Green Smoothie 3

Ahhh, yes- time to get even more veggie with it! Add some zucchini!! A "Naomi" smoothie, we'll call it!!

This weeks green machine came out a little muddy because I added black berries- this was funny to me because for the past few weeks my husband's boss has been grossed out by his every-day-slime-colored-breakfast habit- when I saw this one take a turn for the "browner" I laughed thinking what would be made of this!

This weeks mix:
1/2 zuchinni
1 banana
1 handful frozen pineapple
1 handful frozen mango chunks
1 handful black berries
BIG handful spinach
handful chopped kale- spine/stem removed
8oz cold filtered water
8oz non-fat plain Greek yogurt

Great balls of....OAT BALLS!

A friend of mine made these not too long ago and I'd been dying to try em ever since!
Now I've made them twice and added my own tweaks to the recipe. These are easy, delicious and a total must-have in the fridge at all times!! Especially if you have kiddos around, I wish I'd been making and stocking up on these when we first brought Logan home....they are a good eat-with-one-hand food!

I also make a LARGE batch so feel free to half this if you want to just give it a try~

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup crunchy peanut butter* (see note on PB if you want my two cents...)
2/3 cup honey
1 1/2 cup flaked coconut
3/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 cup dried fruit (I favor cherries or blueberries so far- if you're using anything larger chop it up first)
(optional): 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Put it all in a large bowl- mix with sturdy wooden spoon until well combined- refrigerate 1 hour (or more)
Roll into balls
Store in sealed container in fridge for up to 2 weeks

*note on peanut butter- there should only be TWO ingredients in peanut butter:
Peanuts and salt
or just peanuts
It's worth the time and effort to "stir" and refrigerate the good stuff- an easy way to nix some preservatives and such from your food!!

Green Smoothie 2

As mentioned in the last post I'm on a mission to get more fruit & veg into our lives via green smoothies for breakfast! YAY!
In the interest of, well, keeping it interesting, I switched it up a little this week! (ok, I know it looks the same as the last one...but promise there's new stuff!!)
Here's what's in this weeks smoothies:

1 banana, chopped
1 handful frozen chopped mango
1 cup chopped pineapple (this time I used frozen pineapple from Trader Joes so there was nothing canned involved- like that much better!)
1 handful blueberries
1 handful chopped kale (center stem/spine removed)
1 handful chopped baby spinach
1 cup non-fat greek yogurt, plain
1 cup cold, filtered water

Also, to save even more time I made ziploc baggies with the chopped banana and other fruits- then all I had to do was add the greens, water & yogurt- blend & serve!
(I layer in this order, not sure if it makes a difference or not...- frozen fruit, broken up, yogurt, greens, water- lid- blend)

Not only did this save time but the smoothies were frostier and we both liked the taste/texture even more :D
We're gonna stick with this recipe for the whole week, next week I'll be adding zucchini & switchin it up again- stay tuned...

Going Green for 2012

I've always cared about the environment, I like playing outside!! This post, however is about making smoothies...GREEN ones...
As mentioned in my last post, I am loving all the interesting, amazing stuff you can find on PINTEREST. In 2012 I'm going to be getting lots "pinned" and updating you guys on what I find that I actually make & love!
I'll do my best to keep it interesting & add my own recipes too, as I have in the past (can you believe this blog will be FIVE years old this year?!? I can't)
So I figure, what's the use of all my pretty pinboards if I'm not actually MAKING the stuff?? This seemed like a good place to start;
A smoothie.
With spinach! Easy enough to make in less than 15 minutes (a must with a very energetic 4mo old over here) and its goooood for ya! Nice.
My dear friend Naomi always rocked the green smoothies so I knew it be good tasting too.

Via pinterest here's the recipe:
2 bananas, peeled & cut into pieces
1c. Pineapple*
1c. Nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1c. Filtered water
2 big handfuls of baby leaf spinach
Blend & serve- makes TWO 8oz smoothies

I like this because I can make them the night before each blender full makes breakfast for me and for Nate that's just waiting for us in te frige the next morning!

The second week I made em I added a handful of blueberries!
Got a new recipe to try for next week, with a super easy time saving tip that make it possible to whip these up in less than FIVE minutes! Stay tuned & follow my findings on pinterest

Good Stuff- Easy Chicken Noodle Soup & Pintrest!

Well, our little dude is officially THREE MONTHS OLD! How did that happen? Everyone tells you how fast it will all go- and once you get into it, it's more than true- time = ZOOM.
Of course it's also the armpit of cold & flu season which is EXTRA magical when you have a newborn. We're staying well and relentlessly washing hands over here, but the other night my husband was a little congested and using stuff I had on hand I made us chicken noodle soup for dinner - it was so freakin quick, easy and good that I had to post it!
You can use rotisserie chicken from the grocery store OR any leftover turkey you may have on hand after a holiday meal!

In a big stock pot melt 1-2 T butter.
Add 1/2 a white or yellow onion (chopped), 2-3 stalks of celery (chopped), 2 carrots (chopped).
Saute until the onions are opaque- like 5 minutes.
Add 32oz low-sodium chicken broth, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil (aprox measurements- just shake some in!) a pinch of chili flakes, salt & pepper.... and cook, stirring occasionaly on med-high heat for about 10 minutes- until it boils....meanwhile- boil water in a medium sauce pot and add 2 cups uncooked corkscrew pasta to boiling water to par-boil. Only let it boil for about 6 minutes- so you can finish cooking it in the soup and it can absorb the chicken broth goodness.
Drain the pasta and add it and 2 cooked grocery-store rotisserie chicken breasts (shredded)- to the boiling soup pot, let boil about 4 minutes- until pasta is tender.
Ladle into bowls to cool, serve with some yummy crusty bread and feel better SOON!!

As my updates are a little few and far between these days, you can also find me on PINTEREST now for daily ideas and inspiration! (It's easier to do that with one hand while nursing a bebe!) I'll add this little reminder to my updates through December so you can click the link below to find me and follow along! If you are not on Pinterest but would like to be feel free to email me your email and I will send you an invite!

Sweet Life Kitchen (Beth Griffin/ Our Sweet Life) on Pintrest

HAPPY THANKSGIVING- Butternut Squash & Potato Goodness

We are thankful for SO much this year- especially THIS:

Our son Logan will be 3 months old in a few weeks and has been keeping me VERY busy. We've still been cooking though, thank goodness Nate is amazing in the kitchen and also a diaper changing wiz!

Here is a fabulous Fall/Thanksgiving side dish that is easy, inexpensive and incredibly delicious!!!

Combine 2lbs fingerling potatoes (we used the tri-color, but had eaten all the purple ones before I snapped a pic!), 1 peeled, seeded, diced butternut squash, 2  chopped bulbs of fennel, 4-6 chopped cloves of garlic, 1 small chopped shallot & a small bunch of green onion chopped on a baking sheet covered in foil. Drizzle with olive oil and add a 2 T of butter diced up into little bits.
Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes until potatoes & squash are cooked through.

Hope you had a FABULOUS Thanksgiving!!

We sure did....

October Giveaway! Happy Halloween MONTH!!!

We're hosting a giveaway this month for our Facebook FANS!!
Nate and I both LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE Halloween, we go 110% full "in the spirit" tilt.
We'll be sharing our favorite party recipes here all month long to get you in the SPIRIT, so stay tuned and enjoy the creeeepy goodness!!
Be sure to visit our Facebook Fanpage and join up to participate in our Halloween-tastic October giveaway!!

CLICK HERE TO BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK!

Here's a hint to what we'll be giving away:

Martha, Martha, Martha!!
I don't know about you, but for me, if there is only ONE "Martha" thing you do, it's the annual Halloween Handbook, because it never  will never disappoint.
This is going to be the theme of this giveaway- so hop on over to our Facebook page and scope it out!

Oh! And while you are hip-hopping all over the interwebs- check out this AWESOME blog to get you in the mood for the Halloween Holiday!

Vintage Halloween Collector