Goodbye Summer.

Summer days are winding down....
Our caterpillar became a butterfly

We bought some back-to-school sneakers

And along comes Fall.
The weather is cooler, the apples are ready to be picked and the leaves turn orange... my favorite color! This Fall marks some important events. My daughter is turning 3 (tear) and I am turning 30 (lots of tears).

I have some tasty Fall smoothies coming up soon (hint hint... lots of pumpkin and apples). Enjoy the last days of Summer!

Ode to Hawaii

**Please press the play button on the bottom of this post to hear some Jack Johnson while you read this post :-) 

Tomorrow marks 1 year since we left for Hawaii for 6 weeks. It was our 2nd time visiting but our first time living there opposed to vacationing there. Hawaii has a special place in my heart. From the first time I stepped off the plane in 2007 I fell in love. I feel so relaxed there. A part of me could live there and be very happy.

I wanted to make a smoothie that made me think of sitting outside on a warm Hawaiian night...
I simply blended...
Ice
A lot of frozen pineapple
A few frozen strawberries
1/2 squeezed lime
Splash of green tea

I will be mixing my smoothie with coconut rum later... then I will feel like I am sitting on the deck at Duke's!

Irene + 3000 views!

I have to be honest and say I'm a little disappointed that Irene didn't provide the storm action I was hoping for. We took a drive by the beach at high tide and saw that most spots were closed.... which has never happened since we moved here - 6 years ago!

On another note...I just hit 3,000 views on my blog!! How exciting! Now I have to find some new recipes to make for a snappier blog :-P

Crispy Kale & Chocolate Cake

I think I should have been a storm chaser. I love storms - snow, rain and now Irene! Tonight, with excitement we grilled some turkey burgers and made crispy kale - thanks to the fresh kale straight from my husbands cousin's garden! This, again, is not my recipe... but I've heard about it from so many people I wouldn't even know who to credit. Just drizzle olive oil, sea salt and pepper on fresh kale and bake in the oven until crisp, like a chip. Watch out... it burns fast!

After dinner my daughter and I thought it would be nice / polite to welcome Irene to the neighborhood. We made a chocolate cake together (baking is now my daughter's favorite thing to help mom with!) Maybe this delicious peace offering will coerce Irene to spare our shingles and protect the car that is outside! The cake is somewhat healthy - applesauce and whole grain flour! Plus, who can forget the milk :-D

And with that our delicious evening of eating is done - I am off to lay in bed. I ran too far in too hot of weather and burnt myself out.

Warning: Picky Eater with Pigtails

My little picky eater with pigtails has seemed to get a little more picky the past couple of days! I think pickles and strawberries are her main staples, with a sometimes a side of goldfish. This degree of picky-ness makes me nervous! My daughter runs and plays all day long and on what fuel??? Cuteness?!

So tonight I had to cheat a little and use an Odwalla drink in my smoothie. I have to sneak some extra nutrients in somehow.... and I have to face the fact that I've used bribery way TOO much lately :-P

I blended...
1/2 bottle Odwalla Super Food
Frozen Pineapple
Frozen raspberries
Frozen strawberries
Frozen blueberries
Raw baby spinach
A little ice water to help blend

It turned out great! It was the perfect treat on this warm night and my little picky eater with pigtails drank it all!

On a side note I just completed my first 10K! I never ever thought I would do a 5K, never mind a 10K! Now I am looking for some Fall races... preferably ones that benefit good causes! Please let me know if you know of any :-D

Banana Ice Cream

I really wanted to share this recipe with everyone because it is SO GOOD! My husband's cousin told me about this recipe and then I had to google it to get some ideas for mix-ins... So, I by no means can take credit for this... but I did enjoy it a lot :-D

Peel and cut up 3-4 bananas. Now put into the freezer until completely frozen. Then put the chunks into the food processor for about 5 minutes. At first they won't mix up well and you will need to keep stopping the processor and spooning the mixture off the sides. Be patient and watch the mixture go from crumbles to a thick and whipped ice-cream! (At this point I add a tablespoon or so of milk and a little bit of vanilla extract). Mix again to blend.

The mixture looks just like vanilla ice cream and is delicious! We tried mixing peanut butter in and that was really delicious! So good and so healthy!!

My little taste-tester LOVED it and thinks it is real ice cream!

We've got our Vitamin D, what about our C?!

I'm back! This is shaping up to be a very busy, but fun summer! If you don't believe me drive past my house and look at my gardens / weeds or view my empty blog. I am always blending but never seem to find the time to share the recipes.

Tonight, I decided to make something with my sunflower seeds since I forgot to eat them today. What goes with sunflower seeds... sun... yellow... pineapple?? It just seemed right!

I blended...
Ice
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 raw orange peeled
1 cup spinach
1/4 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw oats
Cold brewed green tea to blend
*1 scoop orange sherbet (only because my daughter spotted it in the freezer and insisted!)

This is a really delicious smoothie packed with iron and vitamin C! The seeds do make it a little crunchy, so be prepared to chew some sips!

Hopefully I'll be posting another recipe soon! In the meantime everyone enjoy summer while it's still here! :-D