My Go-To Smoothie

I am off and on with my green smoothies. Mostly on, the off times are when I sleep in and it seems easier to pop a piece of toast in the toaster or have a bowl of cereal. But when I'm on, this is my go-to recipe for smoothies.

I start with a banana and a huge handful of spinach or kale. Next goes in the frozen fruit (sorry no measurements here, I pour until it looks good). I also add in protein powder; being diabetic I need to balance the natural sugars in the banana and frozen fruit with some protein. Then I usually add 1 1/2  - 2 cups of water.

Because I use frozen fruit I don't add ice and it is still thick and cold.

My blender isn't a fancy one but I never have chunks of green stuff I need to slurp back and because of that I decided to add an orange to my smoothie this morning. 

It was a great success!

If you follow my "sort-of" recipe, you should have enough for 2 generous smoothies. I put my second one in the fridge for the next day. It isn't pretty but still tastes the same.

I signed-up for the 30-day green smoothie challenge that starts tomorrow, mostly for the recipes!

Looking for more recipes? Check out Mini Muffins Many Ways and One Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Kettle Corn Trail Mix - Recipe

 My family and I discovered the best kettle corn at our local farmer's market last summer, it was so yummy and fresh; nothing like packaged grocery store versions. I don't know why I never tried to make it myself until a couple of weekends ago. This is my second go around and I want to share this simple snack that is perfect for a family movie night.

I took the traditional recipe and added in cashews, raisins and semi-sweet chocolate chips to make it a trail mix. And really, in my books, when you add in protein all is well in the snacking world.

I use a Whirlypop to make my popcorn, but I have heard you can also use a heavy-bottomed pot with a good lid. You will have to use those arm muscles to keep everything moving though.

Recipe:

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

1 - 2 tbsp of vegetable oil (I use the 1 second per tbsp method to measure)

1/4 cup of white suguar

salt to taste

Yummies of your choice

Pour the kernels and oil into the Whirlypop and put on the stove top over high heat. Start turning that handle and don't stop! After a few moments, you will hear the oil start to pop and sizzle and you may want to add in the sugar - not yet! Once the first kernel pops, CAREFULLY and quickly open the lid pour in the sugar, close the lid and keep turning the handle.

It will take a moment for everything to get back up to the right temperature, but like regular popcorn, keep it on the heat until the popping slows down to 1-2 pops.

Pour the popcorn into your bowl (I have 3 sons, so 3 bowls are necessary). The popcorn will be sticky, don't worry, it doesn't last. Sprinkle with salt and use your hands to "toss" the popcorn a few times.

Now comes the part where you get to learn from my mistake. Do not add anything that melts (like chocolate chips) to the bowl until the popcorn has cooled down (it makes so much sense NOW). Once the popcorn is cooled, it will no longer stick together and won't create an ooey-gooey mess.

I put hot water in the Whirlypop after I'm done and it washes up nicely.

Do you have a favourite snack for movie nights?

Mini Muffins Many Ways

As I mentioned when I shared my One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies, I do a lot of baking for the boys' lunches. This is another recipe I make a lot, it is a versatile mini muffin that I change-up the main ingredient frequently to keep things interesting.

Most times I use frozen blueberries in this recipe. Fresh works too but I always have blueberries in the freezer for my smoothies. Really, any frozen fruit would work.

 A popular ingredient is chocolate chips. You could use any variety or a combination of them for extra yumminess (yes to chocolate chips and peanut butter chips!).

When I use raisins and cinnamon I substitute 1/2 cup of the flour for a 1/2 cup of rolled oats.

Recipe

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of your ingredient of choice (blueberries, chocolate chips, raisins)

Combine the sugar, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla together.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Stir the liquids into the flour to form a smooth batter. Fold in the blueberries (or other ingredient of choice).

This makes 24 mini muffins or 12 regular-sized muffins. If you aren't using liners, use some butter to grease the muffin tin. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 14-17 minutes (for mini muffins) or 20-25 minutes (for regular muffins).

One Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies

I decided to cut out processed granola bars and other snacks from my kid's lunch boxes this year. I won't say we don't eat any processed food, but what we do eat is very minimal and we are label detectives (no BHT or TBHQ for us).

What this means is I have been doing a lot of baking, A LOT. The danger with baking in a house full of boys is that the cookies you make for next week's lunches will disappear in a day if you do not guard those cookies. My trick? I freeze them! They thaw by lunch time and they last a wee bit longer.

I have been playing around with recipes, yummy ones, easy ones, ones with not too much sugar but hadn't found the perfect one until I combined a few that can be made in, wait for it, 1 BOWL. Less mess and mixing!

Here is the recipe for my 1 Bowl Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 large egg
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup brown or golden sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tbsp of vanilla

Mix these ingredients in your bowl first

Add in:

1 cup of rolled oats (I know most people say not to use quick oats, but I do with no issues)
1 cup of flour (I use whole wheat)
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda

Mix these ingredients with the wet

And THEN:

3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Roll into balls, about 1 inch in diameter and place in a 350 degree oven for 9-10 minutes. This recipe makes 16-18 cookies depending on how accurate you are with making the cookies the same size. I typically use parchment paper but was out and they still cooked evenly with no burning.

Enjoy!