Chocolate and Almonds and Cherries....oh my!

Around Thanksgiving time I bought a bag of Nestle DelightFulls. They are dark chocolate morsels with cherry flavored filling. Uhh....YUM! For some reason I struggled to find a good use for them, but last night I decided to just throw them into my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough. The dough is for a super soft cookie, so I figured they'd be ok. When I opened the bag to pour them in I tasted one and just about died. They were soooooo good! If I hadn't already made the cookie dough, I probably would have just eaten them all from the bag. Chocolate covered cherry anything rocks my world, so these cookies quickly became my favorite. Now all I have to do is remember where I bought those chips!

Needless to say, I'm officially on a chocolate covered cherry kick, so why not throw together a smoothie that helps sooth my craving? I've had a bag of unsweetened dark cherries in my freezer for a couple months, so I pulled them out and threw this together. I added a couple tsp if Agave nectar to add some sweetness, but if you use almond milk, or vanilla soy milk, you probably won't need to do that. Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie

1 C Soy milk
2 Tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 C Frozen unsweetened dark cherries
2 Tbsp Raw almonds

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend for about 30 seconds.

Chocolate Chia Smoothie

Sometimes I just NEED chocolate. Today was one of those days. I was getting hungry, but all I wanted was a huge candy bar. Since I didn't really feel good about eating my weight in chocolate, I thought I'd throw some stuff into the Vitamix in hopes of satisfying my craving. (Psssst! It worked!)

What's wonderful about this smoothie is that not only did it take away my chocolate withdrawal, it kept me full for several hours due to the chia seeds filling my tummy! This one is great on it's own, but I think it will be adaptable to incorporate Nutella or peanut butter, too! I'll keep you posted.

Chocolate Smoothie

1 C Skim milk

1 Banana

1 Tsp Vanilla extract

2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (Guittard is my go-to Cocoa powder!)

1 C Fresh Spinach leaves

1 Tbsp Organic Coconut Palm Sugar

2-3 Tbsp Chia seeds

1 C Ice

Combine all ingredients in order listed. Blend for 30 seconds. Pour and enjoy!!

Detox Smoothie....take one

Detox smoothies. Hmm....I've not tried a smoothie that specifically claimed to be Detox because it usually didn't sound super tasty. I received an email from a website called Simple Green Smoothies and it contained a recipe for a detox smoothie. Since I had most of the ingredients I went ahead and threw one together.

Umm...it was definitely different. It was kinda sweet, but mostly not. It was pretty spicy, which was different from my normal sweet smoothies. Will I make it again? I don't know. Am I willing to try more detox smoothies? Absolutely. I didn't want to mess with the recipe TOO much because I didn't want to take away it's Detox factor. Original recipe called for Kale, instead of Spinach. Also, original only wanted 1/2 a banana and a whole orange versus 2 cuties (I'm a mom....I have cuties, not big oranges!) 

Here's what I came up with.

Orange Lime Detox Smoothie

adapted from Simple Green Smoothies

1 C Filtered water

2 Tsp Fresh lime juice

1 2 Cutie oranges 

2" Peeled ginger root

1 Frozen banana

2 Tbsp Fresh parsley

1 1/2 C Fresh spinach

2 Tbsp Chia seeds

**Agave nectar, to sweeten it up a bit

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend for about 30 seconds, or until smooth.

Tropical getaway

It's cold here. Cold and snowy. I try my best not to leave the house when it's cold and snowy because I much prefer my warm and toasty house. As an attempt to forget the frozen tundra that is my yard, I decided to throw something tropical together for breakfast.

Strawberry Coconut Smoothie

1 C Coconut milk
1/2 C Vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 C Frozen Mango pieces
1 C Frozen Strawberries
1/4 C Organic Coconut Palm sugar
Juice from half a lime
1/4 C Toasted coconut, plus extra for garnish if desired

Handful of ice (if using fresh fruit. If using frozen fruit like I did, it's not necessary)

Toast your coconut by spreading evenly on a baking sheet. I used the toast setting on my Smart Oven and toasted it for 3 minutes, mixing it up about halfway through toast time. Combine all ingredients in order listed. Blend for 30-40 seconds, or until smooth. Pour and garnish....enjoy!

Green Hulk Smoothie

Until last year, I'd spent most of my life living in Indiana. Now I'm in Illinois, about an hour West of Chicago. Indiana winters always bring snow, but forecasters usually OVER estimate the amount of snow that is going to fall. They freak everyone out by telling them that there will be 12" of snow by the AM, but when one wakes up the next day there MIGHT be 2" on the ground. Needless to say, I'm used to the forecast being significantly wrong about snow.

Apparently, in Chicago things tend to be pretty accurate when it comes to the forecast. The prediction was for lots of snow to start Saturday night and continue into Sunday morning. As predicted, the snow began Saturday night, while I was at my PT job. By the time I left at 10pm the snow was starting to accumulate. When I woke up to go to work in the morning there were maaaany inches of snow on the ground, but I hopped into my truck and hit the road. I worked for 4 hours and within that time about 2.5" accumulated on my truck roof. (yuck!) After I brushed it off I head home to enjoy my day. Throughout the day the forecasters kept upping the snowfall, and actually intensified the Winter Storm warning to a Blizzard warning. This was very different from the Indiana warnings I'm accustomed to because I'm so used to predictions not coming true. Well, here they were true, and surpassed what the weather guys anticipated. Here is a pic of my deck this morning. Last night we stuck a tape measure in the snow, and it measured 15". This morning you can't even see the mark where we measured the accumulation. Needless to say, I am NOT leaving the house unless absolutely necessary.

Saturday, before the snow began we hit Costco, thank goodness! I stocked up on my smoothie fruits and veggies, so I'm golden for a while. Here is what I came up for today. I gave some to my 3 year old, who called it his Hulk drink. I say, he can call it whatever he wants, as long as he enjoys the healthy benefits!



Hulk Smash Smoothie

2 C Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 Ripe banana
2 C Frozen pineapple
2 C Fresh spinach
1 Tbsp Lime juice
1 Tbsp Organic Coconut Palm Sugar

Combine all ingredients in blender, in order listed, and blend for 30 seconds, or until smooth. Fill your glasses and enjoy!!

Strawberry Kale Forever

Here is another experiment with Kale. I see so many recipes online for Kale smoothies, but for some reason I always reach for the spinach! Force of habit, I guess. I'll try to do better. 

Strawberry Kale Smoothie

1 1/2 C Soy Milk

1 Banana

1 Apple, cored and quartered

1 C Frozen strawberries

A handful of Kale

1/2 C Ice cubes

**Optional: A couple squirts of Agave nectar for additional sweetness

Layer all ingredients in blender, in order listed. Blend for 30-40 seconds, or until smooth. 

`

Pineapple Coconut Smoothie

I have officially fallen in love with coconut milk. I've always been a fan of coconut, in general, but I rarely get to enjoy it. Why??? Because my husband isn't a fan. If I knew he would help me eat baked goodies containing coconut, I'd always have them on hand, but since I'd be the only one eating them, I usually talk myself out of them.

I decided to pick up a carton of coconut milk for kicks, and it is wonderful. Why haven't I had this before?!? It's now going to be a staple in my fridge! I've made a few smoothies with it, and it makes everything taste so tropical! Below is a smoothie I made this morning.

Pineapple Coconut Smoothie

1 C Coconut milk
1 Banana
1 Orange, peeled
1 C Frozen pineapple
1 C Spinach

Combine all ingredients in blender, in order listed. Blend for 30 seconds, or until smooth. Enjoy!

Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

Oatmeal....in a smoothie? If I didn't have a Vitamix, I'd immediately dismiss it because I am afraid that there would be pieces. Luckily, I DO have a Vitamix, so I can blend EVERYTHING with no problem-o. (Don't be jealous, just go get one!)

I was nosing around Pinterest and came across a recipe I thought looked good, so I gave it a whirl. After following the recipe (sort of) I didn't care for it. I changed it up, which improved the end result, but still didn't make me fall in love. Below is the original vs. my variation.

Strawberries & Cream Smoothie

From The Kitchen Paper

1 C Frozen strawberries

1/2 C Vanilla yogurt

3/4 C Milk

1/2 C Uncooked oatmeal

1 tsp Vanilla

Strawberries & Cream Smoothie
My version

1 C Thawed strawberries
1/2 C Vanilla Greek yogurt
3/4 C Soymilk
1/2 C Old Fashioned Oats, uncooked
....then I added:
1 Frozen banana
2 Tsp  Agave nectar

Combine all ingredients in blender and process for 20-30 seconds, until smooth. Pour and serve! Smoothie is thiiiiiick, so if you have a thicker straw, use it!

Good Morning, Sunshine!

Nothing quite compares to a nice, cold glass of orange juice in the morning...except this! Here is a green take on one of our favorite breakfast beverages.

Good Morning Sunshine

1 1/2 C water

2 Oranges, peeled

1 C Frozen pineapple

2 Tbsp Chia Seeds

1-2 C Fresh Spinach

1 Tsp Agave Nectar (for sweetness!)

Layer ingredient in order listed. Blend for 30-40 seconds, or until desired consistency is reached. 

The Green Grapefruit

When I was young I spent a lot of time with my Abuelos (grandparents.) Both my parents worked during the day, so until I was old enough for school, I spent most of my days at my Abuelo's farm. For breakfast, if we wanted juice we usually only had 2 options: Grapefruit juice or Orange Juice (from concentrate.) Grapefruit juice was always ready to go in the refrigerator, but the OJ required work, so my usual choice was the grapefruit. Many people (young and old) don't care for the tartness of grapefruit juice, but I like it. Now a days, when I have some I flashback to the kitchen table at my Abuelo's house, sitting there having some breakfast, while my Abuela busies herself in the kitchen doing the things she did.

This smoothie reminded me of breakfasts back in the day because it tasted like grapefruit juice. The pineapple helped soften the tartness, but didn't dissolve the grapefruit flavor. If you enjoy an occasional grapefruit, give this one a try. I will definitely make this one again.

The Green Grapefruit

1 1/2 C Water
1 Grapefruit, peeled
2 C Frozen Pineapple
2 C Fresh Spinach

Layer ingredients in blender, in order listed, and blend for 30-40 seconds. Using frozen pineapple helps keep this smoothie cold. If you are using fresh pineapple, you might cut down the water amount, and use some ice instead. Enjoy!!

A Peary Green Smoothie

I came home from work late tonight and was hungry, but didn't really want to eat something heavy. I threw some stuff into a blender and came up with this! It was light, but filling.





Peary Green Smoothie

1 1/2 C water

1 Pear (D'Anjou)
1 Apple (Fiji)
1 C Frozen Pineapple
1 1/2 - 2 C Spinach
1/2 C Ice cubes


Combine ingredients in blender, making sure ice is on top. Blend for 30-45 seconds, or until smooth. Enjoy!

Ch-Ch-Ch-CHIA!

You know you totally remember those Chia pet commercials from back in the day. We all wanted one, but most of our parents dismissed them as a "waste of money" that we "wouldn't take care of." My cousins were the only real people I knew who actually had a Chia Pet. I don't recall exactly what (or who) their Chia pet was, but I think it was just a dude who grew the infamous grass hair. I was jealous, but I'm sure mine would not have ever prospered, as I am not one who can keep a plant alive.

A few years ago I heard buzz of people consuming Chia seeds, which totally weirded me out, because all I could imagine was an orange clay Garfield head, growing grassy hair. After a while I got past this, and read up on the nutritional value. Looks like Chia seeds aren't just for growing grass...they are a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, fiber, antioxidants, protein, calcium, and other good stuff. Since I'm trying to expand my horizons when it comes to my diet, I figured, why not hop on the Chia bandwagon and incorporate them into some of my smoothies.

I kinda had an idea of what would happen when I prepared my beverage, but wasn't 100% sure of the end result. When my smoothie was done blending, I discovered I had made more of a pudding, or a mega-thick shake, rather than a juice of smoothie. The Chia seeds absorbed the liquid and made the drink almost gel like but not in a freaky-bad way, like I am making it sound. My husband described it as tapioca-esque, but since tapioca isn't something I've ever consumed, I couldn't agree or disagree.  What I can say is that after drinking half of the "smoothie" I was full. The Chia seeds made me feel full much faster than usual, so I saved the 2nd half of my smoothie for later (like when I got my late night craving for something chocolaty.) I chose to make the smoothie below because it included Nutella, and everything with Nutella is delish. Give it a whirl..see what you think. In case you are wondering, my mega bag of Chia seeds, and mega jar of Nutella came from Costco. (Everyone needs a mega jar of Nutella in the pantry!!)


Coconut Chia Smoothie

2 C. Coconut Milk
1/3 C. Chia Seeds
1/4 C. Shredded Coconut
3 Tbsp. Nutella
1 frozen banana

Combine all ingredients in blender, in order listed, and blend for 35-40 seconds, or until desired consistency is reached.

I had some immediately after preparation, and some later, after chilling in the refrigerator. I think the chilled version was better.

Okay to Kale

Ever since my amazing husband bought me a Vitamix, I have been obsessed with smoothies. Luckily my boys are big fans too. It's gotten to the point where one of the first things I hear out of their mouths in the morning is "Mom! Can I have a smoothie?!?" I take advantage of their love of these tasty beverages by incorporating some healthy leafy greens. Many of the recipes I see consist of using Kale instead of spinach, but since I'd never actually had Kale, I steered clear of it....until today! This morning I made a pretty basic smoothie, but used kale instead of my usual spinach. The other difference here was that instead of using a milky base, I used water. The end result was more of a juice, versus smoothie, which was not a bad thing. Sometimes I want something thinner, versus the thick consistency of a smoothie so I was good with the change. With spinach, I've never been able to taste anything except the fruit, but when I used the kale I did taste a more leafy flavor. I poured some for my 3 year old who did drink some, but didn't chug it like his usual smoothies. I did not add any additional sweetener, so what you see below is exactly what we had. I enjoyed the freshness of the juice, and will most likely go back for more. Thus far, kale is a keeper! 

Okay to Kale 

2 C. Water

1 1/2 C. Fresh Kale

1 Banana

1 C. Frozen Strawberries

1 C. Frozen Pineapple 

Combine all ingredients in order listed and blend for 45 seconds*, or until you reach a smooth consistency. 

*Since I am using a Vitamix, your blend time may differ from mine