Well, hello! My name is Dee and welcome to Green Smoothie Gourmet where I share whole food plant-based recipes – often desserts and snacks – that are nutritious, easy to prepare, and typically require single-digit familiar ingredients.
I have a graduate degree in the sciences, but my husband and friends say my biggest talent is hiding vegetables in desserts😂.
On this blog, you will find that my recipes are primarily breakfasts, snacks and desserts, with the occasional savory meal recipe as well. All my recipes can be eaten by those who eat vegan, non-vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, and refined-sugar-free, and increasingly gluten-free, and reduced or even no sugar. And many are friendly for a paleo or Whole30 or keto diet.
You will see a re-occurring theme in my recipes: I strive to keep them nutritious, ingredients simple, and prep tasks fast – with a family, pets, job and more – nutritious, simple and fast are three essential requirements.
The Journey
My interest in eating whole foods actually did begin in my college days. As a biology/biochem major, I quickly realized the technical health benefits of eating only plant-based foods. I even took classes in dietary science (how food impacts the body) and culinary science (the science behind cooking).
My minor was in immunology so food’s impact on health became very clear to me. And then I realized – as I was stuffing a pizza into my face during an all nighter – that I wasn’t eating very well.
So I bought a blender. A refurbished Blendtec, actually.
And began tossing green leaves, seeds, fruits, veggies and anything wholesome and unprocessed that I could think of. I started with just a healthy smoothie a day, and what I noticed first after just a few days was the burst of energy and optimism I felt. I expanded my healthy habits beyond smoothies and never looked back.
Now, as I work to create recipes that fit me and my family members, I also incorporate the concepts behind local and seasonal buying, the EWG.org’s dirty-clean produce list, and the importance of avoiding processed foods and ingredients when possible. I also embrace the positive impacts on the planet of veganism, no-wasted food, and plastic-free habits.
I believe the choice of one’s diet is a personal one and should follow one’s own personal needs, so I won’t be telling you what diet you should follow. However, the recipes I share here on GSG always use whole food, plant-based ingredients that are free of dairy and meat and anything else from an animal. And I try to keep ingredient lists short, and I somehow prefer no-bake to turning on the oven, so there is a lot of not turning on the oven in this blog, haha.
I want to say though, that although I emphasize the importance of fresh healthy ingredients and I strive to avoid processed foods, I also live by the premise that balance is key. So sometimes I veer from that, eat too much of something not so great for me. And that’s okay too.
There is lot to juggle when transitioning or sustaining a whole-food plant-based diet, especially for an entire family. I hope my recipes can help you on your journey.
If you are in need of a starting place, I suggest a simple smoothie a day – actually just a cup of frozen berries, a half-cup of spinach, blended into 1 cup of plant milk.
And if you want a meal-replacement smoothie, try 1/2 cup of frozen berries, 1/3 cup roll oats (uncooked), 2 tbsp of nut butter, 1 cup plant milk (maybe try unsweetened hemp milk in a carton from Whole Foods) and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Yum.
Visit my Smoothie 101 Page for general smoothie tips, and visit my smoothie recipes, my dessert recipes, my breakfast parfait recipes and more. Oh, and fun fact, you want to know my most popular recipe on the blog? Ginger-Lemon Shots Blender Recipe!