Oh the yummy things that summertime brings to our house...
LOTS of
Green Smoothies
and LOTS of yummy
Green Salads in many varieties!!
First off, I LOVE our Vita Mix...
it was quite an investment initially, but it has been worth EVERY penny.
You see since Tracy and I were first married we have always enjoyed making LOTS of fruit/yogurt smoothies and in 19 years of marriage we have gone through blender after blender and eventually we came to call our fruit drinks "Roughies", because they were pretty chunky and definitely NOT smooth!
(I even invested in a "Kitchen-Aid blender" which wasn't cheap, because I loved my Kitchen-Aid mixer so much, but even this great blender couldn't make very good smoothies).
The past 5 years of having our Vita Mix have been awesome!
(BTW...If you ever go to Jamba Juice and get smoothies, they use the Vita Mix blenders to make their smoothies--the power of a Vita Mix makes all the difference!).
Anyway, not to ramble on about that, but we are LOVING summertime because summertime means SMOOTHIES!!
We had a lady tell us about a Refreshing Summertime Drink a few years ago and it is made with Green Grapes, Celery, Lemon, Ice and Honey.
(I know what you are saying...that sounds like the most odd arrangement of ingredients for a smoothie...how could that taste good.)
We tried it and we LOVED it and so we go through
pounds and pounds of green grapes and celery,
many lemons and honey
this time of year to make this particular smoothie...
it is our Favorite!
(We have had a Green Smoothie every day for the past week and a half. My kids are thrilled everyday when we make these up!)
GREEN Smoothies!
1 large bunch of green grapes (pulled off the stems)
1 large stalk of celery
1/2 inch slice of lemon (including the skin)
1 heaping Tbsp of honey
2 cups of ice
Put all ingredients in Vita Mix and turn to high for 30-40 seconds until all blended and smooth. Enjoy!!
******************
it was quite an investment initially, but it has been worth EVERY penny.
You see since Tracy and I were first married we have always enjoyed making LOTS of fruit/yogurt smoothies and in 19 years of marriage we have gone through blender after blender and eventually we came to call our fruit drinks "Roughies", because they were pretty chunky and definitely NOT smooth!
(I even invested in a "Kitchen-Aid blender" which wasn't cheap, because I loved my Kitchen-Aid mixer so much, but even this great blender couldn't make very good smoothies).
The past 5 years of having our Vita Mix have been awesome!
(BTW...If you ever go to Jamba Juice and get smoothies, they use the Vita Mix blenders to make their smoothies--the power of a Vita Mix makes all the difference!).
Anyway, not to ramble on about that, but we are LOVING summertime because summertime means SMOOTHIES!!
We had a lady tell us about a Refreshing Summertime Drink a few years ago and it is made with Green Grapes, Celery, Lemon, Ice and Honey.
(I know what you are saying...that sounds like the most odd arrangement of ingredients for a smoothie...how could that taste good.)
We tried it and we LOVED it and so we go through
pounds and pounds of green grapes and celery,
many lemons and honey
this time of year to make this particular smoothie...
it is our Favorite!
(We have had a Green Smoothie every day for the past week and a half. My kids are thrilled everyday when we make these up!)
GREEN Smoothies! 1 large bunch of green grapes (pulled off the stems)
1 large stalk of celery
1/2 inch slice of lemon (including the skin)
1 heaping Tbsp of honey
2 cups of ice
Put all ingredients in Vita Mix and turn to high for 30-40 seconds until all blended and smooth. Enjoy!!
Here is another summertime favorite...
Broccoli Salad!
Since I try to be a "health conscious" mom I have taken the original recipe and cut down the bacon by half to save on fat/calories and it still tastes just as great!
This is a yummy thing to throw in your cooler to take on a summer picnic, OR, it is delicious by itself...add some homemade rolls and you have a complete meal!
Broccoli Salad½ pkg. of bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
2 large bunches of broccoli
1/2 onion finely chopped
2 cups grapes cut in half
Cook and crumble bacon.
Chop broccoli into small pieces.
Add bacon, chopped onion and grapes.
(Sauce)
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sugar
3 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Pour Sauce over salad and mix. Best if refrigerated overnight!
Enjoy!
OH, I love broccoli salad. What would really be great is if I made the broccoli salad and served it with a green smoothie, green pasta, GREEN ALL AROUND. It's late, I'm tired. Can you tell?
ReplyDeleteWe do know what you mean regarding blenders.
Have a good day.
Sandra
Okay, that broccoli salad is calling my name! I adore trying new recipes!
ReplyDeleteAs for the smoothie, I must admit you almost lost me with the celery BUT I will pass this along to my cousin who loved smoothies and will both give it whirl!
If you say so, I believe you..after all the rest of it sounds wonderful!
You will be SO ashamed of me. I have owned a Vita-mix for a good 10 years and have only used it a handful of times. It doesn't work very well for me - the engine kind of smokes when we put it on high(we must have gotten a dud). I also really hate washing it. Am I just a booger!! I really should use it more and make good things like smoothies.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a great example of good health and trying new things. I am in awe. I think I will give your smoothie recipe a whirl and see how the family likes it. They LOVE frozen grapes - that is definately a summertime treat around here so I bet they would love a smoothie made with grapes.
The brocoli salad looks fantastic. I will definately be making that one!
I hope you are enjoying some warm sunny days!!
Have a wonderful weekend and keep enjoying those smoothies. Thanks for the wonderful example you are :D
When I first saw this post.. I thought yuck. Something green to drink?
ReplyDeleteBut.. the ingredients don't look bad. ~ And it looks pretty healthy so I WILL try it and let ya know what I think.. :)
You are seriously the most healthy person I know. If you the food in my house.. you would be ashamed!!
Kim - Tracy told me I should try this smoothie and the vita-mix blender too after I had a failed attempt with a magic bullet blending strawberry/spinach smoothie. I think it looks yummy but I'm going to have to invest in the Vita-Mix. And check out my blog - I've been lurking on yours since one of your Christmas cards a few years ago :)
ReplyDeletehttp://amaysingfamily.blogspot.com
To everyone else - the broccoli salad is really yummy - I've seen a variation on it with raisins but the bacon is WAY better!
Lori