Pina Colada Smoothie

My husband and I are preparing for our first  mini triathlon which will take place in just over a week. We decided that we’d do a month long sugar fast leading up to our triathlon to help us be on top of our game(which is not much of a ‘game’ considering we’re not good swimmers). We still consume natural sugars in fruits and honey, but all refined sugars are out. We’ve been eating a lot more fruit and smoothies and because of that, we’ve come up with a couple new favorite smoothie recipes, one of which is the Pina Colada Smoothie.

You can alter smoothie recipes pretty easily depending on preferences; add more fruit to make it sweeter, more ice or frozen fruits to make it thicker, more liquids to thin it out etc. So that being said, I’ll tell you how I made mine, but just know that you can change things up a bit to make it the way you like it, and if you don’t have an ingredient on hand, like canned pineapple, you can certainly use fresh or frozen, though if you use frozen, you also might want to decrease the amount of ice.

Place all the ingredients you see below, in your blender, starting with your liquids, and blend until smooth. The shredded unsweetened coconut is optional, I personally love it because it gives it a stronger coconut flavor.

Fruit smoothies are the perfect summer dessert, light, cool and refreshing. Enjoy!

THE RECIPE:

Pina Colada Smoothie

*makes about 24 oz

1/2 c coconut milk
1/2 c pineapple juice
1 banana
1 c  pineapple (can use fresh, canned or frozen but may want to decrease ice if using frozen)
optional: 1/4 c shredded unsweetened coconut
2 c ice
*if you use frozen pineapple or banana, you’ll want to decrease your ice; start with 1 c.

Place  all ingredients in blender, in order, and blend until smooth.

Easy Egg Chile Frittata (w/overnight option)

This is an easy breakfast recipe that can be thrown together the morning of or the night before. I took the picture below on Christmas Eve this past year and Christmas morning, first thing, we put this Egg Frittata in the oven while we let the cinnamon rolls rise on top of the stove. Once the eggs were done, we put the cinnamon rolls in (I didn’t want them family eating sugary cinnamon rolls on an empty tummy, even if they are made with whole wheat flour.).

This recipe makes enough for one 8×8 pan. You can double the recipe and put it in a 9×13 if you’re serving a large crowd, but 8×8 was big enough for our family of 7.

 

Scott and I like to eat ours with a little salsa or tapatillo hot sauce on top :), yum!

 

 

THE RECIPE:

Easy Egg Chile Frittata
*Serves about 8

8 large beaten eggs
2 c shredded cheddar/jack cheese
6 oz chopped green chiles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8 baking dish with Pam. Spread green chiles on the bottom. Sprinkle with cheese. Pour eggs to cover. Bake 30-40 minutes until firm when pan is shaken.

*This recipe can be made the night before, covered and stored in fridge. Pull it out of the fridge in the morning while you preheat the oven and then bake following the same instructions. I prepped this Christmas Eve and we had it Christmas morning last year, along with our overnight cinnamon rolls.

Spicy Carrots

 

While living in Colorado, I became good friends with an elderly woman from our church, who was originally from California. She could cook some really good Mexican food, and my dad was a chef from Mexico, so I know what I’m talking about :). One day when I picked her up so we could run errands, she handed me a little ziploc baggie of carrots and said they were “spicy carrots”, a California favorite, and a favorite snack of hers. I tried one and then ate another, and another, and I meant to save one for Scott to try, but when we got home they were all in my tummy, so I did the next best thing and described them to Scott, taste and texture, and then promised to make a batch some day. I got the recipe from my sweet friend and have made them a couple of times since and think they are a cold, spicy, and addicting snack!

I use baby carrots and cut them in half diagonally, like so:

 

Then I bring a medium saucepan filled with water to a boil, add my carrots and cook them about 10 minutes, until tender but not soft and mushy.

 

Next, I mix together jalapenos, water, vinegar, salt and oregano in a medium bowl or large glass measuring dish. Set that aside and drain the carrots and add them to the jalapeno mixture bowl.

 

Cover and allow to sit int he fridge overnight, until carrots absorb some of the juices. Store in mason jars with lids in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks.

THE RECIPE:

Spicy Carrots

1 lb baby carrots, sliced diagonally
1 can(4 0z) diced jalapenos, with juice
2 c water
1 c vinegar
1 tsp dried Oregano
1 Tbsp sea salt

Boil carrots in medium saucepan for 10 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix together jalapenos, water, vinegar, salt and oregano. Drain carrots and add to the jalapeno mixture bowl. Cover and allow to sit int he fridge overnight, until carrots absorb some of the juices. Store in mason jars with lids in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks.

Greek Tomato and Cucumber Salad

If you have an excess of tomatoes or cucumbers, this is a tasty way to use them up! This Greek Tomato and Cucumber Salad is fresh and wonderful to eat in the summer, as a side to any Italian dish or sandwich. I combine all the ingredients to the dressing in my blender blend until smooth. When I’m making dressings from scratch, I like to sweeten them with a touch of honey.

Set that aside and in a large bowl, combine your chopped up salad ingredients, pour the dressing over top and refrigerate for at least an hour (or make ahead and serve the next day). Enjoy!

Dressing:

1/2 c olive oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Salad:

1 pound tomatoes (cherry or grape, cut in half, or 3 large Romas chopped)
6 mini cucumbers or 3 large, diced
1/4 c kalamata olives, drained, pitted and chopped fine
1/2 c Feta cheese, crumbled

In a blender, combine all the ingredients for the dressing and blend until combined. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all the salad ingredients. Toss with the dressing until evenly coated. Cover salad and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving, draining any excess dressing.

Stuffed French Toast

The Fourth of July is right around the corner and this is a fun breakfast recipe that would be perfect for the holiday. You’ll get the red, white and blue mostly from your toppings (whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries), but you’ll also get some red inside the French Toast from the strawberry and cream cheese mixture that you stuff inside. You can make this recipe healthier by using your own, home made whole wheat bread, but make sure you cut that bread into thicker slices, otherwise this won’t work very well.

Cut a wide pocket into the top of each slice of bread without cutting all the way through the bread.

Place cream cheese, vanilla, lemon juice and strawberries into blender or food processor (can also use a mixing bowl and beaters) and blend until smooth. If your cream cheese is not softened, you may have to stop a couple of times, scrape out the jar with a rubber spatula, and start the blender again. Spoon about 2-3 Tbsp of the cream cheese mixture into each bread pocket and press closed.

Warm up a pancake griddle or skillet to medium heat. In a flat bottomed dish, big enough to hold a bread slice laying flat, mix your eggs, heavy cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Put a dab of butter on the pan and once the butter has melted, dip each stuffed slice of toast into the egg mixture on all sides, shaking off any excess and put on the pan to cook until golden brown. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. You can cook several at a time on the griddle, maybe two at a time in a skillet. Repeat with the remaining slices of bread.

Serve French Toast immediately topped with any of your favorite toppings. I love whipped cream, strawberry slices, blueberries, and syrup. This vanilla syrup is amazing! Have a happy and safe Fourth of July! (This would also be a great, festive breakfast for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, birthday or anniversary).

Stuffed French Toast
*serves 7

7 thick slices Bread (French bread, homemade wheat bread, Texas bread or any thick sliced bread)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c whole fresh strawberries, greens cut off and discarded
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice
4 eggs
1/2 c heavy cream (or whole milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cut a wide pocket into the top of each slice of bread without cutting all the way through the bread. Place cream cheese, vanilla, lemon juice and strawberries into blender or food processor (can also use a mixing bowl and beaters) and blend until smooth. If your cream cheese is not softened, you may have to stop a couple of times, scrape out the jar with a rubber spatula, and start the blender again.

Spoon about 2-3 Tbsp of the cream cheese mixture into each bread pocket and press closed.

Warm up a pancake griddle or skillet to medium heat. In a flat bottomed dish, big enough to hold a bread slice laying flat, mix your eggs, heavy cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Put a dab of butter on the pan and once the butter has melted, dip each stuffed slice of toast into the egg mixture on all sides, shaking off any excess and put on the pan to cook until golden brown. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. You can cook several at a time on the griddle, maybe two at a time in a skillet. Repeat with the remaining slices of bread. Serve French Toast immediately topped with any of your favorite toppings including whipped cream, strawberry slices, blueberries, maple syrup or my favorite vanilla syrup! This is a great breakfast for the Fourth of July with the red strawberries, blueberries and white whipped cream toppings.