Well, hello! My name is Dee and welcome to Green Smoothie Gourmet where I share whole food plant-based recipes that are nutritious, easy to prepare, and typically require single-digit familiar ingredients.
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, 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 keto diet.
I strive to keep recipes 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 began in my college days. As a biology/biochem major, I quickly realized the technical health benefits of eating only plant-based foods.
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. As I worked to create recipes that fit me and my family members, I discovered the beauty of local buying, the reasoning behind the EWG.org’s dirty-clean produce list, and the incredible energy boost that came from eating fresh grown foods. My family moved on to embrace a vegan diet (no dairy or meat) as well – allergies pushed us in that direction, but the message – compassion for living creatures, scientific benefit to the planet – also felt right for us.
I believe the choice of one’s diet is a personal one and should follow one’s own personal passions, so I won’t be telling you what diet you should follow. However, the recipes I share here on GSG are always whole food, plant-based, dairy-and-meat-free, and easy to put together. I try to keep ingredient lists down, 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 all processed foods, I also live by the premise that balance is key. So sometimes I veer from that, eat an oreo or two. 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 one that is more of a meal, try 1/2 cup of frozen berries, 1 frozen banana, 1/3 cup roll oats (uncooked), 2 tbsp of nut butter, 1 cup plant milk (maybe try unsweetened hemp milk in a carton from WholeFoods) 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!
The Author
I’m Dee and I am the recipe developer, content creator and food photographer here, as well as the computer tech since I am a front-end web developer by profession. My interest in healthy eating is playing a growing role in my life, and I am being invited to speak, write, and enjoy opportunities to support products and services that support the GSG philosophy. My husband and I are amazed at the joy a whole food plant-based diet can bring, and we hope the recipes and resources we share Green Smoothie Gourmet will be a benefit to you!
