Breakfast Green Smoothie

I had a very yummy green smoothie for breakfast this morning!

1 cup frozen mango
Handful of fresh raspberries
3/4 cup raw broccoli
1 whole leaf of kale (no stem)
Protein powder (I used 2 Tbsp hemp protein powder)
Sweetener (I used 2 Tbsp Stevia in the Raw)
Coconut or Almond milk to desired consistency (I used both this time because I ran out of almond milk!)

Place ingredients in blender in the order listed and blend until smooth!  

If you would like to see the nutritional information, you can go here: Mango Broccoli Green Smoothie

Healthy DIET and an Avocado-Sweet Potato Smoothie

So Randy and I started the Fast Metabolism Diet (FMD) by nutritionist Haylie Pomroy 5 weeks ago.  It's a minimum-4 week diet that detoxes and repairs your metabolism.  She starts the book by saying she's going to change the meaning of the word "diet" to stand for "Did I Eat Today."  Reading the book was very enlightening, and the diet has gone very well for us so far.  When we finished week 4, we decided to continue until our vacation, and then after vacation to continue a modified version, repeating the actual diet one week every month or two, just to keep our metabolism in shape.  This isn't necessarily a recommendation for the diet, but we are doing well on it.

During the last couple of weeks of the diet, I began looking into smoothies.  I've found a ton of recipes, a few of which I have tried, and I've made a few of my own.

The FMD is a phase diet - 2 days/2days/3 days/repeat.  So I've been trying to make smoothies that fit in with whichever phase we're in.  That's where today's smoothie comes in.

It's not a very sweet smoothie, so maybe it's not the best first smoothie to post, but it's where I'm at today!  The sweet potato and Stevia add just the right amount of sweetness for a yummy "meal" smoothie packed with greens and vitamins and minerals!

1/2 medium ripe avocado
1/2 c. cooked sweet potato
several leaves of kale
several leaves of spinach
protein powder (I use 2 tbsp. raw hemp protein powder)
Stevia to taste (I use about 2 tbsp. of Stevia in the Raw)
Water to the desired consistency

Blend together in your blender.  I blend the greens with some water first to get them very fine, then add the avocado, then the remaining ingredients.

For the way I made it, the nutritional information can be found here:  Avocado Sweet Potato Smoothie Nutrition

Friday Quick Lunch!

So on Fridays, I always have a hard time figuring out what to make for lunch.  On Monday through Thursday, we eat our hot meal for lunch and have sandwiches for supper.  On Fridays, we have pizza for supper.  I know, I know; I should just make sandwiches for lunch.  Well, truth be told, sometimes I do.  But many Fridays, I really just want to do something different.  Now, it IS Friday, so I want it to be quick and easy.  But different.  Whenever possible.

So today I made something new.  Actually, it wasn't totally new; I altered a recipe I've made many times in the past in a pie pan.  Today, I made it in muffin cups.  

Start with a 12-cup muffin tin (or two 6-cup tins.  Or however many you want.).  Preheat your oven to 350 F.  Save yourself a headache later, and SPRAY YOUR TIN.  Trust me.  You want to do this.  (Have you guessed yet that I forgot??)

In each cup, put several pieces of broccoli.  I put enough to fill up almost half the cup.  I like my kids to have lots of veggies.  Then, spoon about 2 TBSP of cottage cheese in with the broccoli.  The cups will look almost full.  That is A-OK.

Scramble up a dozen eggs (or one for each muffin cup).  I started with six, thinking there was no way I had enough room in each of those cups for a whole egg.  WRONG.  I had exactly enough room left in each cup for a whole egg.  I scrambled mine in my pyrex two-cup measuring cup, so that I could just pour them right into the cups.

Pour egg into each cup.  Pour SLOWLY.  The egg white will want to find its way down between the cracks, but since it's all connected, if you pour too fast you will have egg all over the tin.  Fill the cups all the way to the brim.  I made two passes, since it took a few seconds for the egg to fill in all the cracks and empty spaces.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.  There will be some water runoff from the broccoli; don't worry about that.  Then sprinkle a little bit of cheese on top (I used mozzarella) and stick it back in the oven for another two minutes.

Voila!

Separate them from the edges of the cups with a butter knife, while they are still hot.  Use a spoon to scoop out onto a plate or bowl.

Enjoy!

*When I've made this in a pie plate, I have used several variations, including ham, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, chicken, and I'm sure a few other things I can't remember right now.  I used this one today, because my kids are broccoli snobs.

If you try this with any other variations, please feel free to share!

1 dozen eggs, scrambled

Broccoli (or other veggies/meats)

Cottage cheese

Shredded cheese (any kind)

Preheat oven to 350 F and spray muffin tin(s).

Put several pieces of broccoli and 2 TBSP cottage cheese in each muffin cup.

Slowly pour egg into each cup, allowing egg to fill into spaces.  Fill to brim.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Sprinkle cheese on top of each cup and bake for an additional 2 minutes.

Enjoy!