Green Smoothie

One of my most missed treats are smoothies. Because many fruits are high in acid, smoothies tend to be a caution on the IC diet. I stumbled upon a green smoothie on Pinterest one day, and I was intrigued. Unfortunately the recipe was disappointing, because it included fruits not on the IC-Diet.

Well, the interest was planted, and I decided to give smoothies a try. It took a few times, but this is one of my favorite combinations of ingredients. The banana is definitely the strongest flavor, and I don't even taste the spinach or avocado. The liquid component of the smoothie is water given that pretty much all juices are a no-go. My favorite thing about this particular smoothie is the creamy-ness that it has because of the avocado. This is a very generously sized smoothie; it keeps me full for hours! You could definitely serve it as a snack for 2-3 people if wanted. 

Do be aware that bananas are a caution on the IC-Diet list because of the high potassium content. However, I tolerate them just fine assuming that my diet is good, and I don't go overboard. If you haven't tried them, try a small bit first and see how things go for you!

Ingredients:

1 banana

1 pear

1 avocado

1 cup spinach, packed

1 cup water

1/2 cup ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth!

Pesto

You've probably heard it before, but pesto is an IC staple. Some of my favorite ways to enjoy it is on pasta, as pizza sauce, combined with cream cheese for a dip/spread, and simply as a way to add a punch of flavor to any dish.

What I love about pesto is that it has a nice bold punch of flavor, yet is completely IC-safe. This is a rarity, and I love that it is something to safely enjoy in a variety of ways.

The recipe makes quite a bit of pesto- around 1 and a half cups.  I usually make it and use it to top pasta for dinner that evening. I then freeze the remaining pesto in 1/4 - 1/2 cup batches as this is what I usually need for any recipe. 

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (fresh seems to be safest for me, but I've heard other people say that they prefer the canned)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup fresh parsley

1. Spread pine nuts on a cookies sheet and place in the oven at 375 degrees until golden, about 5-10 minutes. Make sure to stir them at least once during the cooking process to ensure that they don't get too brown on one side.
2. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth!