I don’t know about you but whenever I’m eating (or drinking) my greens, I feel a whole lot better about my meal. Whether it’s a loaded kale salad, a mug of steaming hot matcha tea, the perfect avocado (you know what I’m talking about), or sauteed spinach, green things are pretty delicious. And this green power smoothie is no exception.
As you can see in the photos, all the ingredients (besides the apple juice) you need for the smoothie are – you guessed it – green.
Add apple juice, a granny smith apple, half an avocado, green grapes, kale, and ice to your blender jar. Cover and blend until all the ingredients come together into one gorgeous, green smoothie.
The avocado adds to the rich green color. It also makes the smoothie silky smooth. If you’ve never added an avocado to your smoothie, now’s the time to try it.
Drink your greens alongside the rest of your breakfast or whip it up in the when you’re in need of an afternoon pick-me-up. It’s an abso-fruitly delicious smoothie recipe you’ll make over and over again.
I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but for some reason, everyone in my house is working late, traveling and running from event to event. Long nights and busy weekends don’t make for good food choices and it’s tough to spend a Sunday meticulously preparing lunches for the week ahead. We’ve been ordering take out and pizza more often than I’d like to admit. But that’s going to stop – because now I have foolproof slow cooker recipes like this comforting Italian Wedding Soup.
Instead of making poor choices so early in the year and destroying all the progress we’ve made towards our nutrition goals, this simple soup has come to our rescue. We make this hearty soup filled with healthy ingredients in the slow cooker. It takes a few minutes to prepare the meatballs, and, within a few hours, the entire house is filled with the inviting aromas of Italian ingredients, savory broth, turkey meatballs, spinach and pasta. Bring the crock to the table and add parmesan and freshly cracked pepper. Your whole family will love it and you can easily reheat leftovers during the hectic week ahead.
Stir turkey, eggs, 1/2 of the onion, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl until well blended. Roll turkey mixture into balls using 1 tablespoon per meatball.
Add meatballs and remaining ingredients, except pasta and spinach to slow cooker crock.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or LOW for 6 to 6 1/2. Add pasta, cover and continue cooking for 15 minutes until pasta is tender and meatballs are cooked through.
Stir in spinach and remaining Parmesan cheese before serving. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and coarse black pepper.
Go guilt-free over the holidays with a dip recipe that will surely wow any crowd. In Episode 6 of our Make it with Hamilton Beach series, host Miranda Malisani shows us how to whip up a delicious bowl of spinach and artichoke dip using the Hamilton Beach White and Stainless 10 Quart Slow Cooker and MultiBlend Blender. The kicker? This dip is dairy-free!
Spinach dip is traditionally full of cream, butter and cheese. This version is free of dairy and uses the creaminess of cashews to add richness to this dip.
Watch step-by-step as Miranda demonstrates how to make it with Hamilton Beachin your kitchen by watching the video and check out the recipe details below.
In blender, pulse cashews until it becomes a fine powder.
Add milk, avocado, garlic, lemon juice, mustard, nutritional yeast and salt. Blend until smooth.
Pour the liquid into the slow cooker and add the spinach and artichoke hearts. Stir until well combined.
Cover and cook on high for 1.5 to 2 hours or low for 3 to 4 hours.
Serve warm directly from slow cooker or at room temperature in your favourite bowl.
Recipe Notes
Recipe by Miranda Malisani
Miranda Malisani, RNCP is a Toronto based Nutritionist who is recognized nationally for her expertise in holistic nutrition. Her down-to-earth attitude and ability to cater her services to an individual’s needs has made her a leader in the field.
I’m sure you’ve heard people declaring “new year, new me.” But here at Hamilton Beach it’s more like “new year, new soup recipe.”
I love a slow cooker soup. This slimmed-down version is perfect if you’re looking for a soup recipe that nixes the milk, half and half, and cheese. Am I the only one trying to eat less cheese after indulging at all those holiday parties? I didn’t think so.
We started with a pound of dry great northern beans. If you’re used to grabbing a few cans at the grocery store, try buying a bag of dry beans the next time you’re there. They’re cheaper and you can better control the ingredients (for example, some canned beans have added salt and flavouring).
Your Hamilton Beach® slow cooker is a great vessel for soaking dry beans. We added the beans to the crock with 6 cups of water and let them soak overnight. When you wake up, drain the water and leave the beans in the crock before adding the rest of the soup ingredients.
Add all of the ingredients besides the spinach and chicken to the crock and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or LOW for 6 to 7 hours.
Before serving, stir in spinach (or kale) and chicken to heat them through. To save on time, we cut up a rotisserie chicken and added it to the soup. Rotisserie chicken is great to have on hand to throw into soups, pasta, or tacos throughout the week. And at around $5 a piece, you can pick one up at the grocery store before a busy week to ensure you get some protein in every meal.
We topped this colorful chicken soup with a few extra fennel fronds and served it with a crunchy, dunkable baguette. Feel free to skip the bread if you’re being extra strict with your diet this time of year. Whether you’re serving it for family dinner on a chilly winter night or making it for your weekly meal prep, this soup is sure to satisfy.
Place beans in slow cooker crock. Add 6 cups of water and let soak overnight. Drain and leave beans in crock.
In a Dutch oven over medium-high, melt butter. Add fennel, onion and garlic. Cook just until fragrant. Add to slow cooker crock.
Add remaining ingredients except chicken and spinach to crock.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or LOW for 6 to 7 hours or until beans are tender. Add chicken and spinach and cook until heated through.
Another season, another sheet pan supper. That’s right, these one-pan meals aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Let’s revisit why we love them so much, shall we? You’re cooking everything on one pan, so there’s minimal cleanup (no complaints here). They’re also easily customizable. Switch out your protein and vegetables to cater to the picky eater in the family or change your recipes with the seasons – like we did for this autumnal, apple-licious sheet pan supper.
To make this seasonal supper, first heat your toaster oven (or standard oven) to 425 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray then arrange sweet potatoes on the pan. You’ll want to give them about a 10 minute head start before the chicken goes in.
While the sweet potatoes roast, cut a long pocket into each of the chicken breasts. Spread dijon mustard into the pockets, then stuff with smoked provolone, spinach, and tangy granny smith apple slices (or whichever variety you picked during your annual trip to the apple orchard). Top with a simple mixture of panko breadcrumbs, oil, salt, and pepper.
Remove the baking pan after 10 minutes and place the chicken breasts on top of the potatoes. Bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender and the panko topping is golden brown.
The apples hidden inside the chicken and the sweet potatoes served alongside paint a portrait of autumn on the plate. The smoky provolone adds a salty surprise that’s a perfect match for the sweet apples. All this dish is missing is a cool fall night to enjoy it on.
