Serving Up {Drink}: Green Smoothie

About two years ago I was introduced to green smoothies (here) and I became very passionate about them.  It seemed like such a simple way to get fruits and veggies into my kids diet without the battle over "one piece of broccoli" - because, really, how much benefit does one piece of broccoli really afford?

(not to mention, how else will you get your kid to wear such a cool green mustache?)

While living in Vegas we would have a shake each morning with breakfast and another shake as an after school snack.  I am not kidding when I say that I would actually crave them!  But with our move last summer we kind of fell out of the smoothie routine.  We have them here and there but not with any regularity and I have missed it!

So with the summer harvest of produce, and the heat that makes a cold shake sound REALLY good, we have slowly been getting back into the Green Smoothie routine.  Just yesterday my three year old asked me to make a shake and he even opened up the fridge and pulled out two carrots and declared he wanted an orange shake (coconut milk, carrots, apricots, tart apple, tomato, banana)

You can put out a google search and come up with more drink combinations than you will ever use.  My advice is to start heavy on the fruit and then as you (and your kids) get used to them, slowly decrease the fruit and increase the veggie content.  You will be surprised at how the veggie battle will be a distant memory as your kids begin "drinking" veggies that they never would have eaten served on a plate.

I am sharing a "heavy fruit" recipe that is packed with spinach, which is a terrific leafy green veggie yet very mild in flavor.  As you begin to add more veggies, other mild flavored veggies include tomatoes, carrots, avocado and cucumbers - your kids won't even know they are in there.  I have discovered that if I throw in 1/2 lemon (peel and all) any other flavor is hidden by the citrus and I can get away with even stronger flavors such as bell peppers.  No matter what combination we use, we always throw in some frozen fruit of some type to make it nice and cold - frozen bananas work really well for that but so do frozen berries.  We also sometime steer clear of green altogether and go for another color - beets, red cabbage and strawberries are a delicious combination and because it's red, the kids think mom forgot to make it healthy :)

FAVORITE GREEN SMOOTHIE     Pin It

2 cups liquid (coconut milk, water, rice milk, kefir)

Spinach to fill blender container twice

Orange juice concentrate

Frozen peaches

Frozen banana

Place liquid in your blender container and fill the container with spinach; blend down to liquid.  Fill the container again with spinach and blend down to liquid again.  Add 1 Tbs. OJ concentrate, 1/2 - 1 frozen banana and 1-2 cups frozen peaches.  Blend until smooth. 

**if you have any smoothie remaining (which we seldom do) put the mix into a popsicle mold and freeze it.  Delicious (my kids had apricot smoothie popsicles just this afternoon)**

Serving Up {Dessert}: Granola Pudding Parfait

After posting my recipe for Cashew Granola, I feel like I have to share with you one of my favorite ways to eat it....which would consist of layering it with pudding and fresh (or frozen) berries.  It makes for such a yummy, easy summertime dessert.  I could eat it every day and never tire of it!

Here in the Pacific Northwest, berries are plentiful for most of the summer season.  We frequently go to the berry farms and pick our own.  It is just one of my favorite "perks" of where we live.  Would you hate me if I admitted that last summer I filled and froze 15 one-gallon bags with the plumpest, largest blueberries from my next door neighbors bushes = free.  I bagged and froze another 100 pounds of blackberries, picked and delivered to my door for only $1.25/pound.  Yum!

I do have to make one STRONG recommendation that, I think, makes a huge difference in the outcome of your parfait.  If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, purchase their instant Vanilla Pudding for this dessert.  It is unlike the vanilla pudding of your childhood - made with a good whole milk, your instant pudding will be mistaken for a homemade custard.  I promise!  You deserve this!

Of course, you could always use yogurt in place of the pudding for an even healthier dessert - but when I use yogurt it is called breakfast :)

No recipe today folks - because really, it doesn't get any simpler than this!  Just get out your parfait glass and layer your pudding, some berries and some delicious granola (may I recommend this granola).  Then repeat your layers and prepare to swoon!

Serving Up {Salad}: Sweet Grape Salad

This fruit salad just screams summer.  It's cool, refreshing, delightfully sweet and just plain delicious.  In truth, it makes a perfect summer dessert!  The only problem with serving it as dessert is that then you may feel a bit of guilt when you go back for seconds - whereas if it's served as the "fruit salad" then seconds are welcomed.  Right?  Please tell me I can go back for seconds.

I know that the first time you read the list of ingredients you will have some doubt enter your mind, but you have to trust me on this one.  I have taken this salad to multiple pot luck gatherings and at each one I have heard the low rumble of "who brought the grape salad? who brought the grape salad?"  It's one of those dishes that if you choose to take it to share, you may as well print the recipe to bring along because there will be requests.

SWEET GRAPE SALAD     
(recipe adapted from Cassie Craves)
printable version

3-4 pounds red seedless grapes (the original recipe only calls for 2 pounds but I use nearly double)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar, plus some additional to garnish
1/4 cup chopped pecans, plus some additional to garnish

Wash the grapes and remove from their stems.  Allow to air dry.
In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, sour cream, white sugar and vanilla.  Blend until smooth.  Gently fold in the grapes, 1/4 cup of pecans and 1/4 cup of brown sugar.
Sprinkle with brown sugar and chopped pecans to garnish.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serving Up {Fruit}: Mallow Fruit Dip

I served this fruit dip at our family gathering on Easter Sunday.  My sister-in-law commented that the fruit platter might be the only thing her daughter would eat and referred to it as "Vitamin fortified sugar".  I liked that description.  If you also have fruit lovers, and you want to further detract from the vitamin fortification of the fruit, this is a great way to accomplish that :)

This is a recipe that was in my mom's recipe box when I was growing up.  However, it seems like it was always reserved for special occasions (like Easter) and I always wished it was made more often.  It comes together so quickly that there is really no reason to not serve it more frequently.  It makes a great accompaniment to fruit for a baby or wedding shower or even a church gathering.  With summer approaching, and fresh fruit making it's way to our table, this is a fun way to dress it up a bit.

MALLOW FRUIT DIP     

(recipe from Linda W.)

printable version

8 ounces cream cheese

7 ounce marshmallow cream

1 Tbs. fresh orange juice

1 tsp. grated orange peel

dash ground ginger

Soften the cream cheese in a medium bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Serve with assorted fruit.