I bought my very first issue of Cooking Light magazine in 1995. I was just a teenager, I didn’t know how to cook beyond ramen, and my mom was a big fan of buying pre-made meals and shortcuts. But for some reason, I used my hard-earned money to dive into healthy food and recipes. I ended up ordering a subscription all through college – even when I didn’t have a kitchen!
I quickly became addicted to clipping recipes. In fact, for years I dutifully cut out, sorted and even wrote down recipes from magazines I would readat the doctor’s office. It took me several years to become brave enough to actually start trying those recipes, but once I got started, there was no stopping. It turned out to be quite a blessing, as those magazines did more than teach me how to cook. Theyalso provided ample inspiration for my dairy-free needs and for Tony’s gluten-free needs. You could even say, they were the catalyst to creating this website!
However, my magazine passion has led to stacks that I’velugged around for years, and a huge file box full of recipes.Fortunately, I think those paper-filled days are behind me, now that I’ve usedthe Texture App in a FREE Trial! For magazine addicts like me,itis a true goldmine. And yes, after just fewdays of use, it’s already inspired two new recipes, including the Brain-Boosting Blueberry Smoothie recipe below!
Why You NEED the Texture Magazine App
Texture gives you over 175 magazines at your finger tips, including back issues. Enough said! The easy navigation let me create a personalized library ofmycurrentfavorites, like Cooking Light and Health, reunited me with an old love, Prevention, and helped me discover some new go-to’s for great special diet recipes, including Eating Well and Gluten-Free Living. There are also special features for “clipping” my favorite articles and recipes, which I’ll show you below. And since they have a Free Trial, you can simply try it out risk free!
Using the Texture Magazine App
There isn’t too much to explain, because it’s pretty straight forward, but you can see my screenshots above and below to see how Texture works. You can view the magazines alphabetically or by category, and simply star them to add to your library. The settings are few, to keep things simple, but you can set your library as your home page, which I did. I was able to find dozens of beloved and “new to me” magazines to populate it.
Clicking on a magazine opens up a world of back issues, starting with the most current issue and going a few years back. Open one up and start reading! Once you find something you like, simply add it to one of your categories to save the story. They’ve got preset categories for “Recipes” and “Ideas” but you can add more categories as you wish. So that you know what you loved in the story, you can also write quick notes on the front. I just discovered that part, and it is extremely helpful!
Texture Dairy-Free Inspiration in Two Days!
There was a Corn Chowder recipe in Eating Well that immediately caught my eye. I had enough of the ingredients on hand to make my own dairy-free version, including fresh corn. It turned into a wonderfully simple creamy summer corn soup. Tony thinks I should share that recipe, so I just might.
And as mentioned, Texture reunited me with a long-lost love, Prevention magazine. I LOVE health oriented magazines and the blips they offer into studies. When something intrigues, I go online to read the original study to see if it is a fit for sharing on Go Dairy Free, or simply something healthy for my own life. Lately, cognition has been an important topic in our family, and it has got me thinking about keeping my mind sharp. So the study shared in Prevention about blueberries for helping to ward of Alzheimer’s reminded me to use that fresh seasonal fruit. They even included a quick blueberry smoothie recipe, which was the inspiration for my version below. I latched onto their use of matcha, spinach and coconut (also great “brain” foods), but went rogue from there.
Enjoy my Brain-Boosting Blueberry Smoothie recipe below, but also head over for that Free Trial of Texture to further feed your mind.
Special Diet Notes: Brain-Boosting Blueberry Smoothie
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, optionally nut-free, soy-free, optionally vegan, plant-based, vegetarian, optionally paleo and top food allergy-friendly.
Brain-Boosting Blueberry Smoothie
Prep time
Total time
This recipe was inspired by the magazine app Texture (FREE Trial!) and the "Love-Your-Brain" Smoothie in the July 2016 issue of Prevention magazine.
Author: Alisa Fleming
Serves: 1 smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh blueberries (make sure they're sweet!)
- ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk (I used So Delicious Culinary)
- ¼ cup baby spinach leaves (small handful)
- 1 tablespoon plant-based protein powder (see note below)
- ½ teaspoon matcha (green tea) powder
- ¼ teaspoon raw honey (optional)
- Pinch salt (optional)
- ½ to ¾ cup ice
- Water or milk beverage, if needed
Instructions
- Place the blueberries, coconut milk or yogurt, spinach, protein or meal powder, matcha, honey, and salt in your blender. Add the ice and puree until smooth.
- Blueberries do tend to "set up" due to their high level of pectin. If it thickens, just give it a quick blend or blend in water or your favorite dairy-free milk beverage, as desired.
Notes
Picking Protein Powders: Note that the protein powder adds sweetness in this recipe. I used Sun Warrior Vanilla Illumin8 Meal for some added brain boosters (like Vitamin E) and it is sweetened. If your protein powder isn't sweet, taste test and blend in your favorite sweetener, to taste, as desired. A few drops of stevia may be all you need if you want to keep it low sugar.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Texture. The opinions and text are definitely all mine. Seriously, I’m in love with this app!
