Cherry Vanilla Smoothie

Pantry Recipe: Canned cherries and vanilla pudding.

I love a good smoothie and this is one of my new favorite combos. I got a new immersion blender for my birthday and I love that I can make single smoothies right in the cup. It is so fun and easy. You can, of course, use a blender if you don't have an immersion blender or want to make a larger amount. This recipe is good for one large or two small smoothies. 

It is also pantry friendly, using up some of my canned cherries from food storage. I love having cherries smack dab in the middle of winter. I feel like I am cheating the chilly dreary weather. In addition, I found some frozen chopped apples that had been coated in cinnamon sugar that were left over from apple tart recipe.

The Recipe:
 1/4 Cup canned cherries (click here for my no sugar added canned cherries)
1/4 to 1/2 cup cherry juice from jar (depending on your desired consistency)
4 oz Vanilla yogurt (I use greek yogurt)
1 TB sugar free vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup crushed ice.
1/4 cup small frozen apple chunks (they had been pretreated with cinnamon sugar and lemon juice). You could use finely chopped apple here instead with a dash of cinnamon. 

Add to large cup or blender and blend until smooth.  
So delicious!

Favorite Cold/Cough Remedy

It's sore throat, coughing season. I have one daughter that has serious coughing issues and frankly I get sick of pouring disgusting tasting cough syrups down her throat that may or may not work. Recently we tried this home remedy and she found such relief from it that we stopped using the cough medicine at night. When my other kids get the sore throat and cough they ask for this drink because it truly soothes their throat and calms the coughing fits.


Plus it doesn't make them gag and it is all natural. They actually enjoy this Honey Lemon Water. We went through a whole thing of honey just on this drink already -- which is why honey should ALWAYS be in your food storage in the winter.

3 ingredients.

1 TB Lemon Juice

1 TB Honey 

and

1 Cup hot water.

Stir lemon and honey into hot water.

Sip slowly.

Sugar Free Raspberry Soda

It has begun. I am going back off refined sugars. I have done it before, for 10 years in fact. And it was good for me. Somewhere along the road I decided I could gorge myself on the stuff again. But I am seriously limiting my sweets to the weekend from now on. So how do I stand the sugar craving. How do I keep my resolution? I remembered I had a couple yummy things in the pantry for a lowfat, sugar free midday sweet sipper.


Now I am also trying to reduce my artificial sweetener intake, but I am going to need to feel like I can indulge every now and then. And I needed something sweet sparkly and bright on this cold January day. This sugar free syrup does have Splenda added to it. So buy the regular syrup if you want.

This is so easy it is ridiculous but I would like to say that sometimes it is a good idea to stock our pantry with a few treats that can gourmet up our pantry eating. And I know how much I would pay for something similar at the sidewalk cafe downtown. One cup would cost me as much as the whole bottle of raspberry syrup cost me at the store

Raspberry Soda
1 serving
1 cup club soda or Perrier
2 TB of sugar free raspberry syrup. I used Torani brand

Stir and watch the bubbles rise. Perfect for a midday pick me up.
In honor of New Year's food resolutions our Taste feature at Alive! Utah is on 3 food resolutions and recipes. Check it out.

Pumpkin Nutella Smoothie -- Healthy Version

The picture didn't turn out great but we've all seen a pumpkin smoothie.
Now there are plenty of sweet creamy decadent recipes for pumpkin shakes full of ice cream, sugar and whip cream. That is all good and I am sure that I am going to indulge in at least one of those. But for breakfast or an afternoon healthy snack, I wanted something a little healthier -- which just a touch of decadence.

Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors. Plus it is a superfood and has all kinds of unbelievable superhero powers. See my Alive! Utah's Taste article this month to discover its superhero qualities. I love that it is so creamy and yet so good for you. So, instead of loading my afternoon power shake with tons of ice cream and whip cream I decided to try a healthier route with just a touch of decadence from some Nutella.

P.S. We used Soymilk in this recipe instead of milk. My daughter recently discovered she is lactose intolerant and while yogurt doesn't seem to bother her -- milk wreaks havoc on her tummy and digestion. She wanted to try this recipe so I used Soy Milk (which is also healthy for you). Feel free to use lowfat milk if you want.

Now this recipe is not knock your socks off sweet. However it is tangy, rich, refreshing and just a tad spicy.

Recipe

1  4 oz carton of vanilla yogurt,frozen (for a sweeter version add a 1/2 cup of ice cream)
1 cup soymilk (plus a little more if you want a milder pumpkin flavor)
2/3 cup pumpkin
2 shakes of nutmeg
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
3 Tb brown sugar
2 heaping TB of Nutella

We just put a carton of vanilla yogurt in the freezer until frozen. Combine ingredients in blender until smooth.
Top each smoothie with and additional tsp of Nutella and a dollop of whip cream if  you want.

Pomegranate Pineapple Smoothie.

I have been on a breakfast smoothie diet. I have discovered that if I drink a 250-280 calorie smoothie in the morning I can make it to lunch without serious hunger pangs. If I eat cereal and milk with an equal amount of calories I am hungry in a couple hours again. Ravenously hungry. And so I have been making a new smoothie every morning.

POM Wonderful offered me free 100 % pomegranate juice to play with again this year. I could not resist adding it to a smoothie. Pomegranate juice is chock full of antioxidants and healthy juice vibes.
Here is my favorite combo that even includes something from the pantry -- canned pineapple.

1/2 cup 100 % pomegranate juice
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1 Cup chunked pineapple
1/4 cup lowfat or nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 to 2 tsp of honey.

Add to blender and blend until smooth.

Pomegranate Slushie

A couple weeks ago I recieved my first free sample packet. I was so excited because I seriously intended to buy something similar and experiment with pomegranates and pomegranate juice. So, when POM Wonderful sent me a gleaming jewel colored package of pomegranate juices I was ecstatic. I have had so many plans for these little beauties. But a busy life has taken me hostage and baking and experimenting in the kitchen has taken a back burner in my life. However, I still have some fun ideas for this tasty and extremely healthy juice.

Did you know POM Wonderful 100 percent juice actually has more antioxidants than Acai berries or blueberries? I actually enjoy drinking it straight from its curvy little bottle but I must explore the possibilities. Here is one simple way to bring a little tropical to your winter.

My daughter had her tonsils out this week (busy life remember). So I decided to whip up a slushie for her sore throat that included the healthy healing benefits of pomegranate.

I added mango to this slushie. I liked the flavor twist but my children said they would have preferred a non mango version. So obviously the mango is optional.

SLUSHIE

1/2 to 3/4 cup of 100 percent pomegranate juice (depending on your desired consistency)

3 TB sugar

1/2 mango cut up (optional)

2 Cups crushed ice.

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until frothy and uniform consistency. Start with 1/2 cup juice and add more as desired.

Homemade Hot Cocoa

Hot cocoa with food storage whip cream.

I love hot chocolate and nothing attacks the munchies or the down in the dumps moments for me like a good mug of melty hot cocoa. So, I know that my food storage needs chocolate. I seriously suggest stocking your pantry with unsweetened cocoa. In an effort to be good to myself(I need to steer clear of too much sugar) I modified this hot cocoa recipe to be sugar-free. Feel free to sugar up your own stash of hot cocoa. I just really don't enjoy the sugar-free options at the store. I loved this recipe so much I am already on my second cup today. I thought this batch would last me awhile. Silly me. I also tried to make the whip cream from nonfat instant dry milk. Not really loving it so much. I have heard, however, that the Morning Moos brand of instant dry milk makes a better whipped cream. I promise to experiment with this and get back to you.

Recipe
I halved this recipe, except for the vanilla. I really like vanilla.
1 Tb plus 1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 Cups sugar or Splenda
1 Tb salt
2 1/2 C powdered nondairy creamer (I used the sugar free) This is located on the same aisle as the hot chocolate or coffee.
1 3/4 C Cocoa powder
5 Cups Instant dry milk

In a large bowl, mix vanilla into sugar with a wire wisk, until fluffy and nearly dry consistency. Blend in one at a time, salt, creamer and cocoa, stirring thoroughly after each addition. Add dry milk. You can add 5 cups of mini marshmallows here. (I didn't have them)
Store in an airtight container for up to six months (Like it is going to be around for that long)
Makes 13 Cups or 39 servings.
To make hot cocoa, stir 1/3 C mix with 1 C hot water