This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Albertsons. All opinions are 100% mine.

The dawn of a new year traditionally invites people to clean the slate, so to speak. And many folks use this as an opportunity to introduce healthy practices into their lifestyle. (Happy New Year, by the way!) While I’m a huge proponent of living mindfully and healthfully, I’m also not one to push for diets or fads or changes that cause you to just beat yourself up. That’s the opposite of healthy. All that said, if you want to introduce some better choices into your routine, whipping up this healthy green smoothie is a great way to start!

And when I say whip it up, I mean whip it up. This delicious smoothie comes together in just a few minutes with minimal ingredients! The recipe was made even quicker by the fact that I took advantage of Albertsons‘ DriveUp & Go for a super convenient way to shop.

As I mentioned above, the smoothie requires just five ingredients — a banana or two, frozen peaches and frozen mangos, spinach and some water. As someone who is mindful about what I put into my body, I opted to use O Organics® brand peaches, mangos, and spinach, which are all certified USDA organic.

But what does that actually mean? According to the USDA’s website:

USDA certified organic foods are grown and processed according to federal guidelines addressing, among many factors, soil quality, animal raising practices, pest and weed control, and use of additives. Organic producers rely on natural substances and physical, mechanical, or biologically based farming methods to the fullest extent possible.

Produce can be called organic if it’s certified to have grown on soil that had no prohibited substances applied for three years prior to harvest. Prohibited substances include most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

Pesticides are no joke, so when I can’t grow my own food, I purchase organic to avoid ingesting a dangerous pesticide cocktail.

This healthy green smoothie makes about one large serving or two small ones so you can share with a friend. I love it because it’s an easy way to get some greens into my system, without needing to eat them in a salad. And, I can assure you, this smoothie in no way tastes like spinach. It would also be a great way to sneak greens into kiddos, too! (I’ve heard some folks get their kids excited by the green color and tell them it’s a Shrek drink – smart!)

Overall, this recipe is light, bright, and fruity. If you’d like to add a little extra protein in your drink, feel free to toss in a bit of plain, low fat greek yogurt and just increase the water so your smoothie isn’t too thick.

Once you’re ready to go, throw all your ingredients into a blender, puree away and you’re set! Enjoy at breakfast, as a healthy snack, or (my personal favorite), after a workout.

I shopped at Albertsons in my local area to score these ingredients, but you can also look for similar products at any of the Albertsons Companies family of stores, including Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Randalls, Shaw’s Supermarket, Star Market, Tom Thumb and Vons.

Healthy Green Smoothie

 

Print

Prep time

3 mins

Total time

3 mins

 

Whip up a healthy green smoothie in just a few minutes with minimal ingredients!

Author: Big Sky, Little Kitchen

Recipe type: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Makes: 1

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 bananas (I usually opt for 1)
• ½ cup O Organics frozen peaches
• ½ cup O Organics frozen mango
• A couple large handfuls of O Organics baby spinach
• 4 to 8 ounces of water, depending on how thick or thin you prefer your smoothie
• 4 ounces non fat, plain greek yogurt (optional)

Instructions

1. Add all your ingredients to your blender, layering heavier ingredients at the bottom.
2. Add enough water to blend, and enjoy!

3.4.3177

Ah, summertime. It’s toasty hot, I’m usually pretty exhausted from long hours spent photographing in the relentless sun, and all I crave is, what feels like, bucket-fulls of fresh fruit. Enter this peach blackberry and strawberry fruit salad with basil, lime and pepper. So easy, so fast, and so bright with fresh flavor!

 I also love that this fruit salad takes the interest level up a notch by adding in the black pepper. Quite honestly, it may sound like a pretty odd addition to a fruit salad, but trust me – it’s a perfect pairing and gives it just a little kick to make your tastebuds really darn happy.

 As far as fruit salads go, this one scores top marks for me not only because of its great flavor, but for the fact that it’s not loaded with sugar, and uses mostly natural sugars already found in the fruit.

This comes together lickety-split, so do yourself and your tastebuds a favor and make it for dinner or your next picnic!

Peach Blackberry and Strawberry Fruit Salad with Basil, Lime and Pepper

 

Print

Prep time

25 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Author: Big Sky, Little Kitchen

Recipe type: Salad

Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 peaches (about 6 ounces each), halved, pitted, and cut into ½-inch pieces
• 10 ounces (about 2 cups) blackberries
• 10 ounces strawberries, hulled and quartered lengthwise (about 2 cups)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Instructions

1. Combine sugar, basil and pepper in a large bowl. Using a rubber spatula, press the mixture into the side of the bowl until sugar becomes damp, about 30 seconds.
2. Gently toss fruit with sugar mixture until combined. Let sit at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until fruit releases its juices, about 15 minutes.
3. Stir in lime juice to taste and serve.

Notes

From The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook.

3.3.3070

Once again, life gets away from me and I haven’t been able to post on here as much as I’d prefer. I’ve also been in a bit of a slump recipe-wise. You know…the kind where you make a meal and it’s just sort of lacking somehow and all you can do is utter a resouding, “Meh.” Thankfully, that’s turned right around with these Chipotle Spice Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream. An about face, really!

I made these last night, and I canNOT get enough of them, despite the fact that they are tacos and are somewhat messy to eat (I tend to avoid messy things, which is really pretty silly of me). In my opinion, these tacos embody everything that really makes a recipe shine – they’re easy, they’re quick to make, they’re healthy (gluten-free, too!), they deliver a satisfying crunch of texture, they’re filling yet light, and they make my spice-loving self giddy.

Spice, to me, is essential in a good recipe. Without spices to take regular ingredients to the next level, I’m left with that unsatisfied “meh” feeling. But this…this recipe is full of robust flavor. The chipotle spice is a little sweet, a little smoky, with just a hint of heat. And yes – it’s specifically chipotle chili pepper powder you want to use here. Regular chili powder is often a blend of spices. Typically in the blend you’ll get chilis (however, you often won’t know what kind of pepper is included), cumin, oregano, garlic and salt. And while that may work in a pinch, it’s nice to use straight up chipotle chili pepper powder that’s unadulterated by those other spices.

It’s worth mentioning, too, that the heat from the chipotle chili pepper powder is tempered by the addition of the avocado cream, so if you prefer more heat in your meals, then I’d suggest cutting the chipotle powder with a little cayenne to amp up the heat level.

Which leads me to…that avocado cream. You’ll start out making this first, and ohhhhh – is it ever-so-delicious, so refreshing, so light and pleasantly tangy. I’m a bit of a lime-lover, so I tend to splash a little more lime juice and a little more lime zest than called for into my recipes. Not *too* much more, though, or that pleasant tang can overpower the other flavors of this dish.

Once you’ve made the avocado cream, you can prep the cilantro slaw, which is also bright, light and happy, and really adds a satisfying crunch to the tacos. I just used a pre-made slaw base to keep this on the quick and easy side, but you can make your own from scratch, too. I again splashed a little more lime juice than called for into the slaw and added a generous dose of cilantro, a dash of green onions, and, holy moly – I lurrrve it.

Once you’ve got your avocado cream and slaw created and ready to go, go ahead and start working on your chicken. Sprinkle the spices evenly over the 1/4″ strips you’ve cut from the breast, pop them into a toasty-hot pan lightly coated with olive oil, and sizzle away for about 4 minutes or so as you stir and flip the chicken pieces frequently. You’ll likely want to cook your chicken in two batches, so be sure to keep the first batch warm by tenting it with foil as you finish up the rest.

Tent all the chicken once you’ve completed cooking it, and get your tortillas warm and ready to go. There are a few options – you can microwave them along with a damp paper towel, you can dry toast them in a hot, dry pan (this will add just the slightest crunch, so if you like that, go for it!), or you can directly toast them over an open flame on your stovetop. I prefer this method and turn my flame onto a medium-low setting, set the tortilla directly over the flame (and on the stove top grate) for about 30 seconds each side, shifting it around a bit so it can evenly warm and lightly char the surface. After you’ve warmed and toasted your tortillas, you’ll want to prevent heat loss by gently wrapping them in a clean dish towel.

Then, it’s assembly time! A serving of these chipotle spice chicken tacos with cilantro slaw and avocado cream is about two tacos, so get everything ready to go, add a few pieces of chicken, add a few tablespoons of slaw, add about a tablespoon of avocado cream and sprinkle with a few rinsed and drained black beans. Voila – dig in!

(P.S. If you don’t eat all the servings for this recipe in one go, it makes for great, fast leftovers, too. Just heat your chicken separately, get your tortillas toasted and assemble. Easy as pie!)

Chipotle Spice Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream

 

Print

Prep time

22 mins

Cook time

8 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Author: Big Sky, Little Kitchen

Recipe type: Dinner

Makes: 16 tacos (8 servings)

Ingredients

Avocado Cream

• ¼ to ½ teaspoon grated lime rind (or grate about half a lime)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• ½ cup non-fat, plain Greek yogurt
• 4 tablespoons plain, unsweetened coconut milk - not from a can, but from a carton (like Silk)
• 1 ripe, peeled avocado, diced

Cilantro Slaw

• 4 cups packaged slaw
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onion
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• ½ teaspoon salt

Chipotle Spice Chicken

• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into ¼-inch strips
• 1½ teaspoons chipotle chili pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Beans

• 1 can, rinsed and drained black beans

Tortillas

• 16, 6-inch corn tortillas

Instructions

1. For the avocado cream, combine lime juice, lime zest, yogurt, coconut milk and avocado in a blender, food processor or immersion blender, and process until smooth. Set aside.
2. For the cilantro slaw, combine slaw, green onion, cilantro, olive oil, lime juice and salt in a medium-sized bowl, and toss to coat. Set aside.
3. For the chicken, heat a large saute pan over medium-high to high heat.
4. Combine chipotle chili powder, garlic powder, salt and cumin in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Sprinkle the chicken with the seasoning mixture.
6. Add olive oil to pan and swirl to coat.
7. Add about half the chicken to the pan and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently, and flipping the chicken about halfway through. Remove and keep warm with foil tent. Repeat this for remaining chicken.
8. Heat the corn tortillas either via dry toasting in a dry pan, via microwave along with a damp paper towel, or directly over an open flame. To keep tortillas warm until ready to serve and assemble, place in a clean dishtowel and loosely cover.
9. Divide the chicken mixture evenly among the tortillas. Top each with ¼ cup slaw mixture, 1 tablespoon avocado cream, and 1 tablespoon black beans, and serve.

Notes

Regular, low-fat or non-fat milk can be used in place of coconut milk in a carton.
Light sour cream can be used in place of the Greek yogurt.
If you'd like more heat in your tacos, I suggest cutting a bit of the chipotle spice with cayenne to amp it up a bit more.

3.3.3070