Sunday, May 2, 2010

Smoothie Breakfast: Strawberry or Wild Blueberry and Mint


I will start with the most important thing to me. Last night Dan’s fever was 101 and I was in a bit of a panic. However after 10 hours of sleep his temperature was 98.6 this morning, thankfully. His throat still hurts but I feel like we have turned the corner on this. Big sigh. Thank you all for your concern and recipe suggestions.

For breakfast this morning I decided to make smoothies for two reasons. First, it will be much easier to get calories into him in liquid form. Second, we are expecting another day of temperatures in the low 90 degree range so smoothies just seem right.

I made two different smoothies this morning, one for Dan with additional calories and a more reasonable one for myself. Here is what I made:

Strawberry Smoothie for My Baby
Serves 1

Ingredients:

½ cup oatmeal, dry ground into flour
2 cups water (or less if you want it thick)
2 cups strawberries, frozen
2 tablespoons walnuts
1 tablespoon flaxseeds, ground finely
1 scoop stevia, or to taste
2 tablespoons brown rice protein powder

Directions:

Place everything in your blender and process until completely smooth. Pour into a chilled glass. This recipe is for a thinner smoothie that you can pour into a to go cup and take with you. If you want something thicker start with 1 cup of water and add it more if necessary to get the consistency you like.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 492.81
Calories From Fat (26%) - 127.79

Total Fat - 15.24g
Saturated Fat - 1.54g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 48mg
Potassium - 676.33mg
Total Carbohydrates - 74.35g
Fiber - 16.85g
Sugar - 16.01g
Protein - 23.48g

Comments:

I added the nuts and protein powder to this smoothie increase the calories. This is something you can do with any smoothie. The flaxseed was included for its omega 3 fatty acids but it is also a good source of fiber. If you don’t use stevia you can add a pitted medjool date for sweetness. If I were making this for me I would add a little orange extract.

This one serving of smoothie contains approximately 120mg of vitamin C, 90mg of calcium, 75mcg of folate, 230mg of phosphorus, 110mg of magnesium, and 20mcg of selenium. Not too bad for a breakfast in a glass. And definitely healthier than Jamba Juice, although I have to admit I have enough many of those smoothies in my day. ;-)

Next Recipe:


This is the smoothie that I made for myself. I happen to love blueberry, mint and lemon. It is one of my favorite flavor combinations so I turned it into a smoothie this morning. Here is what I did:

Wild Blueberry and Mint Smoothie with a Hint of Lemon
serves 1

Ingredients:

½ cup oatmeal, ground into flour
1 ½ cups water
1 ½ cups frozen wild blueberries
1 tablespoon golden flaxseeds, finely ground
6 mint leaves, or to taste
¼ teaspoon lemon extract (or fresh lemon zest)

Directions:

Place everything in your blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a chilled glass and serve.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 345.25
Calories From Fat (13%) - 44.32

Total Fat - 5.14g
Saturated Fat - 0.61g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 16.05mg
Potassium - 171.22mg
Total Carbohydrates - 68.97g
Fiber - 7.82g
Sugar -- 0.37g
Protein - 8.92g

Comments:

I loved the flavor of this smoothie. But that isn’t a surprise since I love these flavors together. This was good enough I may have another one tomorrow and you all know I don’t repeat often. ;-)

This smoothie contains approximately 75mcg of calcium, 5mg of iron, 140mg of phosphorus, 50mg of magnesium, and 17.8mcg of selenium. Not quite as good as the strawberry version, but not bad either.

Unrelated note:

These last few days my Vitamix has been invaluable. I don’t know what I would have done without it. I typically use it more often in the summer but not as much as I did yesterday. For those of you that are considering one I highly recommend them. I bought mine at least 5 years ago now, and I give it a workout that has burned out at least 5 prior $100+ blenders. If you have any questions about the machine please feel to ask. I am happy to help in any way that I can.


Here is a picture of our youngest feline Nicco, also known affectionately as Binky. He is keeping an eye on his daddy while I am busy. As you tell by the look on his face he is very intense and doesn’t miss a thing.

Today we don’t have much planned. I am going to encourage Dan to rest and relax so he can heal more quickly. I have no idea what else is happening here to today. But I will let you know what else I decide to cook. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Talk to you soon.

18 comments:

  1. Glad to hear Dan is feeling better. Those smoothies look perfect for a warm day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rose,

    Thanks! I feel so much better now that his fever is down without a med.

    I loved my my blueberry smoothie.

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  3. pleased that your husband seems to be on the mend. I love mint with fruit so that smoothie sounds delicious. I have tonnes of blackberries that I picked last year in the freezer do you think they would work well with the mint in a smoothie or do you reckon it would be too tart? I might give it a go...
    Emma

    ReplyDelete
  4. Emma,

    Blackberries and mint are a fabulous combination. I used to make a mint julep with blackberries which was one of my favorites. If you try the smoothie and it isn't sweet enough add a little stevia or a pitted medjool date. I think the blackberry sounds brilliant. Thanks for sharing your idea.

    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  5. Those smoothies both sound and look sooooo refreshing. Never thought about adding in the oatmeal. Interesting. While I adore strawberries, I think that blackberry would be so good with the hint of lemon. Really bright flavors I would imagine. so glad to hear that Dan's fever broke.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Heather,

    I started putting ground oatmeal in smoothies last year. I adds body, fiber and a little protein without fat. It is important to grind it first so that you don't get lumps of oat.

    Both flavors are good depending on what you are in the mood for that morning.

    We were happy his fever broke too. It was stretching on too long and had me worried.

    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  7. So glad Dan has turned the corner and is begining to feel better! Those smoothies look delish, especially the one you made for yourself! I love blueberries and have mint growing, I need to try this.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Janet,

    Thanks. We were very happy his fever broke too.

    I love blueberries and mint. Since we grow mint too I have tons of it. ;-) I hope you like it too.

    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  9. No kidding, when I saw your post, the first thing I said, was, "Mmmm." That looks so good and refreshing, and I bet Dan just loved and appreciated it. He's in such good hands.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Blessed Mama,

    Thanks! He seemed to enjoyed it. Since his throat is still sore it is a little hard to tell.

    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  11. 100+ temp that msut have been scary, very glad he is doing better now, binky looks relieved!

    you have probably answered this many times but why do you put the oatmeal in the smoothie? for a thicker texture plus calories?

    i read through all you other posts last night and they were so fun to read, i love what you got at marshals and can totally understand wanting to do a happy dance when clothes are involved,lol. talk to you later Alicia

    michelle and lil

    ReplyDelete
  12. M & L,

    The fever had me worried, but thankfully it is still gone. Now we need the sore throat to go away.

    Binky has been helping me keep an eye on Dan. He is a good little helper. LOL.

    That is exactly why I add oatmeal. You can leave it out but I like the extra fiber and thickness. It makes the smoothie more of a meal than just a drink. I think it keeps me satisfied longer.

    talk to you soon,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  13. It has been forever since I could just browse blogs.. I came here first. Laying in bed with a sore shoulder- plenty of time to blog hop. Loved the smoothie pic- yum! Hope Dan is better real soon!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am a strawberry freak and that smootie is calling my name!!!!
    Is the oatmeal for thickening or does it help with the nutritional count?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Debra,

    Sorry to hear about your shoulder. I hope it feels better soon.

    Dan is feeling a little better. We have a follow up appt on Tuesday

    We have been eating a lot of things out of the Vitamix the last few days. Smoothies are a great way to get a little nutrition when you have a sore throat.

    feel better soon,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  16. Brandi,

    The oatmeal is to thicken the smoothie a little and to add some protein. It also seems to help me stay satisfied longer. When I add a little oat flour to a fruit smoothie I stay satisfied until lunch. Unless you are using a vitamix it really needs to be oat flour or it doesn' seem to get smooth enough.

    ttyl,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  17. We're getting a Vitamix! I've been wanting to, but now I can. I'm starting a new job in two weeks and we'll be moving to a new place with a bigger kitchen. Oh, and we have to drive 3,000 miles next week to get there.

    But after that, no more wimpy blender.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Matt,

    Congratulations on the new job and the upcoming Vitamix. Three thousand miles sounds like the west coast. I hope it is since I know that is what you were looking for.

    Congrats again, :-)
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails