Mango Pineapple Salsa

So I have been reading a great book Anti Cancer. It has some great tips on how you can take care of your body better. I love those kind of books.  One of the things he recommends is eating 25 servings of fruits and vegetables a week. He also said it is a good idea to include variety in your servings. So this salsa is a great way to include a lot of variety into your servings for the week. The extra bonus is it tastes great too. It got a thumbs up from my family.

Ingredients

2 C diced  fresh pineapple
2 C diced mangoes (I thawed frozen)
1/4 C red pepper diced
1/2  C chopped red onion
2 T minced jalapeño
1/4 C chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
3 T chia * Optional (nice thickener)

Directions serves 4-6

1. Place all the ingredients except chia in a medium bowl and toss the mixture.
2. Toss the chia on top and then toss the mixture again. The chia adds nutritional benefits also it works as a nice thickener. It is Delish!

Mango Chia Dressing on Tossed Salad

It is so fast and easy to make your own salad dressings at home with a blender. They are so much healthier for you too. I love the natural sweetness of mangoes so they are a perfect choice for a salad dressing. Chia added to the dressing boosts up the protein and also works as a nice thickener. This is a great way to enjoy a healthy salad.

Ingredients

Dressing

1 C mangoes frozen
1/2 C water
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 T olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 T honey
2 T chia

1. Pour all the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. Place in fridge while you make the salad.

Salad

4 C spinach
1 C chopped broccoli
1/2 C dried cherries
1/2 C dried apricots
4 green onions chopped
4 stalks of celery chopped
1/2 C diced carrots
feta cheese * optional
sunflower or pumpkin seeds or both

1. Toss all the ingredients together in a bowl, and serve with the dressing.

Refreshing Watermelon Mango Slushies

So my sweet daughter Juleen that helps me keep my teeth clean. She is a dental hygienist. Was telling me about when they were in Thailand last fall they would drink wonderful watermelon slushies. So I thought it sounded really refreshing. So I gave it a whirl. My son Derek and I really enjoyed it Yum. It would be a fun drink to serve for Memorial weekend. Enjoy!

Ingredients  serves 2

2 C watermelon Chopped 

8 ice cubes

1 C mangoes cubed frozen

2 lime wedges 

Directions

1. Pour all the ingredients into the blender except the lime wedges. Blend until smooth.

2. Pour into glasses and serve with lime wedges. I just squeezed it in and stirred it up. 

3. Enjoy a wonderful refreshing treat. 

*Check out this refreshing creamy melon slushie.  

*Check out this refreshing strawberry watermelon sorbet.

Tropical Green Smoothie

So it is that great time of the year to eat a lot of great fruits. I love making them into smoothies. If you add some greens and some other healthy ingredients you have a great meal or snack. There are so many yummy smoothie recipes. This is one that I came up with today when I was making my breakfast. It ended up being pretty thick you may need a spoon. Isn't it wonderful to get so much nutrition in one glass. A handful of nuts would be a great addition to the meal too.  It is a great way to start your day.  "Seize the day"!

Ingredients

1 C coconut milk or almond milk
1 handful of washed spinach
1/2 C frozen or fresh mangoes
1 frozen banana
1/4 C frozen or fresh pineapple
1/4 C old fashioned oatmeal
1 T chia
1 T flax seed


Directions Serves 1 to 2

1. Pour all the ingredients in the blender and let it whirl until all combined. Drink right away.  Enjoy

*For additional sweetness add a little honey. If you want it not as thick increase the liquid.

Mango Quinoa Brownie (gluten free)

So we are excited to announce that we are working on a new book about Quinoa. We are busy in the kitchen creating some new recipes. This is one of the recipes  that will be in the book. Most of recipes will not be on our blog. We thought it would be fun to share one as a teaser today. 

These brownies are moist and delicious you won't want to miss out on making these. The secret ingredient that I added to them was mangoes. It added to the moistness and made them delicious. It also helps to keep the fat down. They are just as yummy the next day too.  A nice bonus is they are gluten free if  you are concerned about that.  

Ingredients
1 1/2 C quinoa flour
1/2 C oat flour (gluten free)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3 T cocoa powder
3/4 C mangoes chopped up (I used frozen that I thawed)
1/2 C vanilla almond milk3 T grape seed oil
1/3 C honey ( vegan substitute 7-8 softened dates)
1 egg (vegan you could use 2 T ground flax)
1/2 C dark chocolate chips

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350.
2. In a mixing bowl pour in the measured quinoa flour, oat flour,  and cocoa. Stir together until all combined. Set the bowl aside.
3. In a blender blend the milk and mangoes until smooth. Then add the honey, oil and egg and blend until combined. Add the dry ingredients into the blender and blend until just combined.
4. Fold in the chips. Pour into a greased square pan. (I love to use stoneware to cook grains in. They just seem to turn out better.)
5. Bake about 25 to 30 min. They should pop back up when you touch them slightly. If they are done.
Let them cool and then cut them up and serve.

Hawaiian Whole Grain Mango Bread

 So we were in Hawaii last week. It was so nice to be warm. One of the fun things we heard about there was they have mango bread. I didn't have any there but as excited about making some when I got home. This is what I came up with. It is delicious and moist and you will love it. The mango is a wonderful addition to the bread. The texture of this bread was wonderful. Read here about some of the benefits of eating mangoes. This bread would be a great addition to your breakfast or anytime of the day. Have a wonderful Valentine's weekend! Tell those you love that you love them. :)

Also want to mention it is Britney's 30th birthday today. She is my partner on this blog and also my beautiful oldest daughter that has brought so much joy into my life as well as my husbands. It was so wonderful to have her on Valentines. I will never forget the first time of holding her. My dream of being a mother had come true. She had big beautiful eyes that were ready to see the world as soon as she came out. She is now a mother too. She has brought 3 beautiful little grandsons into our lives. Life is sweet. I am so glad to be her Mom and have her as a friend too. I love you Britney!     

Ingredients
1 1/4 C spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 C coconut oil
1/2 C honey
2 eggs beaten
1 C mango puree
1/4 C unsweetened shredded coconut
*optional 1/4 C chopped nuts and or raisins (I didn't add them)

Directions Heat oven to 350 Grease an 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" loaf pan 
1. Pour measured flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a small bowl and whisk it until it is all combined.Set aside.
2. In another small bowl pour in measured oil, honey, eggs and mango puree. Beat together until all creamy 1-2 min.
3. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Stir with a spoon until all combined. Fold in the coconut.
4. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan. Place on the counter and let rise about 10 min. So the baking soda and baking powder can do their job.
5. Place in oven and bake until toothpick comes out clean. About 40 min.
6. Take out of pan and let cool on a wire rack.  Enjoy! Happy Birthday to Britney today. I love you!
 
                   

Refreshing Mango Coconut Sorbet (Healthy)

I was so excited to find recently that Wal Mart has bags of frozen cut up mangoes. They are sweet and yummy.  I was thrilled to find them. This is a wonderful refreshing treat with no added sugar. I was also interested to find out some of the heath benefits you could get from Mangoes. I have another great recipe I made with mangoes stay tuned I will post tomorrow. I love the color of them to. It makes me feel like I am getting some sunshine in a bowl.

Here are some of the benefit to mangoes:
1. Improves digestion- people who suffer with acidity and its enzymes can benefit from them. 
2. Lowers cholesterol- High levels of soluble fiber, pectin, and vitamin c. It can lower LDL Cholesterol.
3. Source of vitamin E.
4. Improves concentration and memory power.
5. High in iron.
6. High in antioxidants 
7. Also magnesium and phosphorus.  

Ingredients 
1 C coconut milk or almond milk (Unsweetened)
2 C frozen chopped mangoes 
1 frozen banana
1/2 tsp of coconut extract * optional

Directions Serves 2-3
1. In a high powered blender pour  milk, mangoes,bananas, and *extract.   
2. Blend until creamy. You may have to stop and stir a couple times.
3. If you want it more solid put in the freezer for an hour. Enjoy!

* You can leave out the coconut and use almond milk if you are not a coconut fan.