Hibiscus flower is Hawaii's beautiful state flower.  It's those large flowers traditionally worn by Hawaiian (and Tahitian) girls.  Since my new obsession is to include edible flowers in my recipes as much as I can, I had to find a way to use the dried Hibiscus flowers I bought at a few months ago at my local Whole Foods Market.  

Hello! I know, I know, I’ve been very quiet for the last couple of weeks!

The thing is... I was traveling to my hometown, Montreal, alone with my two energetic kids.  Needless to say I was asleep at 9pm every day! Plus I almost never had access to a computer. Yeah... I broke my Mac screen for the second time (no comment...) and had no time to repair it before leaving so I left a computer loaded with draft recipes waiting to be posted... Arghh, how frustrating!  So, I apologize for the lack of blog activity.  

Enough said, I'm back and I have a lot of great recipes to share! 

HAPPY MONDAY!!

I'm very excited! Today's the first day of my special kids week where I'll be sharing one healthy, whole food and kid-friendly recipe each day! Be sure to follow me all through the week, since I'm going to share my kids favourites recipes! You sure don't want to miss my best vegan mac & cheese ;) 

This smoothie is a classic strawberry and banana smoothie with a healthy twist.

Turmeric is gaining in popularity this year.  I was already using it a lot (I have a 1 kg bag of organic turmeric in my pantry!), but I only recently started using turmeric in other recipes that only Indian curries. For example, my favorite hot drink when I feel sick is a Roiboos tea with fresh ginger, raw honey, cayenne, lemon and ..... turmeric !  Maybe you caught my recent post, Zen turmeric pancakes w/blood orange syrup ? These are so delicious they've become one of our top morning treats ! You probably also heard about the golden milk, which is a sweet turmeric plant-based milk with a touch of black pepper.  

This smoothie is so refreshing! My son loves it ! Every time I give my baby girl her own little bowl of that bright and citrusy smoothie she also asks for "more more more" (in the sign language of course... ;)! When we don't feel like drinking a green smoothie, this one's definitely one of our favourites! The blood oranges and the lime juice pair perfectly with the hemp seeds and the goji berries.  

This is a pretty basic recipe that I make every 2-3 days or so.  This homemade almond milk is way better than the nut milks you can buy in stores! 

Kombucha, also known as the Elixir of life in Imperial China, is a lightly effervescent fermented drink made with tea.  It is also referred to as "kombucha mushroom tea", but in reality, it's not a mushroom, but a colony of bacteria and yeast. Therefore, this delicious beverage is high in probiotics and will keep your gut and immune system happy! 

Look at that color ! When you see color, you see nutrients. This beet n' blueberry smoothie is delicious, fresh and filled with proteins (hemp!).  It is also loaded with fibres, antioxydants and is a great booster for the immune system, since the main ingredients are kale, blueberries and beets. The fresh mint really helps to balance the "earthy taste" of the beets and kale and is so refreshing.  Don't be afraid of using frozen blueberries in drinks if they aren't in season. Serve this smoothie with coconut whipped cream (see tutorial here) and I promise you'll be delighted ! 

Ever since we bought our high speed blender (Vitamix), we drink a smoothie almost every morning.  At first, my husband was complaining about their taste when I added few green leaves. But last year, on our trip to New York, we took a green smoothie at the Grand Central Terminal in a small grab-and-go shop. It probably was the first green smoothie my husband drank with good appetite (in seconds!).  The secret ingredients were fresh ginger and lime juice.  We now add those in every green smoothie we make and they always come out great ! No more complaints !