Cantaloupe banana smoothie

My daughter got another "fat" lecture from her doctor.

The junk will be removed from our house. Part of this is my fault, as my daughter loves carrots, cucumbers & peppers yet I don't keep enough of these foods in the house.

Breakfast:

In the blender

For 2

- 3 slices cantaloupe

- 2 bananas 

- 1 cup milk

- 1 serving green vegan protein powder

- 1 serving EAS vanilla whey 

Strawberry Protein Smoothie

I slapped all this (plus a last minute addition of mango) in the blender today:

- 1 cup frozen strawberry banana blend

- 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks

- vanilla cream protein powder 

- 1 serving Oikos vanilla coconut Greek yogurt

- 1/2 cup skim milk

Funny part is that it looks like the blender wasn't put together correctly and most of the milk ran out the bottom.

It was my favorite smoothie ever but it was so thick I had to eat it with a spoon!

Green ginger smoothie

This should be awesome:

- 6 ounces water

- 4 ounces Naked boosted green machine juice smoothie 

- 1 banana

- 1/4 nonfat plain yogurt

- 1 packet instant ginger honey crystals

- 1 scoop vanilla cream Pure Protein whey

Strawberry cheesecake smoothie

- about 2 ounces cranberry pomegranate juice

- about 1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries

- a tablespoon cream cheese

- a tablespoon chia seeds

- a scoop vanilla cream whey protein powder

- enough water to lubricate it

New banana protein smoothie

While smoothies and protein powder certainly shouldn't be the mainstay of the family diet, I need the supplements right now because the amount if protein I consume doesn't get close to what the guidelines suggest for a person trying to build muscle.

I bought Pure Protein vanilla cream whey powder at Target. Certainly not as wholesome as the products I've been trying from the natural food store but economical. I started blending it with skim milk and a banana, in part because I bought real cow milk to play with my matcha powder I got for Christmas.

I also started putting honey ginger crystals in my smoothie for some zing. 

Today I tried this:

- 1 cup (maybe 1 1/4, not sure) skim milk

- 1 banana 

- 1 scoop protein powder

- 1/2 serving Prince of Peace honey ginger crystals

- 1 heaping tablespoon matcha

The ginger level was almost perfect, maybe a tiny bit strong, and in my opinion the matcha could have been doubled but I love matcha.

Weight training smoothie

It's 9:20 a.m. and between the cold weather, the everyday aches and pains of this body and PMS, my diet has consisted of too much Halloween candy and too many potato chips.

My fitness goals have been challenged by the cold snap and my unheated work out space coupled with ankle pain that may be related to my cerebral palsy and/or preliminary phases of arthritis. 

So today I brought some weights inside. I did 20 minutes of yoga for abs and 15 or so of lower body yoga. I'd never done that routine. The results were indeed awkward. I added to that 15 minutes of upper body free weights while watching an old episode of ER and ended up getting more reps than usual in because I enjoyed watching TV.

I "rewarded" myself with a breakfast smoothie, vegan:

 It's sweeter than I expected. I used 4 ounces coconut water with pulp, 4 ounces very vanilla silk soy milk, one tablespoon unsalted organic almond butter from Wegmans (a friend hates it and passed it off to be knowing I do love almond butter in all shapes, sizes and varieties), a banana, and Biochem Sports vegan protein powder in vanilla.

Makes me feel stronger already.

Peanut butter banana smoothie for two

This peanut butter banana smoothie turned out to be a delight.

For two people, throw in the blender:

- two bananas

- about four ounces coconut water with pulp

- about two tablespoons peanut butter

- about one cup plain yogurt

- one packet carnation breakfast essentials vanilla

Tropical vanilla smoothie

I made a smoothie so incredible today I forgot to take a picture, I just drank it all.

In the blender:

- about 1/3 of a cantaloupe

- about 4 ounces very vanilla soy milk

- about 1/3 cup plain nonfat yogurt

- 1 small very ripe banana

- 1 packet carnation breakfast essentials classic vanilla

Red almond smoothie

I've been making smoothies for a long time. My husband used to make them as a cold summertime treat but after I fell and broke my teeth four years ago, my blender and I became more intimate.

Now I use my smoothie skills to combat two phenomena: when I'm too lazy to eat  (drinking is easier) and when I can't motivate myself to eat fruit. 

Today's smoothie is based on the success of yesterday, but cooler and more tart.

For one big smoothie:

- about 3/4 cup plain yogurt

- 1 packet vanilla carnation breakfast essentials

- about 1 cup frozen strawberries and cherries

- about 3/4 cup unsweetened organic cranberry juice

- about two tablespoons black chia seeds 

- about 1/2 cup ground raw almonds

Kitchen sink breakfast smoothie

We had a lot of random odds and ends in the house so I made a breakfast smoothie out of all of them.

Last night I ground some soaked raw almonds in the food processor and a topping for my yogurt. When you see ground almonds as an ingredient that is what I used,

This was tasty and milder than I expected.

In the blender:

- one very ripe banana

- 1/2 cup unsweetened homemade applesauce

- 6 fresh strawberries

- 3/4 cup ground almonds 

- 1/4 cup black chia seeds 

- 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk

- 3/4 cup plain yogurt

- 1/2 cup organic unsweetened cranberry juice

- 1 packet vanilla carnation instant breakfast powder

Serves 2

Chocolate PB banana smoothie

My daughter was cleaning her room this morning and I offered her a banana as a snack. She asked if she could have a smoothie instead.

We came up with this delicious concoction.

- two ripe bananas 

- two and a half tablespoons plain yogurt

- about two tablespoons peanut butter

- about 1 cup chocolate soy milk

- about two tablespoons dark chocolate chips

Into the blender it went...

Chicken salad variations

To use up the cucumber salad, my husband and I opted to make chicken salad. We had some skinless, boneless chicken in the freezer that he cooked.

We mixed the cucumber salad with the chicken once we chopped it. Then we added spices: Italian seasoning, garlic pepper. I also added golden raisins.

I split the chicken into two bowls, one heavy on the cucumber and the other heavy on the meat. The meaty bowl got mayo while the other got serious amounts of buffalo sauce. I added soft goat cheese crumbles to both.

Served on apple fritter bread with heaps of fresh spinach.

Beverage was a strawberry yogurt smoothie. (Serves three.)

- two cups strawberries

- one container strawberry rhubarb noosa yogurt

- one carnation instant breakfast packet in French vanilla

- about four ounces very vanilla soy milk

Variations of a breakfast

So I wanted a smoothie for breakfast and child chose my offer to use similar ingredients in a yogurt parfait.

Child had a parfait layered as follows:

- whole fresh strawberries

- strawberry rhubarb Noosa yogurt 

- homemade granola with almonds and cashews

- dried strawberries

With a glass of very vanilla soy milk to drink.

My smoothie was strawberries, the strawberry rhubarb Noosa, a splash of coconut milk, a splash of very vanilla soy milk, and vanilla breakfast powder.

Clearance Indian

I bought Chicken Tikka Masala on clearance on Target. $2.48 for 2 servings. Archer Farms. To offset the processed food, I made a nice plate of fresh spinach and spring mix, which we'll put the chicken and rice on top of it. Then we'll have non-dairy fruit smoothies-- my new recipe of coconut milk, pomegranate juice, strawberries, peaches, pineapple, mango, banana and local raw honey.

Fish stick sandwiches

This morning I made mega smoothies-- bananas, strawberries, homemade almond butter, Carnation breakfast essentials vanilla flavor, almond milk and strawberry Noosa.

Lunch was salad wraps with Parmesan cheese and a side of baked potato sliced and smothered in butter, extra virgin olive oil, salt and garlic pepper.

Now, for dinner, I'm making fish stick sandwiches since my husband (who loves fish sticks) blames the child for their ending up in the cart at the grocery store.

Child will eat raw carrots as a side.

The sandwiches will be served on grocery store bakery bread, with romaine lettuce and homemade tartar sauce.

This was my original attempt at tartar sauce:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2012/05/flounder-with-homemade-tartar-sauce.html?m=1

Today I used about:
- 1/4 or so Miracle Whip
- about 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- about 2 teaspoons honey mustard
- 2 dill pickle spears, diced, home canned from last summer's garden
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic pepper

Strawberry smoothie

Oooooh so good!

- one serving strawberry rhubarb Noosa yogurt
- about 4 ounces very vanilla soy milk
- Carnation essentials vanilla flavor
- 4 fresh strawberries

Blend.

Oh yum!

Raspberry smoothie

I'm not a fan of smoothies. Maybe it's a psychological throwback to when I broke my teeth and survived on an all liquid diet for a month.

But today I wanted something different.

So, for breakfast, I prepared some salad in a wrap.

And got out the blender.

Ingredients:
- one banana
- about 1/4 cup vanilla maple yogurt from Klein farm
- about 3/4 cup frozen raspberries
- about 2 tablespoons apple cider from Heckman Orchards
- about 3 tablespoons Very VanillaSilk

This is delightful.

Berry Banana Smoothie

For two:
(would be best with a handful of ice cubes but some child used all ours)
In a blender combine
- about one cup frozen berries (ours had thawed, they were leftover, frozen would have improved temperature and texture)
- 2 bananas
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons vanilla yogurt

Husband breakfasts

Yesterday for breakfast my husband made steak, eggs and homemade diced fried potatoes.

Today we have a meeting 9 a.m. to noon, so he whipped up smoothies:
- dark chocolate carnation instant breakfast
- peanut butter
- almond butter
- banana
- very vanilla soy milk
- dark chocolate almond milk

Rag Tag Meals

tortellini

I made peach muffins yesterday which I thought were mediocre, but my daughter ate six of them so I could be wrong. I didn't post the recipe because I ran out of flour, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder. I ended up mixing half flour and half oats.

For dinner last night, I made cheese tortellini with a butter/olive oil sauce, with fresh parsley, kielbasa, and peas.

For dinner tonight, we had breakfast. Pancakes my husband made over the weekend and froze. Strawberry ones with real maple syrup. Veggie sausage. Smoothie of raspberry Chobani yogurt, coconut milk, unsweetened soy milk and vanilla carnation instant breakfast. And hot generic grape nuts, with raw local honey, dried blueberries, vanilla almond milk and a touch of blackstrap molasses.