Tag Archives: Dairy Free Smoothie

Battling The Bug

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Tony and I have been battling some kind of flu bug. It’s going on two weeks now since we’ve felt up to par.

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You know the kind of bug I’m talking about? The kind that doesn’t make you sick enough to think you need to go to bed for the day. But by the end of the day you feel worn down and horrible? That’s what we have. And it doesn’t want to go away.

I’ve been taking an herbal anti-viral tincture, loading up on water, and trying to rest. Tony has had to work, of course. Neither one of us are very good at the “rest thing”.

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I didn’t feel very hungry this morning after being up all night with a horrid headache, so I forced myself to eat an organic egg and then made this detox smoothie.

1 Small Organic Orange

1/2 Cup Frozen Organic Blueberries

1 Stalk of Organic Celery

1/4 Cup Packed Organic Flat Leaf Parsley

1 Handful of Organic Baby Spinach

1/4 Cup of Pineapple Chunks With Juice (in its natural juice)

1/2 Cup Ice

1/2 Cup Spring Water

Who knows if it will cure what ails us. If anything, it’s a great way to pack a ton of nutrients into a 16 ounce glass, and that certainly can’t hurt.

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It’s cold here. Very cold. Is it cold where you are? It’s negative 4 degrees and windy right now. They’ve predicted a high of 14 degrees today.

It’s so cold, we have ice inside the house. Right now I’m in a nightgown, fleece pajama bottoms, a sweatshirt, wool socks, and slippers.

Is it too early to wish for Spring?

Last night on the news they said this is a record year for warm temperatures in New Hampshire. They’ve had the warmest temperatures on average ever. So I guess we’ll be thankful for negative 4 and wind, because if this isn’t their “normal” cold weather…yikes.

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Last weekend we managed to get out for a bit and walk the dogs around Goose Pond. It was gorgeous and I can’t wait to become more familiar with the area.

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This time we had a late start and neither one of us really knew where we were going. I had no desire to be stuck in unfamiliar woods in the dark so we had to make it quick.

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Those aren’t our footsteps on the iced over pond. You know I’m not crazy! People here aren’t afraid of falling through the ice. They walk on it, take their kids and pets on it, and set up cute little fishing houses on it. Maybe some of that bravery will rub off on me one day.

I’ve been fiddling with my new camera over the past few days. Bear with me, I haven’t found the “sweet spot” in our house yet for natural light food photography.

I’ve been able to catch a few of the birds that come to visit every day. Our neighbor told me the other day that we will see about 100 different types over the year!

Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to our little visitors. For now, enjoy your day, and stay warm!

The Early Bird Gets The Worm

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Extra healthy sustenance for an early morning and a productive day in the garden.

Power Packed Breakfast Granola

I haven’t had to use an alarm clock to wake me since I was a teenager. It’s wonderful not having to be awakened by a horrible buzzing sound if I have something important planned for my day. Typically, this “inner alarm clock” works in my favor. I’m a morning person and enjoy getting up quite early and doing my own thing for a while before the rest of the house starts to stir.

However…

Sometimes this inner alarm has a sense of humor and gets stuck on east coast time or something and decides to wake me way, way earlier  than any “early bird” would like.

For the past week and a half it’s been 2:30 in the morning. On. The. Dot. 

Yep, not really the ideal time.

So to fix my inner clock I try to just remain in bed with a blank mind (yeah right!), and try my hardest to fall back to sleep until my inner alarm remembers that I am to wake up at 5:00, not 2:30.

This lying in bed with a somewhat blank mind (imagining myself soaking up the sun on the beach in Kauai), had worked until this morning. So after an hour of staring at the ceiling and twiddling my thumbs, I finally just got out of bed.

It ended up being a very productive morning, actually. I was able to catch up on blog posts from my fellow bloggers, ooohhhinng and awwwwing over all of their amazing recipes upon recipes upon more recipes, stories and more stories, and gorgeous words, photographs and beautiful music to start my morning. Then, I wasted an incredible amount of time on Facebook looking at posts and chatting with other early birds. Finally, I snuggled into my favorite chair to do my morning bible study and journal. I started journaling again about 8 months ago after not doing it for about 25 years. I love it. I can’t imagine beginning my day without it. It’s just me and God, having an incredible conversation. Right now I’m also reading two devotionals. Jesus Calling and The Confident Woman. Such insight. And such an incredible way to start the day. On the right foot. Because we all know how the day can go when we start off on the wrong one.

Here’s a little something to give you some extra energy for your day, in case your inner alarm is also playing tricks on you:                                                                                                                   

Extra Energy Smoothie with a side of Granola

*Inspired by Yes I Want Cake

(This makes 2 – 16 ounce servings)

1 -1 1/2 Cups Almond Milk

1/2 Cup Fresh Organic Strawberries

1 Cup Mixed Organic Frozen Berries (Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries)

1 Cup Pineapple TidBits

1 Organic Banana

 2 heaping Tablespoons Organic Raw Almond Butter

2 Nice Sized Handfuls of Organic Spinach

Ice

Place in a heavy duty blender and blend until smooth. Serve with a side of granola to sprinkle on top or mix in for extra oomph and texture.

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

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I’ve spent most of the morning surrounded with ribbon, tissue paper, gift wrap, and the absolute cutest gift tags you’ve ever seen. I’ve also watched 3 holiday movies, compliments of the Watch Instantly feature on Netflix. Yesterday I had to make a little trip to the doctor  because I was feeling under the weather. I was given and antibiotic and ordered to take it easy for a few days and rest. I can hear some of you snickering already. Yes, yes, I know, I’m not a good “rester”.

I’m sure I looked like a reindeer in the headlights when I heard the doctor, who oddly enough had gray hair and a gray beard and was quite jolly, say the dreaded word. “You want me to what? I just finished a marathon house “do over” and I’m way, way, behind on Christmas. Rest? It’s Christmas time for Prancer’s sake. There’s shopping to do, presents to wrap, and cookies to be made!” Jolly old Santa, uh….I mean the doctor, didn’t feel one bit sorry for me. In fact, he went one step further and scolded me for waiting so long to come in. He even wrote me on his naughty list and prescribed some black and white pills (resembling coal… possibly?) and sent me on my merry little way, causing a very large disruption in my plans for the day.

So, here I am at home (not out shopping or baking), trying to earn my way back onto the good little girl list. I’m doing my version of resting. Staying in my pajamas, wrapping gifts, and sneaking a holiday smoothie in.

You might think it’s too chilly this time of year for a smoothie, but it’s not. This one is spicy and soothing, you might even say naughty and nice, and just what Santa….um…the doctor ordered.

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

About 1 Cup Almond Milk

About 1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree

About 1 Tablespoon Sugar

About 1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

About 1/2 Banana

About 1 Heaping Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

About 1 Cup Ice

Place all ingredients in order in a Vita Mix or heavy-duty blender and blend until smooth.

Pineapple Pick Me Up

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I love smoothies. They are fast, easy, and you can get as creative or “un”-creative as you like. You can make them healthy or make them more like a dessert or milk shake. I’m fighting off a cold and for some reason, when I have a cold I crave citrus. Maybe it’s the vitamin C or maybe it’s because citrus smoothies are easy. Either way, this one hit the spot and gave me some added energy to tackle another “to do” list for the day.

Pineapple Pick Me Up Smoothie

*Makes 2 –  16 ounce smoothies

About 2 1/2 Cups Fresh Pineapple, diced

About 1/3 Cup Sweetened Coconut

About 1/3 Cup Toasted Pecans

About 1 1/2 Cups Unsweetened Almond Milk

About 2 Cups Ice

Place all ingredients in a Vita Mix or heavy-duty blender and blend until smooth.