OHMYGOD it's Pink Strawberry Starburst Smoothie

I have to confess, I am not even sure the pink Starbursts (in the traditional pack, I think there were red, orange, yellow, and pink in there, but they've got all kinds of themed packs/flavors now) are strawberry flavored? Maybe they were strawberry-lemonade? Whatever. Almost everyone I knew when I was a kid liked the pink ones best, followed closely by red, and wished they sold packs of JUST the pink ones.

A 2nd confession, I haven't eaten a Starburst in years, as I'm just not really into fruity candy, and I also tend to avoid things of that consistency to avoid ripping out expensiveass dental work.

But when I made this smoothie a few weeks ago (and again today) and sipped it for the first time, I immediately remembered Pink Starburst! So here you go- end of the indulgent reminiscing and reasoning for the smoothie maybe not tasting EXACTLY like a pink Starburst; you've been warned.

PINK STARBURST SMOOTHIE

1/2 - 3/4 cup water
2 big handfuls of spinach

1/2 scoop Vega vanilla flavored nutritional shake powder

1 banana
Some squeezes of lemon juice
3 handfuls of strawberries with the tops on (unless the tops are crunchy/dried up)
2 handfuls of frozen grapes

Yeah, I know, none of these measurements are exact. You can taste as you go and add more of things as you please- I don't measure when I make a smoothie, I just try not to overflow my blender cup.

In a hand blender: Add the water, spinach, Vega, banana, and lemon juice. Blend it up!
Add a few of the strawberries and blend, a few more, blend, etc. until you've added all of the strawberries.
Then add the frozen grapes and blend again.
You can use frozen strawberries, depending on how cold you want it.

If you're into fruit water, you can soak strawberries and lemons together, and when you're done drinking the water, use the strawberries (and squeeze the lemons) from the fruit water into this. That's how I made it the first time, but I get that not everyone has that just sitting around ;)

Dat Baked Rotini, tho...

12 oz rotini
1/2-3/4 jar spaghetti sauce
4 mozzarella string cheeses
4 handfuls shredded parmesan cheese
5 slices provologne cheese
3-4 roma tomatoes <<YUUUUMMMMY
baby spinach (a few handfuls)

Cook and drain pasta.
While you're waiting for the water to boil and/or cooking the pasta, dice the roma tomatoes into chunks- a little bigger than you would for salsa. Thinly slice/shred the baby spinach. Cut the string cheeses up into little cubes, about 1/2".

Add the drained pasta to a big bowl.
Add the pasta sauce- it's up to you how much. How saucy do you want it?
Add the baby spinach, tomatoes, string cheese pieces, and 2 handfuls of the parmesan cheese. Mix that up well, then dump into a greased 9x13 dish (or a pretty deep 9x9 dish).
Cover with provologne slices, then sprinkle the last 2 handfuls of parmesan cheese over the top.

Cover this with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Check the pasta mix near the end; uncover for a little while if it seems too liquidy.

Orange and Banana, take 1

And add another check into the "meh" category.

Orange and Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:
1/2 c water
1 Arbonne vanilla protein powder packet
2 oranges
1 tsp bee pollen
1 handful of spinach leaves

I just threw everything into here and blended it together.... pretty boring.


I really wanted to try and duplicate the taste of a dreamsicle here. It didn't happen. At all. Oranges have a lot of flavor, right? I thought using TWO would DEFINITELY up the orangey factor- negative. The Arbonne vanilla powder kind of overwhelms things, which is odd since vanilla is such a mild taste. That's the reason I got the vanilla... so that I would taste more of the fruit.

I probably could have added either a handful of strawberries or mango and this would have been a PHENOMENAL drink. But I was in the mood to be somewhat of a purist this morning, so in my mind, orange = orange and I wasn't going to add anything to "fake" a flavor I was going for.

The result is little flavor at all.

Andplusalso none of my ingredients were cold today, so this was another warm one. Which isn't TERRIBLE but a little bit of chill is nice.

Wanna-Be Pumpkin Pie Smoothie that is bland as hell

Tried another new recipe last night. A few days ago I had looked at Arbonne's "30 days feeling fit" guide and they had some smoothie recipes in there. I was trying to remember one of them last night when I made a 2nd smoothie for the day, but I was lacking some ingredients. The recipe calls for vanilla yogurt, which I didn't have. But then I remembered the guide saying to avoid dairy, and isn't yogurt dairy? So I figured maybe it was best I didn't have the yogurt anyway? I don't know.

Wanna-Be Pumpkin Pie Smoothie that is bland as hell

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
Arbonne vanilla protein powder packet
1/2 cup Coconut milk
1 teaspoon bee pollen
1 1/2-2 tablespoons honey
2 handfuls of spinach
dash of vanilla
1/3 can of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling, just pumpkin)
like a teaspoon or more of cinnamon
generous sprinkling of nutmeg

I blended all of this together in hopes it would taste like pumpkin pie.... but not quite. It wasn't terrible, just... bland. Oh, and kind of warm, since the only cold items were the liquids and spinach.

I was sipping it and kept adding more cinnamon and nutmeg, then tried to imagine I was actually eating pumpkin pie, or maybe just a pumpkin spice drink from any number of coffee places. I tried to think what would make my drink taste more like those, and it hit me: Sugar. Lots of it. It seemed counter productive to add sugar to something that is supposed to be healthy though. I was sort of generous with the honey, but that wasn't enough. If I had had the yummy vanilla greek yogurt that I usually keep around OR some vanilla ice cream, I think this drink would have been AMAZING.

But what do vanilla yogurt and ice cream have in them that my smoothie didn't have? ...Sweeteners. I'm not sure why I was so against putting some sweetener into my smoothie, yet if I had put the yogurt in there that would already contain some sort of sweetener, I would have been okay with it.

Maybe part of it is just avoiding the habit of adding sugar to things.

ANOTHER green smoothie

Still working on ideas for Arbonne shakes... I've signed up to do a "30 days to feeling fit" which means drinking 2 shakes a day!

Ingredients:
1/2-3/4 cup of the Cucumberade I made yesterday (for reference.... basically it's lemon juice, lime juice, cucumber)
1 package Arbonne vanilla protein shake mix
1 teaspoon pee pollen
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
2 handfuls of baby spinach
1/2 can of pineapple chunks, including 1/2 of the juice(the small can... about 1 1/2" tall)
2 small handfuls cucumber slices
2 bigass strawberries, including the green tops
2 handfuls of grapes

I added everything but the strawberries and grapes, blended it up, then added the strawberries, more blending, then the grapes. Keep blending til smooth. This one was really yummy!!!

Deleeeeeshus Overnight Oats

I've seen variations of this ALL over Pinterest. I have no idea whose recipe it was originally, and I didn't even pin one myself to reference. I saw a few different ones and got the basic idea, then made my own, in a quantity that fills me up on a morning when I wake up hungry!

This recipe is totally unspecific since it's so adaptable. But the basics are:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not the quick oats- the ones that take like 5-10 mins to cook)
1/3 cup Chobani (or your preferred brand) Vanilla Greek Yogurt
1/4 - 1/3 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk (or other milk of your choosing)
1-2 Tbsp honey (raw, creamed, flavored... up to you, and how sweet you like it!)
Handful of chopped fruit, fresh berries, etc. (Strawberries work well, so do raspberries, apples, blueberries...)
Optional: Various spices, jams, dried fruits

Directions:

1. Add the oats, yogurt, coconut milk, and honey to a jar or container with a lid- or you can wrap with plastic wrap, but that seems so wasteful. Mix well and adjust yogurt and coconut milk to your desired consistency. Since this is eaten cold, I think it's better when it's thicker!
2. Add some of the chopped fruit and mix again. Then add the rest of the chopped fruit. You can mix it again, or leave the rest of the chopped fruit on top. (I like to mix it twice, keeping some of it separated, so some of it gets more incorporated and starts to fall apart a little, while the fruit on top so it stays more whole.)
3. You can also experiment and add things like: Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, almond extract, vanilla extract, raisins, craisins & various other dried fruits, jams/preserves/jelly etc. for MORE flavor!
4. Cover and place in the fridge over night. When you wake up the next morning, you have a yummy breakfast waiting for you!

This is my favorite honey to use for this recipe! It's from a local company here in Virginia (I love supporting my locals), but they ship, too! Some of it might seem pricey, but trust me, it is worth. every. penny. The spiced version shown here contains cinnamon/clove flavors and I like it with strawberries or apples (it tastes like pie). Another wonderful variety is their almond honey. It's fantastic in the overnight oats with raspberries!
Here's where you can order some, too:
http://stores.homestead.com/hstrial-SMitchell/Categories.bok?category=Creamed%20Honey

Oh. And yes. You DO see a bee on the end of the spoon :)

Tuscan Pasta

(You can add 1 pound of cooked chicken cut into strips to this if you'd like meat in there.)

Ingredients:
6 oz. Penne or Rotini Pasta (half a box)
1 can (15 oz) Great Northern Beans
1/2 cup Roasted Red Peppers, chopped
1 C Baby Spinach, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped Rosemary, preferably fresh
1 teaspoon broth
Fresh Parmesan cheese
1 lb. of chicken, if desired.

Directions:

1. If using chicken, cook the chicken and cut it into thin strips. Set aside.
2. Cook pasta according to directions.
3. Heat the broth in a large skillet. Add the beans, vegetables, and spices. Cook 3-5 minutes or until the spinach begins to wilt a little.
4. Toss with pasta (and add the chicken if you're using it).
5. Top with Parmesan cheese.

If you're using a box of pasta and you'd prefer to cook the entire box, just double the rest of the ingredients for a larger meal.