Blender Goodness Part 2

I'm still on a smoothie kick, trying to make healthy drinks to boost my fruit and veggie intake.  I've had a few of the Green Detox Smoothies now and was ready to try something new.  I've got a few more to try that I marked in Pinterest and a few I've been thinking about on my own... maybe this will be the start of a "Smoothie Series"...  Let me know what you think and if you'd like to see more!

I had to get out the big blender for my smoothie today, but it was worth it!  I think I'm going to make this one for the "Grills" as O-man calls them, when they get home from school.  It's chilly out, and this one would be a great cool summer treat, but I've got everything ready and I'd like to use up the ingredients.

Imagine it with a pretty umbrella... I don't have any...

It's hard to tell in the picture and with the blue cup, but it is actually a light green color.

Spinacolada (adapted from someone's comment on another recipe)
1/2 can (14oz) of Coconut Milk
1 c fresh pineapple cubed
1 banana
1 c Greek style yogurt, I used plain
1 c fresh baby spinach, I remove all the stems because sometimes my blender doesn't get them smooth
1T vanilla extract
crushed ice

Blend everything together, add a splash of water or oj if you need a bit more liquid to get the blender going. Enjoy while pretending you are on a tropical island!

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the World Wide Blog Hop and check here to see how to win a fabulous new gardening product!

Peace be with you,

Blender Goodness

My quest for healthy eating is continuing.  Hopefully, my children will eventually pick up on it and join me.  I'm currently down 10 pounds since the beginning of the year and while I have stalled a bit, I've maintained, which I'm pleased with.  Maintenance is my plan through the Easter holiday break and then I'll aim for a few more pre-summer pounds to disappear. 

Beefing up on the fresh fruits and veggies has been key for me.  I stumbled upon a interesting smoothie recipe on Pinterest and before I knew it, I'd started a new board, Blender Goodness, with several recipes I want to try.  I had most of the ingredients for this one:

Source: theglitterguide.com via Emily on Pinterest

So I whipped one up this afternoon.  I didn't have kale on hand so my version was:
1 cup fresh spinach, 1 banana, 1 pear, 1 cup orange juice and 1 cup of ice.  Blend and enjoy.  Believe it or not you can't taste the spinach, it was so yummy and refreshing!  Four servings of fruits and vegetables in one delicious drink!  Look how pretty it is too:

Peace be with you,

 

Healthy Kids Lunches

I'm always trying to balance what the kids want to eat, with what they will eat with the nutrition they need.  My girls are finally getting reliable for taking their vitamins daily but the little man is still refusing.  Since the girls go to school all day, they do like to buy their lunches, but I try to limit that to no more than 2 times a week.  While I think that there is an attempt to serve nutritionally balanced meals in the schools, I think the majority of the choices are lacking, plus, I can't guarantee they will actually eat everything that comes on their tray.

One thing we have found to be beneficial for packing is using divided containers, plus I have enough of these to pack a few days worth for each girl and they can just grab and go.  If I had my choice, they would eat all raw, fresh fruits and veggies with nuts or other healthy proteins, but alas, it's a constant balance.  Here's what we packed this week:

JuneBug's lunch is on top, she is the easiest to get to eat healthy.  She wants to and likes a lot more than her siblings.  She loves salami, so I give into a few specific brands and let her have a few slices, especially when she gladly eats her fruits and veggies. 

Tasha's lunch is the bottom one.  She lives on peanut butter and Nutella!   She's not supposed to eat the crackers until the rest of the lunch is gone... not sure that always happens, but the advantage of sending my kids with reusable lunch containers is they always bring home what they don't eat.  I've only ever used reusable containers and it seems it's never occurred to them to empty them out before coming home... I'm good with that since it enables me to know what they did or didn't eat.  As for juice, I'd so much rather them drink water or milk, but again, it's a compromise.  The milk at school isn't organic, so I'd rather them drink milk at home where I can control that.  I let them have a total of  2 glasses of juice (or glass and box) as long as it's 100% juice.  I'd love to juice all fresh, organic fruits and veggies... but alas, that isn't happening any time soon either.

How do you encourage your kids to eat healthy in a world of processed and pre-packaged foods? 

Peace be with you,