Apr 15, 2011 Posted by Jennifer on Apr 15, 2011 in Food Finds, fruit, smoothies | 9 comments

Jazz apples?

So, I’m at the store last night picking up some milk and such when I headed into the produce dept. I was thinking about picking up a baby seedless watermelon. My son Mark and I saw them and when I saw the price ($4.99!) I said to my son, that’s way too much for such a tiny watermelon. So we started to look for other things, my son noticed the GIANT seedless watermelons and yells “Hey Mom – this gigantic one is also $4.99!!” So we got it. I’ll talk more about that in a minute.

As we were walking by the apples, I noticed a brand of apples I had never seen before called JAZZ. Jazz apples? I’ve never heard of them! So we decided to put some in our basket. When we got home, I immediately cut one up to see what it tasted like. I am a huge fan of crunchy and very sweet apples and this is exactly what the JAZZ apple is. After reading more about the company who is growing them, it turns out these are a breed of Braeburn apples and the Royal Gala apple. Originally grown in New Zealand, it’s now grown in Washington state here in the U.S.

If you happen across them at your store, I highly recommend picking some up! You can find out more about the growers of Jazz apples HERE. In the Chicago-land area I bought these at Jewel Food Stores.

So, now to continue on with the watermelon. Mark and I each took a half and started scooping out with a melon baller. In the end we had 2 gallon sized ziploc bags full!

Mark asked if we could freeze some for smoothies the next day, so we threw one in the freezer and kept one in the fridge.

For Mark’s super deluxe smoothie? 1 cup frozen watermelon and 1 cup orange juice and mix in a blender or magic bullet. Since the watermelon was frozen, it was kind of like a slushy – so good!

So, have you tried jazz apples, or am I the last one to find out about them?

Mar 8, 2011 Posted by Jennifer on Mar 8, 2011 in breakfast, chicken, Dinner Idea, fruit, smoothies | 7 comments

Awesome smoothie/chicken feta barley dinner

Today’s smoothie was AWESOME! Here is what I put in it today:

1/2 cup carrot juice
1/2 cup blood orange juice
handful of fresh baby spinach
handful of frozen blueberries
5 strawberries
1 tablespoon chia seeds

Mixed together in a blender and that’s it.

I’ve never had blood orange juice before, but it was on sale at the store and cheaper than regular orange juice – and it’s delicious!!

*******

For my dinner, I actually made everything separately and then assembled this so everyone could make what they wanted.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cups cooked pearl barley
feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste
juice of 1 lemon – lemon zest
fresh spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
pine nuts.

So for my bowl, I put in 1 cup pearl barley, some chicken, chopped fresh spinach, a drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of lemon, a little lemon zest, few tablespoons feta cheese and a tablespoon of pine nuts.

Feb 11, 2011 Posted by Jennifer on Feb 11, 2011 in breakfast, product review, smoothies | 9 comments

First time trying Kefir/Kefir Smoothie

I was shopping at Aldi grocery store the other day, when I happened to notice they are starting to sell Kefir. And the price was half of what it costs at a regular grocery store. I’m not sure what made me buy it. I’ve always wanted to try it, but didn’t quite know what it would taste like.

You can buy Kefir right next to the yogurt. The best way I can describe it, is it’s like drinking a thick smoothie. I thought it was going to be more like milk, but its thick and kind of sour. I tried the blueberry flavor. For 1 cup the calories are 140, 2 grams of fat and 11 grams of protein and 20 grams of carbs.

Since I didn’t like the sour part of it, I decided to mix it with a cup of frozen mixed fruit. The result? I LOVED IT!

I pretended I was on some tropical vacation drinking it, instead of the Artic cold of Chicago….it helped for a minute!

And, I am super proud of my daughter Claire, while I was busy making muffins for work, and making home made play dough for her class, she made her contribution to the 3rd grade Valetine’s Day party!

Pretzel rods, chocolate, sprinkles with heart shaped marshmallows!!

So glad it’s Friday!!! Any fun plans going on??

Mar 10, 2010 Posted by Jennifer on Mar 10, 2010 in chicken, Food Finds, News, smoothies | 5 comments

MaraNatha Nut Butters

I was asked if I would try MaraNatha Nut butters and I jumped at the chance. I LOVE almond butters and all natural peanut butters anyway vs. the sugary kind and super processed kind.

Please check out their website at www.maranatha.com. Their company was founded in Oregon in 1982 and their products are made in small batches. They are gluten free, low sodium, cholesterol free, high in protein, rich in monounsaturated fat (the good kind of fat) and are vegan AND it tastes great too! So you can’t beat that! They were kind enough to send me some recipes that I can share as well as THEIR photos.

Makes about 1/3 cup – Serves one

· 1 Tbsp. MaraNatha No Stir Almond Butter, Creamy

· 3 Tbsp. Organic or natural low fat mayonnaise

· 2 Tbsp. Organic or natural low fat sour cream

· 1 tsp. Fresh lime juice

· 1/8 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

· 1/2 tsp. Onion powder

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Use as a dip for vegetables such as celery, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and cucumbers.

This dip can also be used as a sauce over steamed vegetables – great with asparagus or broccoli.

Serves one

· 2 Tbsp. MaraNatha No Stir Almond Butter, Creamy

· 1 Medium banana

· 1/4 cup Organic or natural nonfat soymilk

· 2 Tbsp. Organic or natural nonfat vanilla yogurt

· 1 cup Crushed ice

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

For an indulgent treat add any of the following:

2 Tbsp. Chocolate syrup
1 Tbsp. Chocolate chips

Nutrition information: 320 Calories, 10g Protein, 41g Total Carbohydrates, 7g Fiber, 22g Sugars

Makes about 1 cup sauce – Serves 4

· 4 Multigrain tortillas

· 12 oz. Broiled chicken breast strips

· 2 to 3 Slices, red onion

· Packaged shredded carrots

· Cilantro leaves

· Lettuce leaves

Sauce:

· 1 Tbsp. MaraNatha No Stir Almond Butter, Creamy

· 1/2 cup Organic or natural light mayonnaise

· 1/4 cup Organic or natural light sour cream

· 1 tsp. Fresh grated ginger

· 1/2 tsp. Garlic powder

· 2 tsp. Sesame oil

· 1 1/2 tsp. Rice vinegar

· 2 Tbsp. Cilantro, finely chopped

Place all ingredients in a medium size bowl. Whisk until smooth.

Place large tortilla on flat surface and cover with green leaf lettuce. Spread 2 – 3 tablespoons sauce over lettuce. Place grilled chicken breast, shredded carrots, red onion slices (to taste), and 8 to 10 cilantro leaves. Fold in sides of tortilla and roll

Don’t these recipes look fantastic? I received two free jars of the almond butter and regular natural peanut butters and they are both wonderful. You need to refrigerate them after opening and kind of stir them up before each use.

Please visit this site to get coupons for this product AND to enter a sweepstake to win a years supply of nut butters!

Have any of you tried this product???

Feb 25, 2010 Posted by Jennifer on Feb 25, 2010 in breakfast, Food Finds, fruit, News, smoothies | 11 comments

New smoothie

When I went to the store last weekend, I found in the freezer section all sorts of flavors of Goya Brand Fruit Pulps. Flavors like papaya, pineapple, passion fruit, etc… For each 1/2 cup its only 39 calories. So I picked up the passion fruit and decided to make a fantastic smoothie with it:

Ingredients for 1

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup passion fruit pulp
7 baby carrots
3/4 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup frozen pineapple

Blend until smooth. It was like drinking sunshine it was so awesome!

AND, the calories weren’t that bad either!!

I never would have guessed that high of fiber. It’s 15 grams in one smoothie! That’s about half of the recommended fiber for the day. Sweet!

Dave, you’ll have to try this since you are living in paradise now!!!

Has anyone else tried these fruit pulps??