When I was a little girl my parents would come to wake me up for the day and say "rise and shine." Those simple little words would be such a positive start to my day. So to get the day started off right, I tend to still say this to my kids. Mostly to my youngest since the oldest is "too old" for that. Anyway, mornings can be just a tad bit crazy around here as I am sure it is at your house too. The hustle and bustle to get out the door on time leaves very little room to get a good nutritious meal into our bellies before we tackle the day.
Having fresh fruit and good, wholesome ingredients on hand allows me to give them something other than sugar laden treats. Shopping at my local Kroger store gives me a hand in making sure I am prepared for whatever comes at us on any given day. I love that the Natural and Organic Foods have an entire aisle dedicated to just that-natural foods. You do not find that in many other grocery store chains, at best there is just a section with a few items. They have great brands but with an affordable price tag allowing me to get more bang for my buck and that makes this mom feel good about what I feed my family. They have a wide selection of refrigerated and frozen foods as well as fitness bars, snacks, and a growing selection of gluten-free, wheat-free, and dairy-free products. Not only that, but they have a growing selection of health and beauty items as well.
Right now between October 14-October 27, 2015, when you purchase any 3 participating products, Silk, Kashi, or Noosa items you get 1 FREE dozen Simple Truth (Cage-Free) Eggs. Redemption happens at the register when 3 items are scanned. Loyalty card must be used.
My kids love it when I make smoothies, and I love that I can control what goes in them. Most of the time I just dump things in and wait for the magic to happen. Fresh fruits, yogurt, almond milk, the list can go on and on. Also from time to time I throw a little "green" stuff in there without them having a clue. They don't bat an eye and the oohs and aahs are music to this mom's ears.
The key to making a great smoothie is using wholesome ingredients. While on a grocery run I made sure to pick up what I needed so we wouldn't fall into a sugar laden rut on our crazy mornings. Silk Almond Milk has just 30 calories per serving and just the right amount of vanilla. You won't even miss the sugar. Silk Almond Milk has more calcium than milk, excellent source of Vitamin E, and no cholesterol or saturated fat. Combine that with fresh fruit, orange juice, Noosa yoghurt, and a banana and that there my friends is one spectacular smoothie.
Sunshine Smoothies
1/2 cup of assorted fresh fruit
2 cups Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 cup orange juice
1 8 ounce container of Noosa Yoghurt (any flavor-I used blueberry)
1 banana, sliced
Place the fruit, almond milk, orange juice, yogurt, and banana in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Adding ice cubes can keep it cold or placing your fruit in the freezer the night before and just dump it in the blender the next morning.
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Today it has been 4 years since I hit the submit button on my very first post. I can't believe it has gone by so fast. I had no idea in that instance that life would be changed forever. Looking back over the past 4 years I can see so much growth and learning. I love what I do and sharing with all of you. I am forever thankful that you continue to come and read my little ole blog. I started this blog as a way of sharing what I love, cooking and writing. However, it has become more than I could have ever imagined.
Who doesn't love mint and chocolate together? I keep frozen fruit in the freezer so I am able to throw together a healthy treat for my family with very little effort. Our local store has frozen fruit at a pretty decent price. When fresh fruit is not in season, it is a great alternative. Using frozen fruit prevents smoothies from getting watered down like it would with ice cubes. Most of the time I just throw a bunch of fruit in the blender with a few other ingredients and blend away.
Throwing in a good handful of baby spinach gives it the nice green color.
I like that I can throw a little green in the mix and my kids never know they are getting something a little healthier. To them, when I make smoothies, they are getting a treat.
Again, thank you for coming by and seeing what I share. Please accept this virtual hug to all of you.
Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothies
1/2 Cup of milk (any milk you choose is fine)
1/2 Cup of vanilla yogurt
1/2 Cup frozen pineapple chunks
12 baby spinach leaves
1 Tablespoon of honey (or more to taste)
1 drop of mint flavoring
1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips
Combine all the ingredients in the blender. Blend until desired consistency. Garnish with fresh mint and mini chocolate chips.
Our family loves to make smoothies any chance we can get. I am like any other mom and I try to make sure there are healthy options around for my kids to snack on. When Williams-Sonoma asked me to participate in Smoothie Week, I knew I would not have a problem coming up with a recipe to share.
I will not lie when I say my kids would much rather grab something that is "not so healthy" to snack on. I try to offset the bad with the good when I can. My husband and kids are big fans of blueberries so I know when I use them they are more likely to at least give it a try. When blueberries are not in season I like to buy the frozen bagged berries. These are usually picked in season and froze at their peak. This makes it super easy to whip up a smoothie anytime. The frozen berries also keep the smoothie nice and chilled without the use of any ice, which we never seem to have. Does anyone else have that problem, or is it just me?
I like to throw all kinds of things into my smoothies. If I have a banana, it goes in. If there is orange juice in the house, that goes in too. The more fruits I have the better and the more likely my kids will drink it up. To give this smoothie just a little extra nutrients, I added some oatmeal to the mix. I ground them up in the blender before adding any other ingredient to get the oatmeal really fine. It adds a little texture but my kids did not seem to mind at all.
I am a firm believer in using what you have available. Most of the time the items I use in the smoothies are already staple ingredients I like to keep around. During the winter months I try to make sure we have more orange juice around to help with the intake of Vitamin C to ward of any of those nasty bugs. Milk is always in the fridge and I buy yogurt on a regular basis. We love fruit and berries so I try to have a variety to choose from in the freezer. A great addition would also be to add a little spinach or kale to the mix. The kids would never know they were in there. I know that would make plenty of moms happy, including this one.
Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothies
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 small container of plain, vanilla, or blueberry yogurt. (Greek Yogurt works well too)
1/2 cup of almond milk (1%, 2%, or whole milk works too)
2 Tablespoons of honey (may need to add more depending on sweetness of berries)
1/4 cup of old fashioned oats
Ground oatmeal in the blender until fine. Combine the remaining ingredients and blend. Serve immediately.
Check out Williams-Sonoma's website for many great recipes. My mixer is one I bought on clearance at a big box store but I am really eyeing this immersion blender. My Mom has an immersion blender and I love using it. I could find all kinds of uses for it. Hint to the hubby.....my birthday is next month!
Check out all the blenders Williams-Sonoma has to offer here---> Blenders
(photo credit-Williams-Sonoma)
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