Mango Nectarine Smoothie

My 3-yr old LOVES smoothies...I mean, seriously...we make one every. single. day. If I make one and don't let him have any, he throws a fit. Anyway, like I mentioned in previous smoothie posts, my smoothies don't change that much; I just swap out fruit and play around to find something that I like. Right now I am loving the combination of strawberry and mango. And I happened to have 1/2 a nectarine laying around so I decided to throw that in for this smoothie. Hope you enjoy!

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 TB hempseed
• 1 TB flaxseed
• 2 TB sunflower seeds
• 1 banana, frozen or fresh
• 1 cup whole milk 
• Large handful of spinach
• 7-8 frozen strawberries
• Around 8 or more chunks of frozen mango 
• 1/2 nectarine 

Directions:

First add the milk to your blender with the spinach, sunflower seeds, hempseed, and flaxseeds. 

Blend well. 

Once blended well and you can't see any bits of spinach, add the rest of your ingredients and blend until smooth.

This made enough for my son and a full glass for myself (picture at top). 

Please let me know if you tried this smoothie and what your thoughts are! Love hearing from you! 

*Use organic ingredients whenever possible

Recipe FAIL! Plus Health Benefits of Coconut Flour

OK...so I get so frustrated when recipes do not go the way I want them to! You put all that time and energy into baking something (plus ingredients!) only to see the dish be a complete failure! Well, that is what happened last night. My son and I were watching Daniel Tiger and it was an episode where Daniel and his father make banana bread for Daniel's mother. So my sweet little one looked at me and said he wanted to make banana bread. How could I turn down his eagerness to bake! So I quickly looked online and searched for about 5 minutes to find a healthy banana bread recipe, with ingredients that we had on hand. Now, I did swap out the flour for coconut flour because coconut flour has a TON of health benefits (below) and added a bit more milk and less honey. The taste is really great! Don't get me wrong there! I was just so disappointed when I went to flip the bread out of the pan for 1/2 of it to stick and the rest fall completely apart! So we are munching on small bites of banana bread instead of slices. It is a VERY moist recipe (cooked it for an hour and still very moist...even when tested with a tooth pick. Oh, and this will need to stay in the refrigerator because of how moist it is...won't last on the counter). Anyway, like I said the taste is really great, but the look is awful! ;) I will try this recipe again, but maybe try it in individual muffin tins. Maybe the smaller amount will cook better and a muffin liner will be a must to get it out!

If you want to try this recipe for yourself and play around with it, be my guest! I'd love to hear how it turns out for you!
Recipe from Cookie and Kate. My adaptation is listed below.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 mashed, ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup whole cows milk, plus a splash
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling on top
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325º and grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan (I used organic butter for this. Maybe a bit of flour would have helped it as well).
2. In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then whisk in the mashed bananas and milk. 
3. Add the baking soda, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon, and whisk to blend. Lastly, switch to a big spoon or spatula and stir in the flour, until just combined. If you add any nuts, gently fold them in. Add the splash of milk if the batter seems too thick.
4. Pour the batter into your grease loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. 
5. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the loaf for about 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cook for about 20 minutes before slicing. 

Health benefits of coconut flour:

• Gluten- and wheat-free
• High in fiber with 5 grams per TB! Coconut flour has more of this indigestible carbohydrate than whole-grain flour, which has 0.8 grams per TB, or white flour, which has just 0.2 grams per TB.
• Moderate effect on blood sugar due to the high fiber content, thus coconut flour does not spike your blood sugar as quickly as grain-based flours.
• Higher protein and healthy fats - a 100-gram serving of coconut flour has 19 grams of protein while wheat flour has just 10. 

Resource: Live Strong

For more information about coconut flour, including how to use it, visit Dr. Axe's website.

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

Being pregnant means that I have cravings! And today I wanted a chocolate treat...but still want to keep it healthy. I've read in the past that adding an avocado to your smoothies makes them super smooth and creamy. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous adding an avocado, but REALLY pleased with the outcome. For this smoothie, I blended the milk, spinach, and avocado first to get all the greens really incorporated. Then added the chocolate and frozen bananas. I just ordered this hazelnut spread from Nutiva and (after stirring it!) I am a huge fan! If you don't have this, using organic cocoa is fine. I may try next time to add some frozen cherries, too!

Here's what you'll need:

• 3/4 cup cows milk or coconut milk
• A handful (or 2) or organic spinach
• About 1/4-1/2 avocado (I just used what I had left from another use)
• 3 tsp Nutiva Hazelnut Spread 
• 1 frozen banana
• Blender

Directions:

Blend the milk, spinach, and avocado in the blender until well incorporated and smooth. 

Add 3 tsp (more or less depending on how chocolatey you like it) of the Nutiva Hazelnut Spread and 1 frozen banana. 

Blend until smooth and enjoy!

If you try this recipe, comment below! Hope you all have a blessed day!!

*Use organic ingredients when possible

Breakfast Smoothie

My smoothies really never change much...I just change the fruit to vary up the flavor and use what I have on hand. I've also found that if you blend up your greens with milk or water first, you get a much better consistency and don't get any big bites of spinach or whatever greens you are using. I also sometimes add a fresh squeeze of 1/2 lemon to neutralize the "green" taste...esp when using kale. Hope you enjoy this recipe and comment below your go-to favorite smoothie recipe!

Here's what you'll need:

• Milk or coconut milk or water
• Hemp seeds
• Goji berries
• Spinach or kale
• Frozen bananas
• Frozen fruit
• Pumpkin seeds

Directions:

Add milk to your blender (about a cup) and a few handfuls of spinach. Add pumpkin seeds (2 TB), Goji berries (1 TB), and hemp seeds (1 TB) to the blender as well. Blend on full speed till well incorporated. Then add a cup of your favorite frozen fruit and 1 frozen banana. Blend well, pour into a glass, and enjoy!

Again, I use what I have on hand. I love using strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple. You can change this recipe any way you like as well! It's very versatile and you can make it your own!

Thanks for reading and if you love it, comment and share! Thanks y'all!

Aćai Bowl

This is an amazingly simple, nutrient-dense recipe that is perfect for summer! I've enjoyed this for breakfast as well as for lunch. You can get creative with this as well and add a variety of fruits to change it up, add some kale or spinach or wheat grass...the choice is yours!

Ingredients:

• 1 frozen packet aćai
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup frozen organic mixed fruit
• 3/4 cup coconut milk or whole organic, grass-fed milk (made my own coconut milk using 1 cup organic coconut manna and 4 cups water)
• 1 TB flaxseed
• 1 TB hemp seeds (since I'm pregnant, I add extra doses of protein when I can and hemp seeds are an excellent source of protein)

Directions:

Blend and top with shredded organic coconut, 1/2 fresh banana, and granola! 

*Use organic ingredients when possible

*Recipe from What's Up Moms

Healthy Blueberry Pancakes

For breakfast this morning I decided to make my family healthy blueberry pancakes! It is such an easy recipe and full of flavor. You can replace the blueberries with any fruit you like (some variations listed below), and we topped the pancakes with a drizzle of 100% pure maple syrup.

Here's what you'll need:

• 4 egg whites (though for thicker pancakes, use 3...mine were a little runny with 4)
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1 tsp coconut sugar (or other sugar)
• 1/2 cup blueberries (drained is using frozen)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Grease a frying pan (I used avocado oil) and pour batter into frying pan and cook on medium until golden brown on each side, flipping only once. Then top with fresh fruit and a drizzle of 100% pure maple syrup. Enjoy!

Other variations (cook all the same as above, unless using nuts. If using nuts, add to the batter after it has been blended):

Banana Pancakes:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1 tsp coconut sugar (or other sugar)
• 1/2 banana
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Optional: 2 TB chopped walnuts or pecans

Chocolate Banana Pancakes:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1 tsp coconut sugar (or other sugar)
• 1/2 banana
• 2 TB cocoa powder
• Optional: 2 TB chopped walnuts or pecans

Strawberry Pancakes:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1 tsp coconut sugar (or other sugar)
• 1/2 cup strawberries

If you try this recipe, leave some feedback! I'd love to hear from you!