A Beautiful Spring Day

My extremely talented and beautiful roommate, Liaht 

 

Theo the Bunny!



Sundried Tomato Basil Olive Oil Biscuits and my take on a post-workout Green Smoothie

Yesterday was such a beautiful spring day.  It began with a pleasant walk to Feast for some coffee.  I spent most of the afternoon enjoying the weather on my porch and choosing not to study for my two exams today (oops).  Liaht and our neighbor jammed out on the violin and guitar, while I made a that yellow flower headband on Liaht, played with the bunny,  and eventually joined the jam sesh on the tambourine.

A perfect day is not complete without baking.  I drew my inspiration for these olive-oil-based biscuits from Le Petit Cafe's rendition at the Bloomington Farmer's Market.  Adding sundried tomato and fresh basil to the recipe is the perfect way to give the biscuits more flavor without any added fat :).  There is no butter in the recipe, and really no need for any extra.  I also had time for some midday hot yoga, which is another essential part of my perfect day. My post-workout green smoothie features vitamin C rich kiwi, spinach, lime juice, avocado, aloe vera juice, and honey.  I always rolled my eyes when people claimed that "green smoothies can be good!" and "you can't even taste the spinach! "especially after tasting the unpleasant green smoothie from Bolthouse Farms.  Seriously though, this smoothie is probably one of my favorite smoothies EVER.  I tried this recipe for a Kiwi-Avocado-Lime smoothie.  The bold flavor of the kiwi and lime prompted me to realize that this recipe would be amazing for covering up the taste of spinach!  This is seriously the BEST way to get in a dose of raw veggies without even realizing it!

Days like these really make me realize how grateful I am for the wonderful people in my life.  Maybe this warm weather just has me an in exceptional mood, but I am going to miss my Blooomington friends so much next year.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO BASIL OLIVE OIL DROP BISCUITS
Makes 6-8 Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tsp of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp baking powder
handful of sundried tomatoes (about 3-4 chopped into fine pieces)
handful of fresh basil (about 4-5 leaves chopped into fine pieces
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F
2. Sift together dry ingredients 
3. Chop the sundried tomatoes and basil.  Add to the dry mixture.  
4. Add milk and olive oil
5. Mix well until thick, doughy consistency 
6. Spoon onto a baking sheet, using roughly a tablespoon per biscuit 
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden
8. Serve warm with iced tea and enjoy 

SO SIMPLE and SO delicious.  My friends loved them so much, I had to make a second batch later that night.  Doubling the recipe is probably a good idea if you have more than 3 people.  

Inspired by THIS recipe 

DELICIOUS GREEN SMOOTHIE

Makes 1 healthy and delicious post-workout smoothie

Ingredients: 

2 Kiwis, skinned and cubed

1/2 avocado, cubed 

1/8 cup + 1 tsp lime juice 

Handful of spinach (about 1 cup lightly packed) 

1-2 tsp honey 

1/4 cup aloe vera juice (available at most Asian markets) 

1-2 ice cubes (optional) 

Directions 

1. Literally just put everything in a blender and blend till smooth.  

Kiwi is excellent for any type of post-workout snack because it has an incredible amount of vitamin C, which helps the muscles recover if they are sore.  Kiwis also contain more vitamin C than an orange, which is part of the reason it is considered a superfood. 

Inspired by THIS recipe