Pear, Oatmeal, Ginger Smoothie

This smoothie was absolutely delicious. I love Ginger. To me, ginger is like Limes. Bursting with flavor.

As we were struggling with another cold snowy weekend, I was putting away my produce. I can across three very ripe pears. It made me very unhappy. One of my resolutions is to waste less food. I hate throwing away produce. A colossal waste of money. So, as I was loading up my frig, I remember that I have 1 or 2 smoothie recipes with pears in them. FOUND them.

This recipe is delightful. The combination of flavors just blows me away. This recipe made two smoothies and I could have drank both of them. GINGER...... hmmmm. The Husband said it was good...

NOT GREEN. 

NO. but still very good for you. 

Pear, Oatmeal, Ginger Smoothie

slightly adapted from Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients

1 cup Almond Milk

6 oz Greek Yogurt

2 or 3 Pears

1/4 cup Oatmeal

2 grams fresh Ginger (1 small piece)

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 -3/4 ice cubes

Directions

Place all ingredients in a high power blender. Blend until smooth. This may take a minute or two with the oatmeal and ginger.

The Pears were ugly but mostly unbruised. 

I added 2 1/2 pears. The Pears added a great texture to the Smoothie

Soup for Lunch was good with me.

The Pear Smoothie with my Soup was excellent with ME.

Key Lime Smoothie

Green, Green, Green. I am getting closer to that All Important Green Cleanse Smoothie. I really hope I am not disappointed. The hype is almost just killing me..... I really want to get to water based smoothies. Getting closer. I came across this recipe yesterday and just had to try it. There were some slight modifications to this recipe, but really it all boils down to doing and eating what you like.

***** NOTE: Corrections, my niece Grace likes Chocolate Mint more than Gina. *****
I am correct in saying today, that my niece Gina does like LIMES. Grace may also, but I know that Gina will not suffer from Scurvy any time soon.

As with a large population in the United States, we have had record snow falls and VERY cold weather this winter. I want HOT weather again. I want to feel the sun baking me. Today it is -3. It is SO crazy.

I am back on Weight Watchers. I need to lose about 10 pounds. It is so hard to maintain your weight. Six years ago, I lost 28 lbs. Some of the weight has found me and started clinging to my body. All my clothes are getting tight, and I am NOT buying larger pants. NO Way. So hard core focus. Trying to be cleaner and healthier. And it takes forever to lose. That is the crappy part. This drink was a Weight Watchers points plus of 3. Not bad at all.

We are eating Sweet Potatoes this year. NO butter or sour cream on these puppies. Just baking them in the oven and placing some sort of topping on them. I will start to post pictures soon. They are not pretty photos, but they are delicious and very good for you. Last night on my sweet potato, I went with a Mexican theme. Cooked some beef, onions, black beans, cilantro, limes and salsa. Placed over the meat over the potato and then some cheese. Just a dinner. But we skipped the shells and chips. Healthier. 

This smoothie was perfect with dinner. Filling, but light. And the lime just bursted throughout the drink. Left a clean taste in your mouth. Perfect for a cold winter evening.

Key Lime Smoothie
adapted from cookeatpaleo.com
Ingredients
1 cup Almond Milk
1/2 - 3/4 avocado
zest and juice of 2 limes
1 or 2 squirt Agave Nectar or honey
1 cup of ice

Directions
Add all ingredients in this order to your Vitamix or blender. Blend until smooth.

 Just a few ingredients. Quick and Easy

My Avocado needed to be eaten. Starting to get the uglies

My Microplane is new and sharp. Try not to go to far.

I was thinking I would not use the Agave. Tried a pretaste, it needed a small amount of sweetener

This is totally up to you. 

Thick and Smooth. Just a burst of Flavor

My Husband was surprised with the flavor. Bursting.

I told him we are not about boring foods with boring flavors. 

Healthy Mint Chocolate Smoothie

So, last week I rambled on about going green and getting Healthier. Well this smoothie is green and mostly healthy. It was Super Bowl Sunday and I was feigning for something BAD. At least it was not Margaritas and Pizza.  This was not bad and it tasted delicious. I was still out of my normal box for Smoothie Nation.

My Niece Gina does not like bananas or bananas in her smoothie. She may change her mind when she taste this one. This drink has a slightly thick, but it is not heavy to drink. The Avocado and Banana gave this drink a smooth consistency.  The Mint made it taste fresh and not some crappy Fast Food shake. Totally solved my sweet craving without filling me up with bad calories and no nutrition.

These are my cats. They are usually not on the counter top, but I was looking for a good shot.

It would have been nice if they wanted to participate and play along with me. 

Kitty treats solved my problem. Just like children, a little bribery once in awhile 

will get you the results you want.

(Black Cherry and Smokey)

Healthy Mint Chocolate Smoothie

adapted slightly from nourishandinspireme.com

Ingredients

1 cup almond milk

1/4 of avocado, skin removed

1 frozen banana

3 drops peppermint extract

1 tablespoon cashew butter or soaked cashews

1 handful fresh mint leaves

1/2 scoop of Chocolate Protein powder

Ice

Directions

Add all ingredients into a blended in the order listed. Blend away until smooth.

NOTE: A COUPLE SQUIRTS of CHOCOLATE SYRUP MAY ADD SOME FLAVOR

All ingredients are easy to find.
The fresh mint was in the Produce area near the Parsley and Cilantro
The Cashew Butter did come from the Health Store. But the last time I used it was
for my Cashew Butter Cookies featured on 7/17/13. Still delicious.
Everything else, I did have on hand

Black Cherry was giving it the look.
I do not think he like the straw

Kitty city, always curious. It is so much fun having a kitten in the house.
Smokey does make a nice prop.
(DISCLAIMER: My Husband did not like the cats on the counter around the food)

Cranberry Oatmeal Smoothie

I got ALL of my fruit servings in ONE drink today. Four fruits in 1 drink. WOW. This smoothie was not a slammer, it was a long drink. It was a meal. I loved it. It was very filling but not heavy. DOES that make any sense???

In February, I am going to focus a bit more on more healthy and lower calorie smoothies. (Not that the Oreo smoothie was not amazing) As January has gone on, I have been shifting gears. I want to focus on cleanse and types of meal replacements. Cleaner eating.

I have also been working on different recipes. I am trying to regularly incorporate sweet potatoes into our diet. They are loaded with so many good things and NOT loaded in calories.(we are not putting butter on them) Just to keep this blog happy, I still have some new cookie and bar recipes. That whole deal has not gone out the window. Just like smoothies, there are tons of cookie recipes for me to sample....

Cranberry Oatmeal Smoothie
slightly adapted from somethewiser.com
Ingredients
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt
1 frozen ripe banana
1 apple, cored and quartered
1/2 cup whole cranberries
4 tablespoons rolled oats
4-6 whole pitted dates
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
Place all ingredients in a Vitamix or high powered blender in the order listed. Start slowly and increase power until smooth.

I let this smoothie sit overnight, you can drink immediately if you want.

Simple ingredients. 

The dates last a long time and add huge flavor to smoothies

These cranberries were from Christmas. 

There were one or two that were ugly, but they have a long shelf life

This delicious monster was AMAZING.

Forget the Fast Food Calorie Laden Nightmares, make your own.

This drink is not fattening.

Almond Chia Smoothie

As we are coming near the end of the month, Smoothie nation has not let up. I still need to do the green cleanse drink. Plus, there are many other combinations I need to try. I have enjoyed writing again. Being busy, makes me realize what I really miss. Most of these blogs have been light, but whatever. It is January. After a wild and wicked Fall and Christmas season, I am good with January. I have still been busy, but not crazy. 

My cabinets were cleaned out and organized. If you have not opened or used a spice in 10 years, THROW it away. You probably never will. May have seemed wasteful, but I have not used them. I like opening my cabinets and not seeing a bunch of misplaced stuff. 

This Smoothie was also something different. I made Almond Butter cookies last year. (featured on 8-7-13). When I came across this recipe, I knew there was nothing I needed to buy. All materials on hand. I really like Chia seeds. They are SO healthy for you. Loaded with good things. I can from a tapioca family, so chia seeds are perfect. This would be great for a meal replacement or after workout drink. 

Almond Chia Smoothie

adapted from theironyou.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup of Almond Milk

1 tablespoon Chia Seeds

1 tablespoon Almond Butter

1 med frozen Banana

1 scoop Vanilla or Plain Protein Powder

Directions

Place Almond Milk and chia seeds in a bowl, stir and let set for 10 minutes.

Pour Almond Milk and Chia seeds in the blender, add remaining ingredients in that order and blend.

ADD ICE if you want

My Chia seeds have been out more this month. 

The milk and chia seeds setting up.

Almond butter is STILL really good. If you are tired of Peanut butter,

give Almond Butter a whirl. It tastes SO good

Look at these gems, ready to go. This is one of my favorites.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Plain today. I wanted a Plain old smoothie. We are experiencing our second Polar Vortex. Does anyone remember a Year and a Half back. The Summer long heat wave. NO one would complain now. We have had a decent amount of snow, but it has been SO freaking cold. Even the people in FLA complain about the weather. This morning it was -13. It was like 30 in Anchorage Alaska. Crazy.

So baking is always allowed these days. Warm up the house. I have been baking cookies up a storm. I have four trays for this week. I believe with all of this cold, people have bailed on there New Years resolutions and quit exercising already. My Husband started his program last week. This past fall and into this year, he has had loads $$ of dental work done. So, consequently, due to not eating, and low snacking, he has only 10 pounds to lose. Which being a guy means he will lose it all in like two weeks. AUGH.....

Yesterday was my Husband's birthday. We had a small family party on Sunday. Chicken Enchiladas... and a Carrot Cake. I tried to make his carrot cake into the shape of a goose. It tasted fabulous, but looked like the Loch Ness monster. Everyone got a good chuckle. The lesson learned, there are still bombs, JUST make sure they taste great.

I made this smoothie for our Lunch. What I learned with this smoothie is that even if you add ice, with no frozen fruit in it, the smoothie will not be super cold. But on a -5 day, that is ok...

All the leafless plants, the snow, the grey skies and the VERY cold temperature

three simple ingredients. 

I went to Sams Club last Saturday. These strawberries were just delicious

My Husband and the youngest son at the birthday party

I was hoping to draw in a curious cat. No such luck.

Apple Peanut Butter Smoothie

If you are thinking, yesterdays smoothie was "THE Best," why is she making something different. Because everyone, I want to be outside the box. Today's smoothie does not have a banana in it. I have made very few smoothies with Peanut Butter, so ... here we go. 

This smoothie is considered a Protein drink, but there is no Protein powder in it. I like that. GO natural. Do your body good. This is an on the go smoothie. Light, but still filling. Great for a mid morning or mid afternoon snack. I really like this drink. This is stuff you would have on hand.

Apple Peanut Butter Smoothie

adapted slightly from fakefoodfree.com

Ingredients

1 cup Almond Milk

8 oz (2 cup packages) unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup of Oatmeal

1 tablespoon Peanut Butter

1/4 teaspoon of Cinnamon

ice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in the blender in this order, Blend until smooth.

Add ice to reach your desired thickness. Drink up and enjoy

Five simple ingredients - to make a delicious smoothie

Working on my photo design skills.  Working it, or just trying