Oprah's Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

I have discovered the benefit of adding green smoothies to my diet to sneak in extra fruits and
veggies. And while my kids have enjoyed them as well, sometimes they are hesitant about the green color. I found this recipe in my book. Not sure how I discovered Oprah's favorite smoothie recipe--but she gets the credit nonetheless. My kids love this one and so do I. It's healthy, refreshing, creamy, and yummy. Plus it uses chocolate milk. Yum!

Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

2 cups chocolate milk (I do milk and 1/3 cup Nesquik)
2 medium bananas, cut up
2 cups frozen or hulled fresh strawberries

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve very cold (can add ice).


In case you're wondering what I put in my green smoothies--I feel like I've found the perfect combination.

1 banana -- a must for sweetness
1 carrot peeled & cut into chunks
1 cup spinach, rinsed
1 cup frozen or fresh fruit (pineapple, apples, berries)
1 cup orange juice

Do not try tomatoes. :)

Happy blending!!

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Babies

I can't claim discovering this recipe or the blog. Kristi found it and shared them with me. And I love them for many reasons.

1. They are yummy.
2. They are healthy.
3. In my old age I am really enjoying the flavor of dried fruit.
4. They have chocolate.

And, you can mix things up with them. Try different nuts, add peanut butter, different dried fruits. They're fantastic. And, I get to use my food processor. I feel all granola-ish when I make them. And I feel good eating them.

Give them a go--especially if you need digestive help like some of us *me* need. :)

Cookie Dough Babies
(a.k.a. Raw Cookie Dough Balls)

Scant 2/3 cup pitted dates (80g) (I highly recommend Sunmaid dates, found in regular grocery stores near the raisins. They’re softer and easier to blend.)
handful of chocolate chips or Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup cashews (30g) (or another nut, like almonds.)
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
tiny pinch of salt (can be omitted)

Blend the dates, cashews, salt, and vanilla in a food processor. (You can use a blender, but they’re much harder to blend and they can get very sticky.) You can either blend the chocolate with the other ingredients or chop it separately, then mix the pieces into the dough. Make bars, balls, or shapes of whatever size you want.

I used prunes (I need some serious help!) and they turned out really moist so I added extra nuts. Also, refrigerating them helps with the stickiness. 

Nutritional Info for the Homemade Larabar Recipes:
The homemade larabar nutritional info is based upon the girl-scout cookie larabars; however I think all the flavors are probably pretty similar. Each Larabar-sized bar (45 grams) will have around 175 calories, 8 grams healthy fat, 2 grams protein, 25 grams carbs, 5 grams fiber, and zero grams of added sugar.

A Few Recipes for the Home

The other day I was googling how to clean my dishwasher (cause it was stinking!!) and found this awesome blog!

One Good Thing by Jillee

I started browsing and found a great recipe for homemade dishwasher soap. I was interested because I previously had read an article about how companies removed some ingredient from their detergents that previously had prevented the fogginess on cups and things. But, generic brands like Members Mark found at Sam's still kept it. Since I'm now at Costco and not sure about what's going on anymore, and since I'm cheap I decided to give her recipe a try. It works fantastic! I'm planning on making enough to fill a metal can to keep under my sink.

Powdered Dishwasher Detergent/Scouring Powder:

* 1 cup Washing soda or Baking soda (I’ve seen many recipes that use both..so use whatever you have on hand)
* 1 cup Borax  (Borax and baking soda/wash are both natural disinfectants and mild abrasives.)
* 1/4 cup Kosher salt (reduces the effects of hard water)
* 1/4 cup citric acid (available at brewing places or Amazon.com. Or as an alternative you can use the same amount of Fruit Fresh or two packets of Lemonade-Flavored Kool-Aid, ONLY lemon and ONLY unsweetened!)

Add 1-2 tablespoons per load along with a splash of white vinegar as a rinse agent to prevent spots. (I just splash some straight into the bottom of the dishwasher).  Makes the glasses shine!

Use this same mixture as a scouring powder! Put some in a shaker canister from Walmart….and use it to scour your sink. The salt gives it extra scouring power and it smells so good!!! :-)

There were some concerns raised about this mixture hardening and clumping together, making it hard to get out of the jar.  One of the brilliant comments left was to use some of those silica gel packets that come in bottles of medicine or in shoe boxes or just about ANY product that comes in a box nowadays. Problem solved.

Homemade Carpet Shampoo

This recipe comes from The Thrifty Momma. I wanted to shampoo  my carpets NOW but couldn't run to the store. So, I googled, found a recipe and made my own. Worked fantastic and I'll never buy the pricey stuff again. :)

Homemade Carpet Shampoo Recipe
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons hydrogen peroxide 3% solution (This is the strength you’ll get in the first aid section.)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon dish detergent
5 drops essential oil (if desired)

Directions:
Mix the ingredients well.  I shake mine thoroughly in a lidded mason jar.  This makes it much easier to distribute the cleaning agents into the water.
Blend this mixture with 1-1/2 quarts of hot water.
Use in carpet cleaner as directed by manufacturer.
This recipe can easily be adjusted for full-size carpet cleaners.  Double or triple quantities as needed.

Focaccia Bread

I made this for dinner at my parents on Sunday. As I made it, the aroma was amazing! The kids could not wait to eat it (and I have to admit, neither could I). It was a huge hit--my dad asked my mom to get the recipe from me and he took leftovers to work with him. This is a definite keeper I will be making again. I also want to try to incorporate the herbs into a pizza crust. I'll get back to you on that one. :)

Focaccia Bread
allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper. Mix in the vegetable oil and water.
2. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2013 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 6/26/2013