Blueberry deliciousness

Today's smoothie might be one of my favorites! 

Ingredients:

1/2 banana

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/4 cup strawberries

1/4 cup mixed raw veggies (baby carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)

1tsp flaxseed

1.5 tsp. maple syrup

3 Tbsp. Plain nonfat Greek yogurt.

I still froze it for an additional half hour.

It is super delicious. I really think the only change I'd make is to take out broccoli. No matter what I do I can't disguise it. But it doesn't bother me too much. 

Almond butter, honey, banana, strawberry smoothie

I think I need to start actually coming up with cool names for some of these smoothies rather than just list half the ingredients in the title. Well I'll start thinking about it. :)

For now, here is the smoothie I made for myself yesterday:

1/2 of a Banana

1/2 cup strawberries

1/4 cup mixed raw veggies (baby carrots, celery, cauliflower, brocoli)

A large handful of rolled oats

1 tsp. almond butter

1 tsp. honey

2 Tbsp. Plain nonfat Greek yogurt.

Verdict - it tasted a lot like one of my previous ones. I could taste the almond butter, but not so much the honey, leaving it to be pointless calories. I either need to add more honey next time, or leave it out. I do love honey though. 

Today I thought I'd give you a before and after pic!

Before:

And after

Cinnamon Banana Almond Butter Smoothie

I was definitely trying something new and interesting here.

Ingredients:

1 Banana
1Tsp. Almond Butter
1 Cup of chopped mixed veggies (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Celery, and Carrots)
1/2 of sliced strawberries
2 Tbsp. Coconut Milk
1 Tsp. of Ground Cinnamon
2 Tbsp. Greek Yogurt
1 Tsp. Flaxseed

Verdict...it's okay. I ended up splitting it in half. It's so sweet due to the cinnamon, that I couldn't handle all of it in one sitting. So I am having this one two days in a row.
If I were to do this one again, I would need to split the cinnamon in half. I am not sure what else. I think the almond butter, and cinnamon work well together with the banana. This one might be really good in December, when you are thinking about Christmas and want to be good, but also want to indulge that sweet tooth!

I did not get a pic of this one. Sorry!

Blueberry, Strawberry, Veggie Smoothie

So again today I tried to add a few more veggies in.

1/2 cup frozen Blueberries
1/2 cup sliced Strawberries
1Tsp. Flaxseed
2 Tbsp. Plain Non-fat Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup baby carrots
1/4 cup celery
3 Tbsp. Coconut Milk

Blend together, and freeze for an extra 30 minutes (I generally make this first thing in the morning, as I sip my coffee, then freeze as I go and do my other morning routine things).

Verdict:
This is not my favorite - but it's not bad either. I am slowly trying to introduce more and more veggies and cut back on high calorie fruit (e.g., banana). I think it was the smell first that I was like...eh I don't know about this.
But after I got over that, I rather enjoy it. I think that next time I may do less coconut milk and add a teaspoon of maple syrup.

Pretty Purple

Banana, Strawberry...and Cauliflower smoothie!

Today I tried to increase my veggies in my smoothie. So this recipe is very similar to the one I had on Saturday - but a few more veggies.

1 Banana
3 Tbsp. Greek Yogurt
3 medium sized Strawberries
2 Tbsp. rolled quaker oats
A handful of baby carrots
A handful of cauliflower
2 Tbsp. Coconut milk

Blend together - and I actually put it in the freezer for an hour. I ran out of room in the blender to put ice in.

I really like this one actually. I can taste the cauliflower a bit in the aftertaste - not going to lie. Thankfully it's a veggie that I love. I just don't have time to often make myself a serving.

I will definitely make and drink this one again!

In my travel container to bring to work for lunch!

Tropical Smoothie Goodness

Yesterday I tried the following recipe:

3 Tbsp. Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt

1.5 Tsp. Flax seed (You can use Chia seed as well if you prefer. I'm allergic...or have a bad reaction at least).

1 Handful of Baby Carrots 

1 cup of a frozen tropical fruit (package from the store - contains strawberries, pineapple, honeydew melon, & peaches)

3 Tbsp. Water

Yesterday's smoothie contained much fewer calories. Which was good...because dinner was full of calories! I had to plain ahead.

This was was a bit tart, but still very good, and I didn't need to add anything to sweeten! :)

And yes this is a beer glass.... :)

SMOOTHIES! Particularly this one is a banana strawberry oatmeal smoothie!

AND I AM BACK. So with a large six month break from all of us, I am back to blogging about one of my favorite things ever...food.

Why the break?

Well Emily, the youngest Groff sister, got a full time job. She was the main cook in our family, and now does a little less cooking for all of us, and when she does, she doesn't exactly have time to blog.

Me? Well I am in the midst of writing a dissertation. At the end of the day - I really don't want to read or write anything. I usually want to curl up in a ball in my bed watching mindless TV until my brain rots. Just kidding. ...but not totally kidding.

Unfortunately, after we were done creating some healthy foods together, paired with my new medication, and my ever increasing fondness of wine (which often ends up in bed with me as I rot my brain) I gained ten pounds in five months... which is concerning when I wanted it to go the other way around.

A few weeks ago one my friends from work handed my her nutri-bullet to try out. I figured I'd give it a shot. And honestly...I wasn't too crazy impressed. It's a high speed blender. People online were going crazy about it. I honestly couldn't cover the spinach taste no matter how hard I try. Ugh. I did like the blender, but I wasn't ready to dish out $100 for one.

Well somehow one ended up in our household anyway. Nearly the same day my doctor told me that after almost two years of testing we are now basically settled on me having IBS-D (TMI...sorry - but it's somewhat important to the story).

So here I am with a digestive system that doesn't like to digest - ESPECIALLY raw fruits and veggies - and ten pounds that seem to want to stay and multiply - and a frustrated writer's block - preventing me from actually being productive this semester.

My doctor insisted that I try probiotics to assist with my digestion. I grabbed some greek yogurt in the store, and decided to give this a shot. I started looking at recipes online - but most of the ingredients were crazy fruits or protein that I've never even heard of, and they most likely DO not carry in a small grocery store - or super expensive. So I decided to create my own.

I've started to change my tune on the nutri-bullet, and actually I'm pretty happy with the results in my health. They are pretty delicious...and I actually look forward to having one each day. Plus - I am really full after drinking one.

My friend at work - the one that originally convinced me to try her bullet - asked me to start posting some of my own recipes that seem to work. So LONG story short - if you have digestive issues, own a nutri-bullet, or just enjoy smoothies - then these next few posts will be for you! Enjoy!

Banana, Strawberry, & Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

1 Frozen Banana
A handful of Baby Carrots
3 Large Strawberries
A handful of plain uncooked rolled oats (sorry about the awesome measurements I do)
3 Tbsp. Plain, nonfat greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp. Coconut milk (most odd thing on here. You could definitely not use this. I just had some in the fridge).
3 more ice cubes
2 Tbsp. Water

Throw everything in there and blend till everything is super smooth and delicious.

lol still in blending cup. I promise it's delicious.