Friday, July 16, 2010

breakfast for champions & a summer dinner

i want to share my favorite breakfast smoothie
that especially with all the summer fruits available
the girls & i have been enjoying

crush ice
add strawberries & blueberries
( mango, banana, or raspberries if i have them)
oj
fat free vanilla yogurt
agave nectar
dash of nutmeg
flaxseed
protein powder
& a huge handful of spinach
& let 'er rip

seriously delish & oh so very good for you


(ps, don't let this image fool ya. i had girlies walking in while i was photographing. i actually use a huge handful of spinach.....shhh)

we're also trying to be better about taking vitamins
surely tinkerbell gummies are aok
right?



while dan was tucking caroline in one night for bedtime
she proudly proclaimed that she felt she should become
a
vegetarian

well, she said, a vegetarian that eats meat
sorta more like a healthatarian
a girl needs her burgers every now & then
you know

last night she asked that we whip up some of her faves
which did include red meat....sorry folks
so here are all the players...

the girls love when i make pasta, peas & parmesean
which is exactly all it is
( that & some butter)

the true blue salad from publix
( trader joes has one that i actually love even more)


seasoned shrimp





grilled steaks marinated in dale's seasoning


sauteed mushrooms & vidalia onions

& truth be told
she also asked for mashed potatoes
"the ones in the black plastic thingy"
they were not worthy of a photograph
& yes
i even served 'em right beside the pasta
nothing like a little starch overload



& look what was eaten first
yep
the mashed potatoes from the black plastic thingy



of course!
ps~i'd love to hear some more fabulous smoothie ideas!



32 comments:

Kelli said...

I've read about those smoothies and I really need to try that in order to get more veggies (and for my kids to get more too). OK, that dinner looks amazing and now, at 9:40 in the morning, I want steak and shrimp...and homemade mashed potatoes!

Farmgirl Paints said...

I have a good one. But it's not really a smoothie it's a coffee protein shake. Take /3 cup of left over coffee, add a 1 1/2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder, a packet of sweetner OR 1/2 tablespoon of honey, 1/2 tablespoon of wheat germ, 2-4 ice cubes, oh and 1/2 a medium ripe banana and voila!! So yummy.

Loved your dinner. The mashed potatoes would have been my favorite part too:)

Farmgirl Paints said...

it's 2/3 cup brewed coffee and then at the end mix. guess i should read it before I post it huh??:)

Unknown said...

One of my favorite breakfast shakes is 2T peanut butter, a banana and 6-8 oz of cold skim milk. Got it from Jillian Michaels. It's a great breakfast replacement!

Kristin said...

I am so glad you like this. It has been my staple for breakfast for the last year, well that and Fiber-one cereal that I eat like a squirrel..., smile, but in my smoothie I only have ever put protein, spinach, blueberries and or peaches. I know that flax-seed is so good for women so I need to get to Trader Joe's and add all those other thingy's too! So glad you posted this. And of course one eats mashed potatoes first even if out of that black plastic instant bag....it is the law you silly, don't you know?! :)
Happy Beautiful Friday to you!!!!!

xo

*The Beautiful Life* said...

My goodness that little sweetie pie is cute!! I love the pic of her holding that plate out!!! :)

Thanks for the foodie ideas!! :)

Ruth

Sherry S. said...

Take a look at greensmoothiegirl.com
She has yummy smoothie ideas and all of them are very healthy.

mimi charmante said...

girlfriend, this post totally inspired me - and let me tell you, I have needed it lately! cooking for three instead of six is not that fun... #4 doesn't care so really it is like cooking for two. I can't wait to have my big boys back to really do some proper dinners again!
have a fabulous weekend and I will be trying this dinner soon - my boys will love it!
(and we are huge smoothie people as well- the vitamixer sits on the counter at all times...)
xx

mimi charmante said...

oooh! and I am loving becky's smoothie as well!

Alecia said...

Those smoothies sound DELISH!!! I love that she wants to be a Healthitarian...sooo cute! :-)
My smoothie recipes don't compare to this one...the health value just isn't there...so I'll just take your recipe and spare you the boring recipe I have!

Heather said...

Yum! The smoothies sound so good. And I love mashed potatoes, even from the black plastic thingy... :)

Susan R said...

Too funny.....The neighborhood kids have been hanging out at my place around noon everyday and have eaten up all the popsicles. I made smoothies out of the Yoplait frozen mix yesterday. They were SO good. Nothing close to the amazing one you make, but it was really good, you just add the milk and blend.
Now about that dinner....WOW! I want some too.

Sheila said...

Paige, I do a smoothie very similar to yours. We add frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, soy milk, soy yogurt, flax seed oil w/lignans, a dash of agave nectar. I need to add the greens. Haven't done that yet. Burney does have me add oatmeal to his though. Can you imagine.

JolieAnne said...

That's a good recipe for smoothies 'cause I would normally skip the spinach but not anymore! I am on a quest to be the healiest I can be before Christmas! Just a small goal I have...I am on a journey for more energy!
I have 3 sons, 2 are teenagers!
So I need to be in tip top shape!

Gypsy Heart said...

I love the smoothie you made ~ I don't have a lot of info to share 'cause I'm not in the habit of making them lately. This has inspired me and I will try some of the other recipes too.

The dinner looks amazing! I agree re: the mashed potatoes too ~ quite the comfort food. I am totally starving right now.

Love your blog!

Have a blessed weekend ~
Pat

Jodee said...

Yummy post! I love smoothies and pasta too!

Jboo said...

Oh yum!! Think I need to get moving on the smoothies and break my girl out of the poptarts!

Your food looks amazing!! Hope you have a great weekend!

Janet

patricia e said...

Great way to get some veggies in ~ love that you put spinach in this. I can't wait to try it. I like smoothie recipes, but have to shop for the ingredients ~ don't always have everything on hand. But I always have a bag of frozen fruit (sometimes mangos, but most often blueberies). Just mix a little of the frozen berries, (don't need ice), little applesauce, flaxseed, (I've even used wheatgerm), a banana and voila! Love the dinner your daughter picked out ~ yummy!

traci said...

hello sweet paige. long time no see. this looks like my kind of meal. i would probably eat the potatoes first too. yum.

Michelle DeRusha said...

Wow, good eats at your place! :)

Leslie said...

We drink smoothies just about every day around here, I love to add frozen fruits of all kinds with yogurt, milk, V8 splash juice that has all the veggies in it and just about anything I can sneak in there for my kiddos.

Unknown said...

I am so making your smoothie recipe for my girls, just need to put the spinach in when they are not looking!

Yum! Thanks for all your nice comments, Kasey and I talked about how sweet you are when she was here visiting. Were your ears ringing!??
xo~Jill

Unknown said...

my husband makes them all the time, mostly just fruits different juices and protein powder :) thanks for visiting!! susan

the wild raspberry said...

That sounds yummy! I was doing great for a while, but it's easy to fall back into old habits. Thanks for sharing, friend!
Warmly,
~Debbie~

Anonymous said...

Hi Paige,
Just blog hopped from ??? & have just spent the last hour (yep hour!) reading your gorgeous blog & looking & appreciating your stunning photography.
The word within your blog posts have really touched a part of my heart & I will be following your blog from now on!
Hugs from Sarah
Australia.

Jen Kershner said...

Dale's! I haven't had it since I left the South! I wonder if they even sell it North of Memphis? The very thought of it conjures up all kinds of old memories. I'm going to search for some now! That dinner sounds lovely and is making me so hungry!

LeeAnn@Encouragement Is Contagious said...

I am copying down this smoothie recipe. I'm sure you hardly taste the spinach amongst all of the fruit, right? I too want to start eating more healthy and this smoothie sounds like something I would really enjoy.

Thanks!

Lee Ann

kpb said...

my manhatten-livin-artsy-little- sis has me ADDICTED to these smoothies:

ice
whole avacado (yes & YUM)
whole banana
healthy squirt of honey
good helping of peanut butter
enough milk to thin it out!
BLEND . . . . .
OMG YUM

Courtney Walsh said...

yum. that all looks so wonderful. I feel like we've hardly done any real cooking or grilling all summer.

i miss it.

melissa said...

Ha ...Griff loves those mashed potatoes in the black, plasticy thing - had them last night!
Thanks for the smoothie recipe. I have lots of them 'collected' to make with my protein powder, but I rarely make them - time issue!
Farmgirl's coffe smoothie sounds great too!

Between You and Me said...

i can't wait to make the pasta tonight for my kids!!!

we live on smoothies...i'm SO gonna add spinach...if you promise they won't figure it out!!!

Faded Plains said...

I love smoothies...and so do my boys...love the idea od secretly putting in some spinich.