Pineapple-Ginger Smoothie + Recipe Recap

Recipe challenge, week twenty-four.

I may be really reaching with this one.  I've said that I don't like smoothie recipes because I don't want to meet the person who needs to follow an exact recipe to make a smoothie.  It's just something you do.  You can't measure out a smoothie. Smoothies are about ingredients, not measurements.  Like, do you measure out ingredients for a milkshake?  Not really.  You just keep adding ice cream and milk until it blends up nicely.  Same with a smoothie.

So, this smoothie has our current favorite ingredients: pineapple, ginger, and coconut milk.  I put in spinach because it's necessary to eat green food and I use half of a banana instead of a whole banana.  It's really just that the banana gives it a good consistency and helps it blend together.  This smoothie is really all about the pineapple.  Sometimes I throw in some mango too.  I buy frozen fruit in bulk so then I always have ingredients on hand.

Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties and we really like the health benefits and flavor.  Once I started putting it into smoothies (I usually split a giant smoothie with Scott...when he's around), Scott requested it again and again.  Now, it's just habit.  I buy fresh ginger root and keep it in a Ziploc bag in the freezer (Rachael Ray taught me that) and just shave some off for smoothies, stir-fries, or even desserts.

Sorry this post is boring.  Let's recap what I've made so far this year!

1. Baked Crab Dip
2. Mint Oreo Ice Cream Cake
3. 30 Minute Leek and Potato Soup
4. Company Chili
5. Cookie Dough Ice Cream
6. Scott's Salmon
7. Homemade Marinara Sauce
8. Homemade Naan Pizza
9. Crockpot Chicken Curry
10.  Steak Fries
11. Sort of Homemade Chicken Stock
12. Carrot Cake Blondies
13. Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork
14. Mint Oreo Rice Krispy Treats
15. Basil-Oregano Pesto
16. Italian Couscous
17. Limeaide Margaritas
18. Burrito Bowls
19. Sausage Breakfast Bake
20. Maple Donut Muffins
21. Pumpkin Pupcakes
22. Maple Scones
23. Fajita Quinoa

So for this smoothie...you will need:

Pineapple-Ginger Smoothie

Pineapple chunks
Mango chunks
Half a banana (or a whole one)
1 t. to 1 T. shaved ginger (depending on how much you like the flavor)
3-4 strawberries
1 cup baby spinach (or thereabouts)
Coconut milk (or almond milk or regular milk or...you get it)

Mix it all together in a blender until you get the consistency you like.  I use frozen fruit, but if you're using fresh fruit, I'd throw in a few ice cubes.

Tequila Smoothie

That up above obviously isn't a tequila smoothie.  It's white wine.  But I made the tequila smoothie on Wednesday night at 9pm and it was too dark to take a picture.  For you visual learners, it was a purple smoothie.

However, I knew I wanted to share it with you because it was pretty fantastic.  There's a reason why I refer to it as a smoothie instead of a margarita, and it was really a case of necessity being the mother of invention.

And there's a story behind this invention…

I drink a spinach smoothie almost everyday and I've even started putting in celery and blueberries for added nutrients.  So, I do make healthy things in the blender.

However, when you discover the reason why you've had to set mousetraps in the basement (because your husband bought a Costco-sized box of individually wrapped crackers and put it down there), you need something stronger than spinach.  This box of crackers was sitting on the shelving with all of our extra kitchen supplies and dishes we don't use.  In other words, a lot of stuff that Kristin had to clean. Luckily, I'd already started the process of putting extra kitchen stuff into large plastic bins, so the clean dishes and appliances had a place to go.

After I huffed and puffed my way through clearing stuff out of the basement and cursing my luck and washing and re-washing things that were near the aforementioned crackers, I needed a drink.  So a tequila smoothie it was because I didn't quite have the ingredients on hand for a margarita.

The chore continued well into yesterday and when I looked at the clock I was shocked to find out it was already 4:30pm.  Any time after 4:00 is okay for wine in my book.  Since I was now out of tequila, Yellowtail would have to do.

I had a curious onlooker.  He was depressed because I had things to do and couldn't play.  Dishes don't wash themselves, Scout.

Tequila Smoothie

This is just what I added based on the ingredients I had on hand.  I started throwing things into the blender and the end result was a fruity, refreshing, smoothie-like drink.  

1 1/2 cups frozen fruit (I used chunks of pineapple, blueberries, and strawberries)

Juice of half a lime

1-2 shots tequila

1-2 shots coconut rum

Juice, about 3/4 cup (I used Simply Lemonade Mango)

Blend it up and enjoy (while sitting in bed watching something ridiculous…I chose Hart of Dixie.)

2021's Smoothie Recipe

 

Smoothies are back!

I used to drink a protein/spinach smoothie every single morning on my way to work for about 18 months. 

While pregnant, I couldn't stomach the thought of a green smoothie; not because it made me sick, but because it was just gross. I've never been able to get back into protein powder, and I've definitely tried. 

So now, after trying out some Daily Harvest smoothies this fall (too expensive but very good, generally) and reading The Postnatal Depletion Cure (where the author talks a lot about nutrition), I've hopped back on the smoothie train. 

The best part is that Wells loves them. He eats them like ice cream with a spoon. It's a fun part of the day, sharing a giant smoothie.

Here's what I've been putting into them for the last two months.

Coconut water. For hydration and a little flavor.

Almond milk. To serve as a blending liquid but, really, does this have any other purpose? Does anyone actually *like* almond milk?

Dole Fruit Blends. These aren't super cheap, but they have a mixture in them, usually including something green. It's usually about $8-9 a bag and will last a week. Still cheaper than Daily Harvest!

Extra frozen fruit. Mango, pineapple, blueberries, or strawberries are my favorites to use to bulk it up. I don't like raspberries or blackberries.

Sometimes half a banana. I'm not a huge banana fan. 

Sometimes spinach. It depends.

Acai berry. Sometimes, if I have it. 

Maca powder.

Collagen.

Chia/flax/hemp hearts. We buy this Trilogy mix and I put it on oatmeal a lot. It's fantastic if you blend it into a smoothie. 

Anyway, I don't measure anything. 

I try to make it thicker, rather than thinner, because Wells does get more out of it when he eats it with a spoon. I used to try so hard to get him to drink smoothies and, as it turns out, he just doesn't like to drink them. 

What's your favorite smoothie recipe or ingredient? I'm really on board with adding in my supplements, like flavorless collagen, this way. 

5 Food Trends that Should Go Away

Last night, we had everything cilantro for dinner.  I know some of you can't get behind the cilantro movement, but we eat it several times a week.  I'm convinced that you either love it or hate it and luckily, in this marriage, we both love it. In fact, I buy a bunch of it every week and add it to everything.  Salads, quesadillas, soups, salsas, burritos…there's always a place for this green goodie!

Cilantro chicken, cilantro quinoa (we love this stuff!), and broccoli slaw

Now, what food movements can I just not get behind?  Well, there's a few.  I've noticed that people are really grasping at straws trying to get the newest and bestest out on the Pinterest before everyone else.  Here's some trends that I don't think I'll be trying anytime soon.

1.  Baking with Cereal.  Rice Krispy treats?  Good.  Fruit Loops on a cupcake?  No.  Using a Chex cereal or Rice Krispy cereal as a base is very different from using it as the flavor.  If I wanted Fruity Pebble-flavored blondies, I would….wait.  Never mind.  I would never, ever want Fruity Pebble flavored blondies.

Along the same lines…

2.  Baking with fruity/sour candy.  Sour Patch Kids on a cupcake?  GOOD. GOD. NO.  Just no.  That's gross.  Skittles Fudge?  WHY?  I saw Nerd ice cream at a restaurant once 15 years ago.  I'm still wondering who would've ordered that.  I know I haven't been baking a whole lot lately, but I can promise, you'll never see such things in my kitchen.

3.  Paleo noodles.  I've tried the zucchini noodle thing.  We've done the spaghetti squash.  I just don't like it.  I don't often crave noodles, but when I do, I want a giant plate of spicy peanut noodles.  With maybe some zucchini mixed in.  A plateful of zucchini has about 48 calories and probably won't satiate your hunger unless you pair it with a lot of protein.

4.  The plethora of smoothie recipes that are out there on the internet.  You don't need 18 variations on a smoothie.  I have a spinach/fruit recipe (recently I've started adding flax) and a banana/PB recipe. Especially because, generally, you won't have the ingredients on hand for the particular one you choose that day…and then your smoothie plans will be scrapped.  Nope.  You throw whatever you want into the blender, and you make a smoothie anyway.  Do you really need a recipe?  I only share my two go-to recipes with you (a lot) because they are something I make almost everyday.  Please stop pinning smoothie recipes and captioning "Why didn't I think of this?!?!".  I promise: You don't need a Pin to make a smoothie.  I have faith in you. You can do it.

5.  Dessert pancakes. Cake Batter Pancakes? Red Velvet Pancakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Syrup?  If you want a cupcake, eat an egg and toast for breakfast and then eat. a. cupcake.
Don't masquerade your breakfast as a birthday cake.  I saw "Chocolate Pancakes" yesterday.
Two ingredients: Chocolate cake mix and milk.
No.  That is chocolate cake.  There is no pancake about it.

Your turn!  What food trend are you absolutely opposed to?

Fruit and Spinach Smoothie

It's not as weird as it sounds.

It sounds pretty weird.

But you cannot go wrong with this smoothie if you are looking for a healthy breakfast (we all have those days where we don't feel like eating breakfast) or a meal replacement.

I tend to make this on Saturdays, around 11am.  Because after I roll out of bed at 9am and trudge my way to the gym, I get back home around 11.  (In the summer months, this is an everyday occurrence.)

You can use any fruit you choose.  The protein secret is, of course, the Greek yogurt.  The sweetness will come from the fruit, but also from the fruit or vanilla yogurt.  Fruit-flavored yogurt (think: Yoplait) has a lot of sugar, so you don't have to use it.  It just kind of thins out the Greek yogurt, so I throw in a scoop.  Of course, if you have fruit-flavored Greek yogurt, just use that instead.  I buy plain Greek yogurt in a big tub (Fage), because it's less expensive.

That's enough yogurt talk.

I occasionally use a frozen banana in this.  Bananas have a lot of sugar and fat content for fruit, so if you're really counting calories, I'd stick with berries.

The secret to the spinach:  After you add it, please drink the smoothie right away.  The consistency changes, not for the better, if you don't.

Otherwise, you can't taste the green stuff!  What a way to get a vegetable into your diet!

 

Fruit and Spinach Smoothie

makes 1 large or 2 small smoothie(s)

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (I use Fage 0%.)

1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (I use Yoplait.)

1/4 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

1/2 cup frozen or fresh strawberries

1 T. honey

up to 1/2 cup skim milk or almond milk (until you get it to the right consistency)

1 cup loosely packed fresh spinach

In a blender, mix the yogurts, berries, honey, and 1/4 cup of milk.  Add more milk until it blends/liquifies easily.  Add in the spinach and blend again until smooth.  

This makes about 3 cups.  

However, I never actually measure.  These are estimates (I'm sorry!), but a smoothie is certainly something you can play with and customize to your own tastes :)

Shared at:

Cast Party Wednesday

These Chicks Cooked

Healthiness in 2014: Lunch

Eating lunch is a new thing for me.

I know that sounds strange, but here's the story…My first year teaching (2010-2011), I used to eat lunch at school when lunchtime was appropriate.

Two years ago, I had some stomach/anxiety issues, and I started eating a very small breakfast, taking the medication I was prescribed and it would kill my appetite.  So I was never hungry at 11:45, which was my class's lunchtime.  That year, I had my prep period at 2:30, so I would eat a late lunch around then and would feel okay, usually, to go to the gym after school.  My meds would wear off by that point and my stomach was generally okay after noon.

This completely messed me up.  By the next year, I never really got into the habit of lunch.  I'd eat a big breakfast (coffee, oatmeal, a smoothie), have a snack during my morning prep period, and then eat again right after school pre-gym, and then eat a late dinner with Scott (because he often worked late in Alaska).

This year, my prep period is 9:50-10:40.  I eat what I call "second-breakfast" during this time, because I love breakfast, and then try to eat something again at 11:00.  I say try, because after 11:25, I am with those kids until 3:30.  I don't get a break to even go to the bathroom (though, I often have the teacher from across the hall pop in so I can run out). Since it's winter and we're not outside for recess, I will often have a Larabar or something while they're watching The Magic School bus during what I call their "recess".  (I cannot deal with that indoor recess nonsense.)

It generally looks like this:

7am: Oatmeal/coffee

10am: Greek yogurt/apple/granola

11am: Whatever I packed for lunch (if I'm hungry)

2:30 or 3:30: Larabar, pretzels, carrots, or fruit

4:15pm: Smoothie

6pm: Dinner

8pm: Dessert, which is usually this marshmallow stuff (2 T. chocolate chips, 1 T pb, handful mini-marshallows) or a few pieces of chocolate

So what does fall into the "Whatever I packed for lunch" category?

Good question.

Sometimes it's more oatmeal.  Sometimes leftovers.  Sometimes I don't get around to "second breakfast" and just have it for lunch.  I am so, so bad at lunch.  When I do take leftovers, it's often a deconstructed quesadilla that I just heat up in the microwave or a homemade black bean burrito.  Sometimes it's leftover roasted sweet potatoes.  Sometimes pasta.

Something else I have working against me is that I generally don't like savory foods until way after noon.  My 11am lunch period is currently the bane of my school-day existence.  When I see the 10:30am lunch period teachers with school lunches of chicken, mashed potatoes, etc. at 10:30am, my stomach turns a bit.

I probably could eat the school lunch, but in my experience that's an easy way to throw money out the window.  It's like $4 a day for school-lunch-food.  That's not awesome food, you know?  I could go to Panera and spend $6 and get good food.  If I was allowed to leave the school grounds during lunch that is.  Or if I had enough time.  But no one really wants to get into the habit of eating out for lunch anyway, right?

Right.

So, what do I eat for lunch at home?  Usually a combination of these things.

+Hummus, carrots, tortilla chips is my favorite during the summer, with a blueberry smoothie. I eat this in the winter too, but of course, I don't have the luxury of a blender and frozen fruit in my classroom.

+Spinach flatbread sandwiches (or put it in a wrap)

+Quesadillas

+Leftover homemade pizza or a quick flatbread pizza thrown together

+Yogurt/granola/fruit

+Smoothies

……..

I told you I need help.

What do you eat for lunch?

Previous posts in the Healthiness series…
Quick Dinners
Breakfasts

PB and Banana Protein Smoothie

I did a guest post yesterday for Kelly @Muddy Flowers.  More stuff about Alaska.  If you're interested...
(She has an adorable blog and 5 children......how do people with children blog?)
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Lately, I've been in a true breakfast funk.  It used to be my favorite time of day.  I adore breakfast food.  It just isn't appealing to me right now.  Instead of going through the options and telling you why I don't want to eat this or that, I'll tell you what I've been eating for breakfast for the last two months.

Dry cereal.


Yes.  As a toddler would.

I roll out of bed around 9:00am (in time for The View), I make my coffee (which I've also been having a love/hate relationship with as of late) and I pour a bowl of dry cereal (usually Oatmeal Squares) and I sit down in front of my Google Reader and I munch, munch, munch away.

Like a toddler would.  Or a squirrel.  I don't know.  I haven't had cereal with milk in months.

One day, I didn't even want dry cereal (!). That's when I knew something was wrong.  Lately, I've been forcing myself to eat something, anything, because I know that breakfast kickstarts one's metabolism.

So I made this.  Bananas are, of course, a superfood.  The protein powder makes it taste like a gosh-darn milkshake.  And the peanut butter gives it a real kick.  It's pretty subtle, but you'd definitely miss it without.
Six months ago, I would've thrown some spinach into the mix, but lately the thought of spinach makes me cringe.  As does the thought of most vegetables.

What are YOU eating for breakfast these days? Please tell me.  I have all of one week before I need to get my act together and feed myself before 8am.  If you don't help me, it's not gonna be pretty.

PB and Banana Protein Smoothie
makes one large smoothie

1 frozen banana
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I used Nitrean.)
1 T. peanut butter
1 cup almond milk (or regular or whatever)
about 4 ice cubes (a handful works)

This is the part where I should not be allowed to blog recipes...

Mix it up in the blender.  Of course.

Happy weekend!

18 months of Wells.

This post is way after his actual 18 month mark, but his 18 month appointment wasn't until this week. I wanted to get a weight/height in here.

Unfortunately, we don't have a height because they couldn't get one. 

He wouldn't stop flailing. He weighed 24 pounds though. 

Sleep.

I went on and on about sleep on Instagram last month. Wells did great with sleep for a few months there, and then fell apart as we traveled for Christmas. Luckily this short-lived. As for an 18 month sleep regression...eh? His only change is that he gets up earlier than I would prefer. He goes to bed at 7pm, as usual, and will get up around 6am, which I do not like. I'm trying to push him closer to 7am, but it's easier said than done. I think he's waking up hungry.

He's still napping consistently, though his naps have been really early (10am-12pm) the last two weeks. He's still perfectly happy all afternoon and evening. So as long as he IS napping, I don't really care when he does it. I just want him to start sleeping later in the morning. Ten+ hours straight at night isn't anything I'm going to complain about, though. I, personally, just need to go to bed earlier if I'm tired, instead of forcing myself to stay up and do things. (This is totally a me problem, not a Wells problem.)

I'm waiting a few more months, and then I'm going to start using the "okay to wake" function on the Hatch Rest. But since he's had that Rest since before he was born, it's like wallpaper to him. I was wondering if getting an actual "okay to wake" clock might be worth it, because it'll be new and novel.

He has a pillow now and loves sleeping with his (my) moose.

Scott bought me this moose a week after we moved to Alaska.

Food.

I love coming up with new things for Wells to eat and I really enjoy putting his meals together. His favorite food is probably Club Multigrain Crackers and he particularly likes it when I dip them in guacamole.
And some days, he really just drinks so much milk that it fills him up.
He loves chips. Like, to the point where I don't buy them because if he sees me eating them, he'll eat them too, until I put them away.
He will eat cakes, cookies, ice cream, but we don't give him those things very often. He's never had juice or chocolate milk* and I don't plan on starting that any time soon. I'm not averse to giving him something sweet, but there's really no point in starting that; he'll discover it all on his own eventually.

*I've met a mom or two who've said their 18 month old will only drink chocolate milk and not regular milk. Okay, Jan. If Wells would only drink chocolate milk, Wells would be only drinking water.

He loves grapes, and will gnaw on half an apple for awhile. It's a good source of amusement for him. He loves baked potatoes too, and I don't even put anything on them. He just eats them plain.  Anything with corn and black beans and Mexican seasoning is also always a winner.
I try to mix vegetables in some form into all of his food but, aside from that watermelon phase over the summer, he's really not into fruit. Cheese and yogurt also seem to be on his no-go list.
Wells loves him a smoothie though, and on the days when all he seems to consume are dry Cheerios, crackers, and milk, if he and I can split a spinach and kale smoothie, it's been a Good Day.
I use my regular smoothie recipe: half a banana, a few frozen chunks of pineapple and mango, greens, and unsweetened almond milk. He loves it.

Another trend I've heard parents talk about: toddlers will not sit to eat. I've been quite consistent to this point. But he eats so often and in small doses so I try not to get too shrill about it. Messy stuff is always eaten in the highchair, but he loves to eat Cheerios in his Anywhere Chair in front of the TV. Eh.

He's getting much better at going out to eat. I take food for him and give him a bit of whatever I have. He has taken quite a liking to crab rangoon.

He doesn't eat a ton of meat; usually he just spits it out. I always had texture issues with meat as a kid, so I don't really care.

Words.

Dada, mama, Jett, more, and car. Me-me-me is what he says while I'm pouring his milk or getting him a snack. He also has a lot of random words that mean something to him, but I haven't been able to nail down a definition: dooka-dooka, gee, and whoa-whoa (which I think is uh-oh). I say please and thank you for him but he can't repeat it yet. He understands us just fine. If I say "Little Baby Bum", he runs to sit in his chair in front of the TV,  if I say "bath", he runs to stand by the tub, and if I say "find a book", it means it's time for bed and he gathers up his lovies and runs to his room to pick a book on the shelf. He just recently started saying bye-bye and waving. He'll say bye-bye dada, which is very cute. He'll say hot when he touches warm water or eats warm food.

He's been saying hop and trying to hop. He says quack and clap pretty often. He will applaud himself and cheer if he knows he did something correctly.
He likes animal sounds and vehicles of all kinds. His favorites are fire trucks and ambulances. He doesn't call them cars but I'm sure he's said fire truck a few times. He just does not speak on command so it's hard to get a metric on his words sometimes.

He loves giraffes. He finds them anywhere they happen to be. He does say "gee" at this point, so we think maybe he's trying to get out "giraffe". The same with planes. He doesn't have a word for those, though.

Some randoms:

He cannot climb. It's almost comical and I'm. so. grateful. He can get from his Anywhere Chair up onto the couch, but only if I push the chair up next to the couch for him. He just, in the last month or so, started pushing himself down off of the couch. Now, at other peoples' houses, if the couch is lower, he can go up. He cannot do it here though and I think that's great.

He has little to no patience for the stroller. So we only use it to take walks with the dogs because I can't maneuver three small living things at once. (This is when I truly miss the tiny baby in the Ergo. Life was easy in that regard when he was less than 5 months.)
He walks or we carry him. He's learning how to hold hands but I think he's still a little short for that so it's not natural to him at all. We practice, though.

He does not care what we think. He's ridiculously independent unless, of course, he's at the gym childcare. So, there's that.

We went to the Children's Museum last week again and he just ran off.

I couldn't even get a picture of him with Daniel's trolley because he wouldn't stop long enough to look up. (This is why we don't even bother with a stroller in this type of situation now.)

Also, he's been really into this lately:

I can only hope he has a proclivity toward all things neat and orderly in the future. Fingers crossed.

Acai Berry Smoothie

It's been a bit of a week around here for no good reason other than I feel like I'm making everything harder than it has to be. Going to bed too late has a lot to do with it, I bet. 

I did want to share this smoothie because I've been making one most days. It's the best smoothie yet, and I feel like I've done a lot of smoothies over the years. 

I spent years hunting down frozen acai berry mix in freezer sections of grocery stores; I was never really successful aside from buying actual Dole Acai Bowls, which are kind of expensive and that's not a sustainable habit. 

I saw this powder a few weeks ago. It's absolutely perfect. I don't really follow the directions on the package because I keep bananas peeled and frozen in freezer bags...it tells you to mix everything and then freeze to the consistency you want. 

1 frozen banana

2 T. acai powder mix

1/2 cup frozen mango OR strawberries (those are my favorites to use, but you can use any frozen fruit)

1 T. collagen powder

1 teaspoon maca powder

1 T. cacao nibs

Unsweetened almond milk + coconut water to blend

Trilogy seeds (hemp hearts, flax, chia) for the top (sometimes I blend these in)

Mix everything in a blender, adding more liquid if you need to. This makes enough for me, a small cup for Wells, and I usually put, still, half of glass of leftover in the fridge for Scott. This has been my go-to after-school snack lately.

I think proteinr powder would be a great addition, but I love the flavor of of the acai berry, so I wouldn't want to change the flavor with protein. If you have a very mild protein powder that you use, it would probably work.

Last week's dinners...and a smoothie recipe

Again, still trying to clean out the fridge, still making dinner from scratch when possible, still showing you last week's food because this week's will only be a smattering of leftovers and whatever's left in the freezer.

Saturday night (4/6): Roasted butternut squash and BBQ chicken wraps

Sunday (4/7):  Stromboli and asparagus

Monday (4/8):  Quinoa stir-fry (This was zucchini and frozen stir-fry mix + quinoa cooked in chicken broth)

Tuesday (4/9):  Thai Chicken (Crockpot) and Slaw (Amaaaaazingggg)  I didn't do the pineapple or the red pepper.  I used a bag of broccoli slaw that I had bought on clearance with no real plan in mind.  Then I stumbled on this recipe and I knew it'd work well.  I drizzled balsamic vinaigrette on it.  Also, I didn't have curry powder or turmeric.  After some research, I made my own "curry" powder: 1 t. cumin, 1/2 t. ground coriander, 1/2 t. chili powder, 1/2 t. ginger.

Wednesday (4/10):   Leftovers with another butternut squash.

Thursday (4/11):  Salsa Chicken Lettuce Wraps and leftover squash

Friday (4/12):  Went out to dinner at Turkey Red.  I had bread/veggies/hummus and half a steak salad. I brought Scott the moussaka.

Saturday (4/13):  Took pulled pork to Scott's co-worker's house.

Sunday (4/14):  Burritos made with the leftover salsa chicken (They include black beans and corn).

Sharing at Meal Planning Monday and Dinnertime Tuesday

I've been drinking a spinach smoothie every morning for the last week.  I've discovered that if you put in just a pinch of xanthum gum, the texture is perfect.  Smoothies for breakfast has been an adjustment.  I'm used to something crunchy (uh, cereal) in the morning with my coffee.  It's been months since I cut out the habit (uh, cereal) and it's tough.  Almost as tough as my after dinner candy habit (that's not going away anytime soon).
Oh well.  I've been drinking these on my way to work.  A frozen smoothie with the heat going full force as it's still in the single digits outside. Makes absolute sense.

Spinach Shake
makes 1 large or 2 small shakes

1/2 banana (can be frozen)
Handful frozen or fresh berries (I use strawberries)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 T. (or one scoop) protein powder
1 heaping cup fresh spinach
1 pinch xanthum gum

Mix it all up in the blender!  You can add ice and more almond milk if you'd like.

What are you eating for breakfast these days?

Banana Smoothie

I don't have a picture, but I'm sure everyone knows what a smoothie looks like.  This one is sugar-free if you don't count the yogurt (and I don't, because I mean, come on, it's yogurt).  Originally I believe this was a Weight Watchers recipe.  I like the yogurt in it, but some Cool Whip (not the stuff in a can) is good too.  I use this as a substitution when I have an ice cream craving and don't want to go to the store.  This is a great way to use up bananas when you don't feel like putting the effort into baking.  The only downside is that you have to clean the blender afterward.  I don't like to clean the blender.

Banana Smoothie

2 bananas
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 packet Splenda (or you could use a bit of sugar)
1/4 cup (or so) skim milk
1 t. vanilla
8 ice cubes

Break the bananas into pieces and throw them into the blender.  Add yogurt, Splenda, milk, and vanilla and blend until smooth.  Then add the ice and blend until it's smooth again.  This is enough for 2 people.

Supplements lately + Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie

For most of my adulthood, I barely remembered to take a vitamin. That changed with fertility treatments and all the supplements. And then I took prenatals for a year or so. Then I lost interest again. 

But it's winter and we've got preschool germs and school germs and traveling germs and the only thing I can do is up the supplement game. Like, I've gone all in. This is what I'm taking/buying and making everyone else take too. Much of it isn't about seeing immediate results, but about looking at the big picture of health and how I want to feel overall. This is a long game thing. It's really hard to know what to take or what to try and I usually hate research of almost any kind, but I don't really mind this. I can mostly find what I'm looking for on Amazon or at Walmart, too. 

*Clearly, clearly, I'm not a doctor. This is just what has been recommended to me by my doctors and what seems like a good idea for us right now.*

Collagen: I started collagen last year. It's a great extra source of protein. I put it in coffee in the morning and a smoothie if I have one later in the day. I don't do a full serving (2 scoops) but usually split it between the two drinks. 

Prenatals: I have tried the fancy ones and I don't like them. Anything chewy with omega-3 just makes me gag. I just buy the basic gummy prenatals because I like them. I did learn this time that you can skip a day and your baby won't, like, stop growing. I always assumed superstitiously that you needed to take them every day no matter what. They told me back in September that if I felt sick, prenatals often would make it worse so, it was fine to skip a few days. They're just more of a blanket recommendation for everyone than they are necessary day in and day out. 

Magnesium: I bought these Calm gummies after over a year of considering it. Sometimes I buy things like this and just don't use them like this sleep aid that I've thrown away twice now, so I was hesitant. Magnesium is supposed to help with leg cramps and contribute to more restful sleep. I did ask my doctor and she said a magnesium supplement is never a bad idea. The chiropractor I saw said magnesium is one of the number one supplements they recommend. 

Zinc: Because why not? This is a Zinc/Vitamin C blend. 

Liquid probiotic: I saw this recommended and, after reading up on it, it seemed like a really sensible idea. I'm not a huge kombucha fan, but that's basically what it tastes like. It's a small dose though and I only take it once a day. Scott and Wells take it too. It's not cheap, but I think that the investment in health is worth it. 

Vitamin D: My doctor told me everyone needs extra vitamin D and that, this time of year, our bodies aren't physically able to process enough in the short hours of sunlight even if we are outside a lot. These are for me and Scott. 

Immune Support + elderberry: I read recently that kids don't actually need a multivitamin. I give Wells these instead.

Is there anything I need to add? What do you take? 

This, as the title said, is my go-to smoothie lately. I went off of that recipe and the only addition I really make is the mango or berries to bulk it up. Pineapple would be good too. I don't like putting ice in my smoothies. 

My Current Protein Smoothie

I went to the doctor back in June and he encouraged me to change my diet. My diet isn't bad (really). When I told a friend about all of his recommendations, she was appalled because I "eat healthier than anyone" she knows. I don't know about that, but I try not to eat processed food. I won't claim a perfectly balanced diet. I don't love vegetables usually and I don't eat a lot of meat. I'm a carb person, through and through. Even if I'm not eating loaves of french bread for dinner, I eat a lot of carbs.

Carbs are in everything, by the way. I will say that I've cut some things COMPLETELY out of my diet since then (I'm an abstainer, not a moderator): tortilla chips, bread (aside from the occasional sandwich thin), pancakes, and oatmeal.

But cutting out all carbs seems...difficult.

In the spirit of adjustment, I'm incorporating more protein. This really means that my diet has gotten to be extremely boring. I'm not eating pancakes for dinner anymore. I eat the same general things each day now, but I feel amazing, so it's obviously worth it.

I'm not tracking this anywhere (I learned long ago that I'm too OCD to track calories...it's not a good habit for me to fall into), but I'm keeping count of protein grams each day. I was "encouraged" to keep a carb count too. This is hard for me, so I'm just focusing on getting enough protein and then, if I'm full, I won't be tempted to eat chips and salsa for dinner. That's what this comes down to: not eating chips and salsa for dinner.

This smoothie has 30 grams of protein. My goal each day is at least 60 grams because you're supposed to be between 50-75 grams of protein every day. While I knew this on some level, I never considered it before. Yes, bananas have carbs, but half a banana is probably good for you, right?

Protein Smoothie

1 scoop of protein powder (whey OR casein powder is 24 grams per scoop)
1 small frozen banana (or half of a large one)
1 T natural peanut butter or almond butter (6-8 grams protein)
1 cup milk (I've been using unsweetened cashew milk)

Blend it all up and enjoy!

I have issues in that I can't put peanut butter and spinach together...it's really weird to me. Sometimes I leave the nut butter out and put in spinach and frozen mango but the peanut butter version is tastier and it keeps me full longer.

Healthiness: Green Smoothie with Flax

We all need a super smoothie recipe in our arsenal, right?   Here's my new favorite.

Blue Diamond should sponsor me at the rate we go through this stuff.

Protein powder, flax, xanthum gum

My new love is ground flax.  I put it in oatmeal, regular and baked.  It's great in muffins and banana bread too.

It definitely adds a nice nutty texture to green smoothies.  I highly recommend it.  I've also tried this with wheat germ, so that's an easy substitution if you don't have flax.

Green Smoothie with Flax
makes 2 big servings (that's not all of it in the glass above)

1/2 cup blueberries
1 banana, frozen and cut into chunks
Optional: 1/2 cup other frozen fruit (strawberries, peaches, mango, mixed…whatever you feel like)
1 T ground flax (We use Bob's Red Mill.)
1-2 T vanilla protein powder (I like the flavor you get from it…I'd use more if it was before or after a cardio workout.)
Pinch of xanthum gum
1 cup almond milk (We use regular unsweetened.)
2 cups fresh spinach
Water, if needed, to help blend it

Blend it up!

{I'm not blind: I know it looks gross.  But it tastes so fresh and is very filling.  If it wasn't so much work to clean the dumb blender, I'd probably make 2 a day.}

A typical Tuesday

5:14am Alarm goes off.  Out of habit, I check my phone for school closures.  We're open.  Not sure whether to be happy or sad about that.  Lay in bed and watch the news for a few minutes.  Scott and the dog were in Rolla for the night, so I had it all to myself.  Also, when there's no dog to take care of in the morning, I have more time.

5:30am Put laundry in washer and dryer.  Make coffee. Drink some warm lemon water while I wait for the coffee.  Check email.

5:45am Get dressed and sit back in bed, reading blogs, drinking coffee.

6:00am  Start getting ready.  Hair, make-up, pack lunch and breakfast to go.  All in small stages.  I can't move quickly in the morning.

7:00am Start car.  Put out the garbage.  Gather up ALL THE STUFF.

7:05am  Listen to Dead and Gone on the way to school.  It's actually a really nice way to start the day, listening to an audiobook.

7:08am  Stop for gas.

7:20am  School.  Unpack all the stuff.  Check email.  Set things up.  Eat breakfast.

8:10am  Children arrive.

8:45am Morning work, Spelling, Irregular verbs, Read aloud, Subtraction timed test.

9:50am Music class (a break for me to check email, to prep, make copies, attempt to call parents who keep dodging my calls, etc.)

10:40am  Pick up children, give them a bathroom break, Proofreading, take them to lunch.

11:00am Lunch.  Had a conversation with a student about why they cannot eat the school lunch and bring a hot dog for lunch at the same time.  It's one or the other.  (The hot dog was returned to the backpack.)

11:25am Reading. Abe Lincoln reports and a story about tornadoes and hurricanes.

12:25 Give them another bathroom break.

12:35pm Kids switch for interventions.  I have a smattering of children from other classes (i.e. kids not as disciplined as my own).  We do half an hour of Context Clues practice with foldables and the Science books.  Bonus: We actually get to use the Science books.  Normally I have no time to teach such content.

1:05pm Silent Reading time.  Kids read.  Sometimes I read too.  More often than not, I check email, prep materials, pull kids for fluency testing, etc.  I also spend a lot of time policing…"WHY AREN'T YOU READING?"

1:35pm More Proofreading, a bit of Writing.

1:55pm Math.  Bar graphs.  Give another timed test.

2:30pm Too cold for recess.  They sit on the carpet and watch The Magic School Bus.

3:00pm  Start packing up…this is the point in the day where my voice starts to go and my frustration starts to show.

3:25pm Take the 1st group of kids to the buses.  Send the 2nd group to another teacher's room.  End up explaining that we do not have boyfriends and girlfriends in 2nd grade.  And you definitely cannot trade your "girlfriend" to your friend for a toy that you want.  (Make a mental note to call some parents.)

3:45pm Leave school, go to Panera for green tea, the water treatment office to pay the sewer bill, and head to the district's career high school for my Foldables class.

4:00pm Check email, listen to audiobook in the car to relax. Eat a Luna Bar and trail mix.

4:30pm Dinah Zike's Foldables class.  It's a good class.  Relaxed.  But still…it's 3 hours on a Tuesday night.

7:30pm  Drive home.

7:45pm  Contemplate bringing the garbage can in.  I don't.

7:47pm Make a smoothie, call Scott because he's still at school, get a report on how bad the dog was that day.

8:00pm Watch an episode of The Following, drink my smoothie and eat some tortilla chips (still not feeling well and don't want real food), catch up on blogs.  Contemplate answering emails.  I don't.

9:00pm Shower, #28daysofpilates Day 11, read a chapter of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  Contemplate doing some dishes.  I don't.

10:00pm Watch the weather report.  Wonder why there are still schools in the area that are closed due to weather concerns…Some are on snow day #6.

Phone Photos.

 This is just a random collection of the types of pictures I usually share on Stories. My content there ranges from non-overshared memes (i try to be original, thankyouverymuch) to baby stuff (and the preschooler when he obliges) to the political and to the faith-filled (speaking truth is important). Also, dogs.

These are unedited and out of order. (such is life so ENJOY)

My favorite pjs for babies and toddlers are the Burts Bees ones. The quality and variety for the price is the best I've found. 

Loves the mirror

Went to the hospital to order medical records. Masks required (:

The positions we twist into to get a baby to look at the camera...

 Shark's mouth

We renewed our aquarium/museum memberships. It's the one easy indoor activity we can do all year round.

She was more interested in whatever than she was in the real penguin. 

Jellyfish

Boba. Which is basically a milkshake.

Baby's first Vietnamese

My baby restaurant hack is back: You put everything they need in a ziploc bag. When they're finished being all messy, you put it all back in the bag and then deal with it at home. 

Trying new headbands. Still not sure.

Me too.

Pre-dinner charcuterie

More mirror time

New game. Batteries not included obviously.

Lunch. No one ate the muffins I mentioned making last week, don't worry. Wells refused and she fed hers to the dog. Scott liked them. 

Any time I hear a baby yelling, it's because Wells has done this to her. 

Oh, that's better. 

Grocery store maybe?

First smoothie.

Wells' lunch...Smoothie is pineapple, almond milk, banana, hemp hearts. 

I couldn't get dinner on the table fast enough last night (and don't worry, no one ate it :) :), so Wells and Sutton had a banana and Cheerios feast at 4:30pm. 

Probably why they didn't eat.