Berry Almond Smoothies

I almost always have a nice little line up of dishes just waiting to be shared with you. No joke. I'm pretty sure there's more than I can count on one hand just hanging out, waiting for me to talk about how delicious they are...

Then this come along and cuts in front of all of them. How rude.

I couldn't help myself though. It's just that.good.

I know you're sitting over there, rolling those eyes of yours, thinking I've gone all detoxy and super health freakish. And yes, detoxy is totally a word. In my dictionary.

Anyhoo, I haven't. Just trying to meet the #1 goal I set for myself for this year. (i.e. Eat more fruits and veggies!)

In truth, I kind of forgot about the green monster smoothies as a way to trick myself into eating more spinach. That is until I ran across a different version of a berry green monster smoothie over on The Spiffy Cookie. Aha! I need such trickery in my life.

Last time I made a green monster, I used peanut butter, bananas, and apples, and it was most definitely tasty. But I love berry flavored things way more than banana, and besides, that's all I had hanging around. And berries + almond? Win. Although I love the flavor of almonds way more than chunky bits floating in my smoothie, hence, I opted for extract.

Berry Almond Smoothie

Original Recipe

1 apple, peeled and cored (I used a McIntosh)
12 ounces frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup 1% milk
2 ounces fresh baby spinach
1 teaspoon almond extract

Place the apple and frozen berries in a blender. Pulse until a puree starts to form. Add half the milk if it seems to not be mixing well. Add the spinach and remaining milk. Blend until mixture is smooth. Add almond extract. Mix until fully incorporated. If mixture is too runny, you can add ice to thicken it back up. If smoothie is too thick, you can add more milk.

Serves: 2

Wait! Please don't run away now that you know for sure that it has spinach in it. Cross my heart and hope to die... okay, maybe not really, but I swear, you really cannot taste the spinach in this. And it helps that this version isn't green. Just think -- one serving of veggies and about 1 1/2 servings of fruit per ~9.5 ounces (1/2 batch). Beat that V8 (especially that fiber content).

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 353g
Amount per serving
Calories 173	Calories from fat 14
% Daily Value
Total Fat 1.5g	2%
Saturated Fat 0.38g	2%
Cholesterol 3mg	1%
Sodium 50mg	2%
Total Carbs 38.2g	13%
Fiber 9.1g	36%
Sugars 25.6g
Protein 4.3g
Vitamin A 59%	Vitamin C 83%
Calcium 13%	Iron 10%

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

I'm not going to lie. The first thing on my "to-do" list once we got home from our Thanksgiving vacation was to get out all the Christmas decorations. Well, right after I took care of mounds and mounds of laundry. And after I put away my measly little box of fall decor. But then it was time to bust out the stockings, and advent calendar, and oh yes, the tree.

In the process, I may have rearranged our living room in order for the tree to go in front of the window. Maybe. By myself. Joy.

Though trying to program the fancy pants timer while upside down to turn on at different times of day... well, I left that one for the hubby to figure out. And the ornaments. I was good this year and only put the lights on the tree until he got home.

I wrapped the few presents we already had and stuck them under the tree.

It was a busy Monday.

And I'm still itching to get the lights up outside. Too bad we won't be able to borrow a ladder for another couple days.

Don't hate. I like to enjoy my Christmas decorations for more than a week before packing them all away for another year.

If you can't tell, I'm a huge fan of the Christmas season. Especially Christmas baked goods. In my book, there can never be too many goodies on the cookie plate. Which, of course, is absolutely required. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Although hot chocolate might not go on the cookie plate, it sure is tasty while you're busy making all those cookies. Or sitting in front of the tree enjoying your handy work. Or after going outside and having a snowball fight. I mean really, it's pretty much a winter staple. But adding that extra little bit of peppermint flavor totally swings it into the holiday season. Yum.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Adapted from: Brown Eyed Baker

9 ounces Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses
3 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Unwrap the candy cane kisses; place in a quart-sized ziploc bag. Place bag in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour the powdered milk into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until any lumps are gone, and milk is ground very fine. Pour into a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa to the same food processor bowl (no need to clean). Pulse until sugar and cocoa are mixed thoroughly. Transfer mix to the gallon-sized bag. Add the frozen candy cane kisses to the food processor. Grind kisses until a powder forms; pour into the gallon-sized bag. Seal bag and shake well until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Store in an airtight container.

To make hot chocolate: combine 1/3 cup of the cocoa mixture with 1 cup of hot milk in a coffee mug. Serve topped with whipped cream or marshmallows.

Makes: 1 3/4 pound (about 16 servings)

Even though you're adding almost an entire bag of candy cane kisses to the batch, the peppermint flavor, while definitely present, isn't overwhelming. And chocolate and peppermint? Such a perfect chilly day combo. Now I just need to work on making some homemade marshmallows to go with them...

Nutrition Facts - Mix only
Serving Size 61g
Amount per serving
Calories 234	Calories from fat 51
% Daily Value
Total Fat 5.7g	9%
Saturated Fat 2.9g	14%
Cholesterol 6mg	2%
Sodium 275mg	11%
Total Carbs 41.4g	14%
Fiber 3.0g	12%
Sugars 34.7g
Protein 10.8g
Vitamin A 0%	Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 32%	Iron 15%

Russian Tea

Ever since fall hit (okay, ever since I had to sit around a chilly house) I started craving a warm satisfying drink from my childhood.

I am by no means a "tea" drinker. Quite the opposite in fact. I really can't stand it when it's by itself. However, when mixed with other flavors, by all means, count me in. I like to call this tea version fall-in-a-cup. Because that is exactly what comes to mind anytime I think about it or smell the mix with its cinnamon and cloves. It just doesn't seem right to bust this out in the middle of summer.

It's for comfy pants and sweatshirts.

And being wrapped in layers of blankets. While it's raining.

And smelling fall. Burning leaf piles and all.

Russian Tea

Adapted from: Family Recipe

1 cup powdered Tang
1/2 cup powdered lemonade (such as Country Time)
1/4 cup unsweetened instant tea
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 heaping teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large ziploc bag, combine all the ingredients. Shake well to mix. Pour into storage container. To use, stir 2 tablespoons powder into about 10 ounces (a coffee mug) of hot water.

Makes: 2 cups (serving size: 2 tablespoons)

Now I'm sure there are recipes out there for this same drink that are "all-natural"/"non-processed" -- basically they don't use the powdered beverages in the mix. However, that usually entails fresh items, and quite frankly, that involves time. And usually when I'm craving this drink, I am not in the mood to be putzing about the kitchen. So, this version of the drink works perfectly for me.

Believe it or not, I actually found the original recipe to be a tad on the sweet side. I know, I thought something was too sweet? What is the world coming to? In order to fix this, I scaled back the sugar by half and have reflected the change in the recipe above. If the final product doesn't taste sweet enough for you, simply add in up to another 1/4 cup of sugar.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 25g
Amount per serving
Calories 83	Calories from fat 0
% Daily Value
Total Fat 0.0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0.0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 57mg	2%
Total Carbs 18.4g	6%
Sugars 18.1g
Protein 0.1g
Vitamin A 28%	Vitamin C 287%
Calcium 30%	Iron 0%

Blueberry Lemonade Soda

It's National Blueberry Month. And I have missed it. Seriously?

Well, I haven't missed it completely... I have hoarded pints and pints of blueberries in my house specifically for my eating pleasure. But as for actually making anything with them? Zip. Zero. Zilch.

Time to change that.

As soon as I saw this recipe over at Eat Live Run I knew I had to make. Like now. I even braved 90+ degrees in a car with almost no A/C to go and buy a juicer. Just for this. Really.

Every time I think of flavored lemonade I automatically think of strawberry or raspberry. But blueberry? Genius!

Tart on sour made sweet with simple syrup. One word.

WON.DER.FUL

Absolutely perfect for those sweltering summer days.

Or add a splash of vodka for a little adult treat to help cool down those sticky, humid nights. Either way, you can't go wrong.

Blueberry Lemonade Soda

Adapted from: Eat Live Run

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup fresh lemon juice, about 9 lemons
1/2 cup blueberry juice (such as Ocean Spray)
3 cups soda water

In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a simmer. Stir until sugar has dissolved, then remove from heat. Allow simple syrup to come to room temperature, then chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, juice lemons. Pour juice into a pitcher through a strainer to remove any seeds and pulp. Mix in blueberry juice and simple syrup. When ready to serve, mix together juice and soda water in a 1:1 ratio in a glass, stirring well.

Makes: 6 8-ounce servings

If you're not into the whole soda thing, you can also substitute sparkling water or just regular water instead. It will still be delicious.

Now go crank out some lemon juice, pull up a chair on the patio, kick back, and relax with a tall glass. Just don't forget the citronella candle. Or a fan.

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 118	Calories from fat 0
% Daily Value
Total Fat 0.0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0.0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 3	0%
Total Carbs 31.1g	10%
Fiber 0.1mg	0%
Sugars 28.3g
Protein 0.1g
Vitamin A 0%	Vitamin C 31%
Calcium 0%	Iron 0%

Green Monster Smoothies

Now I'm sure you can tell by my posts I'm not super focused on crazy healthy eating. No, I don't actively go out of my way to eat bad things, but I'm more of a believer of eating things in moderation. I think there is definitely a time and place for everything. Take... a slice of cake. Every day? Bad idea. For your birthday? Probably not such a horrible thing, as long as you're not celebrating a birthday every other day.

However, every once in a while some health-fad food item comes across my path that catches my eye. Such as these Green Monster Smoothies. The core of these smoothies is based on a handful or two of spinach (hence the green color) blended with an array of various fruits, veggies, and other things (such as chocolate and peanut butter). I had heard that these were pretty good -- you couldn't even taste the spinach. Hmmm, now that was one I had to investigate... I know I don't get enough veggies in my diet, so maybe this was a way to trick myself into doing it?

Below is the smoothie mixture I put together, but feel free to check out Green Monster Smoothies for more recipes.

Green Monster Smoothie

1 handful fresh baby spinach
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
1 banana, sliced
2-3 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 cup 2% milk
several ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Adjust milk or ice cube amount until desired consistency.

Serves: 2

So could I taste the spinach? Actually, surprisingly, no. Although I have to admit the green color was slightly off-putting when I was drinking it. And the skin of the apple didn't quite puree all the way so it was still a little bit chunky.

Would I try it again? Probably, with maybe with less apple and possibly some chocolate milk. (Eh, so much for the healthy part, ha.)

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 216	Calories from fat 87
% Daily Value
Total Fat 9.6g	15%
Saturated Fat 2.5g	13%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 5mg	2%
Sodium 113mg	5%
Total Carbs 29.5g	10%
Dietary Fiber 4.5g	18%
Sugars 19.0g
Protein 7.3g
Vitamin A 32%	Vitamin C 21%
Calcium 10%	Iron 5%