I *LOVE* My Immersion Blender!

wanderinglight

Okay, I broke out my new KitchenAid stick blender tonight -- and I absolutely LOVE it!

I am doing 30 days without sugar (natural, artificial, added or otherwise), and a combo of Paleo and Whole30 sugar detox. Paleo didn't quite fit because I didn't want to use any sweeteners at all, including maple syrup and honey. And Whole30 didn't quite fit because I am eating limited whole grains like Ezekiel bread and brown rice once a day. And South Beach Diet didn't quite work because I don't believe in artificial sweeteners since I'm trying to reset my sugar cravings. So...here I am with my own weird little blend of programs and it seems to be working!

It's been challenging -- the cravings have been awful and I'm only on the 6th day -- but I'm finally feeling over the hump. Today I felt great and had tons of energy. Anyway, on to the immersion blender.

So far I've made a Baba Ganoush hybrid (roasted eggplant, raw garlic, olive oil, raw coconut vinegar, chives and frozen kale) and a Coconut Smoothie (coconut cream concentrate, ricotta cheese, cinnamon, vanilla whey powder, vanilla). And I whipped up some cinnamon whipped cream -- just plain whipping cream with loads of cinnamon in it.

I also roasted a bunch of cauliflower and am going make mashed cauliflower tomorrow as well as an avocado spread.

Does anyone else use an immersion blender or a mini chopper? What do you make?

healthybabs

I love mine, usually use it to "cream" my soups, salad dressings made with raw cashews & white beans, herbs vinegar, garlic cloves.

wanderinglight

It's amazing! I don't know why it took me so long to get one!

LiddyBit

Yes! I love mine, too. I use it to make creamy, velvety soups without any cream. People are floored when I tell them they're basically eating veggies and broth. I also use it to make green smoothies, with a little frozen fruit, kale or spinach, almond milk, and protein powder or flax seed. I also use it to make my favorite salad dressing - 1/3 cup lime juice and 1 avocado pureed together.

VMarkV

Coconut vinegar? I've never realized such a thing existed...gotto look for that. Is it calorie free?

I take the lazy way out and just cheat by using Xanthan gum to thicken sauces, shakes, etc. It's zero net carbs (all fiber) and I hardly have to use any. I've got a bag of guar gum too but I haven't experimented with it yet. Food chemistry is the lazy way out, not having to clean up messes and what not.

wanderinglight

Mahjk, I love the coconut vinegar. I had never heard of it either but as it turns out it may be even better for you than raw apple cider vinegar because it comes from a source that's naturally higher in minerals and other phytonutrients (the sap of the coconut tree). I made a salad dressing with it last night. It has a very slight sweet taste along with the strong vinegar taste similar to apple cider vinegar.

I read something really cool about getting the sap from the tree: "once it is tapped, it flows its sap continuously for the next 20 years. From a sustainability viewpoint, the harvestable energy production from tapping coconut trees for their sap (which yields 5,000 liters per hectare), rather than allowing them to produce fruit, is 5-7 times higher per hectare than coconut oil production from mature coconuts.”

It has less than 5 calories per tablespoon and 0 carbs or sugar.

Thus concludes my commercial for coconut vinegar. Don't even get me started on coconut oil!

wanderinglight

Hoooo boy I just made the zippiest smoothie ever. It is the kind that will make you stand up and say dayyymmnnn!

1/4 avocado
1 scoop Superfood greens
1/2 cup coconut milk (made from coconut cream concentrate)
2T raw coconut vinegar
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 cup leafy greens (I used frozen from Whole Foods)

It has put some pep in my step today for sure!

VMarkV

Mahjk, I love the coconut vinegar. I had never heard of it either but as it turns out it may be even better for you than raw apple cider vinegar because it comes from a source that's naturally higher in minerals and other phytonutrients (the sap of the coconut tree). I made a salad dressing with it last night. It has a very slight sweet taste along with the strong vinegar taste similar to apple cider vinegar.

I read something really cool about getting the sap from the tree: "once it is tapped, it flows its sap continuously for the next 20 years. From a sustainability viewpoint, the harvestable energy production from tapping coconut trees for their sap (which yields 5,000 liters per hectare), rather than allowing them to produce fruit, is 5-7 times higher per hectare than coconut oil production from mature coconuts.”

It has less than 5 calories per tablespoon and 0 carbs or sugar.

Thus concludes my commercial for coconut vinegar. Don't even get me started on coconut oil!

Yeah, I use Nutiva's Coconut Manna for making sauces...it tastes like cookie dough or cake batter.

yabbo24497

Where can I find Coconut Manna? I love cookie dough! I could put this in my chocolate protein shakes.