Don't need that negativity.

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Thirsty Thursday Vanilla Cranberry Smoothie

A friend of mine created this yummy combo, and said it's a must try!  So I did, and have to agree!!  It has to be tried, it's so tasty!!

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

3/4 cup fresh cranberries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp of vanilla extract

Blend and enjoy!

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Thirsty Thursday Frankenstein Smoothie

AKA The Green Banana

But hey, since it's Ol' Hallow's eve, lets go with the Frankenstein label. :)

It's a quick, simple and tasty smoothie, and like other favorites of ours, a sneaky way to fit in some greens for the little one!! Great for Halloween since they'll be quite possibly stuffed with sugar & candy later. Get them filled up with this tasty and spooky smoothie first! :)

(Note: Colors have been altered, and your drink won't be quite this green)

Ingredients:
1 banana
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1.5 cup spinach
1/3 cup frozen pineapple 
1 tbsp honey
1/8 cup milk

Directions:

Blend until all the spinach is broken down. 
Serve and enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!

Jo

Good coffee is essential!

Thirsty Thursday Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte

These are the ingredients and measurements I used, please keep in mind it's just a guideline, feel free to deviate to your own personal tastes.

Ingredients:

1 cup boiled water

1tbsp loose leaf chai black tea

1 tsp pumpkin spice (+ a sprinkle more)

1/2 tsp of sugar

1/3 cup 2% milk

To start I bought some chai black tea leaves from my local bulk food store.  I steeped about a tbsp worth of loose leaves, and 1 tsp of pumpkin spice in my Tea infuser. Depending on your tastes, you may want to add a sweetener. What ever you would normally use, this would be the point to add it in.  

While the tea was steeping, I heated some milk (I used 2%) in a saucepan for frothing.  The ideal temperature for frothing milk is 140 degrees F.  I winged it though, because my thermometer battery was dead.  So for those in the same situation, keep the milk moving, stir or swirl it.  Look for bubbles forming on the bottom of the pan, as well as a sweet smell. That's the sugars in the milk that sweeten when they get to the right temperature.  Be sure not to boil or skald the milk though, as it will ruin it for the drink.  Heat slowly, I only turned the heat up to a medium low on the stove.

Once the milk is the right temperature, transfer the milk to container where it can be frothed, and then poured from. To froth I use a milk frother. I honestly don't know another way. It's quick and easy and inexpensive, but an amazingly handy little tool.  It's also a great little mixer for making chocolate milk for kids.  They think it's just as great :)

The next part is really self explanatory.  But I will say this.  Pour slowly, let the milk that is under the froth come out and it will mix with the tea like liquid velvet. Last thing is to spoon a little of the froth off the top.

Sprinkle some pumpkin spice over the top, and then enjoy, enjoy, and enjoy some more. :) 

Jo

Thirsty Thursday Blueberry Vanilla Lemonade

Blueberry Vanilla 

Lemonade 

Ingredients:

1/8 cup blueberries
1 tsp Vanilla
1.5 cup of your favorite prepared lemonade
(Optional 1/2 cup club soda)
(Optional 1 shot rum/vodka)

Directions: Crush or juice the blueberries, leaving out a couple to throw in whole. Mix all together and drink.  The vanilla and blueberry compliments the lemonade for something a little different.  For an italian soda feel, add in the club soda. Then for an adult drink, add a shot of rum or vodka as well. 

Just a nice way to enjoy lemonade while dressing it up a bit for fun.  

Jo

Thirsty Thursday Green, Orange Coconut Smoothie

Green, Orange Coconut Smoothie

I happened upon this mix by accident, but now it will be a regular in my house! I'm always trying to get greens into my picky 2 year old, who would rather sustain life by eating crackers & cheese only. 

I was doing a freezer inventory and came across some orange sherbet that was not so nice, but not to the point of tossing either. I figured I'd blend it up in some sort of smoothie concoction.  Since I almost always use spinach in smoothies, the 2 together seemed logical, but the rest of the ingredients really made this a yummy treat! My 2 year old must have agreed, because hers was gone before I even got to try mine... which of course meant I had to share mine :). 

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh spinach
1 cup of coconut greek yogurt
1 frozen banana
3 good sized scoops orange sherbet
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup apple juice
1 tbsp chia seeds



Blend & enjoy!

Jo

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Thirsty Thursday Iced Coffee

If you own a Keurig and like iced coffee, I have your go to recipe for the best "out" coffee, in!


If you don't own a Keurig, I highly recommend it.  I love mine!  It's great for grabbing a cup when you can, because if you're a busy mom like me, you never know when you'll get to drink that coffee, you just took time measuring out and waiting for to brew.  With one of these, if you have 1 minute, you can have a fresh brewed cup in your hands.  It's much better than drinking coffee that's sat there for a few hours. There's many different kinds of brewers out there depending on what you like.


Note: You can still make this without owning a Keurig, simply brew a good strong pot of coffee, and follow the same directions. 

Ingredients:
(Measurements will be on you for your desired amounts. I eyeball it when I make it, but I'll give you approximate measurements so you have a baseline to go from.)
-Strong Coffee ( I use the medium setting on my Keurig, which equals 1 cup of coffee)
-Caramel Sundae topping (1 tbsp  + drizzle amount for top)
-Chocolate Sundae topping (drizzle amount for top)
-Coffee Cream (1/4 cup)
-Whipped Cream ( 1/3 cup)
-1.5 cup of ice cubes

Suggestion:
I like a dark roast, especially when making an iced coffee, that way the flavor doesn't get lost in all the extra water from the ice. So, my choice of coffee to start is the brew over ice, Green Mountain Coffee Nantucket Iced, K-Cup, available from Amazon.com.

Green Mountain Coffee Nantucket Iced, K-Cup

Directions:
-Brew the coffee, and stir in caramel topping (or a different flavor, or just sugar, or whatever sweetener you like, or none if it is your preference) It's best to stir in any type of sweetener while the coffee is still hot, as it helps to disperse throughout the coffee better.
-Put half your ice into a cup. I like the insulated tumbler (as seen in the pictures), they just work well for these.
-Pour in the coffee cream (half & half, milk, almond milk, soy, whatever you want)
-Add the rest of the ice to the sweetened coffee, let sit 2-5 mins (most of this ice will melt)
-Pour cooled coffee and any remaining ice into tumbler with creamer & ice.
-Put desired amount of whip cream on top and drizzle with caramel and (or) chocolate.

At this point it should look just as good as anything your local barista can prepare! 

Enjoy :)

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