We’ve teamed up with Vitamix to bring you a bevy of blender-friendly recipes that you can whip up morning, noon, and night. Even better? Their A3500 Gourmet SmartPrep Kitchen System does double duty thanks to the food processor attachment, leaving you …
We've teamed up with Vitamix to bring you a bevy of blender-friendly recipes that you can whip up morning, noon, and night. Even better? Their A3500 Gourmet SmartPrep Kitchen System does double duty thanks to the food processor attachment, leaving you with even more delicious possibilities.
As a general rule, I try to cook about 70 percent of the meals I eat. This means a lot of recipe planning, which happens like clockwork every Sunday in a version of groundhog day that's sometimes easy, but more often...not. Some weeks, I rely on my prized collection of cookbooks to help me out, other times I call my mom for help, and then there are times when I get my cooking inspo from the handiest gadgets in my kitchen: my blender and my food processor. Extra fluffy scrambled eggs? Please and thank you. Soup in a cinch? Yes please. Dessert that practically makes itself? Twist my arm!
Two weeks ago, an influencer discovered bugs in the gasket of her blender. Prior to the Great Bug Discovery, she had been using the blender daily but only washing it with soap “every third time.” While most people—especially the legion of blender-clean…
Two weeks ago, an influencer discovered bugs in the gasket of her blender. Prior to the Great Bug Discovery, she had been using the blender daily but only washing it with soap “every third time.” While most people—especially the legion of blender-cleaning enthusiasts that commented on the video—know that you should always wash your blender with soap and water, we're using this insect incident as an excuse to bring everyone up to speed on the most cutting-edge blender cleaning techniques.
Ideally, you should avoid washing your blender in the dishwasher. The dishwasher’s heat and detergent are more likely to inflict wear upon the blender than washing by hand. If you’d like to maximize your blender’s lifespan, hand-wash when possible.
This carrot ginger soup recipe is simple but comes out with a pure flavor and velvety texture! Everyone will love this bright orange puree.
Here’s a bright orange puree that that tastes like sunshine: Carrot Ginger Soup! This recipe is ideal for when you’ve got a big bag of carrots to use up, or when you’re in the midst of a gray season craving sun. We often avoid pureed soups around here because they’re not filling enough to be a meal. But this carrot ginger soup: this one’s worth taking time for! It’s great as a first course, or for lunch with grilled cheese. Here’s why it’s worth peeling and chopping all those carrots.
Ingredients in carrot ginger soup
Carrot ginger soup is a simple pureed soup made with carrots, onion and ginger. For maximum creaminess, this one’s got coconut milk for a velvety texture. It also adds a subtle fruitiness that compliments the carrot perfectly. You could substitute heavy cream for a richer soup, but we adore the flavor that coconut brings. Here’s what you’ll need for this soup:
Yellow onion
Carrots
Ginger root
Olive oil
Vegetable broth
Garlic powder
Cinnamon
Salt
Coconut milk
Most of the effort involved in this soup? Peeling and chopping the carrots! It takes a while to prep, but once you take the first bite: we promise you it will be worth it.
A quick way to peel ginger
Here’s a quick tip on how to peel ginger for this carrot ginger soup. Instead of using a vegetable peeler, here’s a trick: use a spoon! Ginger root is notoriously hard to peel with a vegetable peeler: it’s knobby and the skin is tough and stringy. But peeling it with a spoon works like a charm. It sounds unbelievable until you try it: but it’s the perfect tool for the uneven surface of ginger root.
Blending it up: a few tips!
Chop those veggies, sauté them up, and boil until the carrots are tender (head to the recipe below for exact details). The only fussy part of this carrot ginger soup is blending it! Here are some notes on blending:
While immersion blenders are handy, we like to use a standard blender here. With a stick blender, somehow we always end up with un-blended chunks and a mess all over our kitchen. It’s worth using a blender for this one!
Carefully transfer the hot soup using a ladle. Don’t pour it all into the blender, or you’ll get lots of hot splatters! A ladle is the way to go.
What to serve with carrot ginger soup
This carrot ginger soup is not a meal: just like most pureed soups. They’re meant as a first course, or a side dish that compliments another. For that reason, we usually avoid purees because we prefer spending cooking time on a main dish. But this carrot ginger soup is so tasty, it’s absolutely worth the prep time! Here are a few ways to accessorize it and make it into a meal:
Dice the onion. Peel and chop the carrots. Peel the ginger with a spoon, then mince it.
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the ginger, carrots, vegetable broth, garlic powder, cinnamon and salt and bring to a boil. Then simmer until the carrots are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Carefully transfer the hot soup to a blender using a ladle (or use an immersion blender). Add the coconut milk and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve swirled with a drizzle of coconut milk and topped with fresh cilantro.
Welcome to Kids & the Kitchen, our new landing pad for parents who love to cook. Head this way for kid-friendly recipes, helpful tips, and heartwarming stories galore—all from real-life parents and their little ones.
Halfway through 2020, that s…
Welcome to Kids & the Kitchen, our new landing pad for parents who love to cook. Head this way for kid-friendly recipes, helpful tips, and heartwarming stories galore—all from real-life parents and their little ones.
Halfway through 2020, that special parental year from hell, I purchased a high-speed blender after a late-night doom-scrolling session. Though I had publicly scoffed at the idea of “status” appliances—“No air fryer or Instant Pot will ever grace my kitchen,” I proclaimed—this pandemic purchase had me eating my words.
This grape smoothie recipe is tangy sweet with just 4 ingredients! It’s an easy breakfast or snack that’s a great use for frozen grapes. On our way to making smoothie recipes with all the fruits and vegetables, we met a smoothie that surprised us. This weirdly delicious Grape Smoothie! The flavor is such a pop of sweet tart and delicious, you might not believe it on first sip. Who knew frozen grapes were the key to the tastiest of all smoothies? Consider us impressed. This one stood out to us in our list of 30+ smoothies as a simple, easy and healthy way to feel like you’re eating a treat. Here’s what you need to know to make it! Ingredients in a grape smoothie This grape smoothie is ultra simple: in fact, it’s got one of the shortest ingredient lists for any of our smoothie recipes. Here’s what you need: Grapes: We prefer the sweet flavor of red grapes in this smoothie! If you have green grapes, you can certainly use them too. They’re a little more tart, so you could add a little honey or maple syrup as necessary. Banana: No need for frozen banana: use a room temperature […]
This grape smoothie recipe is tangy sweet with just 4 ingredients! It’s an easy breakfast or snack that’s a great use for frozen grapes.
On our way to making smoothie recipes with all the fruits and vegetables, we met a smoothie that surprised us. This weirdly delicious Grape Smoothie! The flavor is such a pop of sweet tart and delicious, you might not believe it on first sip. Who knew frozen grapes were the key to the tastiest of all smoothies? Consider us impressed. This one stood out to us in our list of 30+ smoothies as a simple, easy and healthy way to feel like you’re eating a treat. Here’s what you need to know to make it!
Ingredients in a grape smoothie
This grape smoothie is ultra simple: in fact, it’s got one of the shortest ingredient lists for any of our smoothie recipes. Here’s what you need:
Grapes: We prefer the sweet flavor of red grapes in this smoothie! If you have green grapes, you can certainly use them too. They’re a little more tart, so you could add a little honey or maple syrup as necessary.
Banana: No need for frozen banana: use a room temperature banana here.
Greek yogurt: We love adding Greek yogurt to smoothies because it’s protein packed. You can also make this smoothie vegan by simply adding more non-dairy milk.
Milk: You can use any type of milk you’d like here, or if you don’t stock it, substitute water.
Allow 2 hours for frozen grapes (or overnight)
Are frozen grapes good for smoothies? Yes! Frozen grapes are perfect for adding an icy texture and sweetness to smoothies. They’re a bit sweeter than frozen blueberries and strawberries, which makes them great for adding to smoothie flavors of all kinds. Add them to your next blueberry smoothie or strawberry smoothie to mix it up!
How long does it take grapes to freeze? Allow about 2 hours for grapes to freeze completely. It’s also easy to toss them into a freezer safe container and freeze overnight.
Flavor variations and add-ins!
This grape smoothie is a great canvas for adding interesting flavors to your puree. In fact, we can think of about 100 variations. Here are some favorites:
PB&J: Add 1 to 2 tablespoons peanut butter for a PB&J vibe
Vanilla: Add 1 scoop vanilla protein powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Berries: Substitute 1 cup frozen blueberries, raspberries or strawberries for half of the grapes
Mango: Substitute 1 cup frozen mango for half of the grapes
Pineapple: Substitute 1 cup frozen pineapple for half of the grapes
Coconut: Add a handful of shredded coconut or coconut milk
Chocolate: Add 3 tablespoons cocoa powder and 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Make it a vegan grape smoothie (& add protein!)
This grape smoothie has Greek yogurt, like many of our smoothie recipes, to load on protein and healthy probiotics. But want a vegan smoothie? Here’s what to do:
Use non-dairy milk for the Greek yogurt and milk (start with 3/4 cup). You don’t need Greek yogurt here: though it does add some creamy body! Use a non-dairy milk like almond milk or oat milk. Coconut milk also works, but it’s high fat: consider using just 1/2 cup coconut milk and 1/4 cup almond or oat milk.
Add back some protein! You’ll lose some protein from removing the yogurt. Here are some ideas for adding plant based protein to smoothies:
This grape smoothie is best right after you blend it up. But you can make smoothies in advance! Store them up to 1 day, refrigerated in a sealed container or a mason jar with the lid on. If it separates, just shake it up and you’re good to go!
This grape smoothie recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free, see the substitutions listed in the recipe.
This grape smoothie recipe is tangy sweet with just 4 ingredients! It’s an easy breakfast or snack that’s a great use for frozen grapes.
Ingredients
2 cups seedless red grapes, frozen at least 2 hours or overnight
1 banana (room temperature)
1/2 cup milk (or almond milk or oat milk)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt (or 1/4 cup non-dairy milk for vegan, see below)
Instructions
Before starting the recipe, remember to freeze the grapes!
Place all ingredients in the blender starting with the milk and yogurt, breaking the banana into pieces. Blend until smooth, adding a splash more liquid as necessary to come to the desired consistency.
This vegan White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with Broccoli and Peas has everything you need for a hearty, healthy, delicious dinner – served in one big bowl. Creamy, fluffy mac + cheese is the everyone-will-love-this base. Warm veggies add greens, texture and extra goodness. Everything is coated in an easy, blended, cashew-based cheese sauce. (You can soak the cashews or not, I’ve had success both ways.) Add a few slivers of avocado on the side, for more buttery, green goodness.
This is this week’s one bowl wonder comfort food dinner…Read more »
This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!
This vegan White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with Broccoli and Peas has everything you need for a hearty, healthy, delicious dinner - served in one big bowl. Creamy, fluffy mac + cheese is the everyone-will-love-this base. Warm veggies add greens, texture and extra goodness. Everything is coated in an easy, blended, cashew-based cheese sauce. (You can soak the cashews or not, I've had success both ways.) Add a few slivers of avocado on the side, for more buttery, green goodness.
This is this week's one bowl wonder comfort food dinner...Read more »
This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!
Raise your hand if you already do this. Raise your hand if you think this sounds weird. Either way, you’ve made it this far, so you are probably curious, yes?
This Smoothie Oatmeal is something I started doing recently and I love it. I started doing it as a way to split up a large smoothie into two portions. This started when my husband was on a breakfast smoothie kick for breakfast. But have been into an oatmeal routine this summer. But I mean, who can resist a freshly blended smoothie? So I would portion off a side glass of smoothie for myself – to drink. But eventually, I just started pouring my small smoothie portion right over top the oats and berries – and boom – smoothie oatmeal was born.
For those who are meal-time-indecisive, like me, you get the best of both worlds….
This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!
Raise your hand if you already do this. Raise your hand if you think this sounds weird. Either way, you've made it this far, so you are probably curious, yes?
This Smoothie Oatmeal is something I started doing recently and I love it. I started doing it as a way to split up a large smoothie into two portions. This started when my husband was on a breakfast smoothie kick for breakfast. But have been into an oatmeal routine this summer. But I mean, who can resist a freshly blended smoothie? So I would portion off a side glass of smoothie for myself - to drink. But eventually, I just started pouring my small smoothie portion right over top the oats and berries - and boom - smoothie oatmeal was born.
For those who are meal-time-indecisive, like me, you get the best of both worlds....
This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!
I was craving some color and fun in the kitchen, so these Rainbow-Colored Smoothies happened! Today I want to show you how to use sweet, antioxidant-packed fruit (and other plant-based ingredients) to create a smoothie in every color of the rainbow..Re…
I was craving some color and fun in the kitchen, so these Rainbow-Colored Smoothies happened! Today I want to show you how to use sweet, antioxidant-packed fruit (and other plant-based ingredients) to create a smoothie in every color of the rainbow..Read more »
This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!
This dairy-free, vegan Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream is made using juicy-sweet summer strawberries and buttery cashews as the base. Cashews create my favorite DIY ice cream. The texture churns up ultra-creamy and rich, the sweetness perfect and the fresh …
This dairy-free, vegan Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream is made using juicy-sweet summer strawberries and buttery cashews as the base. Cashews create my favorite DIY ice cream. The texture churns up ultra-creamy and rich, the sweetness perfect and the fresh strawberry flavor the star of the show. So if you are obsessed with summer berries right now like me, give this healthy treat recipe a try...Read more »
This is a summary, images and full post available on HHL website!
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