Well, I've mentioned before that I love smoothies, and I add organic baby spinach to pretty much every one of my smoothies because really you can't taste it and it's always good to get more dark leafy green veggies.
These smoothies of course always end up looking a little "green." Someone once suggested that they were Shrek smoothies, so if you need a way for your kids to think it's cool that they're green, that's one way. My two kids have liked all the smoothies I've made, pretty much (MW doesn't seem to like blueberries, of all things, so isn't as interested in those ones).
As I've mentioned before, you don't need a Kindle to get these ebooks. You can read them with the Desktop app or app for Android or IOS. Get it now even if you might not use it right away. You don't want to miss out!
My veryfavoritest drink is pina coladas. I lovethem with a passion. When I was a kid, my mom and dad would buy those frozen Bicardi pina colada mixes and we'd have pina coladas as a dessert (minus the alcohol, of course). Whenever I go to restaurants, I pretty much always order one.
But I've had trouble duplicating the drink at home. This pineapple smoothie isn't the same as a real pina colada, but this tropical smoothies recipe is so good it definitely tastes like a dessert. And as you know, I love me some smoothiesand pineapple smoothies are like heaven in your mouth.
Now the quality of this smoothie with pineapple will depend on the quality of ingredients. When choosing a pineapple, find one that is sweet and juicy. If you've never had a fresh pineapple before, you're in for a treat. A good pineapple tastes as sweet as candy and is oh so good.
As for the coconut milk, you'll want to get one from the refrigerated section near where you would find organic milk and other milk alternatives (almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, etc.) which should be next to the regular milk section. The milk here has a stronger coconut flavor than the ones you'll find in a can or on the shelf.
So here's the recipe:
Pineapple, Coconut,Banana Smoothie
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 of a fresh pineapple with skin cut off and cut into chunks (leave the stem on for extra healthy goodness, assuming you have an awesome blender that can blend it up :)
1 banana, medium to large
6 to 10 ice cubes
Put coconut milk, pineapple, banana and ice in the blender in the order given. Blend till smooth. Enjoy immediately.
And if you're craving something sweet, smoothies with pineapple are a great way to help with the cravings without resorting to candy, chocolate, or ice cream. So skip the cookies and blend up your dessert!
So I'm a bit of a smoothie enthusiast. I love just sticking stuff in a blender and ending up with a delicious drink that is yummy and full of good things for you.
So back probably 6 years ago or so, I was frustrated. I would put things in my blender (can't remember what type now but it was one of those $50 blenders you buy at super marts) and if they were too frozen, they wouldn't blend. I would actually have to thaw them out in the microwave in order to make the smoothie and there was no way I could have ice in there, and what was the point of the smoothie if it wasn't cold?
Enter the Vitamix blender. Best thing ever to happen to smoothies.
Where Did I Buy It?
I bought my Vitamix from Costco because they would have someone come to our neighborhood Costco every couple months to demonstrate them. They were cheaper than anywhere else and came with a 7-year warranty. Still, all-in-all, it came to a whopping $400 (after I believe a $100 discount)! Wow! Yeah, I was that desperate for a blender THAT ACTUALLY WORKED.
So now that I've owned it for a couple of years, what do I think? I LOVE IT! Yeah, it's true that it's expensive, and I don't know if it's worth the cost or if there are cheaper blenders that work as well, but I do love knowing I can put whatever in there and it will be smooth at the end. Oh, also, it's so much cheaper than buying a smoothie at Jamba Juice et al (and hey, you don't have to change out of your pajamas to do it!).
But Does It Do More Than Make Smoothies?
As for the other things that it can supposedly do, like make soups and chop up vegetables, I'm not sold. I've tried chopping up onions and green peppers in it and
I can't remember if I've mentioned this on the blog, but my boys have food allergies--both of them. What's interesting is that they have the same allergies: eggs and peanuts. I think that's unusual (though I could be wrong). Luckily, neither of the allergies are life threatening. My oldest, Alex, will throw up if peanuts touch his mouth and will get hives but my youngest, MW, will only get some hives and he can eat peanuts other than that.
Have you heard about the rise in food allergies? There are all these theories on why so many more kids are getting sick and having food allergies than ever before, but it's been hard to pinpoint.
Well, lately I've been trying to learn more and more about eating healthy and what that means. My sister is going to school to become a nutritionist and she's gone gluten-free, dairy-free, and mostly sugar-free. So she sends me articles about GM (genetically modified) foods, especially corn and soy, and how it's causing all of these health problems.
In fact, in almost every other country, GM foods are outlawed and/or it's required to list them on the foods if they include GM ingredients. It's hypothesized that the GM foods are causing food allergies because the body can't process the foods correctly. Some, especially those produced by Mansanto, are created with a toxin that can kill bugs and are resistant to Roundup herbicide. What happens is that bugs who try to eat are killed (specifically it causes their bellies to explode) and then the farmers use Roundup on it but since the food is resistant, it doesn't die.
Bottom line? We ingest the Roundup used on it and we ingest food that is causing cells to explode the way that these insects bellies explode. Which leads to food allergies, as well as other problems.
Scary!
So what can we do to stop it? Don't eat GM foods. Find out which ones are not (namely organic and non-GMO certified). This is our best way to stop these food producers. Once they see we won't buy their products, they'll stop using them. Also, if your state has proposed a law that would require manufacturers to label when they use GM ingredients, please support it. If manufacturers are required to list it in the ingredients, they'll likely switch to food that is not GMO.
.
