Back to Blended

I can have bananas in the house again, the fruit flies are gone. The weather changed (6 inches of snow yesterday!) and the flies are dead.  I have started to blend again.  I missed my daily smoothie. In replacement I found myself back at my old breakfast, tea and some type of bread / pastry/ doughnut etc.  I am behind on a couple smoothies so I have 3 to post today.
The first smoothie I made was basic:

Green Blueberry Smoothie

1 banana

handful of mixed greens

1 T wheat germ

1 T ground flax seed

2 T hemp seed

1 cup frozen blueberries 

almond milk to make 4 cups

The second smoothie is:

 Carrot Mango Ginger Smoothie

1 banana

handful of greens

4 cubes of frozen pureed carrot (I made this for baby food and threw it in on a whim, now I will need to make more!)

1 cup frozen mango

1/2 cup Honey Green yogurt

3 shakes of powdered ginger

3 shakes cinnamon

1 cup water

Almond milk to make 4 cups

This was a really yummy smoothie. I will definitely be making this again! Probably add some of my grains next time.

Today's Smoothie is:

Green Apple Crisp Smoothie

1 banana

handful of greens

3/4 cup applesauce

2 T honey

1 T wheat germ

1 T ground flax seed

2 T hemp seed

2 T raw quick oatmeal 

random shake of powdered ginger, cinnamon, all spice, cloves (heavier on the ginger and cinnamon)

1 cup water

almond milk to make 4 cups

If you noticed I am adding water, I am trying to cut back on calories (and cost) of the almond milk. I keep adding some almond milk to get the calcium.

Food Geek

Some people get excited when a new I phone come out. I don't have an I phone.  I am okay with the "old" technology. It works fine for me. However, I can get really excited when I get new kitchen tools.
I recently hosted a Pampered Chef party.  I really like that stuff. The quality is high and they have a great selection of items.  I don't think every item is something that I would want, or use. But, the items I have I use a lot and I really am please with the performance.  So, because I hosted a party, I earned a bunch of free stuff! It came in the mail today! My new stainless steel bowls are waiting for a cake or whip cream to be mixed up. The batter bowl will be tested on Sunday with pancake batter.  The rubber scrapers (which don't stain and then smell like salsa!) will scrape down the sides of the bowls and my children's little pink tongues will lick the scrapings.  Plus I finally found the Bamboo spoons that I love for making soup. Now that fall is here, we have soup every Friday night. 
Yeah, I am a Food Geek.  I love to cook and bake and eat.  I can get excited when I use a new bowl and spoon.  But this Foodie is okay with that. Tomorrow I am going to get my cooking on. What are you doing?

Flies

Fruit Flies of invaded my kitchen. I could supply a lab with enough Drosophila melanogaster to do several counts on wings and color of the little pests. I have cleaned and scrubbed and moved things looking for what they are feeding off of. For the last week I have had no food sitting on the counter. That means bananas. Therefore, I have not been having my smoothie of the day. I like the creaminess that a banana offers and I don't like them frozen in my smoothie. Yes, I am picky about my bananas. In case you were wondering, I also don't like them under-ripe or over-ripe.  There is a limited optimal window of banana to smoothie use.

I think I have the fruit flies under control now. I have a dish wrapped in plastic wrap, in the dish is a  small piece of tomato sitting in balsamic vinegar. I poked a few holes in the plastic wrap. The flies go in, but don't come out! When the weather turns chillier (it isn't that far away) I will bring the bananas back onto the counter and SOTD will continue.

Canning makes me think of my mom

Life has been VERY busy lately.  Not only is school back in session, the garden is still producing volumes of food that needs to be set aside for winter consumption.  I have been canning peaches, pears, salsa, spaghetti sauce, syrups, pickles and applesauce. Also freezing various foods.  Add in meetings and general household / child related things and I feel like I never sit down! Don't forget the 3 children, one in school, one starting preschool and one ALMOST walking! Don't get me wrong, I get a great feeling of satisfaction seeing all the food I have ready for winter consumption. 

I have been thinking about my mom a lot lately. I know how to can and preserve food because she "made" me do the work with her (to a teenager it was making me do it, not always seeing the benefit).  I miss my mom right now. I want to call her and tell her all that I am doing. I know she would be proud. I wish that she was down here canning and doing child care right a long beside me. Then I think, is she was still alive she wouldn't be down here with me, she would be busy at her own house doing the same thing!   On days when I feel tired and don't really want to can another item, I think, I only have 1 box of peaches to can, my mom canned 6 (!) boxes of peaches. If she could do it, so can I!  I don't feel the need to be my mother, but it gives me strength for the days when I am exhausted to think about her and what she accomplished. 

I often think about the Proverbs 31 woman when I think of my mom. We used that set of verses at her funeral.  So industrious! I miss her, and wish I could tell her thank you for the wisdom and skills she taught me. At the time I NEVER thought I would want to use them. Now I am very grateful for the things she made me do. I look forward to heaven when I will be with her again and we can sit down and visit about all the things I am missing with her now. Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Almond Peach Smoothie

Generally the blender I have does a fine job for my smoothies. Today, I wish I had a Vita-mix.  This smoothie had a good taste, but the flecks of almond were a bit to chunky for me.  I don't believe I will be getting a Vita-mix anytime soon, so I would have to find a different way to puree my almonds.  Maybe in my handheld blender or the milling blade on my Baby Bullet....hmmm.

On a plus side, I just got my boxes of peaches and pear from our fruit order!!! Can't wait to use this fresh fruit in my smoothies.  Any suggestions out there for a good peach or pear smoothie?

Almond Peach Smoothie

1/2 C raw whole almonds

1/2 C almond milk

Heat up the almonds and almond milk (microwave or stove) to help soften the almonds.

In the blender add the almond / milk 

1 Banana

Blend on high to puree the almonds

1/2 fresh peach ( I left the skin on, more fiber. And since I already knew if was going to be chunky the skin wasn't going to make a difference.)

1 T ground flax seed

1 T wheat germ

1 T Hemp Seed

2 T raw quick oats

enough almond milk to make 4 cups

Strawberry Peach Kale Smoothie

Recently I made Kale chips for the first time. So simple and delicious. I wanted my oldest to try them and I told him they were Dino Chips.  Saying anything is dino related usually peaks his interest. He ate them and LIKED them and has asked for me to make more! I love when kids surprise me!
Today I added Kale to my smoothie.  Kale is a thicker leaf than spinach and took more blending. Even then, next time I will steam it really quick to help soften it first.  Kale also has a stronger flavor than spinach.

Strawberry Peach Kale Smoothie

1 banana

1 stem of kale, remove the leaf from the steam

7 whole strawberries, frozen thawed

1/2 large peach

enough almond milk to make 4 cups

Blend the banana and kale together until kale is fine puree. Add other ingredients and blend.

I didn't add all the grains today, but certainly you could.

Mostly Green, Blue Smoothie

Yesterday was another busy day. I converted two bags of apples into 35 pints of applesauce. The apples were so sweet that for 7 pints I only needed 1 cup of sugar.  Lots of work, but so worth the good food set up for winter!

Today's smoothie is a green smoothie.  A good way to get veggies into a diet.  Drinking smoothies has really made me look at food differently. Don't judge the taste of something solely on the look including the color. Today's smoothie is a funky greenish color, but it tastes delicious!

Mostly Green, Blue Smoothie

1 large handful of spinach

1 banana

1 ripe plum, pitted and skin off

1 cup blueberries

1 T wheat germ

1 T ground flax seed

1 T raw hemp seed

2 T raw quick oats

enough almond milk to make 4 cups

Blend and enjoy.

I have found for a mid line blender, I get the best blend of the greens if I blend the banana, with the greens, and a splash of milk.  If I add the spinach last I have ended up with chunks of spinach that I didn't like chewing. I should note that a high end blender purees everything and does yield a smoother textured smoothie. I don't mind my mid line blender or the texture I get.