest, so you can go easier on the basil if you’re not sure about it. If you’re afraid the strange combination here, don’t worry – I promise it’s delicious. The second drink is a watermelon, strawberry and mint smoothie. We’ve been using it as a cocktail base (virgin for me) and it doesn’t get any more refreshing. When thinking about putting more green in your smoothies, don’t be afraid to swap the kale and spinach for some of these flavour-packed leaves. They all have unique health benefits and nutrient/antioxidant profiles, so it makes sense to vary and rotate them to get a good variety.
I’m also very excited to be featured on Noshon.it this week for Meatless Monday! Noshon.it provides a free daily newsletter with great hand-picked recipes and expert cooking tips. Check them out to get daily goodies, like my Minty Yogurt Parfaits, delivered to your inbox!
One last thing…I recently created a new group Pinterest board which is all herbs, hoping to get some of you to share your ideas on how to grow them, cook them, and heal with them. Please e-mail me for an invite, or you can just
Happy Spring!
I love the idea of adding herbs to smoothies – it’s certainly an interesting way to add some extra flavour. I’ve only really experimented with mint leaves so far. Perhaps it’s time to give basil a whirl!
Both these drinks sound lovely. I grow lots of mint in my yard…all varieties like chocolate mint, apple mint, orange mint, white peppermint….once you plant mint there is really no getting rid of it…in my mind it is the easiest of the herbs to grow. I will definitely give the strawberry watermelon mint smoothie a try…it sounds so refreshing!!!
Oh and I didn’t forget about the galbi recipe. I just have to watch my husband when he makes it the next time so I can find out exactly what he puts in it..our version is definitely not sweet at all.
So jealous of your mint garden, that sounds amazing! So does the apple mint smell like apple? Or are they just named that way?
If you were to smell them without knowing the name you might not get definite notes of apple, chocolate or orange but they are definitely more fruity smelling then regular mint.