Taste the green this St Patricks weekend

Why not celebrate St. Patricks day by consuming something nice and healthy, instead of green Guinness!!!

Okay, back to normal colour text, the green gives me a headache ;-)

 To make this a little easier for you, here are a couple of green recipes for you to try, one soup and one smoothie. Enjoy.

Green soup with Broccoli, Spinach and Ginger.

This easy soup can be thin or thick, depending upon the amount of water you add. Best of all, it cooks quickly.

 Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons diced onion
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
4 cups fresh broccoli, cut up

1/2 pound of fresh spinach leaves
1 parsnip, peeled & chopped
1/2 rib of celery, trimmed, chopped
A handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Fresh water, as needed
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
Lemon or lime juice

Instructions:

Using a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and stir in the garlic, onion, and ginger to season the oil. Add the broccoli, spinach, parsnips, celery and parsley, and stir a bit until the spinach wilts and collapses. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables. Remember the spinach will cook down quite a bit, so don't add too much water at first. You can always thin the soup later, if you need to.
Bring to a high simmer, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to a medium simmer. Cook for fifteen minutes or so until the veggies are softened.
Use a soupstick (a hand-held immersion blender) to puree the soup.
Taste test. Does it need brightening? Add a squeeze of citrus.

Options:
To add some healthy protein, soak some hemp seeds overnight and simmer for 10-15 minutes before you start the rest of the recipe.
To make this a creamy (and still non-dairy) soup add a dash of coconut milk.
And if you're not averse to grains, serve with a spoonful of hot cooked rice in the center of the bowl- so fabulous.

Serves 4.

Green Strawberry-Kiwi Lemonade

1 kiwi (peeled)

¾ cup of frozen or fresh strawberries

¼- ½  cup of frozen or fresh pineapple

½ lemon (peeled and seeds removed)

2 cups of spinach

1-1 ½ cups of water, coconut water or almond milk.

Both of these recipes are high in phytonutrients, are great for fighting inflammation and the ginger helps to settle an uneasy stomach.. Perfect if you overdo the celebrations ;-)