Summer Smoothies in a Wisconsin Winter

I'm getting prepared to do a 30 day Potato Cleanse...yes, you heard me potato's!!! Nothing but potato's and a few added starch free veggies for 30 days. Potato's are resistant starch and are amazing for gut flora...which i need right now! BUT!!! I have all this amazing, beautiful, and tasty fruit laying around. So for a few days I will be making a ton on smoothies and posting my new recipe creations here on the blog and on instagram @FuelYourMove @ElleHelgeson come check us out and comment that your from the blog. I love making IG friends.

One Juice turned into 7 successful recipes! >> Making the most of your PULP!

This Juice right here started it all!

Well really, it was my kids fault. My little guy asked me for a drink of apple juice. Who knew it was going to turn into a recipe frenzy. I headed into the kitchen around 3 and started juicing some fresh apples I had left from Picking a few weeks ago! We had just visited the Cranberry Farms here in Wisconsin this past weekend while my In-Laws were passing through on their 40th Anniversary Vacation through Michigan and Wisconsin. My hubby purchased me 25lbs of fresh ones from Glacial Lake Cranberry Farm in Cranmoor. I had to put them to good use. 

I juiced separately:

 11 cups of Cranberries

5 apples

I added the cranberry juice to the apple juice until I liked the desired taste and set the rest of the cranberry juice in the fridge in a sealed container. 

Now what to do with all that pulp, because if you know me at all. I do not waste anything! So within a few seconds I was brainstorming. 

First. I strained the now cranapple juice and there was a thin pulp, exactly the consistency of apple sauce.....so!!!! I used it. I chopped up half of a pear my child didn't finish and added it to the fresh applesauce. It doesn't look very appealing but I assure you, it was delicious.

Next, I thought some cookies sounded good. I've been in a dehydrating mood again lately and this was perfect. I made two batches. One small batch I added a banana and chia seeds then tossed them in the oven for my kid. It made my whole apartment (did i mention we are moving into our new house friday, whoohoo!) smell like spiced apples. Pretty much it felt like Christmas in here, amazing. I took the second larger batch added some dates and spread them onto my dehydrator sheets for Raw Cookies. Have I mentioned before I really like to keep all the nutrients in my food intact, so they are bioavailable and give my body what it needs to heal itself at a cellular level. Living Foods is where it's at, baby!!!! 

The next small batch I added another tablespoon of Chia Seeds and set it in the fridge to gelatinize and form into a tasty Fruity Jello. It also does not appeal to like anyone in this horrible iPhone photo but... I promise this was also amazeballs.

I also had a little leftover of what I used for the cookies that I set aside for tomorrow night for topping my Banana Nicecream with. But until then, here's my finished Baked Cookies. Then dehydrated ones are still in the oven. I admit, my child didn't think they were delightful looking enough to eat. So i indulged myself and they are so good! I was pretty proud of myself. Especially, since I flipped them over about a hundred times. I'm super inpatient when it comes to baking (which I never do, for that exact reason). Overall I would make them again for my husband ( I won't need to taste test next time ).

Lastly, but not least in any way shape or form. This salad!

Kale, spinach, avocado, pomegranate, beet, cranberry, kiwi, and the rest of the pulp mixed together was an incredible salad. I sprinkled some fresh lemon juice, but I'm sure with a raspberry vinaigrette, honey mustard, or olive oil dressing it would be just as great.

I guess technically thats 8 recipes in total including the Nicecream!

So I'd say I was in a lets eat everything in the kitchen kind of mood. Yet, it was all healthy. So it won't stick to my butt in any way :)

What recipe would you try here????

Strawberry Key Lime Cheesecake

Let me just tell you! I have never made a cake, cheesecake, or pie in my life (besides the raw ones)! So when I started out making this cheesecake I had no idea how it would come out, what I was doing, or if anyone other than me would eat it! So when this bad boy was served up. YUM! That's all I can say! I was pretty proud of myself. This was my first attempt at a RAW Vegan Cheesecake and I will definitely be making more in my future. Especially, now that I understand more and more of raw technique's. The next one will be completely nut free, as I don't I consume a diet low in fats and proteins, and high in Carbs. But one piece every now and then is like having a super guilty piece of cake, but!!!!!!! It's healthy! Tricked those taste buds! They thought they were getting something bad! Hahahahaha~that was with an evil laugh, in case you couldn't tell :) If you'd like to see what I make on a daily basis check out my instagram @elle_helgeson or our Facebook Page Here. And if you make any of the recipe shown on our blog or you make your own awesome recipes hashtag #fuelyourmove so I can check them out! So here's the recipe below vvvvv

RECIPE

Crust:

2 cups pitted Medjool Dates

1 cup Almonds

1 tbsp Natural Sweetener (agave, maple syrup, honey{non-Vegan}

1/4 - 1/2 tbsp cinnamon

Process until it starts to ball up. Line a small pie pan or cupcake pan for mini pies with wax paper. Press dough into pan until evenly spread. I use a thickness of about 1/4". Set it in freezer to firm up while you make the next layer. 

Read below picture for next layer.

Filling:

1 cup Cashews (soaked for an hour for smoother texture)

juice of 2-4 Lemons (depending on your love for sour)

1 tbsp Natural Sweetener (agave, maple syrup, honey{non-Vegan}

1/2 scoop JP Vanilla Complete or 1" Vanilla Bean or 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (although I recommend Complete because it's full of amazing benefits and lean plant protein)

Add Water as blending to smooth consistency, should resemble ricotta cheese.

Optional: 2 drops of Lime Oil ( I use Young Living )

Pour into crust and spread evenly.

Set in freezer.

Keep following below for topping!!!!!

Topping: 

Note: ( I make this ahead of time, either the day before or just a few hours is fine, it just needs a little more than 30 minutes to gelatinize. )

4 tbsp Chia Seeds

1 cup blended strawberry puree (our any fruit you love)

Mix together and set in refrigerator to firm up (gelatinize). Then scoop out and spread evenly into pie.

Set in freezer to firm up and then top with your favorite fruit or raw chocolate drizzle, or both like me!!!

Drizzle recipe below!

Raw Chocolate Drizzle:

1tbsp carob powder or cacao

1 tbsp unrefined cold pressed virgin coconut oil

1/3-1/2 scoop JP Chocolate Complete (you could add more carob or chocolate sweet drops)

Add natural sweetener if needed. I use about 1 tbsp Local Pure Maple Syrup.

Stir until smooth. Drizzle on top. Or dip some strawberries in, let them firm up in freezer (takes only a few minutes). and top your cheesecake with those!!!!!

BEFORE SERVING TAKE OUT OF THE FREEZER FOR 30 MINUTES TO SOFTEN!

ENJOY! I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, AND ANY FEEDBACK!!!!! There will be a new recipe that is nut free coming soon!!!! So check back!

Saying Goodbye to Our First Home

          This is not the usual house tour, this is the saying goodbye house tour. My husband took on a new job and we moved right outside Green Bay, Wisconsin. We upped and moved within two weeks time. Leaving behind all of our family, the only home I've ever known, and all of my memories and friends. As scary as that sounds, I was more than willing and excited for this new opportunity to start over. 

OUR LAST TIME AT THE HOUSE

    This was my first home, our first home. Back in 1982 my parents bought this home, I was born there. Raised there, and then Back in 2010 my husband and I bought my childhood home from my Father who wanted to have less responsibility. My husband loving yard work and my love for decorating and in home repair and design seemed like it would be a fun task to fix the 1946 Colonial Ranch up. In 2013 we had our little Cole man and he shared the same room that was once mine when I was a little girl. 

Living Room & Foyer

This home is not the decorated house it was my whole life, because this is the staging phase. However, we just closed and it now belongs to someone else. 30 Years of memories and it's all gone. Oddly, enough I was not sad, but glad to have get rid of all the negative emotions that took their tole on my life in that home. My parents got divorced in that home, and it always had a very negative vibe since that time. What in the world was I thinking when we bought it. The only thing that was weird was taking down my Wedding Dress out of my childhood closest that had hung there for my entire life. It was my Mother's Wedding dress before me. Leaving the home empty was a regretful feeling but that quickly faded on our trip back home to Green Bay. That changed so fast, right? I now call Wisconsin home. We have Wisconsin license plates, drivers licenses, and we will be closing on our New Home in exactly a month from Today!!!! I can't wait to give you the new house tour. But until then, here is the home I grew up in and I called home for my entire life thus far. 

 My office & studio space

 Dinning Room

 Kitchen

 Cole's Room ( My childhood bedroom )

 Our Bedroom

 Bathroom

 Basement

 Deck

 Garden

Cole & I sledding this past winter

Aspen guarding her yard

Aspen playing in the snow

My Mom pregnant with me and Myself pregnant with Cole in the same spot in our yard

This was the day before I gave birth to Cole

The girls playing in the spring draft

Dutch Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

I'm definitely not one to ever promote eating anything high fat, plant based or not. However, I'm a realist and know a lot of people love having a healthy snack or two up their sleeve. If one is going to eat fats, why not some healthy ones right. So I was having a I didn't eat enough calories and carbs for breakfast kind of morning so I went to the cupboard to whip up something sweet. By accident it ended up like cookie dough and was freaking delicious and the perfect amount to share between me and my little guy, and completely satisfied my craving. Who doesn't love cookie dough, right?! Especially a healthy all vegan one, that's actually filled with lots of nutrients and macro nutrition. There is even nutrition from 24 plants in there! Enjoy!!!!

This recipe is very customizable. You can change up honey or agave for syrup. Carob chips, chocolate chips, or cacao nibs. Peanut Butter switched out for any nut butter, pb2 or even blended dates. You could even switch out the chocolate complete for vanilla and have a whole different flavor.

These would even be perfect for rolling into little balls and freezing for a party or individual bites for after dinner dessert. I split mine up into two servings, although it is a normal size for 1 person so don't feel bad if you indulge a little. :)

Calories per recipe 364
Carbs                     40g
Fat                         17g
Protein                   18g
More than 8g of fiber

Toothbrush Love

Have you ever really though much about what products you use on your body? For instance as a hairstylist years ago, I was informed that using wood and natural bristles are best for your hair! After you think about it, it makes sense right?! Well we have always bought chemical free products as we have replaced old ones. But moving to Wisconsin has made it so much easier. We pretty much threw out all our old crap. Yep, crap! So of course we needed to buy new stuff!!! Shopping!!!!!! Actually, I hate shopping. So i drove to my local amazon and ordered some good ole' eco friendly non-toxic goodies to restock my home and I will be showing you over the next several weeks, some of my favorites!

    As a Mommy of a two year who is very interested in brushing his teeth, we started out with a cute little silicone one made by Green Sprout. He loved it, and I was happy he could chew on that non-toxic brush as much as he wanted. However, some little girl decided to grab it and shove it in her mouth one day, my poor baby was traumatized, lol! So in search of some new brushes was on my list. I decided to try these babies out! And then of course I had to personalize them for each member of our family! By the way, mine is the green one. The guys are purple and pink, they are so manly!

I'm not a complete Saint yet, so I painted them with acrylic paint from the $1 store and Modge Podge, also from the $1 store. You can find these toothbrushes on Amazon HERE.

Carrot Cake Shake

I was asked months ago to create a Carrot Cake Shake, I finally figured one out! I was pretty proud of myself. This was so good, and my 19 month old son, did not share very much of my shake with me, haha! You can always leave out the water and add replace it with almond milk or vanilla almond milk instead to make it extra tasty! I hope you enjoy it!

I love my Plant Protein Shakes for Lunch, I'm a liquid and fast meal kind of girl for Lunch otherwise I will starve myself and then binge out later....so....it solves my dilemma and I've now lost 60lbs since starting Juice Plus Capsules and Shakes combined. This is not a weight loss program at all but it has balanced out my thyroid and hormone issues and I've finally been able to lose the weight and workout again after years of immobility! Game changer!