Best Pumpkin Smoothie

OK. My husband tells me tonight "I want a smoothie, but I want to make it because youll put green crap in it."  HA Then I said ok - I won' put spinach in it. And he said "but you won't make it sweet enough, I need peanut butter and sugar and good stuff." So I convinced him to let me make him one and promised him it would be good and not green. Well I not only impressed him but myself as well. This is the best pumpkin smoothie I have made thus far.

• 1 banana
• 1/2 C ice
• 1 C coconut milk
• 3 t pureed pumpkin
• 1 C frozen peaches
• 1 t pumpkin spice
• 1 t raw agave nectar

1. Blend
2. Enjoy

BLT Burrito - A twist on a bacon lettuce tomato sandwich

So this morning my handsome son ate 1 bowl of oatmeal, 1 banana, 3 pieces of bacon, half an apple and was still hungry. So, I decided to get creative. I wanted to make sure this last meal filled him up but wanted also to do something different for him. He was in his seat asking for a sandwich or more bacon. So instantly I thought BLT - but this boy is not crazy about sandwiches with lettuce or tomatoes. However, he does love cheese roll ups, so I decided to get a little fun and make him a BLT burrito. He is in his seat slurping away and licking his fingers so I think I was successful. And I think if I ate bacon I would probably be loving it as well.

• whole wheat tortilla
• shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 slices bacon
• a handful of baby spinach
• hot sauce - or tomato sauce if you will if your kid can't handle the spice :)

1. First I microwaves the bacon for two minutes, though I probably could have gone a little lower since I was cooking it again anyhow
2. I filled a row of cheese on the bottom of the tortilla
3. covered it with spinach
4. place the two pieces of bacon on top
5. added a little more cheese to hold it all in
6. rolled up the tortilla (i usually put a tiny smidge of cheese in the last bit of the roll to "glue" it together
7. Microwave for 45 seconds
8. watch your son inhale it

Good stuff - I hope you bacon lovers enjoy :)

Cholesterol Killer Peach & Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

So I decided to try and perfect a cholesterol killer breakfast smoothie so I can get my key cholesterol fighting ingredients in it. It actually turned out pretty well but I am bound to redux it at some point. :)

• 1 C ice
• 1/2 C water
• 1/2 C lite coconut milk
• 1/2 banana
• 1 C frozen peaches
• 1 C rolled oatmeal flakes
• 1 t cinnamon
• 2 t low fat greek yogurt

1. blend
2. enjoy and share with your favorite 2 year old

 

Blueberry Kale Purple Smoothie

 Oh man - am I having fun with these colors. If I knew I could be drinking purple smoothies this week I would have been perfecting the color purple long before. Not only did this look beautiful, but tasted yummy - so yummy my 2 year old treasure decided to steal some and then needed his own glass which he slurped down and asked for more saying "mhmmm mhmmm mhmm"

• 1 C lite soymilk
• 1 C kale
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 C carrots
• 1/2 C pineapple
• 1/2 C frozen blueberries

1. Blend
2. Enjoy

The Kiwi Carrot Orange Smoothie

I am not going to lie - this has definitely been the best one thus far. I am dying for another one right about now...

• 1/2 C ice
• 1/2 C carrots
• 1 frozen kiwi sliced
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 C lite coconut milk

1. Blend
2. Enjoy

Hoisined Tofu

One of my recipes that is an old standby of mine is Hoisined Tofu. Very very simple but something so wonderful about it.

• tofu
• evoo
• hoisin sauce

1. Sautee tofu slices in a few tablespoons of evoo
2. Once tofu is browned serve with hoisin sauce lightly braised over the top
3. Enjoy

Peach Pineapple Kale Green Smoothie

Today I put a peach twist on the pk smoothie and man was it a good choice. Enjoy my friends, enjoy!

• 1/2 C cut pineapple
• 1/2 C frozen peaches
• 1C kale
• 1/4 t raw agave nectar
• 1/2 C ice
• 1 C lite coconut milk

1. Blend
2. Enjoy

Pineapple Kale Green Smoothie

 So, day two of smoothies and here we go. My sister had told me her favorite smoothies / juices were the pineapple kale ones, so I figured that I would give it a try today.

• 1C cut pineapple
• 2C kale (as much as you can fit in the top)
• 1 cut and peeled kiwi
• 1 frozen banana
• 2C ice
• 1C coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon peanut butter
• 1t raw agave nectar

1. Blend all
2. Enjoy all

Green Monster Spinach Smoothie

OK. I found this recipe on Pinterest and was most excited to try it based on what everyone was saying about it. For the second smoothie meal on my smoothie diet I figured I would give it a try for lunch today. It was not as good as the blueberry oatmeal smoothie but it was pretty good and full of nutrients. I will surely be eating it again. I will say that I am so full I can't imagine eating for anytime soon.

• frozen sliced bananas
• 1T peanut butter
• 1/2C greek lowfat yogurt
• 1Cup sugarfree coconut milk
• 4C baby spinach

1. blend it
2. eat it

Curried Beef Thai Crockpot Bowl

So, my sweet boys love their meat. But their mommy/wifey is a vegetarian. To be honest I have been trying to get off the veggies this past year, but I have really struggled with that. The most I can force myself on is Tilapia and only if my husband blackens it and I eat it really fast without thinking. I cook meat for my family on occasion but they are sadly getting most of their protein from beans, tofu, and eating out. What I will often do is cook a version of something for me without me and one for them with meat, but honestly I am not doing this enough. So I figured that tonight (when I am drinking my meals) would be a good time to try something new and fun for them. So here goes...

• 1/2 bag egg noodles
• 1 lb ground round 
• 1/2 bag frozen japanese vegetables
• 1/2 vidalia onion sliced
• foo curry sauce

and then for the sauce

• 1T Hoisin Sauce
• 1/2t tumeric
• 1t Raw Agave Nectar
• 1t lemon juice
• 2T peanut butter
• 1T panang curry
• 1/2t coriander
• 1t curry
• 2C water

1. Pour noodles in crockpot
2. Pour 2C water over them
3. Place onions over noodles
4. Place Vegetables over onions
5. Place Meat over veggies
6. Make Sauce
1. put everything except for the water into a small bowl and blend until homogeneous
2. slowly mix in the water until it is a saucey/soupy consistency
7. Pour sauce over all in crockpot
8. Pour 2C more of water over mixture allowing sauce to creep down
9. Set on HIGH for 3-5 hours or until hot

Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

So, I am in a competitive weight loss competition with my bestie, and yes I need it can't you tell from my recipes? hehe. So if you are on a diet and that is why you are reading this - make sure when you are off the diet you come take a look at my yummy yummy nondiet recipes hehe.

This smoothie is an adaption on some recipes that I found online. Having cholesterol problems I am always looking for ways to get more oatmeal in to my diet. I was skeptical on what a smoothie with oatmeal would taste like, but let me tell you - this was awesome. I can't wait to try it again!

• 1 C ice
• 1/2 C frozen blueberries
• 3T lowfat greek yogurt
• 1 banana
• 1/2 C old fashion rolled oats
• 1t raw agave nectar
• 1C water

1. Insert into fancy blender
2. Blend
3. Pour and enjoy

Makes 1 big serving

The Non-Cookie Dough Balls

So, when I saw this on Pinterest I was not sure what to expect. I didn't exactly have all the same items so I had to modify it a bit of course. But I was so happy with the end result I can't wait to make it again. Now let me make a disclaimer - this doesn't exactly taste like cookie dough. It tastes quite a bit like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. But when I said nanacream tastes exactly like ice cream i meant it. This doesn't taste exactly like cookie dough, but pretty darn close. Enough that it was yummy enough to try again.

• 1 cup oatmeal flakes
• 2/3 cup raw almonds
• 1/3 cup raw pistachios 
• .25 t cinnamin
• quick shake of salt
• .25 cup raw agave nectar
• 2t vanilla
• 3T dark chocolate chips

1. add the nuts, flakes, spices to a food processor and grind until it is a powder
2. combine the nectar and vanilla and continue to process to mix well
3. fold in the chips
4. roll little balls of dough and place in a glass baking dish into the freezer for 1 hour
5. take out and serve

Indian Quinoa Delight

My sister had thrown me some recipes and I modified this one to our taste and what we had in the cabinet. It actually turned out tasting pretty good, considering - and super duper healthy and flavorful. Enjoy!

• 1 cup dry lentils
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cans vegetable broth
• 3 chopped plum tomatoes
• 1 package frozen spinach defrosted and drained
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2T lemon juice
• 1t sweetener (whatever you like, sugar/splenda/raw agave nectar/honey/?)
• salt and pepper
• 1T curry spice
• 1t mustard seed
• .5 t cumin
• .5 t coriander
• any other spicy yummy spices you have (i threw in some berbere)

1. throw everything in a slow cooker
2. cook on high 3/4 hours (lentils should be soft and it should become creamier)
3. enjoy - i found it made way too much even though we had leftovers for days we still ended up throwing some out