Start the day off healthy with an apple smoothie. You’ve tried all the berry flavored smoothies before, but apples bring a new taste to your blender. Perfect with homemade apple cinnamon muffins.
Serving contains 232 calories, 1 gram of fat and 15 grams of protein.
* 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
* 8 ounces nonfat milk
* 2 tablespoon frozen apple juice concentrate
* dash ground cinnamon
* 1/2 whole green apple – seeded and cut in pieces
* 2 or 3 ice cubes
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
Makes one 12-ounce serving.
For more great recipes like this, check out Mr. Breakfast.
Vegetarian: A vegetarian is an individual who chooses, for health, environmental, ethical, or religious reasons to abstain from the consumption of animal flesh, including poultry and fish.
Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian: A lacto-ovo vegetarian eats no flesh, but consumes dairy (lacto) and eggs (ovo).
Vegan: A vegan (pronounced VEE-gun) is an individual who chooses to abstain from the consumption of all animal products. While vegetarians avoid flesh foods, vegans also avoid dairy and eggs as well as fur, leather, and other goods that cause suffering to animals.
This is a look at my backyard garden today. My purple hydrangea from the Farmers Market this past Saturday still looks great today, Thursday. I change the water in the vase every other day, and add sweet lemon thyme to the vase, free floating. It’s such a great look for clear vases. Tender young green leaf lettuce is in full bloom. My Roma tomatoes have their first bud, a single tiny green ball. The Tabasco pepper plant has tiny little yellow peppers budding everywhere. (editorial note….these peppers are as hot as fire!) Very young Jalapenos, two single stubby peppers emerging out, in the past few days. Cayenne peppers are green, and will turn red if you leave them on the vine long enough.
You are going to have to come up with new ingredient combinations if you want to make a smoothie interesting. We’ve all been making smoothies for years, so it takes something special to really make one stand out.
Try this on for size…a Blueberry Cheesecake Smoothie. Fantastic with pastries or coffee cake in the morning, or as a dessert after dinner.
Recipe:
1/2 cup milk (low fat)
3 oz. PHILADELPHIA Light Cream Cheese, cubed
1 cup blueberries
2 Tbsp. plus 1-1/2 tsp. sugar or honey
1/2 cup ice cubes
BLEND First 4 ingredients in blender until smooth.
Are you using chives in your recipes? Chives have been used throughout history for natural healing because they contain a substantial amount of vitamin C as well as essential minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron, and folic acid. Chives are a member of the garlic and onion family. In Chinese medicine they are used to clear stuffy noses, prevent bad breath (ironically enough, even though it’s a member of the garlic and onion family), ease stomach aches, strengthen the lower back, and improve poor circulation that gives you cold hands and feet. Some serving suggestions? Chop up chives and add them to stir-fries or mix in with ground poultry to stuff ravioli or dumplings. Also great on baked potatoes and pasta dishes. Chives are super easy to grow, so plant your own and save some money.
Studies have shown that people who eat diets rich in Omega-3 (found in salmon and nuts) tested high for mental sharpness. It’s certainly possible to consume Omega-3s in supplements, but taking in vitamins via real, whole foods is far more satisfying than a supplement.
Recessionista Tip: Don’t throw those bananas out just because they are starting to get brown spots on the peel. You can throw the bananas in the freezer in their peel until you are ready to use them. The peels will turn black in the freezer, but the bananas will be delicious and ripe on the inside. Thaw bananas before using to make numerous recipe such as banana bread, banana nut muffins, banana pancakes, smoothies, chocolate dipped frozen bananas, etc. Utilize everything that you have on hand and become a Recessionista Diva! In this economy, no wasting is allowed.
Having an herb garden means having easy side dishes for dinner. Take a bag of baby carrots or new potatoes and place on a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil, and generously sprinkle with fresh herbs (I used Rosemary, Sweet Lemon Thyme, and Parsley here.) Throw them into a hot oven, 475, for 15-20 minutes until completely roasted. How easy can that be? Healthy, fast and delicious and it looks great in a serving bowl on the table.
Get your skin bikini-ready. Taking 1000 mg of Omega 3 Fatty Acids a day can help heel dry skin from the inside out. Besides being an integral part of the membranes that surround our skin cells, these essential fats are a key component of the lubricating layer that keeps skin supple.
Blueberry Cheese Cake Smoothie
Peach Blackberry Smoothie
