{delicious} SMOOTHIES!
1:34 PM
since deciding that the whole family would be eating A LOT better in 2014, I'd say so far we're all doing pretty darn well. I'm cooking at home more often and the kids are definitely noticing more veggies on their plates. even better, they're eating it all. my husband is missing his cheeseburgers and pizza, but I give him major props for actually making better choices when it comes down to it. I think he's enjoying trying a whole assortment of gluten free beers he might have normally ignored. I am beginning to really enjoy pulling meals together with new ingredients and I absolutely look forward to my 7am smoothies more than I miss my coffee. along with my almond choconut banana smoothie, this tropical fruit, mint and carrot juice concoction are my go-to's at the moment.
back to my delicious smoothies.
I've been in the habit of prepping and flash freezing my fruit for awhile now. a couple of years ago I couldn't pass up on the ridiculous deals on berries and bought waaaay more than we would ever eat in an entire summer, let alone in a week, before they went bad. I was a little blinded by "SALE!!" in the nifty grocery store handwriting. I decided to freeze them all and use them throughout the year, and that, my friends, was a kick ass idea. now I do it all the time. I have gallon sized freezer bags of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries from this summer. they go great with spinach or kale and pomegranate juice.
my daughter eats her weight in bananas each week (literally), so we always have them on hand. she'll generally go through 5 in two days (she gets up and sneaks them from the kitchen before we all wake up) so I have to slice and freeze a few of them immediately... I do prefer her liking bananas over marshmallows.
Ok, ok... she prefers marshmallows but I threw them all out so she's stuck with bananas:)
right now, you'll find tons of citrus and tropical fruits available like kiwi, mangos, papaya, and all of those totally funky and cool looking things leaving you saying "what the hell is that and how do I eat it?" get it and try it anyway... it's probably delicious. anything that comes from the tropics is delicious, as a general rule of thumb. with rum. for me, anyway.
just slice 'em and dice 'em, lay them out flat on a cookie sheet, freeze for half an hour and throw 'em in a freezer bag for future deliciousness. I usually mix the fruits together in the bag based on their flavor profiles. I have "berries" and "tropical fruits" and a bag of banana by itself. I prefer frozen fruit to ice in my smoothies - creamier and delicious-er. I also either use fresh juice, almond coconut milk, or coconut water. I'm seriously into coconut-anything at the moment.
from there, you can add anything you'd like: almond butter, peanut butter, coffee, chocolate, mint, basil, ginger, wheat germ, flaxseed, protein powder, rolled oats, the kitchen sink....
have fun, be creative, and share your favorite below!!
0 comments