I visited my stylist last week and during one of our conversations I asked, ‘So did you make any New Year’s Reservations this year?’ She laughed and said, ‘No, I’m a realist, why set myself up for something I know I’m not gonna do!’ I know exactly how she feels . . .
For more years than I can even remember, I’d start the year off with a clean slate, a brand new page, a new chapter . . . this year was going to be my year . . . the year I’d finally get my act together and not make a mistake, to have my priorities straight, to be able to cross everything off my ‘accomplish-by-the-end-of-the-year’ list, to be ‘successful’ . . . yep, saving a ton of money, losing a ton of weight, climbing Killimanjaro . . . (uhm no, that would definitely not be on the list) . . . and finding a better job were all mixed in with various and sundry items . . . and usually by January 5th that list was either torn up and tossed or tucked away in some book or journal never to be seen again.
But about 3 years ago I changed my perspective and swapped the word ‘resolution’ with the word ‘goal’ . . . and suddenly I felt lighter and somewhat excited to think about a new year. Having a ‘goal’ seemed much more positive than having a list of ‘musts,’ ‘don’t dos,’ or ‘would-uh, could-uh, should-uhs’. . .
A few of my goals for 2012 are health related, a few are professional related and a few are food related, (surprise, surprise!) . . . this year, I will finally master filled layer cakes, dadgumit . . . so stay tuned for more cake antics! I am also going to try my hand at making fresh pasta, puff pastry dough, paella and French Macarons for starters . . .
We’ll also be experimenting with new juice and smoothie flavors as they are a staple in our house and have been for several years; last week The Professor played around with beets and created this smoothie which is fast becoming my favorite! And because we use coconut milk, this little gem has great flavor and is vegan!
What are your goals for 2012?
(no, your eyes don’t deceive you . . . the smoothie really is this gorgeous color!)
BEET SMOOTHIE
Serves 2 (makes approximately 3 cups of smoothie)
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 3 pitted dates
- 1 slice of fresh ginger (about the size and thickness of a quarter)
- 1 whole medium lemon, peeled
- 1/2 cup of roasted beet
- 1 cup of ice cubes
- A pinch of salt
METHOD:
- Place all ingredients in a blender
- Start blender on low speed and then increase to the highest speed
- Blend for at least 1 minute or until desired consistency
- Serve immediately . . . Cheers!
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Oh darn. I thought I left a comment here already. What I want to say is this: GENIUS! I don’t like beets, but I know they are good for me. I can’t wait to try this! Thank you for sharing it my friend.
I would love the master the art (notice I said art 😉 lol) of home made puff pastry and French Macarons. Im actually incredibly scared to try french macarons :$.
What a great smoothie – the coconut milk must have added a great flavour and that colour is gorgeous!!
This smoothie is so innovative, easy to make and yummy!! Thanks for sharing.
Ok. First of all, gorgeous pics and I love it in that glass!!! I’m going to go ahead and admit that we rarely eat beets. I’ve never roasted them but I know you can buy them ready to eat. Do you happen to know if it is different in taste?
yes, you can buy them ready-to-eat as we have purchased and used Trader Joe’s beets found in their produce section, not the canned variety . . . while i haven’t tried using the canned variety, i would imagine the flavor to be off in that most canned veg is boiled, thus removing the natural flavor and dilutes the taste. If you can do roasted, i feel that will give you the best flavor . . . in a pinch, use the TJ brand – it’s good but not as good as roasting them yourself . . .
We have a juicer and I’ve done beet juice quite a few times. It is this marvelous color. Love the idea of doing a smoothie and having the coconut milk and ginger in there!
Brian, i will tell you that adding the ginger and coconut milk makes a killer beet smoothie!
Gorgeous, gorgeous color! I love the contrast with yellow dots:) I have to get on the smoothie bandwagon – there are some tempting flavor combinations. I like your recipe as it does not contain celery (so many juices and smoothies do, and it’s too overpowering for me in its raw form, except with Buffalo wings and stuck in a Bloody Mary:)
I have a few smaller goals this year: to improve my photography, to learn Spanish, and to learn code and web design so I can read my site:) A for food goals, I’d love to master the art of making Asian dumplings. After all, Year of the Dragon is ahead of us and I am Dragon in Chinese horoscope, so this is perfect timing!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Lana, you amaze me w/your language skills . . . i am lucky if i can speak proper English . . . Asian dumplings have always been a favorite of mine but yikerz, that takes some serious skills . . . i’m checking in w/you next year to see how you faired . . . you do the same!
I’m with you on having goals rather than resolutions! It’s a lot more fun. One of my food related goals this year is to make sauerkraut, and I’m working on that now. Your smoothie really is a gorgeous color, btw!
you are not the first person to tell me about homemade sauerkraut and i’d really like to give that one a go . . . i enjoy sauerkraut w/mashed potatoes but my very favorite sandwich is a reuben . . . oh my!