Nothing super juicy about this confession. Except well, the juice. Just an honest answer to a common question. People come up to me and say, with a little wink, “…So what do you actually make most of the time?”
The answer really depends on the day and my mood and my mom.
So the story goes a little something like this. Picture me and my mom baking brownies together in her cozy kitchen. I am about five years old, with long pigtails, smiling ecstatically as I smear frosting over the brownies, my clothes, and my face. Mom is wearing her favorite baking apron—the one with the little pictures of mixing spoons and bowls—and beaming at her little pastry chef. She’s proud to pass on the secret family recipe for perfect brownies to a daughter who will treasure it.
Truth is, that sweet little scene never actually happened. That’s because my mother (who is a fantastic mom in just about every way) has some innate allergic reaction to all things culinary. It’s so severe that she actually and famously tried to build our house without a kitchen. She settled for placing it off to the side of the house by the garage so she would never have to walk through it.
But she happens to have a thing for salads and shakes. She makes the meanest greens in her wooden salad bowl and juices carrots (her favorite!) and blends power-packed protein shakes all the time. She took me at 16 for my first shot of wheatgrass (“thought” to have unique curative properties.) Mom is one of those healthy ladies who walks daily and watches what she eats. So while I can’t share my mother’s tips for the fluffiest soufflé or melt-in-your-mouth meat, her penchant for a healthy lifestyle inspires me.
She is always encouraging me to have a shake—and I always tell her I want to chew my meal. Well now, as in today, I feel a little different. Both cause I am on the run, a lot (the treadmill just never stops—not the actual treadmill, mind you, that I don’t have time for) and because of this cookbook I keep writing and writing and writing about. So now that it’s warmer and I want to feel lighter I’m drinking this fruity red apple smoothie. When I want more body in the form of a thicker creamier smoothie, I sub in vanilla soy milk for the OJ and sweeten to taste with either Splenda, Truvia, or honey depending on the day.
Just like the color black, the classic shoe and cashmere—the traditional “chewable” breakfast will never go out of style. But for now I’m into my smoothie.
Try this recipe for a Red Apple Smoothie.
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Love ya mom!
As seen in Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine (Summer 2012) – Subscribe Now.
I love shakes, it’s great to find delicious new recipes, thanks!
In my idealized self, I’m 80% your mom:healthy, salad-chomping, smoothie-drinking. But that only happens when I have the time and energy.
In my idealized self, I’m 70% your mom. Healthy, salad-chomping, shake-drinking girl. But that only happens when I have the time and effort to put into it!
I’m with your mama on the shakes and salads. We’ve been Vitamixing as much as we can lately and it’s heavenly!
Gorgeous color! Shakes are great and so healthy! I sometimes put chia seeds in mine to give them some extra texture.
A friend of mine also had a Mom who didn’t cook and told her “when your husband asks what’s for dinner, say “reservations.””