SMOOTHIES!

I love smoothies.  They are not only delicious and refreshing but a good way to get your servings of fruits and veggies in.  Here is a basic smoothie recipe that works with any combination you want.  Here are some helpful tips to making the perfect smoothie.

The first thing to remember is to start your smoothie off with a liquid base so that you don't damage the blades of your blender.  You can use fruit juice, milk or milk alternative, and even coconut milk for a tropical flavored smoothie.  Then add the fruit(s) of your choice.  Bananas are a great for any smoothie and add a nice creamy texture.  Other delicious fruits that are yummy are berries, mangoes, peaches, nectarines, oranges, and even melons.  If you want to hide your veggies, you can add spinach but it will turn your smoothie a greenish-brown.  You may need to add more liquid depending on which fruits you use.  Experiment with it a bit until you get the texture you like.  Adding ice will give your smoothie a frosty, thick texture.

2 cups liquid (apple or other fruit juice, carrot juice, almond milk, regular milk, coconut milk)
6-8 oz. of yogurt (any flavor, if using plain you will need a sweetener)**
1 cup of fruit (any combination, frozen or fresh)
1/2 banana (frozen or fresh)
6-12 ice cubes (if using fresh fruit)

Add all the ingredients to the blender in order listed.  Blend until smooth.  You may need to add a little more liquid if it gets to thick.  Add sweetener to taste, if needed and pulse in blender a few times.**  Pour into a tall cup and enjoy!

**honey, maple syrup, agave syrup, natural Stevia drops

Fudgie Bars

My mom makes these amazing Fudgie Bars.  She got the recipe from her mom years ago and recently rediscovered it.  She has since made them a few times for family gatherings.  They have quickly become a favorite of mine.  I like helping her to pat the oatmeal cookie crust into the bottom of the pan.  It takes a bit of patience but they are so worth it!  We always make two batches (one with nuts, one without) when we take them places and both versions are very popular.  We like to store them in the fridge, but you don't have to.  Betcha' you can't eat just one!

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

3 cups quick oats (or pulse old-fashioned oats in a blender)

1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 Tbs. butter or margarine

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) (pecans delish!) 

Mix 1 cup butter with half the flour, all the brown sugar, both eggs, 2 tsp. vanilla, and all of the baking soda.  Mix thoroughly, then add rest of the flour and all the oats.  Set aside.

Heat can of sweetened condensed milk, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and 2 Tbs. butter until melted, then add the other 2 tsp. vanilla and all the nuts.

Crust:  Pat 2/3 of oat mixture in ungreased 15x10x1 pan.  Pour and spread chocolate mixture over the crust and drop/crumble remaining oat mixture the over top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until light golden brown.  (Chocolate mixture will still look moist.)  Cool in pan on wire rack and then cut into bars when cool.

Makes about 48-60 bars depending on how you divide the pan.

 

 

Cupcake Wars #3

I got invited to another friend's house to do cupcake wars. She was doing it for a school capstone project.  She invited several of us from school to help her out.  We were put on teams and given cake mixes as our base.  My favorite cupcake so far came from this round of Cupcake Wars...Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes.  I think they are my best creation, yet!

1 box vanilla cake mix
grated apple
cinnamon

Mix all together and bake according to package directions.  Delicious!

Bad Food/Good Food

Over spring break, my family and I went on a vacation. We ended up leaving a lot later than planned on Friday, the day we left. We were traveling down to Las Vegas and it was super late at night. We had been traveling for a couple hours, and we were all hungry. Because it was so late, the only places open in Cedar City, where we were at the time, were McDonald's and Wendy's. I wanted to go to Wendy's and pick a healthy option, the salad. Sadly, I was outvoted.  My three sisters chose McDonald's.

We wanted to go in and eat because my dad says it's too hard for him to eat and drive at the same time.  But, it was closed.  So we pulled up through the drive-thru and ordered.  My sister and I wanted the chicken wraps.  "I'm sorry.  We are all out of those." My mom ordered a chicken sandwich.  "We don't serve those after 11 pm."  (It was 11:45pm.)  We all opted for the good ol' Big Mac.  My dad ordered a giant coke.  It had a lot of ice, yet only 3/4 full.  He had them fill it up more before leaving.  After tasting it, it wasn't even the right drink and it was watered down.  He had them start over with a different drink.  (He had to park and walk in to ask them to change it.)  My mom tasted her Big Mac and it tasted like the relish in the Big Mac sauce was sour.  The meat was weird, too.  YUCK!  Oh, and the fries were not salted, either.

Not a great meal, to say the least.

The next night, after arriving in California, we needed to find a place to eat.  Most places were closing so our options were limited.  We decided to go to Hometown Buffet.  It was close to closing time, but they let us in anyway.  It was a big place and we were excited to eat, because we were hungry!!!

Unfortunately, the food was not great.  Very much cafeteria food...nothing "hometown" about it.  They ran out of a lot of their food, too, and did not bring any more out.  The choices left made it so not worth the money, nor the time we spent eating it.  Funny thing is, we were so hungry that none of us complained about it until we were finishing up and getting ready to head out the door.  I guess when you/re hungry, you don't really think about what you are eating.  You just focus on getting it in you stomach.

Once again we were disappointed with our food choices on this vacation.  Two for Two!

Luckily, the hotel we stayed at during our Disney vacation offered free breakfasts and dinners.  They were far better than anything we had eaten so far.  Even though a lot of the stuff was "batch" cooking type of foods, it was still yummy and fresh...and appreciated!  We ate huge breakfasts every morning before going to Disneyland.  My mom loved the oatmeal.  She said it was some of the best she had ever eaten.  She must not have been the only one to think that.  We overheard another hotel guest ask the chef how she prepared her oatmeal.  My mom wishes she could have heard the answer.  Something about soaking the oats before cooking them.  Hmmm...she may be onto something.

Some of my other favorite foods on this trip were...

Bingets (the best ever, sold in Downtown Disney)

 The Gray Stuff (It's delicious!)

Parmesan Cheese Twists (dipped in marinara sauce)

Ice Cream on Main Street

Mickey Mouse Sourdough Bread ( We were given  this for free as shops were closing down in California Adventure.)

Ramen Noodles

I love to eat Ramen noodles, especially when I'm looking for a quick meal.  I make them in the Small Micro-Cooker by Pampered Chef.  It is a 1 qt. microwave safe pot with a vented lid. 

It looks like this (but mine is brown).

Because Ramen is not necessarily healthy, it might be good to have some slices of turkey deli meat on the side. It might also be good idea to add some vegetables to the noodles, like diced mini carrots, corn, and peas, or broccoli.  The sodium in the broth is super high, which I know is not good for you, but adding vegetables cancels the unhealthy-ness out, right?  (ha! ha!) Still, I like this meal a lot and eat it often.

Waffles and Pancakes (Kodiak Style)

I love waffles and pancakes for breakfast or dinner.  We often do breakfast for dinner one night a week in our house. I like to help prepare these meals.  Lately, my mom has been going the "cheater route" she calls it with our waffles and pancakes.  (She usually makes everything from scratch and doesn't like boxed batter mixes.)  But, since finding Kodiak Cakes at Costco, she has defaulted to using this prepackaged "just add water/milk" on breakfast nights.  These are full of protein, whole grains, and lots of other healthy stuff, so my mom doesn't mind using it.  And, it makes it easier for me to jump in and help prepare the meal, pour the batter, and flip the pancakes.

 

 One of our favorite appliances is our Double Pro Belgian Wafflemaker made by Waring Pro.  It bakes two extra-deep Belgian waffles at a time.  Yum.  Some of our favorite toppings are strawberries and whip cream, freshly squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar, high quality real maple syrup (no Mrs. Butterworth's here), and yummy syrup (a deliciously homemade, but not so healthy, buttermilk syrup).

Job Shadow

For my capstone project, I had to do some job shadowing in the field of my subject.  Since we are lucky enough to have a professional chef (who has years of experience in the industry and even owned a restaurant.)  His name is Chef Rick.  (I didn't get a picture of me with him.)

I learned that it takes a lot of work to be a chef of a restaurant or a lunchroom.  So many kids have different food tastes and are so picky with what they will or won't eat.

I couldn't help prepare the food because I am not old enough to have a food handler's permit, but I did get to help serve.  I job shadowed during an elementary lunch period, so we saw a lot of kids through that day.  I helped serve the potatoes.

It  was a lot of fun!