Health Nut: Smoothies! (and Real Talk)

There's a bit of a rant/real talk - just scroll through until you see in super big text "SMOOTHIES" if you want to get to the recipe.  

Frozen mango and pineapple chunks with berries, banana and coconut milk.

"Health Nut" - yeah don't worry I'm not one.  I religiously attend Burger King confessions with a side of McDonald's weekly - I call it "bonding with my God daughter" - but let's face it...it's all a cover up.
I'm just using these Common Categories (found on the right hand side of this blog) so it's easier to find things you might be particularly interested in. 😊

I do try to be healthy for about 90% of the month and that includes a lot of wiggle room...like 50%.

This week is my turn to have the kids (and it's Thursday night as I type this) and I have found myself in a particular situation this week.
I was broke AF.  I'm talking I am working part-time/on-call at a restaurant downtown with not many hours and panicking.  By "not many hours" I mean I haven't worked in awhile and won't be working with them for a total of a month due to lack of demand.  Full-time staff get priority over me of course so - what's a gal gotta do?
I had to think and think hard  (and apply everywhere of course).

I had been re-thinking how productive I have been (or not) lately and decided to bump it up.
Little things to be productive like:

• hang my clothes as soon as they're done in the wash - sounds obvious and whatnot but sometimes the kids just pull me in 3 different directions that I perhaps forget to hang the laundry for a day or two!
• I have now adopted the mindset that "if I hang my laundry to dry - that is being productive because it's not sitting wet somewhere".  
• FYI dryers are not common in Finland at all.  Most people hang their stuff to dry because it saves energy and while it might not get rid of the dog hair - I'm down with saving money and the environment when I can.
• Run the dishwasher AND the washing machine at the same time - and I could take a nap because I literally can nap anywhere (it's a parent skill) and two machines are helping me out.
• Bear in mind my dishwasher is second hand (washing machine too) and it's a piece of sh*t.  It rarely washes EVERYTHING on the first try.  And yes, I've cleaned the filter and washed it out every 2 weeks with some special gel stuff.
• Walk my dog Loki (who is a regular tester in my kitchen and by "tester" I mean he steals food whenever he can and has Level 5000 Ninja skills) while getting the kids and taking them to day-care/school too.
• Because then I can blog in peace afterward.

Then I decided with the financial situation - I need to be smarter.

That also meant being a firmer mother and not bending over backward for my pickiest eater of all - A-Man.  Who is 6, has a 6-pack - yet never did a sit-up/plank or curl up in his life - and eats mostly carbs.  Pasta, bread and fries are his favourite and he totally gets away with it.
(No, he doesn't have any allergies or sensitivities - he is just picky and has some language issues we are trying to help him along with.)

I look at McDonald's and my chubby rolls start doing their own happy dance.

So I decided I was going to cut back on the grocery store trips.  I travel by bus and it was eating up a lot of my time. 15-minutes there and 15-minutes back plus wandering about (it's huge) and sticking to my list...
I decided this week some new rules for myself:

• Clean out the freezer - I save so much and rarely use it due to my picky eater (he doesn't eat a lot of meat which is what I typically freeze) before buying more meat for example.
• 1-2 trips/week maximum to the store: No matter what.  If I am out of milk - tough.  The kids can drink water easily.  So can I.  Unless it was a recipe that required something I had absolute none of that particular ingredient - I am not going out.  If I can manage with less than X amount of sugar or whatever - I'll do so and my waist will thank me later.
• I've also been cutting back my milk consumption and option for dairy-free options due to my excessive bloating and trying to be a "Health Nut".
• Stick to the grocery list.  I use an app to help me out and I usually do pretty well with it.
• Plan Meals in advance: instead of the night before - plan ahead a bit more and let the kids have leftovers - or the same food two days in a row.  
• Their father was never a fan of leftovers so they're not used to the concept of having the same food two days in a row.  Doesn't matter if it gets tastier either - like soup.  They don't like soup anyway - go figure.

So far - it's been going well!

Now that I have that real talk out of the way (I am sure there will be more) - let's get on to the recipe!

Smoothies.  

Smoothies are SO freaking easy!  I noticed that I have a lot of frozen berries in my freezer and I always have bananas on hand - so I decided to whip out the Kenwood Chef Sense (aka my mixer with the blender attachment) and blitz some smoothies regularly.

I love smoothies and they're healthy and tasty...I used to think they were so time consuming but now I think of them as rather quick and easy to toss together.

Because similar to fried rice - you just dump whatever the heck you want into a blender and blend it then drink it. This makes them super filling too!

This is a great way to clear up freezer space and prevent yourself from buying more produce you might not necessarily need - especially for a smoothie which is just a pureed blend of fruit and liquid anyway.

Avocado, banana, strawberry Greek yoghurt with coconut milk and topped with more toasted coconut.

Smoothies are also very forgiving.  So if you make something too sour - add some honey or bananas. If it's too green looking - add some berries for a red or purple hue -or cocoa powder and make it chocolate-y.

I recommend a high power blender - hand blenders (aka immersion blenders) are great for saving space but never seemed to do the trick for me.

I always put my frozen chunks of fruit or berries firs -, some yogurt, some fresh fruit and veggies and then top it off with some liquid like juice, oat drink or nut milk.

Everything I list below are merely suggestions.  You can mix and match to your preference, taste and budget.  I also haven't tried some of the bolder tastes out there or more exotic fruits - so be brave!

If you f*ck up -- add honey.  You'll be fine honey!
Like what I did there? Ok..I'll stop.

What you need:

• A blender with a lid (so when it's on you won't decorate your walls like a blind interior designer)!

What you could use:

• Frozen fruit or berries: In Finland, frozen berries are a staple throughout the year until the next berry-picking season.  Everyone picks berries because they're free and plentiful. So make some space in your freezer by blitzing them in your smoothies, tossing them in your oatmeal to help cool it off, bake muffins, whip up pancakes - I'm going off track here.  Oops.
• If you're really pressed for time or simply cannot physically prep fruits and veggies to freeze - most grocery stores sell frozen packaged pre-chopped and ready to blend frozen chunks of fruit and berries.  
• Depending on the seasons - they may be a cheaper alternative to getting fresh produce.
• Don't hate yourself or others for going the slightly easier route.  It's your/their budget and perhaps it's just easier.  Whether you have kids or not or you're swamped with work - cut a bag open and toss it in the blender. Any extra unused frozen fruit or berries can be tossed back in the freezer for later.
• Honey or agave syrup: agave is lovely and great for those that are vegan.
• Fresh fruit: I always have bananas on hand because if they don't get eaten - they go into a smoothie or banana bread.
• I also have a bag of avocados as part of my weekly grocery list.  They're kind of pricey but once they begin to soften after a couple days at room temperature - I put the whole bag in the fridge and take them out when I need them.  They last so much longer this way!
• Citrus fruit
• Fresh veggies: I prefer juicing the veggies (like root veggies) because they're so hard to process in a blender but something like spinach could be handy.
• Yogurt: whether you go natural, low-fat, regular-fat, Greek, Turkish, frozen, vegan-friendly or already flavoured - yogurt adds that extra oomph to make an awesome smoothie.
• Toasted coconut: I recently made some of Chrissy Teigen's coconut rice and had a bunch of toasted shredded coconut leftover - so I just keep it in a jar and sprinkle it in/on top for the sake of a decent Instagram photo. And it tastes yummy - obviously.
• Spices/other: protein powder, cinnamon or nutmeg, cocoa powder, vanilla, mint leaves, lemongrass, wheat grass
• Liquid: Whether it be juice, crushed ice, milk (cow, goat, lactose-free, chocolate, oat, rice or some kind of nut milk) - this will help everything go smoothly and especially when working with frozen fruits - you'll need liquid to prevent your blender from going into overdrive and possibly burning itself out.

Put together in a blender with the lid on - being sure not to overflow it and blend away until smooth and your preferred consistency.

Enjoy cold and refrigerate whatever isn't consumed for later.

Bottoms up and enjoy!

XO,
Dominique