What Kale? Protein Smoothie

Summer time = Breakfast?  No worries, the kids are not even awake until lunch time.
Back to school time = Breakfast?  Our daughter has the weird "B" lunch in the middle of her fourth hour class and our son has the late lunch, 4 1/2 hours after the bus picks him up in the morning. Whatever it is it must contain some protein or they just won't make it to lunch.

This smoothie tastes so good and with it's beautiful purple hue they won't even know the kale is in there.  It's the perfect way to get them off to school


What Kale? Protein Smoothie
Printable Version

Blueberry Mojito Smoothie

“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in--what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.” 
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

My garden is my pride and joy.  I love being able to relax in the back yard with a different scene almost daily depending on what is in bloom.  Tucked away in the blooms are edible delights that almost look too pretty to eat.  Chives in the spring and fall, strawberries in early summer, blackberries in late summer, and herbs almost year round.

Not big on rum, a server at my old favorite restaurant (so sad that it is gone) talked me into ordering a blueberry mojito.  I have to say, it was fun summer awesomeness in a glass.  It was this morning's inspiration for our morning smoothie.

Blueberry Mojito Smoothie

Printable Version

Sneak in an Avocado

Did you know that an avocado is actually a fruit?  I didn't.  I always thought it was in the veggie group.  Green, slimy, kids won't eat it.  It must be a veggie.  Digging deeper the avocado is a berry.  My kids new better.  "Mom, everything with a seed is a fruit".

High in fiber (10g), vitamin C, vitamin B 6, and more potassium than a banana sneak these heart healthy fruits into your morning smoothies.

We enjoy this recipe so much we have it every week.

Skin In The Game

At a networking breakfast yesterday, someone mentioned leaving the skin on kiwi when you make

smoothies.  It just didn't sound right to me, but then someone added "my kid eats kiwi with the skin on like an apple".  OK, but kids eat worms too.  I still wasn't 100% sold, but I tried it this morning anyway - you couldn't tell they were in there.  Believe me, if anything was funky our 10 year old would have called us out.

Thanks for the great tip. 

I did some research this morning, there's actually a California Kiwifruit Organization.  I found out that by leaving the skin on the fiber value is tripled and more of the vitamin C is retained.  Hey, I just like that it's a shortcut in the morning.

According to Wikipedia to have "skin in the game" is to have incurred monetary risk by being
invested in achieving a goal.  In my smoothie recipe having skin in the game is to retain more of the vitamins and add fiber.

Hide the Spinach

Sometimes it's not the foods our kids (and husbands) won't eat, it's the way they are prepared.  For instance, most people steam brussel sprouts. Yuck!  You can't get most people to buy in to them this way.  Try roasting them with olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and orange peel. DELICIOUS!  The same goes for asparagus.  Steamed, not so liked.  Grilled or roasted it takes on an entirely different flavor, and texture, that will get more wins and empty plates.

I find that the best way to make sure that my family gets enough vegetables is to hide them in a fruity flavored smoothie.  Sometimes I sneak a few too many veggies in there and I am busted.  Sometimes I hit a home run like with this limey flavored smoothie.

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hide the Spinach, An Antioxidant Smoothie

Breville Juicer and Vitamix

“Instead of being oppressed by the Tyranny of the OR, highly visionary companies liberate themselves with the Genius of the AND – the ability to embrace both extremes of a number of dimensions at the same time. Instead of choosing between A or B, they figure out a way to have both A AND B.” Success Built to Last,  Jim Collins

 

Having posted a lot of smoothie recipes I get asked what type of juicer I own and my answer is, it depends on what you want to do and what your tastes are.  In my case, I like delicious fruit smoothies (and these are an easier sell to the 9 year old boy) AND I like smooth fresh vegetable juice.  To have both you need different equipment.  If you want to choose between brands, like Vitamix OR Ninja then the Tyranny of the OR applies.  You do not need two machines that do the same thing.  On a side note, spend the money and get the Vitamix.  If you want smoothies AND smooth juices without pulp then Embrace the Genius of the AND and purchase both a blender and a juicer.

VITAMIX OR AND BREVILLE

Vitamix



Creates smooth, thick, recipes that depending on the ingredients, may be chewy

Best uses: soft fruit such as:

    bananas

    mangoes

    citrus

    berries

    greens

recipes that add ice or liquid

recipes that add a liquid sweetener such as agave

 

Not the best for: hard fruit and vegetables such as:

    carrots

    apples

    beets

    ginger

The powerful motor in the Vitamix will certainly handle the above items, but it makes a chewy juice that will be a difficult sell to young ones.

 

 

Mango Kiwi Smoothie

I made a beautiful fruit platter for breakfast this weekend.  Instead of trying to bag up the leftovers and hope that they still look attractive enough for the kids to eat them I threw them into the blender. 

"Life's too short to hang out with people who aren't resourceful." ~Jeff Bezos

 

 

This recipe is great for breakfast, an afternoon pick me up, or post workout nourishment.

Purple Power - Antioxidant Smoothie

Smoothies are an excellent way for hiding veggies from 9 year old boys who won't eat them any
other way.  The trick is keeping your smoothie recipe from turning sludgie yucky brown and looking like swamp water.  Here's a recipe that stays purple (ish) keeping the mass amounts of spinach in it your secret.

Brown Pow, Antioxidant Smoothie

I am blessed to have an artist for a husband whose creativity carries over into the kitchen.  He whipped up this amazing smoothie for us this morning.  The color was not very attractive, but if you close your eyes it's extremely yummy.  Our 9 year old won't eat most vegetables without a fight.  This recipe is great for kids, like him, who won't eat their veggies.  Even the pickiest eaters won't detect that the spinach is in there.

 Printable Version

Surf and Turf, A Delicious and Nutritious Smoothie Recipe

Our kids in the ocean with a shark, Jamaica

Spring break to Jamaica was one of my family's favorite vacations.  The weather - perfect; the pool -
perfect; the beach - rocky, but perfect; the food - amazing; swimming with the dolphins - unforgettable!  Our all inclusive resort had fresh fruit at every meal.  Dinner had a fruit carving station.

Vampire Venom, An Antioxidant Rich Smoothie

This morning we decided to create a new concoction in our Vitamix mixer.  I had the last bit of a pineapple to use, but I wanted to try something different than Kermit Juice.  I asked my 9 year old what color should it end up.  Begin with the end in mind, right?  He shouted out "red". OK, red it is.

Kermit Juice

This is a recipe for a smoothie so we use our Vitamix blender to make it.  I wanted to call it "Kermit in a Blender", but my family talked me out of it.  Just wait, when I come up with a recipe that comes out of the blender green and red it already has a name.

Harry Potter Booger Juice

Mornings at our house are super busy and difficult to manage.  Who am I kidding?  Mornings, afternoons and evenings are tough.  This one will eat this.  This one won't eat that.  Did our daughter eat breakfast before she left?  You can't wear shorts it's 30 below zero!!!  You can't eat cake for breakfast!  Yes, you can eat cake for breakfast - but not JUST cake.