Breakfast Smoothies - Start the Day Right!

Hello blog world!

Annette INSISTS that after I blogged about my "Smoothie Packets," I need to blog about how I actually use them.  You can see our original post here:  Make Ahead Tips for Healthy Eating .

Well, here is the base for most of my smoothies:

My awesome new Ninja blender (makes me happy and makes smoothie making fun and easy), Almond Milk, Non-fat plain greek yogurt, some water, and a smoothie packet.  I also add spinach.  I promise you - no one in my house can taste it!!

Smoothies are a personal taste kind of thing, so there is no magic about a "recipe" involved.  You throw in what you have and go.  For instance, if I run out of Almond milk, I use the skim milk I keep on hand.  No biggie.  You have to do some experimenting to get the taste(s) you and your family members like.  I will say, a little banana goes a long way - consider yourself warned.

That being said, this is how my smoothies are being made these days:

Healthy Breakfast Smoothies 

1 cup of Almond Milk
2 very heaping Tablespoons of plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
   (feel free to use more - lots of protein) 
1 frozen smoothie packet
1 cup (ish) of spinach
1/4 - 1/2 cup cold water 
SPLASH of Vanilla is optional (secret ingredient - lol)
Ice cubes can be added if desired (Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.)

Start with the liquid and yogurt, then throw in the frozen fruit - don't really "throw" it - that would make a mess and could possibly be dangerous. 

Put your spinach in last.

Put the top on your blender.  WARNING: DO NOT FORGET THIS STEP! (Unless you are looking for something that looks like an episode of "I Love Lucy.")  My blender won't even work without the lid - lol - pretty sure they were afraid someone would try that "no lid" thing.
You may want to use the "pulse" button a little at first to break up the frozen fruit and ice cubes if you elected to add them.

Turn that puppy (blender) on and let it do its thing.  Feel free to pack your lunch at this time.

Now listen, TAKE IT TO THE SINK.  I know you're awesome and all, but don't chance making a mess.  Go find an enormous cup, (this makes a huge serving) and fill 'er up.

Voila!

LOOK - IT'S MAROON!!!  WHOOP!!  (For those who aren't Aggies, just try to roll with it :)
Now all you need to do is get a straw and ENJOY!  I pop the top on it and take it right out the door to work with me.  I feel so great starting my day with calcium, iron, vitamins - basically a big, yummy glass of "healthy."

Here's an important tip - PLEASE go ahead and take the 30 seconds and rinse out your blender!  You will not be sorry!  This has yummy, sweet, sticky fruit in it and it will be MUCH more difficult to clean up later if you leave it.

Like I mentioned in the first part of this post, you need to make adjustments and go with what you have on head.  This morning I was out of spinach, so I decided to make a more "tropical" smoothie.
I substituted 1/2 cup of orange juice for the water and put in 2 pineapple spears.

 

WOWZERS! PURPLICIOUS :)

I hope this has helped those of you who are looking for a healthy start to your day and didn't know how to use the Smoothie Packets.  Remember, there is no "right" way and about a million recipes out there.  Experiment and have fun with it.  I promise I have just given you a way to easily sneak fruits and veggies (yeah, even spinach) into your children's' lives!  And I also promise I won't tell! SSSHHH =)

Always in Our PJs,
Annette & Beth

Make Ahead Tips For Healthy Eating

Who's ready to go back to school after a 2 week break???
NO ONE!!!!

Don't get me wrong, I missed by co-workers and my students, but who wants to go back to work after two weeks of actually getting to go the restroom anytime you want??

Like it or not, here we go...and it is a new year, so many of us will go back with resolutions and goals for a healthier year.  I know me -- I will get so into work that my healthy eating will be the first goal to go unless I plan ahead.

So I made a few things that will help my family and me stay on the right track during the coming week.  You will rarely, if ever again, see Annette or I blogging on a Sunday.  We consider Sunday the Lord's Day, to be spent with Him, with our families, and resting.  We will most likely also be preparing for the coming week for our families.   We encourage you to do the same, in order to maintain the proper focus and balance we need in life.

First up...SMOOTHIE PACKETS!

Of course you can add any freezer items you want for your smoothies, but I added the following:

1 cup frozen strawberries (these happen to be slices, but they can be whole)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 banana

Now all I have to do is grab a packet, some milk, maybe some spinach, add some ice, and blend it all up -- I won't have to  pull out any measuring cups (portion control matters), all the bags, knives, or whatever.   Healthy smoothies for us!!! :)

Another combo I put together is a cereal mix.  I can use it for breakfast, but I will most likely use it for snacking -- gotta have that fiber!!!

Again, pick any healthy ingredients - cereals, nuts, dried fruits
You can make it different every time or pick a favorite mix to keep on-hand.
This time I picked the following 3 items:

Shredded Wheat (TONS of fiber), Multi-grain Cheerios (love em!), and Pistachio Lovers Nut Mix (a new FAVE of mine):

No biggie here - just put in however much of each and mix it all up.  You can make one bowl to dip from (Be sure to watch your portion control and dip out only 1 cup or so each time!) or you can bag it in individual bags to grab on the go.  I will most likely do both - lol

YUM ~ Fiber AND Protein!

Here are a few things I got ready or pre-bag, so I can quickly grab them and plop them in my cute lunch kit.  Again, think of what you and your family likes, and make it as easy on yourself as possible.  I chose carrots and grapes, because everyone likes those.  I even sent a few bags with my college daughter.  I also keep cheese sticks on-hand.  We found these individual hummus packets that my husband and I enjoy with our carrots for a healthy snack.  We also love the grape tomatoes, which are easy to bag as well (forgot before I took pics).

Bob Harper says to "eat berries and apples every day" as one of his "Skinny Rules," so we always have those as well. (Remember the berries in my smoothie packets?)

Nice variety!  Tomorrow might look like a sandwich plus this (Morning snack, After school snack, and lunch side):

There are many combinations, but having easy options to choose from means even if you're in a hurry, you can eat healthy!

What about dinner?  I have gotten in the habit of buying meat in bulk and making double batches of most things when I cook - eat some, freeze some.  Casseroles, chilis, and soups are all good to do this with.  I also buy large quantities of chicken breasts, divide them into bags, add whatever marinade I have on-hand, and freeze.  I can pull them out in the morning and they're ready to cook when we get home.  (I say we, because the guys often grill the chicken or put it in a roasting pan and bake it. SO EASY!)

This was a packet of 8 chicken breasts.  We decided to marinate it all in Teriyaki Sauce, because we wanted to use it up and everyone likes it best. HaHa

This:

Now looks like this:

Those two red quart-sized bags are individual pieces that went with our daughter to college.  There is a "family" meal with 4 chicken breasts, and then a "pair" for when it is just the hubby and I. :)
Tip:  Be sure to date everything, so it can be rotated and nothing gets left in the fridge forever and ever (Annette and I have caught a few people who really like to keep those freezers loaded! YIKES!)

As time goes by,we can add more "make ahead" ideas if you all like these. Leave us some comments, because we love those, and let us know if you have any ideas or questions for us.

Remember - Plan Ahead and Eat Healthy (most of the time ;)

Always in Our PJs,
Annette & Beth

Black-eyed Peas!!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I had to take this day and give highlight to something that is very near and dear to my heart!  BLACK-EYED PEAS!!! Any family member or close friend knows I have a "special" love, lol, for them. So many precious memories come flooding through me as I give homage to this food item.  In particular my favorite memory is of my sweet sissy (Beth) when we were little.  As we told you previously, we were raised on a ranch in West Texas.  Each summer our Daddy grew a huge magnificent garden.  We have such love and appreciation for good, fresh vegetables as he was not only known as "A Real Cowboy", but, an incredible farmer.

Beth and I picked peas together from the time she was about 3 years old.  When we picked peas we're not talking about a small amount of peas, but, bushels and bushels of those incredible legumes I hold so dear. ;)  I remember one day in particular when Beth was about three and we were sitting in the den at our house with our parents.  We all had our big, shiny metal bowls in front of us ready to start the shelling process.  Beth was so excited! She got to be a big girl and have one of those big bowls all to herself.  After diligently working on our pea shelling for many hours I looked over into Beth's bowl.  Big big smile on her face!  Looking so proud of herself.  She had...I don't know...maybe 20-30 peas in that big bowl.  Really special memory! I still get a glimpse of that little girl smile on my grown sissy's face from time to time.  Always takes me back to those memories.  Love it!! By the way...she learned how to be a masterful pea sheller. :)

As I don't live in the country any longer I don't get the opportunity to have fresh shelled peas very often.  This recipe as many to come is a fast, but, flavorful variation.  Typically you cook your peas with some kind of pork product for extra flavor.  This is a new way that is a little more healthy, but, still has great taste.

Today I'm using:

2 small bags of frozen black-eyed peas
4 cubes of  Beef Bouillon
Salt and Pepper

Place your black-eyed peas and bouillon cubes into a saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat then cover.  Cook for 40-45 minutes.  Add additional water if you need more liquid.  Season with the salt and pepper to your own taste. Be sure not to over season as the beef bouillon is a little salty.

Voila!!

Perfect with cornbread!

Beth and I pray each and every one of you have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve.  Be sure and spend some fun time with the one's you love and hold dear. We hope you'll try at least a few peas tomorrow, as in the South tradition says it gives us good luck for the up-coming year.  I'm not a very superstitious type person, but, choose to not tempt fate. I guess I'll make myself try a bowl of those precious legumes with a hot piece of cornbread.  :)  God bless one and all!

Always in Our PJ's
Annette & Beth

Garlic Parmesan Green Beans

Good Morning Everyone!

Today let's start with an easy, healthy side dish. You know...like when you don't want to go to a lot of trouble, but, need something quick and easy.

Garlic Parmesan Green Beans

Let's start with...

2   pounds fresh green beans, that have been cleaned with the ends snapped off
3-4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced (because we LOVE garlic) ;)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (much more flavorful/the only kind we use)
2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

First, blanch your green beans in boiling water...

Beth insists that I describe what "blanch" means lol
So... she made me go to dictionary.com :) I thought "REALLY"?????
So here goes...Too many so's?

Blanch is a verb which means:  to scald or parboil (meat or vegetables) so as to whiten, remove the odor, prepare for cooking by other means, etc.

I think it means to make the vegetable colorful and crisp. I know your thinking too much explanation, but, you will understand as time goes on. :)

Anyway...cook your green beans (Why didn't I just say cook or boil, and we could have avoided all that blanch business?  Well, we did learn some new vocabulary, which always makes Beth happy.) for 4-5 minutes (or until beans turn vibrant green). 

Drain green beans in colander.

VIBRANT!

Then, heat your olive oil on a medium setting until hot.  
Saute your sliced garlic and drained green beans in pan together (Hopefully, Beth won't ask me to explain saute to you. Eternally a teacher!) ;)

Check out Annette's new Christmas PJs!

 
Add your Kosher salt and stir.

Transfer green beans into an attractive dish. (This is where Annette comes into the game.) ;) 

Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and serve. 

Yes, we realize that steak is twice the size of a healthy serving - YUM!

Voila!!!

Always in our PJs,
Annette & Beth 

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