Ginger-Spiced Chai Smoothie - Happy Monday!

With Thanksgiving finally over, and Christmas right around the corner, I seem to be busier than ever..... and with a steadily decreasing amount of time in which to get it all done....

Every year the holiday season is hectic, what with the getting orders out in time for Christmas delivery, and making (and mailing) my own gifts to family and friends– not to mention all the traveling to see them! I am amazed each year when I manage to come out on the other side of the New Year, having actually completed all the items on my to-do list, and even survived in order to do it all over again next year.

This year though, seems even crazier than usual because on top of all the normal goings-on this time of year, my husband and I are moving some eight hours North-West, to Buffalo, NY – just two short days after Christmas! It has been a colorful juggling act, keeping on top of everything – and keeping track of all the boxes: boxes for customers... boxes for family....boxes for friends...and just boxes on top of boxes on top of boxes, waiting for their trip to a new home.

To keep it all straight, I have resorted to an almost manic use of neon-colored Post-Its and Sharpie markers. Everything labeled – color coded – for my sanity's sake. Keeping a firm foundation in my daily routine doesn't hurt either – which is why I am adamant about starting my day at the same time each morning, eating my meals at the same time each day, and maintaining a regular rotation of household chores. I find comfort in the monotony of these little things...

And, as you all must know by now, one of those little things that I love is my morning smoothie!

I know, you think it CRAZY that I am still making my icy smoothies each morning, even though outside, the dew has turned to frost, and the daily temperatures are no longer rising above fifty degrees....

But, it seems that, when I sleep, my body temperature rises dramatically. My husband calls me his personal radiator, and sometimes I even get so hot that I must crack the window... even deep into the winter when the air is frigid and dense.

So, each morning when I awake, I still find the cool beverages to be quite soothing. This gingery-spiced beverage is one of my favorites. It is sweet, but also spicy, and so has a bit of an illusion of warmth despite its chill...

Ginger-Spiced Chai Smoothie
(Serves 2)

1-1/2 cups hot water 2 bags Celestial Seasonings Chai (Vanilla-Ginger-Green Tea)

2/3 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1-1/4 cups soy milk (vanilla or plain)
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

First, steep the tea bags in the hot water for 3-4 minutes. Remove the tea bags and transfer the liquid to a small ice cube tray and freeze. Combine these cubes with the remaining ingredients and blend until frothy and smooth. Enjoy!!

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FIND MORE SMOOTHIE RECIPES IN OUR ARCHIVES!

Back to Basics - Peachy Lean Smoothie

Oh no! I've disappeared from Blog-world ...... yet again!!
I admit it! I have definitely been slacking on my posts lately!

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If you would go and ask any of my real-life friends, you would quickly discover that I sometimes -- ok, frequently -- drop of the radar for days -- sigh, sometimes weeks -- when I get all-absorbed in some sort of creative project.

Or, you would learn that, as a child (and then well into my teens) I would frequently be late for dinner, lost in some fantastical world of literary brilliance. I would emerge, well past dark, to rejoin the real-world after completing an entire novel in one day (taking it with me to read on the bus, at school, during classes, at home, at the dinner table.... everywhere and anywhere ... until it was completed).

What can I say? I like to lose myself in the process ... and so I do ...

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Unfortunately though, last week's hiatus was not that sort of occasion....

It was, alternatively, a miserable illness that dismantled my entire life ....
for the better part of a week.

One of those nagging head colds that builds up unbearable pressure inside your skull - so you cannot focus - with the constant coughing and sneezing - endless coughing coughing coughing and sneezing sneezing sneezing - leaving you dizzy from the lack of oxygen and the brain rattling - and, let us not forget, the clogged sinuses and phlegm buildup that prevents you from breathing freely - and inevitably leads to more coughing and sneezing --> and then, oh my goodness, on top of it all, no amount of Nyquil in the world could help you get any kind of decent sleep!

So...... after lying in bed for days, sipping mugs of chicken broth, and glass after glass after glass of tea or water - watching endless reruns of Grey's Anatomy and basically being a complete baby about the whole ordeal --- I had, I'll admit it, absolutely no interest whatsoever.... in sitting down in front of the computer to write blog posts....

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But.... after a few clear-headed days now to regather my wits (and get out of the house) - I am back on a .... somewhat dreary Monday morning, with a brand new smoothie recipe.

I won't go on and on about how rich in Vitamin C, potassium, and beta-carotene this smoothie is.....

Instead, let me just tell you how delicious it is!!
Simply, it as close as you'll ever get to fresh peach cobbler....
without ever turning on your oven!


Peachy - Lean Smoothie
(Serves 2)

2/3 cups low-fat peach yogurt
1 to 1-1/2 cups sliced peaches, frozen
1/4 cup Whole Fruits peach sorbet
3/4 cup plain soy milk
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground allspice

Combine the yogurt and soy milk in a blender.
Add all the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.
Serve immediately!

Per serving: approximately 185 calories, 3 g fiber and 9 g protein. Also high in Vitamin C and Potassium.

Happy Mondays - Strawberry-Passionfruit Smoothie

When you have a smoothie (or two) a day, your fruit and yogurt reserves tend to run out quickly. Unfortunately, this week, there was not much in the way of fruit sales at our local grocer, and even worse, we were running low on smoothie fixings even before our weekly trip to the market.

So, this morning when I went to prepare the morning concoction, I was a little discouraged to find our frozen fruit reserves down to one zipper-lock bag of sliced strawberries..... our yogurt supply down to the last little scoop.....and just a mere two cans of Goya nectar left in the pantry.....

But, nevertheless, I managed to create yet another tasty treat to start of the week!
This one in particular is pretty simple, and may even require a bit of extra sugar for those of you with a sweet-tooth...but it has a lot of protein and fiber.... so even if you add the little bit of extra sugar, I'd still call it a healthy breakfast treat!


Strawberry - Passion fruit Smoothies
(Serves 2)

2/3 cup plain yogurt
1 to 1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries, frozen
1/2 - 11.5 oz. can Passion Fruit Nectar
1 to 1-1/2 cups plain soy milk (or low-fat milk)

Combine all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
Serve immediately, and enjoy.

Each smoothie contains approximately 235 calories, 12 g fiber and 11 g protein. Also high in Vitamin C!

Check out our RECIPE ARCHIVES for more SMOOTHIES!!

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What is your favorite smoothie flavor?

Weekly Smoothie Recipe - Frothy Iced Mocha

It is oh-so easy to get distracted when you have a lot to do! Often this is because it is just too hard to focus clearly on any single thing. When this happens to me, which it does all too frequently, I try to stop, write things down, and sketch out a to-do list to get me through the day...

Unfortunately, I still have not figured out just how to stick to the list. In fact, it is not unlikely for me to add about a million more things to it before I even finish the first thing on the list – resulting, inevitably, in most of list remaining -- still unchecked -- at the end of the day.

Indeed, it isn't so much the making of the list, as it is the tackling one thing on it at a time, and committing to completing one task before moving onto another, that keeps you on track and moving forward. As I begin to find a routine that works for me, and allows me to best get things done, it becomes easier to commit to sticking to that schedule each day!

My smoothie and breakfast routine, which I've been maintaining for well over six months now, is one of my minor successes. As small as the achievement may seem, I should point out that until this year, my first meal would not occur until well after noon. So, being able to pull myself out of bed and then pull together a meal - all before I start my daily to-dos - has been a huge lifestyle improvement, and certainly a small step in the right direction.
(The next step, certainly, will have to be adding in a regular exercise regiment, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves here....)

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So, this week's smoothie is a bit of a deviation from my regular fruit-yogurt smoothies. This rich, chocolaty treat is more of a dessert than a breakfast drink, but the added coffee is a great pick-me-up for the morning. Certainly not a daily extravagance, this little delight is a great way to punch up the start of the week, especially when you need that little extra shove out of the weekend. Enjoy!!

Mocha Smoothie
(Serves 2)
2/3 cup plain yogurt*
2-3 tbsp. chocolate syrup
1 tbsp. confectioner's sugar (or more for sweeter results)
Approx. 2 cups of brewed coffee, frozen into ice cubes
1-1/2 cups soy milk (or low-fat milk)

Combine all of the ingredients into a blender (starting with the yogurt - or tofu, then the chocolate syrup, coffee cubes and milk), and blend until smooth and frothy.

Serve immediately, and enjoy.

*The yogurt gives this smoothie a "tang" that my husband just does not appreciate. In his opinion it "taints" the coffee flavor, and so when I make these for him I'll substitute in 1/2 cup firm-tofu for the yogurt, as it has no flavor of its own...

Each (yogurt) smoothie contains approximately 277 calories, 2 g fiber and 12 g protein. Also high in Calcium!


FIND MORE SMOOTHIE RECIPES HERE

Weekly Smoothie - Strawberry Guava and Cantaloupe

Cleaning out the pantry this weekend I stumbled across a few rogue cans of GOYA Guava nectar and a bottle of HERO Guava nectar -- so I figured it was about time to make some smoothies!

After a little experimenting (I haven't used the guava nectar nearly as often as the mango and pear varieties), I developed this successful recipe. It is our favorite, so far, of the concoctions.

The guava nectar had a creamy richness that added a delectable punch of flavor, and the combination with cantaloupe and strawberry gave a little extra sweetness that was a refreshing change to our recent smoothie routine.

And don't you just adore that rosy color....?


Strawberry Guava and Cantaloupe Smoothies
(Serves 2)

1/2 cup plain yogurt
12 oz. (1 can) Guava nectar
1 to 1-1/2 cups frozen strawberries
1 to 1-1/2 cups frozen cantaloupe

Combine all of the ingredients into a blender (starting with the yogurt, then the frozen fruit, and then the juice), and blend until smooth.

Serve immediately, and enjoy.

Each smoothie contains approximately 206 calories, 12 g fiber and 8 g protein. Also high in Vitamin C!
(Find out more of the health benefits of Guava fruits here.)


FIND MORE SMOOTHIE RECIPES HERE

Smoothie of the Week - Creamy Cantaloupe Cooler

The change of seasons, while beautiful and refreshing, has left me feeling a bit under the weather... For the past few days I have been fighting a nagging head cold, stuffy sinuses, sore throat, headaches, and while it is not so bad that I cannot get on with my day, it certainly was not motivating. In fact, it put quite a damper on my weekend endeavors, and I barely even stepped foot in the kitchen except to warm up some broth and make egg drop soup.

I'm still not feeling one hundred percent, though the pressure in my head has finally began to subside, so this morning I really wanted to boost my Vitamin C intake to kick this cold once and for all. So, since I had a cantaloupe (on sale for $1.50 ea. this week), grapes (also on sale, $1.99), and strawberries (left-over and already frozen) I decided to whip up this cool and creamy smoothie, which has 121% of your recommended daily intake of Vitamin C!

Its mildly sweet flavor, and cold creamy consistency was even soothing on a sore throat, so how could you go wrong?

Creamy Cantaloupe Cooler
(Serves 2)
1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt
1 cup (each) cantaloupe, strawberries and green grapes, sliced and frozen
1 cup plain soy milk

Combine all of the ingredients into a blender (starting with the yogurt, then the frozen fruit, and then the milk), and blend until smooth.

If the smoothie is too thin, add ice and blend to thicken.
If the smoothie is too thick, add more soy milk and blend.
If the smoothie is not sweet enough, add just a teaspoon (or two) of sugar and re-blend.

Serve immediately, and enjoy.

Each smoothie contains approximately 174 calories, 4 g fiber and 8 g protein. Also high in Vitamins A and C.

Smoothie of the Week - Lite'n'Luscious

Yes, it is that time of the week again - time for a new smoothie recipe. This week I went a little more decadent with my selection and gave in to a luscious soy raspberry smoothie.

If your weight-loss regimen includes exercise, this is a smoothie for you. Not only are raspberries extremely low in calories, but they're also a source of potassium, which is often lost during exercise.

Lite'n'Luscious:
Soy Raspberry Smoothie
(Serves 2)

½ cup low-fat plain yogurt
½ cup fresh strawberries (I always cut the strawberries in half and remove the white core to make a smoother smoothie)
¾ cup frozen unsweetened raspberries
½ frozen banana, sliced
¾ cup plain soy milk (more or less soy milk can be used to alter the smoothie consistency to your preference – more milk will be thinner, less thicker.)
1 tsp. fresh lime juice

Combine ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately, and enjoy. To make more than two servings just make multiple batches in quick succession and serve immediately.

**Tip: To make these ahead of time, blend and store in a tightly sealed jug in the refrigerator until needed. Shake to remix before serving.

Each smoothie contains approximately 151 Calories, 5 g fiber, 7 g protein and High in Vitamin C and Potassium.

Smoothie of the Week: Power Punch

For the past few months I have been (somewhat compulsively) preparing for the newest chapter in my life. On July 27 (just a few short weeks away) I will be getting married to a wonderful man who I feel very grateful to be sharing my life with. We’ve decided to take this event as an opportunity to grow and change and put forth a best effort to create the life we both dream of having together. We’ll be trying a new city, moving all the way across the country to Seattle in an attempt to find a place where we both can thrive. We’ll also be trying our luck at turning our passions, our hobbies, into lifelong careers that give us each a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment at the end of every day. We hope to build a life on foundations of happiness and compassion, on honesty and trust.

But… even lost in all these overwhelming hopes and dreams, let us not fool ourselves into believing that the road will be not be paved without some cracking along the way that will need repairing. The stress of planning (and paying for) our own wedding, for instance, is certainly shortening fuses and fostering tensions, but we ultimately rely on each other to be the one person in the world that we can be our worst around, and still be loved by, and the one person that can always make us laugh even when we’re as mad as we think we could ever be. While I don’t have a lot to base it on, I am hoping that these are the things that build a strong marriage and a strong family.

In the mean time, in an attempt to cut spending (and pounds) in the weeks before the wedding, we (well, mostly I) have begun a stricter regiment for health and beauty. I am, as you will discover, a woman with a plan, and a lack of structure (and organization) in my life makes me feel like I am suffocating. I realize that this is a trait that will be tested once we decide to have children, but in the mean time, I am inclined to put it to good use in attempt to create a business and a home during the upcoming years.

I hope to document this process here, featuring the many recipes that get us from day to day, in the hopes that it will help me keep focused on my goals and dreams. Much of our life revolves around food, however meager the meals may be at times. The certain smells of home that bring the comfort of my mother’s kitchen into mine, no matter where I am in the world; the fact that we always eat dinner together and talk about our day; the fact that in group settings the crowds magnetize around the food table. To me, food is one of the major essentials of human social interaction because it is a love that must be shared in order to be truly appreciated.

I have decided to start this new blog off with one of my best (and recent additions) to our daily routine; fruit smoothies. There is an infinite array of possibilities, endless combinations, to create quick, low-fat, high fiber, high protein smoothies. Having a smoothie or two every day is great way to ensure that you are getting more of the so-called power foods into your diet. For many I will use plain yogurt as a base, and for others soft tofu; add some fruit and any juice or soy, rice or regular milk, then toss it all into a blender and press “start.” Now you’ve got a delicious, nutritious substitute for ice cream or the perfect breakfast on the go. I started having one a day for breakfast, and now Jon drinks them too (even when I put tofu in them).

As an added bonus I discovered a study from the University of Tennessee that found that people who added three servings of yogurt a day to their diets lost 61 percent more body fat and 81 percent more stomach fat over 12 weeks than those who didn’t eat yogurt, and truth be told – since adding protein-yogurt smoothies to my daily routine 3 months ago (even without increasing my daily exercise) I’ve lost 14 pounds (of my 20 pound goal toward reclaiming my pre-relationship weight of 125 pounds by the wedding day). One of my newest favorites is this refreshing tofu-based smoothie we like to call the perfect “power punch.” It is an energy elixir which is rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids which gives your brain a boost and protects against some of the negative effects of aging. Drink this in the morning after a good workout to replenish spent nutrients.

Power Punch Smoothie
(Serves 2)

1/2 cup soft silken tofu

1 – 12 oz. can pear nectar (I like to use GOYA brand)
1 cup frozen diced pineapple
1 frozen banana, sliced
1 tsp. fresh lime juice

Combine ingredients into a blender (we adore our Magic Bullet – a single serving blender with bar mug style cups that we purchased from Amazon.com for approximately $55) and blend until smooth. Serve immediately, and enjoy.

Each smoothie contains approximately 170 Calories, 3 g fiber and 3.5 g protein.