Smoothie Art

Healthy living is sometimes really hard to keep up with as you go about your life.  Even though I stay at home with my kids, I don't always have the time to get everything done that I want to every day.  One of those things on my to do list is to make sure my kids eat lots of vegetables and fruit, but sometimes that doesn't always happen the way I want.  My kids love to eat apples, but when they eat 5 or more a day that up-sets their stomach.  So one thing I do is make smoothies, like a lot of them! With homeschooling my kids, my duties with church, Cub Scouts, and my volunteer work, on top of my responsibilities as a wife and mother I do not have time to make single serve smoothies all day long.  Each of us can and usually do have 2 smoothies a day.  So what I like to do, is make enough smoothie to last us 3 days before I have to make more.  

Smoothie is something that goes rank quickly if not kept well.  I know, I've thrown smoothie cups away because what was growing in them was to gross to wash out.  Or those smoothie mixes that aren't so yummy tasting that even I will dump it into the garbage.  But I have figured out a few things, a few tips that I thought would be helpful to others.

I am going to be doing a smoothie session for the month of February and I would love to have you join me on this discovery of Smoothie Art. My Chia Seeds, Ground Flax Seeds are organic, and my Terra Greens come from doTerra.  It's a high concentrated blend of greens that when taken on a regular basis will give you a full serving of all the vegetables that you need in a day.  

 Green Smoothie Recipe            Pink Smoothie Recipe

1. Kale                                         1. Strawberries

2. Spinach                                    2. Pineapples

3. Carrots                                     3. Mango

4. Terra Greens                            4. Peaches

5. Chia Seeds                               5. Applesauce

6. Flax Seeds                               6. Water

7. Apple juice                              7. Bananas
8. Secrete Ingredient

How I make my smoothies.  I am an artist at heart, so I color mix my smoothies to make them look delicious.  This means that I always start with the Green Smoothie base first.  I pour in 3 cups of apple juice first, then put in my secrete ingredient which for this smoothie was a cup of left over California mix vegetables. (Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower) Then I put in 2 large handfuls of kale and spinach.  I freeze most of my fresh ingredients so that I don't have to add ice to my smoothies.  Then I go ahead and blend this batch.  Once that's well blended I add in 1 heaping scoop of Terra Greens, 4 scoops of Chia Seeds, 4 spoonfuls of ground flax seeds, and half a handful of kale and spinach each.  Then I blend it up again.  Now I put this mixture into a large gallon drink picture. Now its time to start my Pink Smoothie Recipe.  I pour in 3 1/2 cups of ice cold water ( I used filtered water from my fridge).  Then I added 1 cup of strawberries, 1 cup of pineapples, 1 cup of mango, 1/2 cup peaches, and 1 and 1/2 bananas. I mix this all up.  And with this if it's looking a bit too thick I will add up to 1 full cup more of water.  Now comes my favorite part.  I will pour the Pink Smoothie into the center of the picture right into the center of the Green Smoothie.  Then I get a big wooden spoon and mix it all together.  This smoothie will turn a little bit brownish green in color.  Which means it's not going to be yummy looking, which is why I serve my kids' smoothie in opaque Darth Vader Smoothie cups, and my husband and I get transparent blue and red smoothie cups.

This is a super yummy smoothie despite the color.  The best part of it is that it will last up to 5 days in the fridge as long as it is sealed from the air.  So what I do is turn the lid to keep the air out of the picture. But this gallon amount of smoothie only lasts my family 3 days.

If you like this, stay tuned for next weeks smoothie!

Alfredo Bolognese Pasta

For this recipe, I needed to cook something super quickly as we were having dinner 2 hours later than normal due to being at the hospital all afternoon.  So I call this my super quick pasta dinner.  Once again, most of my seasonings are in a powdered form due to family texture preferences.

1. 1 lbs ground turkey thawed
2. 1 cup frozen peas
3. 1 cup frozen corn
4. 1 package of Gluten Free Penna pasta
5. 2 jars of Alfredo sauce (I went with the Great Value brand)
6. butter
7. garlic powder
8. onion powder
9. salt (granulated sea salt is what I used)
10. tarter sauce (like what you put on fish, yes.)
11. Lite Miracle Whip (yes I know...)

Start browning turkey, and cooking the Gluten Free pasta first.  Then once those are started put a pot on the stove for the peas and corn and steam them together in a little bit of salted water.  Once the ground turkey is mostly done add 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1/4 tsp of onion powder.  Once the pasta is done drain, and put back into pot, use your mixing spoon and put about 2 tbsp of butter in the pasta to melt and keep them from sticking.  Next add both jars of Alfredo sauce to pot of pasta.  Add the peas and corn once done steaming (drain first) to the pot as well.  Mix well taste, and add salt if needed (I'm not a salt enjoying person, so my family usually adds salt to taste to their own bowls afterwards).  Last add ground turkey to pot (drained of grease first).  Now you have to be careful, but add 1 tbsp of the miracle whip as well as the tarter sauce.  MIX WELL.  This adds just a bit more creaminess to the sauce, as well as a tangy sweet hint to the casserole as well.  It's odd I know, but it tasted so good!  YUM!

Turmeric Chicken Curry Rice

This recipe fed a family of 4 for two whole meals, with enough left over for a lunch for one person.  I used thin cut chicken tenderloins, but will give you how much chicken you need in the recipe below.  Due to family texture personalities, for most of my seasoning and spices, they are in a powdered form.

1. 1 lbs corn (frozen and the steam-able bag is what I used)
2. 1 can black beans (Dakota brand from Aldi is what I used)
3. 2 lbs of chicken chopped into bite sized pieces
4. 1 lbs broccoli (frozen is what I used)
5. Brown rice ( cook to the serving size you need for your family)
6. Turmeric seasoning
7. Onion powder
8. Garlic Powder
9. Salt (granulated sea salt is what I used)
10. Olive Oil
11. Zesty Italian dressing (lite from Aldi is what I used)

Chop and cook the chicken first in a frying pan.  I used my rice cooker for the rice: in which I added salt, onion, garlic and a pinch of Turmeric seasoning into the water I cooked the rice in.  I also had a pot on the stove to steam the broccoli going along with the chicken and the rice cooking, as well as the bag of corn steaming in the microwave.  Once the chicken is mostly cooked I started to add 1 tbsp  of Zesty Italian dressing to flavor the chicken with.  Once the chicken is done cooking I put in can of beans (drained and rinsed first), corn into the pan with the chicken.  I then added 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, 1/4 tsp of onion powder, a sprinkling of turmeric and a sprinkling of salt over everything in the pan, then added 1/2 tsp of olive oil.  Turned the stove top to a low/ medium heat to heat everything up, but not really cook.  After about 10 minutes everything is done.  I dished up the rice first, then topped it with the chicken curry mixture, then topped with broccoli, and for the kids added Parmesan cheese on top. YUM!

Gluten Free Vegetarian Pasta

This recipe will feed a family of 4, with enough left overs to feed two more people...according to our family serving sizes.  My husband loves the flavor of garlic and onion, but cannot stand to bite into a chunk of either no matter how small, so this recipe was made with powdered forms of each.  I used Gluten Free pasta, but you can substitute for regular.

1. package of gluten free pasta (we did the Rigatoni)
2. 1 can of garlic onion tomato sauce
3. 16 oz of fresh frozen California mix vegetables
4. Parmesan cheese (powdered)
5. onion powder (to taste)
6. garlic powder (to taste)
7. salt (I used granulated sea salt)

Fill a large pot with warm water and sprinkle in salt until you can see it form a thin layer on bottom of pot (or about 2 tbsps of salt).  Put package of GF pasta into the water, then put on stove to start to bring it to a boil.  Now, most pasta instructions say to put the water on by itself first, however, I find that especially with GF pasta if you put it in the water while the water comes up to a boil the pasta is usually done by the time the water is boiling.  When I say done there is a slight firmness to the pasta still.  Because GF pasta is so fragile it will break into messy pieces if cooked too long. At the same time as the pasta is cooking, put a pot on the stove and steam the frozen veggies.  They will finish slightly after the pasta.  Once pasta is done, drain in a strainer and put back into the pot.  Now add the sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and if it needs more salt add it too.  However having the pasta cooked in salt water, it will be salty. Once the pasta is done and the veggies are done I will dish up the pasta, then add the veggies on top of the pasta in the eating bowl, then top the eating bowl with Parmesan cheese. YUM!

Loaded Potato Soup Recipe

To preface this recipe.  I was using a crock pot recipe I found on Pinterest.  See link below.  I was making this soup for a large family gathering dinner, I had never made potato soup before.  There were a few things that didn't work out for me with the recipe that I was following so below the link to the Pinterest recipe, I have included my changes.  Enjoy~

Here is the Crock Pot Loaded Potato Soup Recipe from Pinterest...thanks to Mama Loves Food! Blog.

My changes:
1. turkey bacon was used (as we don't eat beef or pork)
2. we used onion powder
3. we used garlic powder
4. we used a mixture between: heavy cream, sour cream and plain almond milk instead of cream cheese
5. we added broccoli and parsley instead of chives/ green onions

So many people like different aspects of potatoes and especially potato soup.  Most of my family doesn't like chunks in their soup so we didn't use fresh garlic or chopped onions for that reason.  My kids don't like cream cheese so we had to substitute that flavor and creamy texture for what I have listed above.  We actually ended up with a thicker soups, so we also ate this with grilled cheese and dipped our sandwiches into the soup. YUM!

Artful Food

When you think of food what do you think of?  Do you think of the taste more than how the food looks? Or do you think about the smell of the food more than the colors of the food?  Let me paint you an image.  Think in your mind about a light bed of soft baby green spinach mixed with light tangy green  chopped Romane and Iceberg lettuce.  On closer look you'll notice a few dull teal green sprigs of kale, bright pops of red tomatoes, deep purple crinkles of cabbage, and slick slivers of yellow pepper float about this crunchy salad.  How did you do?  Could you picture this bowl of salad?  What helped you picture it most: the colors or the description of texture for each piece of food?

For me, it's always the colors.  When I go to a restaurant and order grilled vegetables I know that if they are done well there will be charred bits of blackened crisp on the outside of each vegetable.  However if what is put in front of me is mostly blackened crispy ash, that isn't going to be eaten by me, nor does it look appetizing.  Same with a pizza.  If I order a pepperoni pizza, there had better be a good amount of pepperoni on the slice that I eat (one or two doesn't work for me...I'd need 4).  The crust better be easy to chew, but firm enough not to ooze my cheese and other toppings off the crust.

It is the thoughts like those that have been filling my mind as I have been on this most recent pathway, finding out how to take better photographs.  This has led me to be more artistic with the food I cook, the food I eat, and the food I give my family.  When I plate food I want to see lots of colors, lots of variation in texture, and a good balance overall, because to me this means that I will have a more enjoyable meal.  I decided to test out a few of my family's favorite recipes on you all.  Let me know what you think in how my food looks.  Does it entice you to want to eat it?  Does it invoke a hunger for a specific color of food?  Can you see the texture?

Below I have provided you with a soup, a red pasta, a white pasta, and a rice dish.  Recipes will be in separate blog posts for your enjoyment!

Loaded Potato Soup

Garlic Tomato Vegetarian Pasta

Turmeric Curry Chicken and Rice with Broccoli

Alfredo Bolognese with Countryside Vegetables