It's Getting Thick Real Quick

 

Above: Look at how thick that is! This smoothie really holds up under pressure.

So, my husband LOVES The Fast and the Furious...me...not so much. However, "It's getting thick real quick" is a quote from one of the many Fast and Furious movies that we like to quote a lot. Here's a thick smoothie that will keep you full for breakfast.

 

Above: This is a great on-the-go breakfast. 

Strawberry-Orange Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 cups orange juice
1 pkg. (16 oz) frozen whole strawberries
1 pkg. (3.4 oz) Jell-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

Directions:

Blend ingredients in blender until smooth.

Serve immediately.

Recipe variations:

Strawberry-Orange Sherbet: Prepare as directed; freeze until firm. Scoop into dessert dishes to serve.

Creamy: For a creamier smoothie, substitute milk for the orange juice. (I tried this, and personally, it wasn't my favorite combination. Without the orange juice, the pudding has a different aftertaste in the smoothie)

Not as thick: If you don't like things so thick, change it from a three ingredient recipe to a two ingredient recipe and omit the pudding. Frozen strawberries simply mixed with some orange juice makes for a super tasty breakfast too!

Source: Kraft. You can find it here.

Notes: The pudding really thickened this smoothie up nicely. In fact, it thickened it to the point of being spoon worthy. I would suggest adding additional orange juice in order to be able to drink it through a straw! I loved the flavor of the strawberries and orange juice together. I also loved simply blending strawberries and orange juice. I haven't tried the sherbet variation yet, but it would be delicious!

 

Above: Two ingredient smoothie version. Honestly, this was my favorite. Omit the pudding and just blend frozen strawberries and orange juice together. 

Popeye Power

Sometimes it is so hard to fit those veggies in! It can be especially hard to get your kids to eat their veggies. Well, here is a good way to do it. Blend it and sip it up!

My sister-in-law shared this recipe for a great way to add more veggies to your diet.

Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach, loosely packed
1 peach, halved and pitted
1 frozen banana
1 cup almond milk (or substitute regular milk--you could even add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Source: My wonderful sister-in-law, Shandie. Thanks!

Smooth

Let me tell you what I've been eating for breakfast over the past few weeks: smoothies. I realized that I wasn't eating enough fruit and dairy. So, I started making myself some smoothies for breakfast. It has been the perfect way for me to eat fruits and dairy. It helped me lose a few of my baby weight pounds (that had just been HANGING on!). And since I lost those pounds, it has helped me maintain. Plus, it keeps me full until lunch so that I don't snack like a crazy person.

It's a pretty basic formula and really easy to change up to keeps things from getting boring.

I like to freeze my yogurt for a thicker smoothie. I fill up an ice cube tray with vanilla yogurt and freeze it. Then I pop out the cubes and keep them in a zip-top bag until I use them. Each cube holds about 1 tablespoon of yogurt.  I also like to freeze my fruit (whether I use fresh or canned) so that it makes for a thicker smoothie too. But it doesn't have to be frozen. I just find that it tastes a little more like a milkshake when you use unfrozen fruit.

Breakfast Smoothies

Ingredients:

1 cup fruit (fresh, canned, or frozen)
1 cup skim milk
4 cubes of frozen vanilla yogurt (about 4 tablespoons--it doesn't have to be frozen)
Sweetener, to taste (sugar, honey, brown sugar, Splenda...whatever you want to use)

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth.

Source: No source really, I had just seen a ton of smoothie recipes on Pinterest and it got me in the mood. Then, when I was at the grocery store, I bought one of those Yoplait smoothie packs in the frozen food section. It was soooo good and really low-calorie. But I was surprised to discover when I opened the package, that all of the ingredients could be easily replicated at home.

Notes: I've tried a lot of different types of fruit. I used fresh cantaloupe--which made for a nice, frothy milkshake. I have used frozen canned peaches (I just drained them, put them in a zip-top bag, and froze them in a single layer). I used cuties/tangerines and added a little frozen orange juice concentrate (about 2 tbsp) for an extra kick. The same method worked when I used an orange. I added a little vanilla that time and it tasted like an Orange Julius. I had some lovely red plums that added such a pretty color to the smoothie. I sometimes add a half a banana to whatever fruit I am already using. I used some canned crushed pineapple (undrained) that I had leftover from a recipe one day. It tasted really good--very similar to our frog eye salad recipe.  Really, I think the possibilities are endless.