Tasty Ways to Boost Your Immune System

Jan here, bringing news that is news to nobody! 

We're in the middle of a viral event, compounded by the annual flu and cold season.  No matter which virus is headed your way, it just makes sense to be prepared - both in keeping easy-to-heat-up-if-we're-under-the-weather soups on hand, and keeping our immune system in tip-top shape.

I shared these recipes a few years ago, and I thought now would be a good time to repeat them!

One thing, though. In this post, I talk about lactose-intolerance - a condition I had resigned myself to live with at that time. But I don't worry about it now. Why? I found that by slowly introducing dairy back into my diet, I was able to teach my body to digest it properly again. That experience makes me wonder if that method would help with other dietary sensitivities (not dietary allergies - that's a whole different ball game!) But since I don't have other sensitivities, I haven't been able to test my theory.

Anyway, here are some yummy treats that will make you WANT to boost your immune system!

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An Orange Smoothie for Cold and Flu Season

 Yes, it's here. Flu season.

It's that time of year when the sun hangs low in the southern sky and the cold temps make most of us want to stay inside.

Jan here, with some tips on how to avoid catching the flu...or to lessen its impact on your life.

1) Get your flu shot.

No, it isn't too late. And no, I haven't gotten mine yet. (And yes, I had the flu over Christmas!)

Ever since a younger, fitter, and healthier acquaintance died of complications from the flu a few years ago, I vowed I would get my flu shot every year. This year? I kept putting it off. Now that I'm finally healthy again, I'll be getting my flu shot this week.

I've heard (from reliable sources) that even if you catch the flu after getting a shot, your experience with the virus will be much less serious than if you hadn't gotten the shot. My hubby is the perfect example. He got his shot in the fall, but then came down with the flu in December...and he didn't even realize what he had until I came down with the same symptoms a week later, but more severe and longer lasting. He felt better after a few days. It took me nearly two weeks to feel like I could put two sentences together!


2) Wash your hands.

Your mom was right. Washing your hands is the best way to protect yourself from being infected with a virus like the flu.


3) Get enough rest.

Your immune system needs to be in tip-top shape, and sleep is number one in keeping it there.


4) Eat well to keep that immune system revved.

Orange juice anyone? How about a smoothie?


And here's where today's recipe comes in!

Just over a year ago, I shared a drink recipe that I love - my Winter Sunshine drink! Check out the recipe here: Jan's Winter Sunshine

I love this drink, but sometimes I want something a little...sweeter?...ice creamier?...filling?

This smoothie answers all of those cravings. I'm going to give you two separate recipes. One for normal folks, and one for those with some restrictions on their diet (voluntary or otherwise.)

Orange Julius-Style Smoothie

This recipe is for those who have no dietary restrictions. It was a favorite with my children when they were younger!

1 6-oz can frozen orange juice

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

10-12 ice cubes

Blend the first four ingredients in a blender. Add the ice cubes 2 or 3 at a time until well blended. Drink right away, or freeze and eat as sherbet.

{Update: I forgot to say that this makes about four servings. I'm sure some you were shuddering at the thought of 1/2 cup sugar in one serving!}

Easy-peasy, right?

Unless you want to avoid sugar and happen to be lactose-intolerant (a recent development...I blame age). Then, this smoothie is for you:

Orange Dreamsicle Smoothie

The original recipe for this is in the Trim Healthy Mama cookbook, but it calls for cottage cheese. The only dairy I can eat is yogurt, so I substituted a couple things, and came up with this delicious, protein-rich smoothie.

1 medium, or 2 small oranges, peeled and seeded

1/2 cup unsweetened almond or cashew milk

1/2 cup unsweetened plain Greek yogurt

3/4 teaspoon orange extract

3 teaspoons stevia/erithrytol blend (like Truvia)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Vitamin C powder

2 Tablespoons integral collagen, or 1 scoop whey protein powder

1 1/2 - 2 cups ice cubes

In a blender, blend the orange slices and almond milk until the orange is completely blended. Add the yogurt, orange extract, sweetener, salt, Vitamin C powder, and collagen (not the whey protein powder).

Blend until smooth.

Add the ice cubes, 2-3 at a time (or if you have a powerful blender like a Ninja or Vitamix, add them all at once) and blend until smooth.

If you use whey protein powder, add it now, and blend for an additional 10 seconds.

Pour it into a large glass (I use a 1 quart canning jar) and enjoy!

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Back to 2020! I hope you're all weathering the storm our country (and world) is going through right now. 

With Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, it's important to remember to celebrate those holidays, even if the crowd around the table is smaller this year. There is a reason for both holidays beyond big meals and get-togethers, and I plan to let my Thanksgiving to God for His provisions and my celebration of Christ's birth take center stage this year. No matter what else is happening.

Next week we celebrate Thanksgiving! Are you ready?

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.

Celebrating a Survivor

Jan here, with the post I promised last week.

In the third week of our hiatus between houses, we're house sitting for a young family who is on vacation. Isn't it a lovely little house?

And it's almost a log cabin!

Yes, it looks like logs, but it's really log siding - a popular style around here.

The most interesting thing about this house and neighborhood is that it's a survivor. Built in 1947, this house was already an older home during the flood of 1972.

On June 9, 1972, Rapid City was hit with a devastating flood that has been classified as one of the deadliest floods in US history. More than 1330 homes were destroyed and 238 people lost their lives. The floodwater at its highest level reached 15' 9". As you can imagine, the memories of that flood live on today.

Here's a link to the Wikipedia article. And here's another link - South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

If you go to the SDPB link and scroll through the pictures, the 7th and 8th pictures are aerial shots showing Canyon Lake. This little cabin we're staying in is located just past the top of the picture and to the left of the road. When the dam at Canyon Lake broke on June 9, 1972, this house and neighborhood were mere yards from the wall of rushing water.

While we're enjoying our stay in this house, I can't help think about the flood that happened not all that long ago. The city determined that such devastation would never happen again, and turned the ruined neighborhoods into green spaces. There are flood control areas where the banks on both side of the creek below the dam have been widened to handle extra water in case of another flood and other steps have been made to prevent the kind of damage and loss of life the city experienced in 1972.

Of course, there isn't a lot of cooking going on while we're in our little cabin. I brought my Instant Pot, and have used it a few times. We had Chili Verde for a couple meals (recipe here), and I use it to make oats for our breakfasts a couple times a week.

I've also been making my breakfast smoothies (sometimes for breakfast, sometimes for lunch) from last week's post (recipe here).

And of course, since it's summer, sometimes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is just enough for a quick meal.

But even though we're thankful for our various temporary houses, we're counting down the days until we get to move into our new home...

Eleven days!

Quick and Healthy Smoothie

Jan here with a super quick breakfast!

We're beginning our second week of our summer hiatus, and have moved from our temporary home in the Hills to a little log cabin in town. :-) More about the cabin next week!

While we were still in the Hills, my friend Mel shared her super-healthy, super-easy smoothie recipe with me. Trust me - you'll love this. And it has no weird ingredients!

Start with some simple basics (and you can mix or match wherever you want to):

Some juice and/or water. For this smoothie I used 1/4 cup cranberry juice and 1/4 cup water.

Berries or cherries. I used 1/3 cup frozen blueberries.

Another fruit. I used 1/2 peach for this smoothie, but any kind of fruit works. Apple, banana, mango, pear...

About a cup of fresh greens. I used spinach, but the spring green mix would work. Or if you have fresh greens in your garden, add those in!

About 1/2 - 1 cup yogurt. Plain Greek yogurt is good.

A heaping Tablespoon ground flax seeds.

Optional: Any other add-in you want. Mel adds some powdered fiber.

That's it. No sugar. No weird stuff. Just fruit, yogurt, and greens.

The last step is to blend it. Mel has a Tribest personal blender that works wonderfully. A Nutri-bullet is another similar brand. Or you can use your regular blender.

Just blend it until it's smooth, then drink up!

And it's filling enough to last until lunch time.

As much as I like the Trim Healthy Mama shakes, I'm hooked on these smoothies. Especially for a quick summer meal or snack!

Are you a smoothie person? Or will you stick to your eggs and bacon?

Trying My Best to Like Plain Greek Yogurt

Missy Tippens

I've tried. Really hard. But I just have not been able to eat plain Greek yogurt! It's like eating sour cream by itself...only worse! (shivers)

But recently, while at a Weight Watcher's meeting, a woman shared a sauce recipe to use on chicken and pork: fresh or frozen cherries, dijon mustard and plain Greek yogurt. The sauce is great because it's 0 points. She said she just blends it up.

I don't think I've ever bought frozen cherries. But I LOVE fresh ones. So I decided to buy some frozen to try in the sauce, as well as to use in smoothies.

And since I keep buying large containers of plain yogurt and end up throwing it out, I decided to just buy a couple of small, single serve containers to give her recipes a try.

For the smoothie, I put about a cup or more frozen cherries in my Ninja blender cup. I added about half the container of yogurt. Then put in about a cup of almond milk. I also know my tastebuds well, so added Truvia to sweeten the yogurt. :)

I blended it up (had to add some more milk to make it drinkable because it was too thick). It was so good!

I'll definitely be doing this again! I'll also let you know how the sauce turns out.

Missy

www.missytippens.com

A New Year's Toast

Okay, admit it, you were probably thinking something like this -

But I had something different in mind.

Start with some blanched, frozen kale (or spinach) and coconut water (or tap water).

Add some blueberries, beets, and maybe some pomegranate arils, maybe some flax or hemp.

Pulse.

Enjoy!

I can hear some of you moaning now, but I honestly love this.

I'll tell you a funny story.

In the past few months, I've had numerous people tell me how great I look.

*not bragging here* Bear with me.

One thing you all know is that the last year was not an easy one. Haggard is how I'd describe my look most days! But after hearing this compliment a few times, I looked in the mirror - and tried to see beyond the hag staring back.

Truth was, my skin was kind of glowing. I attribute that to the kale. Seriously.

Honestly, my default meal always used to be cookies or cake, but this old body can't handle that anymore. I've learned that I actually really like these smoothies.


So, how about it, are you willing to give it a try?
The blueberries are great for your memory!

September Smoothies

While the rest of the world has gone MAD over pumpkin spice EVERYTHING, I'm sitting in my little corner of the city feasting on smoothies that include kale, blueberries and beets. It was 95+ here today and nothing about a hot latte appeals to me, but these drinks? Oh they are good!

When I mentioned these last week, some people were interested (although I'm sure a lot of you were not!) so I thought I'd share.

There's really not much to it - but I do have three variations:

The first was the very basic -
coconut water
kale (blanched and frozen)
frozen blueberries
a beet (that had been pre-roasted and chilled)

I put them all in my Vitamix and pushed it up to high. The result was a sweet, super healthy, refreshing drink.

I really thought I took photos of the process, but I couldn't find them. This is the final product.

2nd variation was all of the above with a good-sized handful of lightly salted almonds tossed in.
3rd variation had a scoop of hemp seeds instead of the almonds.


On Monday, when the temps were soaring, I tried a different one -
coconut water
salted almonds
an orange
kale

I was reusing a cup from my iced cappucino.

That was really good too!

I have to admit, this ice cream loving gal is totally hooked on these instead.

So confess - which appeals to you more - a September smoothie or a pumpkin spice latte (or anything else pumpkin spice - which appears to be limitless at the moment.)?

An Orange Smoothie for Cold and Flu Season

Yes, it's here. Flu season.

It's that time of year when the sun hangs low in the southern sky and the cold temps make most of us want to stay inside.

Jan here, with some tips on how to avoid catching the flu...or to lessen its impact on your life.

1) Get your flu shot.

No, it isn't too late. And no, I haven't gotten mine yet. (And yes, I had the flu over Christmas!)

Ever since a younger, fitter, and healthier acquaintance died of complications from the flu a few years ago, I vowed I would get my flu shot every year. This year? I kept putting it off. Now that I'm finally healthy again, I'll be getting my flu shot this week.

I've heard (from reliable sources) that even if you catch the flu after getting a shot, your experience with the virus will be much less serious than if you hadn't gotten the shot. My hubby is the perfect example. He got his shot in the fall, but then came down with the flu in December...and he didn't even realize what he had until I came down with the same symptoms a week later, but more severe and longer lasting. He felt better after a few days. It took me nearly two weeks to feel like I could put two sentences together!


2) Wash your hands.

Your mom was right. Washing your hands is the best way to protect yourself from being infected with a virus like the flu.


3) Get enough rest.

Your immune system needs to be in tip-top shape, and sleep is number one in keeping it there.


4) Eat well to keep that immune system revved.

Orange juice anyone? How about a smoothie?


And here's where today's recipe comes in!

Just over a year ago, I shared a drink recipe that I love - my Winter Sunshine drink! Check out the recipe here: Jan's Winter Sunshine

I love this drink, but sometimes I want something a little...sweeter?...ice creamier?...filling?

This smoothie answers all of those cravings. I'm going to give you two separate recipes. One for normal folks, and one for those with some restrictions on their diet (voluntary or otherwise.)

Orange Julius-Style Smoothie

This recipe is for those who have no dietary restrictions. It was a favorite with my children when they were younger!

1 6-oz can frozen orange juice

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

10-12 ice cubes

Blend the first four ingredients in a blender. Add the ice cubes 2 or 3 at a time until well blended. Drink right away, or freeze and eat as sherbet.

Easy-peasy, right?

Unless you want to avoid sugar and happen to be lactose-intolerant (a recent development...I blame age). Then, this smoothie is for you:

Orange Dreamsicle Smoothie

The original recipe for this is in the Trim Healthy Mama cookbook, but it calls for cottage cheese. The only dairy I can eat is yogurt, so I substituted a couple things, and came up with this delicious, protein-rich smoothie.

1 medium, or 2 small oranges, peeled and seeded

1/2 cup unsweetened almond or cashew milk

1/2 cup unsweetened plain Greek yogurt

3/4 teaspoon orange extract

3 teaspoons stevia/erithrytol blend (like Truvia)

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Vitamin C powder

2 Tablespoons integral collagen, or 1 scoop whey protein powder

1 1/2 - 2 cups ice cubes

In a blender, blend the orange slices and almond milk until the orange is completely blended. Add the yogurt, orange extract, sweetener, salt, Vitamin C powder, and collagen (not the whey protein powder).

Blend until smooth.

Add the ice cubes, 2-3 at a time (or if you have a powerful blender like a Ninja or Vitamix, add them all at once) and blend until smooth.

If you use whey protein powder, add it now, and blend for an additional 10 seconds.

Pour it into a large glass (I use a 1 quart canning jar) and enjoy!

Last week, I shared pictures from a drive we took to Custer State Park on a cold, foggy/cloudy day. This week, we went up in the Hills on a gorgeous sunny day! Don't let the sunshine fool you, though. It was still cold!

First, we went to Custer State Park. The week before, we hadn't gone to see how Badger Clark's cabin survived the fire. We knew it hadn't burned, but what did the area look like?

Safe and sound. Whew!

Those big trees were scorched, though.

If you don't remember who Badger Clark was, I wrote about him in this post: Badger Clark

After leaving the southern end of the park, we drove up to Sylvan Lake. The Needles Highway begins (or ends) here.

This is what it looks like in the summer:

And here's what it looks like in January:

Only hikers and cross-country skiers use the highway in the winter!

And the lake was beautiful in the sunshine!

Then we went to visit the Boys on the Hill - our first visit of the year to Mt. Rushmore.

And the air was so clear, we could see the Badlands from Mt. Rushmore...just about 60 miles away.

I've often seen the Badlands from Mt. Rushmore, but never as clear as it was that day! There is a lot of prairie and a lot of ranches between here and there!

So, how is your January going? Have you avoided the dreaded flu? Or were you smart and got your flu shot early?

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com.

Peanut Butter Smoothie

It's that time of year again.

Not just time to put away the Christmas decorations and put up the new 2016 calendar.

It's recovery time.

Now don't get me wrong. I enjoyed every single bite of fudge, Christmas cookies, and my mom's favorite recipe for Christmas candy. I enjoyed every single minute of the meals we shared with family and friends.

But, there comes that time...a couple days after Christmas...when my body says it wants to lay off the sugar for a while.

Actually, the body says I should never eat sugar again, but I know that eventually I'll be craving something sweet. Sigh.

But no worries. I've found a great way to ease off of sugar and please my sweet tooth at the same time: Smoothies!

I've shared smoothie recipes before, and you can check out that post here: Spring Smoothies.

But today I'd like to add a new one. I've been making one of these for breakfast once or twice a week. There's something so satisfying about this recipe.

The original is from a blog called Working at Homeschool. Jen (the owner of the blog) shares tons of gluten-free Trim Healthy Mama recipes. So far I've only tried this one, but it's a keeper.

Here's my version:

Peanut Butter Smoothie

ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 scoop unsweetened vanilla whey protein powder
4 teaspoons Truvia, or other non-calorie sweetener
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
a pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons peanut butter
2-3 cups of ice cubes

A note about the ingredients:
What if you aren't following the Trim Healthy Mama plan? No problem. The main goal is to have a healthy smoothie for breakfast that will satisfy your sweet tooth without adding any sugar to your meal.

Did you notice the fat-laden ingredients in this recipe, though? Those healthy fats, plus the protein, is what makes this smoothie fill you up and keep you satisfied until lunch. Don't worry about the calories - go ahead and eat the peanut butter!

Almond milk: You can substitute your regular milk. It will add carbs to the smoothie, but won't affect the taste.

Whey protein powder: I use the THM brand available on their website (THM Whey Protein Powder), but you can substitute protein powder from your local store. You could also leave it out of the recipe, but it won't supply as much protein for your meal. But here's a thought! You could also substitute yogurt! You'd want to reduce the amount of milk in the recipe, but the yogurt would help supply that all-important protein.

Truvia: I like stevia sweeteners and use them all the time. Some people have problems with stevia, though. So if you've never used it before, buy a small quantity to try. You'll find Truvia near the sugar in your grocery store.

Coconut oil: I use coconut oil often in my recipes because of the health benefits. If you don't have any in your cupboard, go ahead and leave it out of this recipe. But if you aren't convinced that coconut oil is a healthy part of your diet, you can read this: Dr. Oz on Coconut Oil.

Peanut Butter: I like Adam's Natural peanut butter. Other brands have sugar, but not a lot. So if you're fine with a little sugar, use whatever brand you like.


Method:
Using a heavy duty blender (one that can handle crushing ice cubes), blend together all of the ingredients except the ice. Run your blender for 10-20 seconds on high speed to get that coconut oil pulverized and mixed in.

Once those ingredients are thoroughly blended, add the ice cubes, about one cup at a time. Blend until everything is nice and smooth.

Pour into a large cup (I use my one-quart canning jars) and enjoy!

Other than the over-eating of sweets, how was your Christmas?

We had a fabulous time....

There's nothing like getting a future son-in-law for Christmas! We're expecting the wedding to be in June, so stay tuned!

And it's a "destination wedding." You've heard of those, right? When the happy couple and all their guests go to some fabulous romantic destination for the wedding of their dreams? Well, this destination is the Black Hills of South Dakota.

What? You think we'd go somewhere else?

Ninja Master Prep Demo Day with Tina Radcliffe

Ninja Master Prep Demo Day

Tina Radcliffe

I have Yankee Belle chef, Virginia Carmichael to thank for introducing me to the Ninja Master Prep. A mere $34 bucks it is better than any blender and simpler than any food processor for day to day mixing/blending needs.

Nothing to screw together and cause leakage. It’s easy to clean too. It comes with two containers, each with their own blade/s, blending lid and storage lid. Unlike a blender, the large container this has a pour spout. The pro version comes with three sizes, small, medium and large. If you scroll down the Amazon link it will compare the different types of product available.

The possibilities are ENDLESS from mixing cake batter and pancake mix, to omelets without dirtying a spatula and beaters. Youtube has numerous videos on the product usage.

My personal favorite is making low calorie iced coffee beverages. 

Take a tray of ice cubes and pulse until you have snow.

Add leftover cold coffee (about a cup).

You can also add a dairy base of ¼ cup milk if you like or leave it dairy free. I usually leave it dairy free.

Add about 4 tablespoons chocolate syrup.

You can also add a package of sugar free hot chocolate mix instead of the syrup to really keep it low calorie.

This is Trenta size and it did not cost you five bucks.

We eat a lot of pico de gallo at my house, so my next Ninja experiment was to make my own.

I used a basic recipe found online: Remember you do not have to dice. The only prep work is to remove the seeds which I did using a grapefruit spoon.

1 1/2 cups seeded, tomatoes (I am using three Roma tomatoes)

1/4 cup red onion (I am using 1/8 of a very large onion)

1 tablespoon jalapenos (Remove seeds and wash hands carefully. I am using one half a medium jalapeno)

1 clove garlic

Juice of 2 limes

2 tablespoons cilantro, plus extra for garnish

Salt and pepper

Pulse about four times or to desired consistency. The more you pulse the more it becomes salsa like! 

IT IS DELICIOUS!

If you’re looking for dessert try tossing a cup of yogurt and frozen strawberries in the Ninja for a nice soft serve ice cream treat!

Enjoy!

Click here for Hope for the Holidays collections 

Tina Radcliffe is a two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist, a 2012 ACFW Carol Award finalist, a 2014 ACFW Mentor of the Year finalist, a 2014 Golden Quill finalist, and a 2014 ACFW Carol Award winner. She has won first place in over twenty RWA chapter-affiliated contests in her career. Tina is also a short story writer and has sold eleven short stories to Woman’s World Magazine. She currently resides in Arizona where she writes inspirational romance for Harlequin Love Inspired and independently publishes sweet romances. www.tinaradcliffe.com

Confessions of a Half-hearted Juicer

Confession #1: I let lettuce shrivel in the fridge.
Confession #2: I forget there is one lone apple in the back of the fridge.
Confession #3: I'm so frugal we didn't get an ice maker for the fridge.
Confession #4: I've been known in the past for going on fad diets and then tiring of them real quick.

Do you get the picture? I have a love/hate affair with fresh produce and my fridge. It's like out of sight, out of mind. As much as I love our farmer's market, I dread going and seeing only large bunches of veggies. If I had all the money I've wasted on fresh produce over the year I could buy an apartment in Paris. Well, maybe just go to Paris for five days and stay in a student hostel (shiver, been there and done that) but you get the picture.

All my family and friends juice and are healthier for it. My friend Mary C has a VitaMix , the Cadillac of juice extractors.  It pulverizes veggies like no one's business. Thanks to her daughter, who favors the single serving making Nutribullet, she's also become a whiz mixing with additives like hemp protein and flax oil.

Then there's my daughter-in-law Shannon who has a Ninja, a large high-powered blender. She is the queen of smoothies. She loves them as a runner. The grandkidlets just plain love them. Do they know they're healthy?

What did I have? A fear of juicing. Not because of the thought of all that healthy stuff coursing through my brain but my household budget hasn't allowed me to consider an appliance that is almost a hundred dollars. Add in the fact I neglect to use my veggies and I like to chew them besides.

Well, I decided to apply my repurpose credo to juicing. What did I already have? A mini processor and an immersion blender.

Hmmmm. Now to figure out the waste issue. I bought a small pint of local blueberries. A resealable package of spinach.  A pack of organic shredded carrots. And one small green juice drink rather than all the bunches of kale, heads of broccoli, cucumbers, and other green things that would otherwise die a meaningless death under my watch.

First I pulverized my spinach, blueberries and carrots in the processor by processing, adding a bit of the green juice, and processing some more.

Then I poured the semi-solid concoction into my immersion blender cup and really let it go to town. That's all it took.

And it was pretty tasty.

Yes, I had more dishes to wash. But for a first try it was pretty successful. If you have a regular blender and use frozen fruit and a banana (sniff, I'm allergic!), it will be even thicker. I like a bit of crunch in my drink but if you don't, you can buy carrot juice in small bottles as well.

The leftovers? Most will be used tonight as ingredients in dinner. No waste.

Only time will tell if I decide I like the ease of a Nutribullet or the Ninja. If it is worth it, I can save up for one. But, for now, my make-do plan is working. I like veggies I can sip down and drink up! 

Frugal Cheater's Healthy Drink

1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup shredded carrots (or carrot juice)
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup "green" juice
1 banana (optional for additional sugar and smoothness)

Process or blend veggies until as smooth as possible. Add juice and optional banana. Process again and drink. 

Epilogue: I am still juicing after a week. AND I discovered Earthbound Farm Organics has a packaged baby kale, shard, and spinach blend that is perfect. No waste.  Feeling so much better. So I may just have to save my pennies up for an upgraded machine after all.

Earthbound Farm makes it easy to get your power greens. Click here for more info

Caution: Remember that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. There is some research saying that too many servings of kale and other greens can affect your thyroid function. Too much fruit and not enough protein affects diabetics. Not eating a balanced diet is just not a good thing. Use good judgement when juicing and talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns due to your own health situation.   
 
So, are you a juicer? Do you prefer to drink your veggies and fruits rather than chew? What is your favorite smoothie, homemade or bought?
  

  

 
       

Serendipitous Saturday: Spring Smoothies!

One of my Kansas apple trees. I had to leave
them behind when we moved :(

Jan here, and I hate to say it -

 - I mean, I don't want to jinx anything -

 - but Spring may actually be upon us!

(Ignore that snow. It's spring snow - gone as quickly as it comes.)

And Spring means it's SMOOTHIE TIME!


I'm sure you all have your own favorite smoothies, but since I've become a Trim Healthy Mama, I've made smoothies a regular part of my day.







This one has berries in it, and what can be more springy than that?

Here are the ingredients I used:

1 scoop Swanson's Whey Protein Powder (I buy mine from Amazon)
1/4 cup 0% fat plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup water
1 cup frozen berries (any kind - mine are a blend of berries from Walmart's freezer section)
12 ice cubes

Put all the ingredients except the ice cubes in a blender, and blend until smooth. Add the ice cubes and blend until it's all smooth again.

Easy-peasy, and so delicious!

I like to serve my smoothies in these one quart
canning jars. :)

The protein powder makes this snack extra filling, so fills in that gap between lunch and supper.

Another smoothie I LOVE is chocolate. Of course.

And here are those ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 teaspoons (or packets) Truvia
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
a pinch of salt
1 scoop Swanson's Whey Protein Powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional - my protein powder has vanilla in it already)
15-20 ice cubes

Blend it up the same way as the first one! (By the way, the more ice cubes you add, the thicker the smoothies get.)

July flowers along the Beartooth Highway in Wyoming

This last smoothie is so decadent, you'll never be able to convince yourself it's low-fat and low-carb!

One of my weaknesses is cake batter. I love licking the beaters, smelling that delicious vanilla flavor...please tell me I'm not the only one!

This cake batter smoothie satisfies my cravings. Oh, it's so good!

Here are the ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup cottage cheese, 1% or 2% fat (you won't taste or feel the cottage cheese in the smoothie)
1 scoop Swanson's Whey Protein Powder
1 pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon butter flavoring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon (or packet) Truvia

Blend all of these ingredients, and then taste. Adjust if necessary, and then add and blend in 15-20 ice cubes.

The great thing about these smoothies is that they are all low-fat, low-carb, and delicious.

They make losing weight child's play!

So, on this beautiful spring Saturday, what do you have planned?

My youngest son. Being himself.