"Nutty" Lemonade

I was aiming for a sort-of "Dreamsicle" taste/texture by using almond milk (in this case, actual almonds). It mostly worked and ended up being pretty good, although not exactly what I'd been expecting.

• 1oz raw almonds
• 1 lemon, seeded and peeled, plus its zest
• 1 lime, seeded (if variety has seends) and peeled, plus its zest
• chunk of ginger (grated works better, also see modifications)
• sweetener to taste
• bunch of ice (I tend towards 4-6 cubes)
• bunch of water (varies; ends up at the 3c mark in VitaMix)

The rest is easy; blend on "smoothie" setting (VitaMix) or "until really, really smooth/frothy" (blender).

Two things that worked great: use pieces of crystallized ginger in place of raw ginger and sweetener--this was really good. Reducing the amount of water used during blending then adding carbonated water during the pour was really nice--probably my summer drink when I want the extra nutrients of the nuts.

Using an ounce of crystallized ginger brings nutrition info to approximately:

Cal: 300-315
Fat: 14g
Carb: 47
Protein: 7

World's Easiest Southwest-stye Slow Cooker "Stew"

I forget where I originally saw this one; perhaps Lean & Forget-It? In any case, it's delicious, and embarrassingly easy to make, freezes well, and can be adapted in a variety of ways. The basics:

• About 1-1.5 lb chicken breast (I leave them whole, or cut in half)
• Two cans beans (I often mix types, like black and pinto, and often use pre-spiced cans)
• Two cans corn (I like a really sweet corn)
• Two jars salsa (Have fun with this--once I tried a really hot habanero along with a sweet raspberry salsa; it was surprisingly good)

Dump it into a slow cooker. I usually just go overnight on low.

I pull the chicken out and shred it with two forks. You may also chop the chicken up into small chunks if you're not in to the shredded thing.

It's a pretty moist dish. To reduce, you can drain the beans and use less salsa. I usually put some shredded cheese in/on it.

Healthy, fast, relatively cheap, and tasty.

Kenyan-inspired Ground Beef Curry/BBQ

Saute until browned:

• Wad of sliced onions (I like onions, so roughly 1-3 large onions, I like red onions)
• Bunch of ground beef (1-1.5 lbs)
• Hot peppers (optional, jalapenos are okay but thick-skinned, consider serrano), a bunch

Add:

• Curry powder (I like curry, roughly 2-4 tsp)
• Crushed garlic (sometimes I saute this with the beef and onions, 5-10 cloves)
• Grated ginger root (2-3 tbsp; freezing peeled ginger and using a microplane makes this easier)
• Sliced/chopped/diced tomatoes (I usually use a can of crushed, roasted tomatoes)

After that's all mixed in:

• Some cinnamon (not much)
• Chopped cilantro (if desired)
• Some water
• Some salt
• Anything else you think might be good; cumin, cardamom, clove, sage, nutmeg--this recipe is easily tunable to various mixes of sweet/spicy/savory, and mixing them all up in one is fun.

Let it all simmer for 15-30 minutes, depending on squishy you like your onions, how blended you want the flavors and how hungry you are.

I'll often add some coarsely-chopping onions (and peppers) towards the end of the simmering process for some additional crunch and zest.