avocado pear vanilla

This is a great smoothie for starting the day.  It fills me up and keeps me full longer. I've also brought this one with me when I'm out and it gets me going again if I'm on the go.  

Some good things about avocados:

• About 75% of an avocado's calories come from fat, most of which is monounsaturated fat.  Yes good fat!
• On a 100 g basis, avocados have 35% more potassium than bananas (even more if you blend up the pit!).  They are rich in B Vitamins as well as Vitamin E and K.
• Avocados have a high fiber content.  

Avocado Pear Vanilla Smoothie

-  1 Ripe Avocado

-  1 Pear 

-  1/2 t Vanilla 

-  1 C Ice

Blend and pour. 

Some variations include chopping up the pear and freezing it and replacing the ice cubes with frozen pear chunks.  Also, to sweeten up this smoothie you can add a little honey, agave or apple juice.  I've tried it with pear juice and it is a REAL treat!

If you are wondering about the kind of vanilla that we use in the Juice Caboose, I would like to introduce you to one delicacy that the Juice Caboose will not live without!  We purchase pure ground vanilla that is made from top quality Ugandan vanilla beans.  It is 100% pure ground vanilla that is both unheated and Certified Organic.  We use a minimal amount in our smoothies but it makes all the difference in flavor.  We purchase from Real Raw Foods in Naramata BC, a great BC company that we are proud to support.  They buy the best products for the best prices and all of their products are well researched and approved to meet high raw food standards.

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When I'm at home and don't always have some vanilla bean powder to dip into to, it is decadent and not cheap, I use Frontier Vanilla Flavour.  It is an alcohol-free vanilla extract and although it is not raw it suits me fine in my smoothies when I want to add some vanilla.  I would never use my vanilla powder in my baking.  That's just me being cost efficient.  It is way too precious for me to put into anything cooked and lose it's raw goodness and vitality.  

In old medical literature, vanilla is described as an aphrodisiac and a remedy for fevers.  A little something to keep in mind for Valentines Day coming up!  

Juicy Suzy

sweetly raw chocolates for valentines

The incredibly talented raw chocolatier Heathy from Sweetly Raw (Ontario) is doing a Valentines Day Special with her raw vegan chocolates.  She's taking orders up until February 10th.  Choose from Chocolate Truffles, Caramel Pecan Choccie Cluster, Pecans and Caramel in Dark Chocolate, Jumbo Chocolate Almond Butter Cups (YUM!) and Jumbo Peanut Butter Cups (not raw).  Treat yourself or your sweetie.  Stay at her blog a while and pick up a few great recipes and maybe make something yourself!  To check out the V-Day special click here!  

Enjoy,

Juicy Suzy

thick, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free hot chocolate

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Tried an incredibly delicious hot chocolate recipe this evening that I just had to share.  I stayed up way to late drinking it and watching Twin Peaks!    The Spunky Coconut is a great resource that I like to check out for gluten free, casein free and sugar free recipes.  I've been experimenting with coconut flour and this is a great resource for it!  Find the recipe here!

Enjoy!

Juicy Suzy

georgia's greens

My pup, finishing off my Green Smoothie.  Dino kale, strawberries, coconut.  It was a good one!  

new juice for the caboose

Why We Are Fundraising:  Much to our delight, our first summer was a success.  We are fortunate to have booked Folk Fest and a regular spot at the Kits Farmer's Market so we can't help but believe that we are onto something good.  We do need some financial support to keep up with the positive momentum.  The requested collective funds of $2500 would help us afford a new generator which would be quieter and provide more power to the truck.  This would allow us to keep our coveted spot at Kit's Farmer's Market which is strengthening their noise restrictions as well as expand into other Markets and events with noise restrictions.  We are also hoping for a coveted street and roaming permit and a quieter generator would make us more welcome among business establishments.  A new generator will also provide us with the opportunity to expand our menu to a regular hot menu, including hot beverages and soup.  At this time our current generator is loud and at its max for power.

The $2500 will be enough to cover more than half of the cost of the generator.  We are hoping to cover the rest with a Government Grant and any additional with our own funds.  We have already invested all of our personal savings (and then some...) into the truck and thought we would try to fundraise.  If we happen to receive more than 100% (fingers crossed!) anything extra will go toward a solar panel fund which is our dream power solution and a future goal.

The Bigger Picture:  The immediate embrace of this business makes us believe that people are craving healthier options to balance the demands of our over-processed and saturated lives.

Seeing people enjoy my smoothies by giving the nod after the first sip or already establishing regulars that look forward to their weekly treat at the market makes me feel great pride and optimism.  It makes me feel like I'm doing my part to make life just a bit happier and healthier by having followed my dreams.  And that to me, is SUCCESS!

If you are interested in funding a new generator please click here at our Go Fund Me site.  Did I mention there are incentives?  Oh yes, there are little goodies in it for the donors so go ahead and check out what might be in it for you!

Thank you for reading and thank you for your support.

Juicy Suzy

carrot mango banana

My then 4 year old is the one that would request this combination last summer.  I guess you could say that this is his recipe!  I made one up for us this morning and it was my idea to add a little nutmeg which is warming in the midst of the ice cubes and the winter weather.  This one filled us up good before we hit Ambleside Beach with our dog.  This smoothie is also tasty without the banana but we enjoy the sweetness and creaminess that the banana provide.  You can also eliminate the ice cubes and just use frozen bananas or mangos or both.  Enjoy!

Carrot Mango Banana Smoothie

-  1 C Fresh Carrot Juice

-  1 Banana

-  1 Atulfo Mango

-  1/2 C Ice Cubes

BLEND!  ENJOY!

XO, 

Juicy Suzy

juice caboose featured on tea with mommy

I'm honoured to have the Juice Caboose and I featured on the Vancouver based parent resource Tea With Mommy by the exceptional local mama Helena D.  Tea With Mommy supports local parent entrepreneurs as well as local parents and caregivers with great resources to help them close the gap between their parenting goals and realities.  Read my feature here.  Please do take a peak!  I'm thrilled to be considered a family friendly local business and I'm so grateful for the growing support and community!

Juicy Suzy

Green Smoothies For Everyone

I recently lent out my copy of the awesome and informative book Green For Life by Victoria Boutenko.  This book changed my life, Green Smoothies took over my life and Green Smoothies were my main passion and inspiration for getting into the juice and smoothie business.  I decided to post this video I made 4 years ago on her Facebook page to help her along.  She believed that her Magic Bullet wouldn't blend up veggies but sure enough I have a video of myself making Green Smoothies in my regular blender AND a walk through of how to make one with success like a Vitamix in a Magic Bullet.  After posting it a few other friends thanked me for the inspiration and made smoothies of their own.  I thought I would post it here for the first time and hopefully inspire a few more.  Happy blending!  XO.  S

superfoods

I was recently in line up for soup at Whole Foods and I overheard a mother explaining to her two sons that beans are a superfood.  This little dialogue really peaked my interest.  I had always understood that superfoods were only exceptional and uncommon foods.  I wondered where this woman was getting her information and did a little search when I got home.

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I quickly discovered on my very first Google search of superfoods that most commonly lists from health food professionals include beans.  In fact the things that I considered superfoods were not in some of the top results.  I wondered why that was.

I don't dispute that beans are in fact a healthy food.  Those that live as vegetarians and vegans gain a lot from the benefits of having legumes in their diet.  They are rich in fiber and iron.  The thing is, I still don't consider beans a superfood.  In fact, keeping legumes including peanuts and soy out of my diet is one of the best things I can normally do for my body.  My skin is better, my weight goes down and I don't have all the uncomfortable digestive ailments that come with digesting beans.  I guess what makes me really wonder is how a food that can't be easily digested let alone eaten in its raw food state can be considered a superfood.  It sure isn't super for me.

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My experiences with superfoods are those that are promoted by most raw foodists.  Things like Maca, Acai and Spirulina are just a few of those most commonly listed.  Yet, I started to think about the raw food superfoods from the perspective of the bean lady.  For example, perhaps Spirulina isn't for everyone.  Last summer while running the Juice Caboose the one smoothie that proved to not be palatable for all was the Bluebonnet - Blueberries, Hemp Seeds, Spirulina, Vanilla Bean and Banana.  In addition to the very distinctive taste of Spriulina it also has very specific healing properties.  A few years ago I was using Spirulina as an iron supplement.  After an appointment with a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor, I took her advice on trying Chlorella instead of Spirulina because Spirulina was cooling and Chlorella was neutral.  That small change made all the difference in my well being and the coldness that I had long experienced went away.      

The conclusion that I've come to is that diets and foods are a lot like fashion or music.  There is no one diet or food that is perfect for everyone.  There is no one diet or food that without exception all people on the planet could equally thrive on.  There truly isn't one list of foods that everyone should eat.  Someone that doesn't have my DNA, my chemical makeup, my food intolerances and my blood type probably thrives on a high legume, vegan diet.  But this little belly does not.  And of course, my passion for coconut in all it's forms - butter, oil and as a refreshing, alkalinizing and hydrating drink does not without exception please others.  

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In the end I think it's best that we all figure out what are own superfoods are.  For my family our superfoods include coconut oil and water, watermelon, berries, blue green algae and green leafy vegetables for Green Smoothies.  It took me many years of experimenting to know that and I guess that is my best recommendation for all.  Sure you can Google and check out lots of sites and books and professional opinions about what you 'should' be eating but when it comes down to it only you know what truly is best for you.  Use the sites and books and professional opinions as a starting point to try new things for their health benefits and what they have to offer to you.  Take your time.  Another great way to figure out what works for you is elimination.  Taking a specific food out of your diet for a time can speak volumes about its effects on you.  Again take your time.

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It's a New Year and another chance for us to fulfill our goals of eating better and taking care of ourselves.  Make this a chance to turn inwards and become more self aware and write the book on you and your ultimate diet full of superfoods.

Juicy Suzy