Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Dream Smoothie

Happy New Year 2013! 

So - how many of you are back on a regimented eating plan? I know we are in this house. I generally plan to overindulge at the holidays and know full well that I will pack on a few extra pounds and I don't get on myself about it. It's not great but I also don't regret it. This is why my blog has been silent all the month of December... I was so busy baking and eating that I didn't even get time to post my delicious recipes of cookies and cakes! I love food and all of life will constantly be a plan of moderation and swinging scales, so a couple months out of the year is not going to be detrimental to me personally.  Having said that, January 1st we launched with full dedication back into our low glycemic food plan.

This smoothie recipe has been our daily morning breakfast for almost a year. Yes, we like it that much that we still look forward to it. Coming from the book " The Metabolism Boosting Diet" by Dr. Joey Shulman, the plan is based on foods that do not spike blood glucose, take time for the body to absorb, which in turn provides longer satiety, reducing the feelings of hunger which can lead to mindless snacking to satisfy immediate cravings. She offers four different smoothies, but we have managed to stay stuck on this one.

Recipe

1/2 frozen banana

1 scoop chocolate whey protein isolate powder

1 tbsp (15 ml) natural peanut butter

1 tsp (5 ml) cocoa powder (optional)

1 cup (250 ml) unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Handful of crushed ice

Instructions

Blend all ingredients together, pour into a glass and enjoy

Per Serving

296 calories, 12.5g total fat, 27g carbohydrates, 22g protein, 4.5g fivre, 13g sugar

Crystal's Notes

• We use EAS Whey. After tasting several different powders, this was our personal preference for taste.
• We accidentally ordered the Vanilla powder last time but with the added cocoa powder, it's hardly noticeable.
• I also recommend Healthy Planet whey protein powders. This is a line from Fabio (you know, long flowing blonde hair). A lot of care and commitment goes into using high quality products that are beneficial to the body.
• Remember that with these powders, sometimes you get what you pay for. You can gain a great source of vitamins and supplements from these as a bonus and with high quality ingredients can come a higher price tag, but remember that your health is worth it.

•  We buy bunches of bananas in advance and peel, split them in half, baggie them, and stick them in freezer. Since this is a daily plan for us it makes the AM process go faster when we can grab and go.
• We have used "all natural PB" from Whole Foods where you can churn it up yourself. I don't find it as tasteful as the other all natural peanut butters that are pre-made in a jar that you have to mix up with the oil. This will be a personal preference, just watch the sugar count.
• Calories will not be exact. Not all powders will be the same, banana size will vary, and PB may have slight difference. However, it should be pretty close.
• We add a tablespoon per serving of ground flaxseed.

~ Wishing everyone a healthy and prosperous  2013 ~

Enjoy!

HSVC: Be Kind to Animals Day

The Humane Society of Ventura County, located in Ojai CA,  hosted an event this weekend; Be Kind to Animals Day. Yet another effort on their part to educate and bring awareness to the local population about different types of animals, their needs, their personality types, and how we can better interact with them. However, this concept really does not apply to just animals we domesticate for our companionship and pleasure. We should all be mindful of what animals all over this world experience, what they are killed for, how they are used for testing, how we directly and indirectly impact their lives, and various other things that maybe we wouldn't normally think about. In other words, a good day to be kind to your fellow earthlings. Animals share this world with us and are deserving of our respect.

The event had everything from tree frogs and rabbits to snakes and skinks  accompanied by artwork made by kids from one of the local elementary schools. There were educators on hand to teach about the animals and kids got to touch and hold the animals while they learned. It was a lot of fun and I mostly enjoyed watching the kids learn about the reptiles as they carefully and cautiously considered whether or not they should touch the corn snake :) .

Nala and Bowman

Gilbert

Once again, I baked for the event as volunteers were needed to bring finger foods...and as usual  I reached out to my Bestie for ideas. She had a response for me within minutes and one of the first suggestions included the words "Peanut Butter and Jelly" and I had my first item.  As she has also been on a quest to find the best Chocolate Chip cookies, her other suggestion contained a link for some and I thought it would be a great time to try it out...and glad I did.

Decisions...Decisions..

 I hadn't really given any considerable thought to the potential stickiness of the situation (jelly + handling animals = eww) but it actually turned out fine and the treats were so delicious, that even I frequented the snack table :( perhaps more than I should have. Oh Well!

 

These were super delicious and I highly recommend them. The challenges I had (with this being my first time making this recipe) came first with the dough, which was the bottom of the dessert, and mine shrunk during baking and no longer filled the complete bottom of the dish/pan. This was challenging when it came time to add the layer of peanut butter which clearly then extended over the edge of the dough foundation. The instructions called to cut off excess and have it be just edge to edge and not let it go up the sides. I say-leave the extra cause it will shrink as it bakes. 

Also, for the crumble, I added a full stick of butter rather than the suggested 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) as it needed more binding power (flour to butter ratio).

 

 I did one pan of strawberry and peanut butter and one pan of mixed berry and peanut butter. Both were amazing. For the recipe, go to The Brown Eyed Baker.

Now for the cookies! YEA! This truly is an awesome recipe and while some of the cookies look not so pretty, they taste AWESOME! Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I personally like the appearance of these with the texture of the dough and lumpiness of the chips underneath. I use Ghiradelli chips which are much bigger than say Toll-House chips. I modified the recipe and went with milk chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.

 

 For the recipe, go to: Savory Sweet Life

The day was a success and the event which was scheduled from 11 - 3 was still busy with people up till the end. I was impressed that upon arrival there was such a long line for the spay/neuter clinic and more impressed how many people turned out to support the Be Kind to Animals event.  The kids were excited, they participated, and I think everyone learned something they didn't know before. Here are some additional pictures from the event. Be well, take care, and support your local animal shelters- especially the NO-Kill ones :)

Spay and Neuter clinic

About our visitors

Bowman

Artwork from local elementary school kids

Snakes and Skinks artwork

FOTM & HSVC collaboration

Artwork from local elementary school kids

Educator Aimee French with Noodle, the corn snake

Buckeyes

In this Club Baked post: Buckeyes - a yummy peanut butter, chocolate candy

Baked Explorations Baking Book

Who knew there was so much history and information attached to this delightful candy?

I guess what I should say is- Who knew a nut could be so popular! The truth is that the buckeye nut from the genus Aesculus, a woody tree and shrub native to the northern hemisphere, has a ton of fans...literally.

If you are in Ohio, where these trees are common, you are likely a Buckeyes football fan. If you are in Europe, where the buckeye is known as the 'Conker' (from the Linnaeus species) then maybe you play Conker, a game whereby people try to crack and break the opponents conker, or as we know it, the buckeye.

In doing this blog I have even come to even see buckeye jewelry (really)! For those of you who don't know (or didn't) this is what the buckeye nut looks like:

buckeye nuts

I had done a different version of Buckeyes a year ago and I found them challenging to make especially since at that time I was trying to get a perfect circle on top, which is funny, since not all Buckeye nuts have a perfect circle. The advice I had read in coating the peanut butter ball was to insert a toothpick into the peanut butter ball and dip the ball into the chocolate. Not only was this ineffective (since as my pb ball got warm, it would slide off the toothpick) but once you are done coating the peanut butter ball and remove the toothpick, you are left with an uncomfortably awkward looking candy that has a hole in the center. And then if you try to fill or smooth over the peanut butter hole, it can look messy. Not the sort of candy I feel good about putting out.

So this time I just dropped it in the melted chocolate and moved it around until I got chocolate on it in the way I liked and I lifted out with a fork, tapping gently up and down against the double boiler letting the excess chocolate drop through the fork and back into the bowl.

I was much happier this time around and although it was only my second attempt, I was pleased and was happy to gift them to folks.

Unfortunately, as I have done lately, I get these recipes done so late that all the daylight is gone and I have to take the pictures at night. The lighting is not so great but still a decent representation.

This recipe is hosted by our fabulous Club Leader, Karen, of Karen's Cookies, Cakes & More. Please visit her site for the recipe of this simple & delicious candy.

Club Baked- December 1st
Almond Joy Tart