Recipe Box: Cauli Cream

October 28, 2015 by vfreile

Leafing through Wegmans’ Menu magazine last month, I came across one recipe that intrigued me: Cauli “Cream.”

For years I’ve avoided creamy dishes because heavy cream-based sauces don’t agree with me. Cauli cream would be a simple, non dairy cream substitute that would allow me to finally attempt to make some sort of alfredo dish.

I ran to Wegmans and bought the ingredients, including a head of cauliflower for $3. I chopped it up.

Following the simple recipe, I made the vegan cream alternative in about an hour, first boiling the cauliflower, then blending it into a puree.

Here’s what you need:

10 cups of water

Juice of two lemons

2 tsp. salt, divided

1 cauliflower, 3 lbs, trimmed, cored and cut into florets

Heat the water, lemon juice and 1 tsp. salt in a large pot. Bring to boil. Add cauliflower and return to simmer (med-low heat). Cook until fork-tender (it took my stove about 30 minutes.)

Cauliflower florets are simmering.

Transfer cauliflower to a colander. Retain cooking water in pot. Let cauliflower sit at least 10 minutes in colander.

Steaming cauliflower and my ancient blender.

If you have a good blender, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cooking water, about half the cauliflower and 1 tsp. salt to blender. Puree until smooth. Remove most of puree from blender and add remaining cauliflower. Puree until smooth and combine batches, mix.

My blender is less than stellar, so I do mine in about 6-8 half-cup batches. Not ideal, but it works.

I separate into 1 cup servings and use immediately in another recipe, or freeze.

All ready to go!

I made a few dishes with this, all courtesy Wegmans: cauli cream corn chowder (we gave it a B), cauli cream pesto pasta with broccoli and tomatoes (Hubs gave this an A+ and I’ve made it twice already, using fresh broccoli) and cauli cream truffle pasta, using kale (solid B+)

I hope you love this easy and healthy recipe as much as I do!

Now, who can recommend a decent blender?

Mighty nuts about Mighty Nut – recipe and giveaway!

October 16, 2015 by Meridith

Let’s take a moment to swoon over fall. The sounds of football games waft through the open windows from the high school and college down the street. The crispy leaves crunch on the ground as my kids play in the yard. Friends chat about PSL and how many Fridays remain until Christmas. And, of course, my running friends know just how special fall racing can be.

Fall cooking (and dare I say, fall in general) is my most favorite. I mean, I love cooking all the time, but there’s something about fall that makes it extra special. Oatmeal! Bread! Crock pot meals! ALL THE THINGS.

Surprisingly, my knowledge of powdered peanut butter is was somewhat limited. As in, I saw it at the store but never paid it too much attention. After all, what’s the point? Just get regular peanut butter and call it a day!

Silly me! Of course there’s a point, which I quickly learned when Fit Approach sent me the Flax & Chia and Original Mighty Nut Powdered Peanut Butter to try and review (and giveaway – more on that soon!).

There’s 85% less fat calories than traditional peanut butter and 1-1.5 grams of fat, depending on what type of Mighty Nut you try. And 5-6 grams of protein!

To kick off the powdered PB party, I decided to go with a tried and true recipe – Whipped Banana Oatmeal to which I added the Flax and Chia… along with sliced bananas, a few chocolate chips, and Craisins.

Muy deliciouso!

Not quite done with my peanut butter party (’cause the peanut butter party don’t stop!), I decided to get a bit more creative and step it up with a favorite of mine, banana bread with a nutty kick of the Original Mighty Nut.

My dear friend Anne shared her banana bread recipe with me a few years ago and it’s a family fave! I figured with a few tweaks, I could add a PB twist. Spoiler alert – I feel like it wasn’t peanut butter-y enough. Therefore I’m sharing the recipe that I’ll be trying the next time around. Pump up the peanut butter, dial back the banana (slightly).

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 very ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup butter at room temperature (I am never good about remembering this part!)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons Mighty Nut Original Powdered Peanut Butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the milk and lemon juice and set on the stove top near the vent to sour.
Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
Mix together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and mix until creamy.
Add in mashed up bananas.
Add in the lemony milk mixture.
Add in the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder mixture.

You can also add chocolate chips, nuts, whatever your heart desires! I added chocolate chips because you can never go wrong with a banana/PB/chocolate combo!

8. Dump the mixture into a greased pan and bake for 1 hour.

9. Try not to eat the whole loaf. Or do. I won’t judge you.

You want to try it, don’t you? Lucky for you, the awesome folks over at Fit Approach and Mighty Nut have given me the chance to host a giveaway! Just click on the picture below and enter via Rafflecopter now through 10.22.15. US residents only.

Click the pic to enter!

One prize per person. If you win this giveaway, and have already won another prize from Mighty Nut through another blog, please disclose that you have already won so we can choose another winner.

Many thanks to FitApproach and Mighty Nut for this awesome opportunity. I’m provided the product and compensation but all opinions shared are honest.

Recipe Box: Lemon Chicken Soup

September 28, 2015 by bec2point0

When life gives you lemons, make soup.

Wait, that doesn’t sound right. Actually, it sounds exactly right. Carry on.

Where I live, lemonade weather is fading fast, and soup weather is upon us. So, when I was thinking of a lemon-y recipe post for September, an annual tradition during the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Million Mile Run-Walk-Ride month, this soup immediately sprang to mind.

I first found this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, Ellie Krieger’s The Food You Crave. And I really do crave this soup. It’s absolutely perfect anytime, but with the addition of the lemon (and thus Vitamin C), this truly does help me get over a cold. Just in case you want to tuck this one away for the coming season of a certain f-word that we don’t need to talk about.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo from elliekrieger.com

4 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into small chunks
Pinch of salt, plus more to taste
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
2 stalks celery, diced (about ½ cup)
1 medium carrot, diced (about ½ cup)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup orzo, preferably whole-wheat
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with the salt, add it to the pot, and cook, stirring, a few times, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a dish and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and thyme and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Add the orzo and let simmer until tender, about 8 minutes. Turn the heat down to low to keep the soup hot but not boiling.

Warm the remaining 1 cup broth in a small saucepan until it is hot but not boiling. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs. Gradually whisk the lemon juice into the eggs. Then gradually add the hot broth to the egg-lemon mixture, whisking all the while. Add the mixture to the soup, stirring well until the soup is thickened. Do not let the soup come to a boil. Add the cooked chicken to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Serves 4
Serving size: 1 ½ cups

The broth is incredibly creamy and flavorful, and I love the whole wheat orzo instead of traditional rice or pasta. Go for the fresh thyme, too, it really makes a difference.

Yay soup! And yay for this month of kicking pediatric cancer in the butt! The month is almost over, but there are still a few days to log miles and make donations. We truly appreciate all of you joining us on this #journey2amillion.

P.S. I can’t take pictures while I cook, it completely messes with my flow. Plus, my 100 year old farmhouse kitchen has terrible lighting, hence the ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots.

Cooking & Prepping & Eating, It Must Be Fall!

September 21, 2015 by Jennifer

You guys, fall arrives this week! Are you ridiculously excited and on your eleventh Pumpkin Spice Latte? I know, me too! Which is unusual for me, spring is my favorite season followed by summer. Something is different this year, though. With the cooler nights and my garden producing its late-planted bounty, I’ve been cooking and meal prepping and eating A LOT. I thought I’d share my recent escapades and ask for you to share with me; I’m on the hunt for an amazing pumpkin scone recipe.

Our first garden ever!

For the record, I’m not a great cook but I’m a passable cook. Yes, it’s hard to admit that. I recently told my husband that for me, hearing him make yummy sounds over my cooking is just as important as hearing him make other sounds when, well…you know. It’s a pride thing.

These Spaghetti Squash Fiesta Bowls are a current favorite!

He did make some fantastic yummy sounds when I made my great grandmother’s banana bread recipe for the first time this week. I had never attempted Grandma Maxine’s family favorite but my mom and aunt had with limited success, theirs didn’t turn out as moist as grandma’s. Since I had some ripe (but not super ripe) bananas around, I mustered up the courage to give it a go. I must say it turned out as close to grandma’s as we’ve tasted in 15 years since her passing.

Add the buttermilk when you add the egg and oil.

Looks pretty perfect if I do say so myself.

I’ve been experimenting with meal prep, too. The evenings are so short, and when we’re busy we tend to grab what’s easy. The solution in my house is to make healthy easy stuff we can grab. Well, relatively healthy anyway. I figure if I can at least cut out the preservatives and fake food factor that comes with packaged convenience foods, it’s an improvement. Homemade pizza is always a winner in my house so when I make it, I make a double batch and freeze half of it. Each batch makes two generous sized personal pizzas, and we can each put whatever toppings we want on them. I let the dough rise once, punch it down and put it in a Ziploc freezer back. It may continue to rise a little in the freezer but that’s okay. The night before we want pizza again, I pull out the dough and thaw it in the fridge. When I come home from work I pull out the dough, punch it down, roll it out, and viola! Works like a charm every time.

I like mine with pesto, fresh basil, goat cheese crumbles, and bacon !

My husband LOVES breakfast burritos, and I always seem to run out of time to pack a lunch. I decided to try making my own breakfast and lunch microwave burritos. For breakfast (disclaimer, NOT healthy), I scrambled eggs, made ranch potatoes, fried up some bacon and shredded some cheese. For lunch, I browned some ground turkey and seasoned it with a packet of organic burrito seasoning. I cooked some brown rice with red chili powder and seasoned salt, and used a can of black beans and a can of corn. After building the burritos, I wrapped them in cellophane and then in foil before putting them in a gallon freezer bag for storage in the freezer. In the morning, they are ready to pull out and toss into our lunch bags. These may not be the most healthy burritos ever, but you can certainly experiment with whatever ingredients you like. I feel better knowing exactly what’s in my burrito, and it’s better than going to the Wendy’s one block from my office which seems to happen way more than it should.

You’ll have to pry bacon from my cold, dead hands.

We add the salsa and hot sauce on the side. Because I’m a wimp.

I’m freezing all the raspberries I harvest from our bushes to make jam, and my mom gave me a TON of Roma tomatoes for making and canning sauce. I have enough zucchini to for fritters and ratatouille, bread and frittatas. I’m determined to use my bread machine constantly this winter. I feel oddly self-sufficient. We’re saving money and I’m being incredibly domestic. Taking a more active role in where my food is coming from and making as much homemade food as I can has been very rewarding so far. Next on the agenda, homemade pasta!

What is your go-to meal prep option? Do you find prepping helps you stay on track with your nutrition goals? Have a favorite recipe to share? Tell me all about it in the comments!

Not Gonna Half A** My First 1/2

January 5, 2015 by Jennifer

Today is a BIG day for me. Exactly fourteen weeks from today, I will be in Atlantic City with a few of my fellow Chicks, laughing and eating and giggling and running in the AC April Fool’s Half Marathon. It will be my first half, and I really want to have a strong race. It’s important to me that I’m able to keep up with Mer, Vic, and Cam because it’s not often that I get to run with my girls. I registered for the race many moons ago, determined to train safely over ten months. I stuck to that over the summer, but then the fall semester started up and training was replaced with homework.

Blahhhhhh.

So here I am, fourteen weeks out from my first half marathon and not nearly where I wanted to be. Same old song and dance, right? YUP. Not for long, though, because this girl has a plan.

Jenn’s First Half Training Plan:

Start Training in Earnest. I found a fourteen week half marathon training plan from Women’s Running Magazine that I think will work well for me. I’m super excited to start it, and even though day one (today) is a “rest day”, it is SO ON tomorrow. The plan offers enough flexibility with the strength training and cross training that I can pick activities that I enjoy like rock climbing and vinyasa yoga. Yay for variety! Without variety, I know I would fail a few weeks in.

Eat healthier. Notice I didn’t say eat clean or diet. I’ve accepted that there are few things in life that I just cannot and will not give up. My life without any bacon, chocolate, or those blasted lemon poppy seed scones the local store bakery sells really couldn’t be called life. What I need to practice is moderation.

I’m like Rick Astley with these things.

Also, I could do a better job of satisfying my demanding sweet tooth with healthy alternatives like the chocolate chip chia seed energy bites from Gimmesomeoven. I made them yesterday and my husband called them “balls of yummy goodness.” I was forced to tell him to back off my chocolate fix. It was about to get ugly.

No Bake Energy Bites Recipe from Gimme Some Oven

Stay Motivated This is likely the most difficult aspect of training in any sport. The strategy I chose was to carefully plot out my goals and the plan for achieving them. I created an achievement board, a training calendar outlining the 14 week plan, and organized a cork board to act as a half marathon command center. I was sure to highlight the reasons why I enjoy running such as the sense of accomplishment after a race and how it helps me burn off negative energy. I also broke up my goals into to smaller more manageable segments because I have a tendency to overwhelm myself with the BIG picture.

Board of awesome!

Accept My Limits I discovered this fall that running in cold weather aggravates my asthma too much. The treadmill at the office gym and I are soon to be quite well acquainted. I can’t continue to let asthma hold me back eight months out of the year. I HAVE THINGS TO DO, LUNGS! I am terrified of getting bored on the treadmill early on in my training. Audio books are definitely on tap, and I’m going to try to learn meditation running. I’ve been wanting to read “Running With The Mind of Meditation” for a while now. Anyone have any experience with this technique?

Read to Achieve!

That’s it, that’s my plan. Admittedly, I’m sort of winging, but it’s my plan nonetheless. More importantly, I want to hear your go-to training strategies, as well as what you feel doesn’t work for you. Please share your wisdom with me, I’d be so grateful! I might even make you some balls of yummy goodness.

How do you stay motivated? Do you have a favorite training workout? Do you have to hide your chocolate stash from your husband like I do? Let’s trade hiding places in the comments!

Crazy Christmas Coping

December 17, 2014 by Jennifer

Let’s be honest, the joyous holiday season is sometimes not very joyous. The decorating and shopping and party going and hosting and cooking takes a toll on us. I didn’t even mention the cleaning for guests, the wrapping of presents, or the shelving of the elf.

Carlos is concerned. (Mer is so clever.)

And there are those members of the family that just lie around, soaking up the Christmas cheer while you do all the work.

SHINY TWINKLES.

Can I open my presents YET?

All the hustle and bustle can zap us of our holiday cheer. I know you know that I know that you know. We all know the trick is to remember what the season is really about and to focus on the big stuff. To be clear, by big stuff I do not mean giant tins of caramel corn. There are techniques to avoid eating your holiday malaise because your visiting relatives are driving you bonkers. Here are some ways we cope with the Christmas crazy.

Crazy Christmas Coping Tip 1: Many Christmas’ past, my family decided to draw names instead of buying gifts for everyone. It’s quite possible that this is the best family decision we ever made. Here’s how it works in our jolly clan. After Christmas dinner, the adults each draw a name, and they buy for that person the next Christmas. This strategy gives us a year to shop for the perfect gift at the perfect price. There is a set dollar limit, and we keep track so that someone doesn’t draw the same name two years in a row. Everyone buys gifts for all the kids in the family (as it should be).

Because this is about my level of Christmas spirit come the 25th.

Crazy Christmas Coping Tip 2: Wassail, my friend. Yes, as in “Here we come a wassailing among the leaves so green…” It’s warm, it’s cinnamon-y, it’s divine. It’s an inexpensive cupful of winter warmth and cheer that guests will rave about. Plus, it’s just the thing to curl up with Christmas night when the kids are tucked away in bed and you can enjoy the blessings of the day like your family and your health and the existence of wassail.

Always buy the BIG bottle of rum.

Crazy Christmas Coping Tip 3: Why is setting reasonable expectations of ourselves and our time SO HARD? We feel like we can do it all and then some and still be creative and adorable to boot. We totally can be that person who hosts a gingerbread house party and makes her own gifts because we can do it all. But we shouldn’t have to. So we need to delegate. We need to make parties we’re hosting a potluck. We need to shop online to free up time and stress. We need not worry about getting it all done. Instead, we focus on doing what we realistically can accomplish and remember that those who love us don’t us judge us.

Lots of stockings on the wall means a big happy family lives here.

This goes without saying, but this season, try to remember what’s truly important. Pause and be grateful for your blessings. As life swirls on around us, the need to take a moment every day to be present and compassionate is more important than ever.

How Mer retains her sanity:

The majority of my holiday shopping is done online. We hit the stores here and there for little specialty gifts but otherwise I am Amazon Prime’s biggest fan!

Additionally, I’m cutting down on the hustle and bustle of this time of year by taking short cuts. Usually I bake cookies for all of my neighbors but this year I saw tins with shortbreads – 4 for $10 – at Sam’s Club. We have four neighbors, how convenient! Done.

I’m trying to focus on what’s important to me and my family and not stress about the rest.

Wassail Recipe:

In a crock pot or large stove top pot, combine 1 part oj to 1 part cranberry juice to 2 parts apple cider. Add rum or spiced rum to taste. Add ground cloves, ground cinnamon, and a pinch of allspice. Stud an orange with cloves and tie 2-3 cinnamon sticks together and drop them in the pot. Let simmer and serve hot. The alcohol will burn off after a while so you may need to add more.

Enjoy, and be sure to collect people’s keys!

How do you cope with holiday stress (besides running your feelings out)? What are your favorite holiday traditions? Does the Elf on the Shelf creep you out, too?

Recipe Box: Lemon Cottage Cheese Potato Pancakes

September 19, 2014 by bec2point0

A.k.a. Breakfast Protein, Alex’s Lemonade Stand style.

When I was planning these breakfast protein posts for September, I knew I wanted to incorporate a lemon-y recipe that was also a good source of morning protein. This wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be! I typically like my lemon in cake form, and baked goods and protein don’t exactly go hand-in-hand for me. It usually involves adding protein powder, which just makes thing taste off to me.

And then, I stumbled upon a recipe I’d had written down for a while, but had never made. Lemon Cottage Cheese Potato Pancakes. See, still cake!

Truthfully, I don’t even remember where I got this recipe. It’s just one of those one jotted down on a slip of paper and stuck in a pile. Every time I would run into it, I would get all excited at the idea of making them, but I never would.

That was very silly of me.

These were really delicious, and one of those recipes that has few ingredients, is low on time and effort, and is both tasty and versatile. You could totally make these as a side dish for dinner, or serve them as a late lunch. But, since I’ve been writing about breakfast all month, these had a starring role for a couple of mornings.

Lemon Cottage Cheese Potato Pancakes

4 Medium sized Potatoes, boiled and mashed

1 TBSP minced shallots

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese

1/2 cup flour

Zest of one small lemon

1/2 teaspoon herbs

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Form into 16 small patties. Heat oil on a griddle or frying pan. Cook until golden brown over medium heat, about 4 minutes per side.

That’s it. No, really, that’s it. Crazy, right?

A couple of notes. I used whipped cottage cheese, so no lumps, but I think it would be just as good with regular. You can totally make the potatoes ahead, just let them warm up a bit before you start mixing. For the herbs, I used thyme and parsley, but really, use whatever is your preference. These also freeze well, just wrap them in wax paper and pop them in a freezer bag. Then, when you’re ready to eat them, a minute or two in the microwave and you’re good to go.

The cakes were creamy in the middle with crispy edges. So good! Serve them…pretty much however you like. I mean, I wouldn’t put maple syrup on them or anything, they’re not that kind of pancakes. But in this case, hollandaise made a lovely ‘syrup’. Plus, more lemon! The potato pancakes made an egg-cellent (yolk, yolk) base for my Eggs Benedict. I took pictures but truthfully, the looked like crap, sooooooo….

So, why Lemon? Well, if you don’t already know, we’ve formed a team for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Million Mile Run-Walk-Ride, to raise money for pediatric cancer research. We’re walking and running and riding and raising money for pediatric cancer research. If kicking cancer’s butt is your thing, you should totally join us!

Recipe Box: Watermelon sangria

July 18, 2014 by vfreile

Earlier this month my mama-in-law introduced me to a light, tasty adult summer drink – watermelon sangria!

We made this adult beverage at a family party and it was quite the hit. We’re a family of foodies, so know high standards were met, folks!

So since it’s my sister’s birthday today – and she loves all sorts of sangria – I thought I’d share this gift with everyone! And Happy Birthday Sissy!

Without further adieu, here’s what you’ll need to create my new favorite drink of champions:

– 12-14 cups of cubed watermelon, divided

– 1 (750ML) bottle of dry white wine

– 1 cup vodka

– 1/2 cup triple sec

– 1/2 cup simple syrup (sugar and water mixture)

– 1 medium lime, chopped and quartered

– 2 oranges, cut into thin sliced

– 1 cup (or so) of fresh blueberries

Got everything together? Great. Now start with the watermelon. I’d seriously chopped up 3 within the 24 hour span before making this so I was verging on expert, I like to think.

1. Place 9 cups of watermelon cubes in a blender; blend on high until very smooth. It’s incredibly wise not to do it all at once, but in parts, say 3 cups at a time. Otherwise your blender might get overwhelmed and quit.

2. Strain juice through a mesh strainer into a large pitcher. We used a huge thermos instead of a pitcher. We also used a spoon to help push the blended watermelon through the strainer.

3. Pour the wine, vodka, triple sec and simple syrup into the pitcher. Stir to combine. We used generous amounts of the alcohol.

4. Mix the remaining 3 cups of watermelon cubes (I made them really small), the lime and orange sections and blueberries into the sangria. Stir.

5. Chill for 4 hours before serving. I skipped this last step and just added ice. You could go crazy and do both.

Drink and enjoy! You will soon become the hit of the party.

What’s your go-to summer drink? Do you ever add fruit to your adult beverage?

Recipe Box: Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

February 20, 2014 by writeitdownjess

You guys!

I did it. I cooked a meal and I didn’t burn anything and the smoke alarm didn’t go off (I didn’t even have to disconnect it!) and the house smelled good and it turned out REALLY, REALLY WELL. I can’t tell you how shocked my entire family was. Mister Jess had even brought home an emergency back-up meal, even though he said it wasn’t. “Oh, mashed potatoes totally go with salsa chicken! And since I was there, I picked up an entree and a baguette and some veggies, too.”

Right. Well, we all ate and enjoyed this delicious crock pot meal, so now I offer it up to you, dear Scoot a Doot readers. It’s so, so easy and really versatile and requires about two seconds-worth of effort.

Let me know what you think!

Prep time – like, 2 minutes

Cook time – 6-8 hours on low setting

Serves – 4 good eaters with leftovers

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breasts, frozen
1 or 2 jars of salsa (I used 2)
1 bag of frozen corn (canned corn is fine too)
1 can black beans
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 block of cream cheese
Optional: 1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped

Pour salsa into the crock pot, followed by the taco seasoning. Once that is in, stick your chicken breasts in. I immersed the chicken into the salsa and covered the top of the chicken with it so the flavor would really soak up.

Cover your breasts!

Set your crock pot to low heat and then fuggedaboutit. Your house will soon fill with spicy deliciousness, though, so you may end up checking the crock pot every hour and wishing you could eat it right then. That was my process.

Are you ready yet? Now are you ready? How about now?

About 30 minutes before your time is up, add in the black beans, corn and cream cheese. I found that I needed to break up the cream cheese a little bit a few minutes after I put it in, and then about 15 minutes later. It didn’t want to melt on its own.

Almost there…

Serve over tortilla chips for nachos (what we did), or use as the filling for tacos, enchiladas or burritos. Easy peasy! Yum yum!

The final product!

FYI, I did not add cilantro because I think it’s the devil’s spice, but some people like it so you may find that it adds a little something to your version.

This recipe is:

Going Green

February 12, 2014 by beewhobabbles

We’ve been going green for the past few months in our house. Green, pink, purple and sometimes even brown. I’m talking about smoothies, of course, which is not a new thing but it’s new to me. In the past I’ve preferred to eat my fruits and veggies whole, but I’m slowly starting to enjoy drinking my greens.

Once I began using the blender daily, we decided it was time for an upgrade. My friend, Dorothy, sang the praises of her Vitamix, and even made me some peanut butter with hers. When she showed me how easy it was to clean, I was sold. Two weeks ago, we brought home this baby:

Even Little Dude is excited.

Prior to setting up my Vitamix, I stuck to a pretty basic smoothie- banana, greens, almond milk. Now I’m alllll about experimenting.

First, I tried this kale smoothie- mango, kale, banana? Delicious. I drank this every morning until I ran out of frozen mango.

After eating Mexican food on Super Bowl Sunday, I tried this cilantro smoothie-

photo 2-13

The cilantro flavor was strong but I’m a cilantro fan, so hooray! Another win.

After my long run on Sunday, I had a recovery smoothie, but used protein powder instead of greek yogurt (because that was what I had on hand). This tasted okay…I’m not sure about the powder. However, I’m usually ravenous after a long run, even after eating, and with this, I felt satisfied until lunch time.

On Monday, I made a spinach and avocado smoothie . This was interesting, in a good way. I mainly tasted the tang from the greek yogurt and the lime. It was super creamy, and I think the fat in the avocado cut the chalkiness of the greek yogurt (fat free greek yogurt isn’t my favorite). I’ll definitely make this again.

Yesterday, I decided to try the Glowing Green smoothie. Dorothy swears by this one, so I knew it had to be good. I shared some with my husband and also brought one to Sara, and we were all impressed with the taste, considering the amount of greens in it.

photo 5-6

I’m almost out of peanut butter, so that’s up next. I’m so excited to use this machine every morning!

Smoothie fans, send me your fave! Vitamix owners, what else can this thing do?

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