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

Why You Should Be Drinking Whole Milk

I grew up on skim-milk and really had no clue what I was drinking...and neither did my parents. We just figured (like most of us) that skim milk is better for you because it contains less fat and will make you "slim", help you to lose weight, better for your cholesterol, etc. We have all been brain-washed to believe that 'fat-free', 'skim', and 'low-fat' is better for us, when in reality, it is making us so unhealthy and causing the obesity rate to continue to climb. The big "fat-free" trend started in the 80s and have you noticed the correlation to increased obesity since then??? It is all related and we have been completely fooled.
Luckily we are in charge of what we buy and we can change the trend!
More and more studies have come out showing that full-fat items, like milk, is actually healthier for you, will not cause you to gain weight, and will not effect your cholesterol.
Here are some findings:

• "Full-fat dairy products may make you feel fuller than nonfat versions, which could cause you to eat fewer sugary foods and carbohydrates." - Pediatric doctor, Mark DeBoer
• "A recent review published in the European Journal of Nutrition of the existing research on dairy fat came to some surprising conclusions: People who eat full-fat dairy are no more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes than people who stuck to low-fat dairy. When it comes to weight gain, full-fat dairy may actually be better for you, the review found. "In terms of obesity, we found no support for the notion that low-fat dairy is healthier, says Dr. Mario Kratz"" - Time

One of my favorite articles about whole milk vs skim milk is from The Healthy Home Economist. Here's just a little blurb from her site:

"How does drinking skim milk make kids (and adults) fatter? This apparent paradox occurs when you reduce the saturate fat in a person's diet and he/she turns to carbs to fill in the gap. It is the grains and sugars that truly make you fat, not saturated fat. I've said before on the blog that the more butter and cream I eat, the easier it is to maintain my weight. MUCH easier. The same goes for all of us. If you drink skim milk, you will be missing out on the satiating, blood sugar and insulin steadying affects of saturated fat, so your body will automatically give you your sugar and carb cravings to make up for it. The body is able to MAKE saturated fat out of sugars, hence the sugar cravings that are impossible to control when you eat a low fat diet that includes skim milk."

Also, dairy producers also add skim powder to skim milk. Here's some dirty secrets about skim powder from "Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry" from the Weston A. Price website (also quoted on The Healthy Home Economist's site):

"A note on the production of skim powder: liquid milk is forced through a tiny hole at high pressure, and then blown out into the air. This causes a lot of nitrates to form and the cholesterol in the milk is oxidized. Those of you who are familiar with my work know that cholesterol is your best friend; you don't have to worry about natural cholesterol in your food; however, you do not want to eat oxidized cholesterol. Oxidized cholesterol contributes to the buildup of plaque in the arteries, to atherosclerosis. So when you drink reduced-fat milk thinking it will help you avoid heart disease, you are actually consuming oxidized cholesterol, which initiates the process of heart disease."

I made the text of that last quote bigger for a reason...when you consume oxidized cholesterol, you are jump starting the process of heart disease. Exactly what you didn't want when consuming skim milk, right? I know! The food industry is run by big brands that don't care about what is in your food. They care about making a buck. Like most yogurt companies, they wanted to make a fat-free yogurt so they took out all the good qualities of milk, pumped it with crap and awful, harmful ingredients, plus a lot of fake sugars, all to make it taste good.

Anyway, I hope that I have at least opened your eyes to a few new things regarding whole milk and skim milk. I love whole milk! It is all we will drink! Especially love brand (picture) at the top. Something about whole milk from grass-fed cows...just tastes right and how it is supposed to be. I'll talk later about why you want grass-fed ;)

Love and thank you for reading!

Lauren

Potato-Egg Bake

This is one of my favorite breakfast recipes that will last you a few days! My 3-yr old gobbles this up!! I love changing up breakfast and making easy egg-bake's like this...especially when mornings get a little busy. Make is the night before and you're set for breakfast in the morning! I usually serve this with a slice of toast or fresh fruit.

Here's what you'll need:

• 8 eggs
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 sweet potato, skinned and chopped (You could also use 2.5 cups frozen shredded potatoes, but it does not provide the health benefits like sweet potatoes do. Plus I like the taste of this dish with sweet potato, rather than regular white potatoes.)
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 to 1 cup fresh chopped spinach (I usually chop up around 2 handfuls of spinach)
• 3-4 chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 cup cubed ham or chopped cooked bacon (optional)
• 1/4 of a bell pepper, chopped (any color works...I used what I had on hand and that was a green one)
• 1 tsp Himalayan salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2-3/4 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese to top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325º. 

Grease a 9x9 baking dish and set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and milk together until frothy and combined. 

Add in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, spinach, mushrooms, ham or bacon (if desired), bell pepper, salt, and black pepper and mix well.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with 1/2-3/4 cup cheese.

Bake about 45 minutes or until mixture is set and knife comes out clean when inserted in the center. 

Serve immediately.

*Use organic ingredients whenever possible

*You can change up the recipe and add/omit any ingredients that you like! Whatever you would normally put in an omelet, you can put in here! Feel free to change it up and make it how you like it!

If you tried this recipe, leave a comment below! I'd love to hear from you!

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!