Mango Lassi

A classic Indian dessert drink.   We love it!


Mango Lassi

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 Champagne mango or 3/4 cup frozen mango
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 packet stevia
• few cubes of ice

DIRECTIONS:

Poor into blender or smoothie machine and blend.  Thin with almond milk to desired consistency.  

Post Workout Berry Smoothie

I love to make smoothies after I work out. There is something so refreshing about them, and I feel like I am sucking up pure goodness.  I sometimes just do a shakeology, but they are very expensive, and my kids like to partake in the shake with me.  I get a little possessive with shakeology, which is not in my nature.  I am all about sharing my food normally.  I have been making smoothies for a fun dessert for years, but I feel like I have perfected it since I make them more often.  My kids watch me put "salad" in it and are unfazed because they know it tastes great.
A few weird ingredients, that you can click on the links to learn more about.  Chia seeds are packed with protein and omega fatty acids.  Flaxseed meal is full of omega fatty acids as well.  You want the meal verses the seeds, because our body can not break down the seeds to get all those fatty acids.  You will get fiber from the seeds, but that's about it.
Kale is a superfood, like spinach, packed with antioxidants and can be found prepackaged near the packages lettuces usually, and can be found in almost any supermarket.
Stevia is a natural sweetener that is better than many alternative's out there, is calorie free and leaves no aftertaste in my opinion.
Greek yogurt is packed with protein, which is needed to help repair muscles after a workout.
I buy my frozen berries from Sam's Club in bulk, because I am making this for 5-6 of us at a time.
Last thing, when your bananas are about to go bad, peel them, throw them in a baggie and freeze them for smoothie's. 

POST WORKOUT SMOOTHIE

INGREDIENTS:
makes 3-4 large smoothies

• 3 c. frozen berries
• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 1 banana
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 2 TBSP Chia Seeds
• 1-2 TBSP flaxseed meal
• 2 cups baby spinach or Kale
• 4 packets of stevia in the raw or truvia 

DIRECTIONS:

Throw all, except for spinach/kale, in a blender or smoothie machine and blend. Add spinach/kale and blend until smooth adding milk if necessary to thin.
I calculated the nutrition below by using a nifty calculator.  

Nutrition Facts

Serving size 1/3 of above recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 240    Calories from Fat 51

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 5.6g                           9%

Saturated Fat 2.8g                    14%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 14mg                      5%

Sodium 91mg                            4%

Total Carbohydrates 36.1g        12%

Dietary Fiber 7.1g                     29%

Sugars 24.2g

Protein 14.0g

Vitamin A 45% • Vitamin C 66% Calcium 27% • Iron 8%

Nutrition Grade A-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Coffee Milkshake

When I was pregnant for my first baby, we were stationed at Fort Huachuca and we lived in Sierra Vista, AZ.  There was a little place, hole in the wall really, that had the most amazing coffee shake in the world.  I watched them make it and tried to figure it out.
Lots of vanilla ice cream, a shot of espresso and maybe some milk and a sprinkle of espresso powder and shot of vanilla.  It tasted amazing!  Well, I don't have an espresso machine (*sigh*- someday) so I used some strong coffee instead.  This shake is very yummy and I had to fight all 4 of my kids for it!  Seriously, how many 2 years like the flavor of coffee?  Well, maybe lots, but mine normally does not.  But I had to pry his chubby little fingers off my glass to get it back.
Everytime I make coffee I have a bit left.  So ideas...Through it in an ice tray and make coffee ice cubes for iced coffee or toss them in for this shake.  Or just put it in the fridge for making this  shake later in the day for a pick me up. 

You could use coffee flavored ice cream if you want, but this had plenty of coffee flavor with the vanilla ice cream.  This will definitely do until we make it bake to Sierra Vista.

COFFEE MILKSHAKE
 
INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups ice cream
• 3/4-1 cup coffee, chilled
• 1/2 tsp espresso powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring, or extract or cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS: 

Put it all in a blender and crank it up.  Start with 3/4 cup of coffee and  add more to get to preferred consistency.  Pour in a glass, go in the bathroom and lock the door so the kids don't bother you.  Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

This is wonderful.  Seriously a great drink and made my morning.  I am not a regular coffee drinker.  I adore coffee, but I don't do well with caffeine, so coffee is a treat instead of a daily thing.  Well, this morning, I decided that what those pumpkin snickerdoodles needed was a cup of tea, or better yet, a pumpkin spice latte!
So, I did my norm. . .  looked up some recipes on the internet and made my own.  Now the pumpkin milk concoction is awesome on its own and if you have kids, I think they would love that alone as a warm drink.  Mine were fighting over my leftovers.  So, maybe double this recipe and warm some up for the kiddies?  This makes enough for 2 or three cups of joe, so you will have some leftovers for a second cup, or a cup tomorrow.  And you will want another cup.  I am strategizing now on how I can justify a cookie and latte as my lunch. 

PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE
adapted from http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com

INGREDIENTS:

• strong coffee (2 TBSP of coffee per cup of water when brewing)
• 1/3- 1/2 cup (I did a bit more because I love pumpkin) pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• 2 cups milk (I used skim but can use almond, rice or even half and half if you dare!)
• 3 TBSP sugar (I like mine sweet so I used 4 or 5 TBSP, but I have a wicked sweet tooth)
• 1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Brew your coffee.  Combine milk, sugar, vanilla, spices, and pumpkin in a blender or with a whisk until frothy.  Warm over stove or in a measuring cup.  I only warmed what I would need for my coffee in the microwave.  Whisk again to make frothy and do about equal parts coffee and milk concoction.  Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg or cinnamon.    Note: Spices will not disintegrate completely.
*update-  I subbed out 2 TBSP of molasses and 1 TBSP of honey for the sugar and unsweetened vanilla almond milk or the milk.  Still delicious and the kids loved it just as much when I warmed up just the milk concoction!