Breakfast Shakes

Here is another quicky breakfast we fix here for the kids. It is nutritious and delicious so kids say YES! and so does mom. My kids actually like to fix these as after school snacks when they get home.

We have several that we make.

My kids make them in our regular old blender that we have had for YEARS. It works fine. Sometimes the ice isn't all crushed but they don't seem to mind. When I make the milkshakes I now use my high power blender. I have a Health Master. I have liked it so far but don't recommend it to anyone. There are too many potential problems. I am already smelling the "hot machine" smell when I use for anything difficult which is what they advertise it for. If I had the purchase to make again I would get a Blendtec home blender. I have a friend that has had one for a long time and loves it and it still works beautifully. I wish I had been told that this was a better buy. I would have saved the $$ and bought this one instead. Hind sight. Oh well! On to the shakes. The advantage of the high power blenders is that they work way faster and I can blend up things in them that I can't in a blender, such as nuts and grains which add health benefits to my kids food.

Banana Milk Shake

1 cup milk

1 whole banana

2 Tbsp Peanut butter

1 Tbsp cocoa powder (I think we actually use a lot more than this) ☺

2 Tbsp whey protein powder (I don't do soy but you can if you like)

1 cup ice

Sweetener of your choice (we use honey, agave syrup, sucanant, or stevia depending on what is on hand)

1 tsp vanilla

Put everything in the blender and blend like mad until it is smooth.

This makes enough for 2 kids. In the big blender I will double or triple this recipe for the whole family.

Orange Julius

1 cup milk

1 cup carrot juice (originally called for water but hey I slip in veggies where I can. )

1 cup ice

6 oz orange juice concentrate (half a regular can)

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp whey protein powder

Sweetener to taste - with the carrot juice in there it doesn't take much and again we try to use healthier choices like agave syrup

Put everything in the blender and blend like mad until it is all smooth and yummy.

In the big blender I skip the carrot juice and just put in 2 raw carrots for this recipe. For the whole family I double this recipe in the big blender and blend the carrots and liquids first before adding the ice. It does a great job of liquefying the carrots.

Berry Smoothie

1 cup milk or orange juice or plain sweetened yogurt

1 cup frozen berries ( or frozen fruit mix)

sweetener if needed (or sometime we just add a banana and that is plenty sweet)

Put in blender and blend like mad till it is as smooth as you like.

Big blender berry smoothie

2 1/2 cups milk, Orange juice, or plain sweetened yogurt (or a mix of any of the three)

1/2 cup old fashion oats

handful of nuts

2 Tbsp flax seed - ground

1/4 cup whey protein powder

2 tsp vanilla

Blend this till smooth

Add

1 banana

2+ cups frozen berries of your choice - we like to buy the big bags of mixed fruit with strawberries, mango, pineapple, peaches and grapes.

If you think it needs sweetening, you can add a squirt or two of agave nectar or another sweetener you like.

This takes the higher power blender to get the oats and nuts blended enough to be able take. The kids and I really love this. It really fills you up and lasts all morning.

I have tried adding the flax seed, oats and nuts to all the above recipes and we like the addition. It does change the texture though.

I got the idea for this recipe from my friend Vea. Go check out her blog for more ideas for great food and money saving tips.

Simple Breakfast

I don't know about you but that looks really yummy to me. I picked the idea for this breakfast up from an old diet book I found. It is just fruit, cottage cheese and nuts. It fills me up and keeps me going all morning. With the fruit, I have enough carbs to get my brain going. With the cottage cheese, I have enough protein to keep be going. With the nuts, I have enough good oils to make me feel satisfied. I love it. You can substitute what ever fruit you like with the cottage cheese. I have used strawberries, grapes, melon, and pears. I love them all but the pears are my favorite right now.

Simple Breakfast

1 cup cut up fruit

3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese

a handful of nuts (not roasted, raw)

Give it a try, you will love it!

Carb Plan

My dear blogging friends,

I have something I need to share and maybe by doing so I can encourage myself to stick to it.

Since having my five little Byrds, I have had a really hard time keeping weight off. Due to metabolic problems that are a part of life with Thyroid disease, I just can't seem to keep it off. However there are some things that seem to help.

I exercise everyday for at least 20 minutes and my calorie burn goal (set by my Dr) is 300 calories per day.

I also try to watch what I eat. We already use whole grains; honey, sucanat, and stevia instead of sugar; we also eat fresh fruits and vegetables and have a garden. Still weight is an issue for me. I have found though that a carbohydrate monitoring diet helps. I can't have a very low carb or no carb diet or I get sick because of hypoglycemia. That isn't fun and I get really grouchy.

A few years ago my SIL gave me a print out of a diabetic diet she was using and liked. I gave it a try and have loved it. When I use it, I lose weight, don't get hungry, and generally feel better.

So I am posting this carb plan PDF version of it HERE.

Please remember that I am NO Doctor and that you should consult your physician before starting any new diet or exercise plan.

This is just something that has worked for me.

Here is how it works. It breaks down the food you eat into Carbohydrate (carbs), Proteins (meats), and fats. All three are necessary for your body function.

One diabetic serving of Carbs is 15 grams of carbohydrates. Each meal and snack lists the number of carbs you can have. It also gives you a limited list of foods and the number of carbs they have.

The thing I love about this plan is that it educated me enough that I could start planning my own meals with things that I love in the amounts that I can have. The first thing I noticed was that some of the foods I had been eating were not so great for me. When I ate my carb quota of them, I was still starving.

I also learned that 1 cup of raw vegetables has 5 grams carbs so that meant that I can eat 3 cups of vegetables which equals 15 carbs or 1 Carb choice in the plan. Well that fills me up and I love them! That also usually left me 2 Carb choices for that meal that I could fill in with all kinds of things that I wanted to eat. I could even "afford" to have a cookie or small dessert now and then.

I grew with the plan and went to several websites to learn the "carb" amounts for ingredients I used often. That way I could tweak my own recipes so they were better for me and I could regulate the portions to comply with the diet.

I have also incorporated several South Beach Diet ideas into what I am fixing. Kalyn's Kitchen is a great place to get recipes and ideas for low carb recipes that work well in any diet.

Whew, that was a lot of typing. Can you tell I feel strongly about this?

Anyway my friends, I wanted to share this tool with you. Maybe it will help you in your quest for a healthier life style.

**Note**
This diet is set for a preganant or lactating woman. For my regular diet I just cut back on the fat and carbs some or have 3 cups of veggies be one of two carb choices at a meal. That gives you lots of food, lots of fiber, still has carbs for good blood sugar levels, fills me up .... etc.

Fintess Challenge

Ok so it is now the end of March. What happened to my New Years resolution to lose 30 pounds by now?? What ever!
Well my friend Shawnee told me about the fitness challenge over at Abby's A Feathered Nest. She has started a Fitness challenge instead of an Apron Swap. What a fabulous idea. :o) I would love to drop those 30+ pounds so I could wear the new apron patterns I have just cooked up without having to size MY OWN patterns up to fit ME. I just made the cutest blue apron from my Tea for Two apron swap partner and I doesn't fit me! Sad days! I have to adjust the pattern to make myself one. Anyway, if you are interested in playing in Abby's Challenge, she is still taking entrants. You just don't get as much time as the rest of us. :o) Go to her blog and check it out. $$ is involved. Winner takes all.

Healthy Tip #2 EAT

My healthy changes baby step number 2 is to eat in a timely manner.

What I mean by that is this. If you eat before you go to bed your body processes all the calories you just ate and stores them in the body. So my first eating tip is ....

Don't eat less than 3 hours before going to bed.

You will be going to bed just slightly hungry. By doing this, your body will now work all night burning fat for energy rather than the carbs you just ate.
My second eating tip is .....

Don't eat less than 2 hours before working out.

When you work out (walk, run , whatever) right after you eat, you end up burning up the calories you just ate. While that might be convenient if you really splurged and need to lower you blood sugar levels. However, you won't touch your body fat.
If you have been dieting and working out and are not losing any more weight, try watching your eating, sleeping and work out times.
I have tried this now for 3 weeks and have lost about 9 pounds. I make sure that I get a big drink of water before I work out and a big drink after. Then I eat a sensible snack.

(remember that I am not a Doctor and you should always talk to yours before you do any serious health changes in your life.)

Healthy Tip #1 WATER

I have been working very hard on my diet and exercise recently and have been baby stepping it. (I am a Fly Lady fan and love the baby step approach to life changes.)
I want to post some of the baby steps I have been making to help me toward the goal of a more healthy body.
Healthy tip #1 is water.

I know that sounds pretty basic but we don't drink enough water.
Here is the water plan.

• Drink a glass of water when you get up, before you eat or do anything. This helps cleanse your body.
• Drink a glass of water about 30 minutes before breakfast.
• Drink a glass of water before your morning snack (if you have one)
• Drink a glass of water about 30 before lunch.
• Drink a glass of water before an afternoon snack.
• Drink a glass of water about 30 minutes before dinner.
• Drink a glass of water before and evening snack (if you have one)
• Drink a glass of water before going to bed.

That is 8 glasses of water. That is a great start. You should get at least 2 liters of water a day.
Always make sure you drink water before working out, and again afterward.

Don't drink at meal times. If you have to then drink water instead of pop, juice or other drinks.
By drinking before you eat, you tend to eat less. It also helps to cleanse your system.