Kiddos Favorite Smoothie

My boys are really into smoothies too, my 2yr even loves to push the button and watch it spin around.  They have tried the Green Monster Spinach Smoothie  and my blueberry banana kale and they like both of them.  However their favorite is my Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana. It is not perfectly healthy but every once in while it is a good treat. I make two versions one quick and simple the other takes more time but taste really good.

1 banana
1/4 c milk
1 tbls peanut butter
1 tsp chocolate sauce
1/2 tsp chia seeds
6 oz ice crushed

In a blender add all ingredients and blend on high until smooth.

1 banana
1/4 c milk
1 tbls peanut butter
1 tbls chocolate chips semi sweet
1/2 tsp chia seeds
6 oz ice crushed

In a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup combine milk and chocolate chips microwave 50% power for 20 seconds stir together if the chocolate is not completely melted warm again in the microwave for 5 sec intervals until mixture is smooth.  Place bowl in freezer for 15 min until cold.  In a blender add all ingredients and blend on high until smooth.

Nutrition info for the version with chocolate sauce.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 203 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  251 Calories from Fat  91

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  10.1g 15%

Saturated Fat  2.6g 13%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  5mg 2%

Sodium  102mg 4%

Total Carbohydrates  37.4g 12%

Dietary Fiber  4.6g 18%

Sugars  22.3g

Protein  7.8g

Vitamin A 2% • Vitamin C 18% Calcium 3% • Iron 4%

Nutrition Grade B+

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Very low in cholesterol
• Low in sodium
• Very high in vitamin B6
• Very high in vitamin B12

Bad points

• Very high in sugar

Super Smoothie

Smoothies seem to be all the rage right now in this months Eating Well there is an article by  Brierley Wright, about the great benefits of Smoothies read it here.  I have been playing around with smoothies for the last couple months including trying my first with spinach.  Yes the green leafy salad stuff.  If made correctly you can not even taste the spinach.  This week I tried the Iowa Girl Eats Green Monster Spinach Smoothie I LOVED it and so did my lil boys. To quote her " It dose not taste healthy at all!" This morning I was out of spinach so I looked to the next best superfood to replace it with Kale.  In order to mask the green so the lil boys would eat it and boost the superness of it I added blueberries then tossed in some chia seeds for extra vitamins.  Yup chia seeds the same ones that grow in clay pots that look like sheep or human heads.  Someone somewhere decided to take a look them and see if they were nutritious and guess what they are loaded with good things check out an article about them from Eating Well.  


1/2 c vanilla yogurt
In a blender pour in yogurt and milk the add banana in chunks then blueberries kale chia seeds and ice blend on high until smooth stopping scrape the sides down once or twice.

1/2 c milk
1 banana
1/4 c blueberries fresh or frozen
1 c kale rinsed and torn in to small peices
1/2 tsp chia seeds
6 oz crushed ice

 In this nutrition facts I used Yoplait French Vanilla yogurt and whole milk because that is what I had on hand.  You could easily make with almond milk and greek yogurt for a lower fat and calorie count. 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 655 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 314 Calories from Fat 42

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4.7g 7%

Saturated Fat 2.3g 11%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 15mg 5%

Sodium 129mg 5%

Total Carbohydrates 63.1g 21%

Dietary Fiber 5.6g 22%

Sugars 36.3g

Protein 10.5g

Vitamin A 215% • Vitamin C 156% Calcium 23% • Iron 11%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Low in cholesterol
• Low in sodium
• High in manganese
• Very high in vitamin A
• Very high in vitamin B6
• Very high in vitamin B12
• Very high in vitamin C

Blueberry Muffins

I love blueberry muffins. I figured they were one of the casualties when I was told no flour and no sugar.  My cousin told me that spelt flour was alternative for flour in baked goods.  I picked up my first bag the other day and tonight I got out my favorite recipe and rewrote it. :-) Here is the new "healthier" version.

1 1/2 c spelt flour
3/4 c raw sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 c applesauce unsweetened
1 egg
1/3 c milk
1 c blueberries fresh or frozen**

Preheat oven to 400 f (200 C) Grease muffin tin cups or line with muffin paper
In a med size bowl combine flour sugar salt and baking powder.
In a 1 cup liquid measuring cup measure 1/3 c milk add in cracked egg whisk with a fork to combine then stir in 1/3 c applesauce.
Pour into bowl with flour mixture and mix just until moist all the way through.  Carefully fold in blueberries.  Fill each muffin up right to the top.  Bake in oven for 20-25 min until just the tops are light brown.  Allow to cool in pan for 5 min then remove to wire rack to cool completely before storage.  These are delicious warm or at room temperature.
** If using frozen berries do NOT thaw before adding to batter.  
makes 6-8 muffins depending on size of muffin tins

Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

When I was told about all my food sensitivities I lost a lot of options for breakfast.  I have been eating a lot of eggs. Thankfully we have chickens and we have a plethora of eggs available everyday.  Even I am creative I was getting tired of eggs everyday.  
A few weeks ago my cousin was visiting and I was picking her brain about food sensitivities, 3 of her children have some of the same ones I have, she mentioned that quinoa is a really good breakfast food.  I was excited to give this a try. 
 This past weekend I picked some quinoa up at the grocery store.  Yesterday I did not have to eat breakfast on the fly and had time to tinker around with a recipe.  I went to the web for some inspiration and found that you can treat it like oatmeal.  I came up with a recipe similar to an banana oatmeal.  I made it up and took my first big bite. Yuk I did not know that I was supposed to wash quinoa repeatedly before cooking! 
I retried this morning rinsing my quinoa four times.  The dish was great and even my littlest guy liked it too.  Today I made it with bananas tomorrow I think I will try blueberries and peaches.

1/2 dry quinoa rinsed in cool water changing the water at least 4 time. 
1/2 c water
1/4 c  milk
1/2 tsp Cinnamon 
2 tsp vanilla
1 tbl maple syrup 100% pure or honey 
pinch of salt
1 banana sliced 
1/2 c pecans optional

Combine quinoa, water, milk, cinnamon, vanilla,maple syrup and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes until quinoa can be fluffed with a fork.

Pour quinoa into 2 bowls then cover with bananas, pecans, and a few extra drizzles of milk.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size  1 serving (207.9 g)

Amount Per Serving

Calories  257 Calories from Fat  28

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  3.1g 5%

Saturated Fat  0.7g 3%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  2mg 1%

Sodium  165mg 7%

Total Carbohydrates  49.0g 16%

Dietary Fiber  5.5g 22%

Sugars  18.3g

Protein  7.5g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 27% Calcium 4% • Iron 55%