Oatmeal Smoothie

I came across this yesterday afternoon as I was lounging on the couch after my first week of actual teaching.  For some of you, putting raw oatmeal in your smoothie may be old news, but I had never thought of doing this before.  It makes perfect sense, though - adding oatmeal to your fruit smoothie increases the fiber content and gives you a good dose of whole grains.  Adding oatmeal also makes the smoothie much more filling and well balanced.  This would be the perfect breakfast to take along with you since you're getting your fruit, dairy, and whole grains all in one meal.  I'm going to have to keep this one in my back pocket for those days when I only have 15 minutes to get ready for work (like when I woke up at 7:45 yesterday.  Oops).

I thought the raw oatmeal would make the smoothie gritty but it didn't!  You can taste the oatmeal, but the fruit and yogurt balance it out nicely.  It was so smooth and creamy and best of all you can substitute different ingredients to fit your tastes.  There's absolutely no reason to skip breakfast in the morning when you have something wholesome and delicious that can be whipped up in a matter of minutes.  I think that reusable tumbler with the screw on lid and straw was one of my best investments.

Oatmeal Smoothie
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients
- 1 c ice
- 1 c fresh/frozen fruit
- 1 banana
- 1/2 c oatmeal
- 1/2 c yogurt
- 1 c liquid (juice, milk, etc)
- 1 tbsp honey (optional)

Directions
Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into glasses and serve immediately.  Can also pour into a plastic bag and freeze.

5 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 12:03 PM

Grownup Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes

I'm going to take a break from inundating you with apple recipes and focus on another fall favorite: pumpkin.

One reason I love reading Jessica's blog is she surprises you with these posts featuring delicious drinks that are just as sweet as her desserts.  She'll turn desserts such as birthday cake and s'mores into these decadent drinks, and best of all you don't really need to add the alcohol.  But, I did.

Even though it's well into fall (and coming up on winter), these grownup pumpkin pie milkshakes are still in season.  The bourbon (we used whisky) and pumpkin flavors balance each other very nicely.  Plus they can literally be whipped up in a matter of minutes and would be very easy to serve at a holiday party.

Oh, and sorry for the lack of pictures.  The motive behind this recipe was to drink it immediately, not photograph it ;)

Grownup Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes

Makes enough for 2 milkshakes

Ingredients

- 2 c vanilla ice cream

- ½ c milk

- 1 tbsp vanilla extract

- 2/3 pureed pumpkin

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 3 whole graham crackers

- bourbon or whisky (amount is optional, but 1.5 oz = 1 shot)

Directions

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until well combined.  Pour into tumblers and top with whipped cream and cinnamon.  

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

3 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 11:34 PM

Homemade Apple Cider and Applesauce

It seems like it was just last week that I was posting about how excited I was for the start of October.  Where does the time go?

So many apples!

Well, it's been about three weeks since I went apple picking.  I had more apples than I knew what to do with, so I wanted to try my hand at making my own apple cider.  I did some research online but all I was getting were posts about apple cider presses, which was something I was not about to invest in.  After much researching, I came across this article, which laid out a seemingly simple way to make apple cider.

Place the sieve over a bowl to extract the juice (back).
Reserve the pulp for applesauce!

It sounded easy enough: You core apples (you can even leave the skins on!), grind them in the blender until they turn to mush, and then pour the contents through a fine mesh sieve to extract the juice.  If you have a cheese cloth it certainly works best because you can squeeze the juice out of the pulp, but I did fine with my wire sieve and a spoon.  I then played around with the spices until I got the perfect taste and let the cider stew in my fridge for a couple of hours.  It was pretty simple and 9 apples got me 3 to 4 cups of apple cider.  So if you still have a ton of apples left over, I would certainly recommend trying your hand at making some apple cider.

Oh, and all of that pulp you made?  Throw in some of the same spices for the apple cider and you have homemade apple sauce.  How easy is that?

Homemade Apple Cider (and Applesauce)

Makes 3 to 4 cups

Ingredients

- 9 apples, cored

- 2 tsp ground cinnamon

- Dash nutmeg, allspice, and cloves

Directions

Pulverize the apples in a blender until pureed.  Pour contents into a mesh sieve over a bowl.  Let sit for about 10 minutes and use a spoon to help push the juices through.  Add the spices to the juice and store in refrigerator.  Reserve the pulp as applesauce.  

1 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 1:29 PM

Runner's High and a Chocolate Banana Shake/Smoothie

Chris's mother once asked me if I loved running because of the runner's "high."  Truth be told, I've never really had a runner's high - that complete state of euphoria many runners get when they're going for a run. I usually got it when I got home and was stretching and reflecting on my workout.  Running always made me feel good, but usually when I'm on a run I'm more focused on my time, my form, and my tempo rather than on the run itself.

I've mentioned before that I usually start my runs off too quickly and the last quarter mile seems like a huge battle.  My splits go from 9:30, to 10:00, and then to around 11:30.  So for this run, I really treated the first mile like my warm up and took it at my target pace time: 10:00/mile.  Well at the 1st mile mark my split time was 10:00, so already I was off to a good start.

I've always struggled with the middle of my run because that's when I start to think about how far I am from finishing.  When my mind begins to lag, my body begins to lag, and by the last mile I'm defeated and just pushing myself to finish.  Yet with this run, I was on my 2nd mile and instead of feeling like the road was an endless stretch in front of me, the crackled sidewalks and overgrown hedges looked like an enticing adventure.  I ran for about half of a mile more and I looked down at my feet and almost fell over - they looked like they were going so fast underneath me.  And yet instead of letting my head tell my legs to get it under control, I let my legs set the tempo for the first time and allowed myself not to think.  It was a completely different feeling for me.  I didn't have the need to glance at my watch and bemoan over the fact I was behind pace or still had 15 minutes left.  I had let my mind go blank and was just listening to the music and just going along for the ride.  Before I knew it I was closing in on my third mile and still had lots of energy to spare.  When I reached the hill on Lincoln, it felt more like a friendly competition than an insurmountable challenge and I powered up that incline.  I felt like I could have kept running straight down my neighborhood streets for miles and miles.  But I knew the run had to end and longer runs would come later.

I have never felt like this before during a run.  I honestly couldn't describe it as anything else than a runner's "high."  I had let my mind go blank, allowing my legs to push me along, and just savored the run.  It was a pretty amazing experience.

Usually when I get back from my runs, I make myself a glass of chocolate milk.  When I became serious about my running, I had an understanding that when I ran, my muscles would tear (hence the soreness) and as they rebuild themselves, they become stronger.  Yet I wanted to make sure I was getting the right nutrients to make sure my muscles did repair themselves quickly and efficiently.  The thought of drinking whey protein turned me off because I had no desire to put on muscle - I just wanted to help repair my muscles naturally.  After talking to a few people, a woman I know told me her husband went to an Army training clinic and the doctors were recommending chocolate milk as a post workout recovery drink because it has the 4:1 carbs to protein ratio in a recovery drink that your muscles need to replenish themselves.  Plus it's absolutely delicious so why would I complain?

After this run, I decided to amp up my chocolate milk a bit because I was hungry so I made a chocolate banana shake/smoothie (I couldn't decide which one to call it because it has milk and ice).

I started with my cup of milk.

Then added my 2 tbsp of chocolate syrup (with only one hand on the camera, my hand was shaking uncontrollably.  Sorry for the blurry image).

Then put in a whole banana and about a handful of ice to add some body.

Blended it all together and poured it into my awesome travel cup.  Seriously, how great is this cup?  It's reusable and perfect for iced coffees, smoothies, shakes, and any juice you want to take with you.  It's not the type of container you can just put in your bag and forget about because the straw is open, but it's great to carry along with you on your way to work or class.

5 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 1:33 PM

The Mojito, revisted

The food blogging community has been inundated with different fruity cocktail drinks throughout a good part of the summer.  Some of the drinks had only 2 ingredients while others could have up to 6 but one ingredient that stayed fairly constant was simple syrup.  I had never heard of simple syrup before but it is actually a "simple" "syrup:" 1 part water to 1 part sugar, pour into a saucepan and boil until the sugar dissolves (which literally takes under a minute).  This is a great alternative to trying to get sugar to dissolve in your mixed drink.

So with this new concoction in hand, I decided to revisit my recipe for mojitos.  I was also lucky enough to have some spearmint growing in my beach house's backyard, while at home I only had access to peppermint.  I feel like the peppermint did not have a strong enough flavor for the mojito and found myself stripping my plant bare whenever I wanted to make a pitcher.  With the spearmint, you only need about 6 or 7 large leaves to get a sweet, minty taste.  I'll definitely be taking some home to plant in my backyard.

To really bring out the mint flavor, I decided to throw the mint leaves in with the simple syrup while the sugar was dissolving.  I brought the mixture to a boil, stirred it until the sugar dissolved, and then muddled the mint leaves once the syrup had cooled back down to room temperature.  Everything else I basically kept the same.

The simple syrup and spearmint combination makes for a very sweet mojito, which I enjoyed immensely. There is a downside (or maybe an upside?) to this, however: the sweetness masks the alcohol in the drink.  I started with a cup of rum and could barely taste anything over the spearmint, so I added more lime and more rum.  The lime cut into the sweetness slightly but I still couldn't taste any alcohol.  After adding about 1 1/2 cups I decided that would have to be enough and believe me, it was.  This is a very delicious and sweet treat and I'd certainly recommend playing around with the proportions in order to get your preferred taste.

Mojito (pitcher)

Ingredients

6 – 7 large spearmint leaves

1 c sugar

1 c water

2/3 c lime juice

1 ½ c of rum

1 L club soda

Lime slices

Directions

Place the water, sugar, and spearmint leaves into a pot and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat and allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.  Muddle the mint leaves until they become fragrant, about 1 minute.  Pour syrup into a pitcher and add the lime juice, rum, and club soda.  Stir to mix and serve over ice.  Garnish each glass with a slice of lime.  

1 comment(s)

Posted by Ali B at 2:01 PM