EGG NOG

Delicious!

Combine and blend in small blender, such as a Ninja Fit or a Bullet:

6 Tablespoons Low Fat Milk

3 Tablespoons Egg Beaters

1 tsp. Splenda

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 squirt Fat Free Whipped cream

ITALIAN SODAS

Fill a pint container half full with ice cubes.

(Don’t overfill or there will not be enough room for 

the rest of the ingredients.)

Add:

     1 cup club soda

     3 Tbsp. half and half

     5 Tbsp. raspberry syrup*

OPTION:  Top with whipped cream and a raspberry

Stir with straw and enjoy!

*Use bottled syrups such as Torani, DaVinci, etc., 

or make your own (see my Raspberry Syrup recipe 

under Desserts/Sweets.)

*Other syrup flavorings can be used.

SMOOTHIE TIPS

                                    

  1.  DID YOU MAKE MORE SMOOTHIE
   THAN YOU CAN DRINK?  Simply 
   pour the remainder into an ice 
   cube tray and freeze.  When you 
   are ready to drink it, pull it out of 
   the freezer and put it into the 
   microwave long enough to soften 
   the cubes just a bit. Then put the 
   cubes into the blender and mix 
   it up.  If you put the cubes straight
into the blender without softening, you will need to add more liquid.

2.  VEGETABLE ADDITIONS  Vegetable can add nutrition with fewer calories than fruit.  I like to put a few slices of cooked beets into my smoothie, along with some of the juices from cooking.  It gives a nice red or purple color, depending on how much you put in.

3. FREEZING SOME OF THE FRUITS before using them in a smoothie means you can use less or no ice to make the smoothie thick.  However, there needs to be a balance.  If everything is frozen, then liquid needs to be added to make it thin enough to blend.
Bananas can be thrown into the freezer with their skins on, or they can be peeled, wrapped in plastic wrap and put into a zipper bag.  If you store them in their skin, simply put them into warm water for a minute or so, then peel. Don't leave them in too long, or they will get squishy.

4.  OVER-RIPE FRUITS are perfect to use in smoothies as firmness doesn't matter like it does when you are eating it fresh.  It is important to cut out bruises and bad spots, though.

5.  DO YOU HAVE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF THIS OR THAT FRUIT OR VEGETABLE?  Add it to a smoothie!  Leftover jello works great, too, as do juices.  

WATERMELON BANANA STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE

We had lots of leftover watermelon at our recent family reunion.  I cut it into chunks and removed the seeds, then put the chunks into a zip bag in the freezer.  Today, I decided to make a smoothie with the watermelon.  Here is how I did it:

Dissolve one 3-oz. package watermelon gelatin mix in

            1 cup very hot water
             (I even heat the water a bit on the stove 
             or in the microwave.)

Pour HALF of the gelatin mix into a blender.

Add approximately 
            2 cups frozen watermelon cubes

            2 small or 1 large banana

            1 cup strawberries 

              (just wash and remove the tops)

Blend until mixed - enjoy!

Yield:  about one quart

Refrigerate leftover gelatin and use it in your next smoothie!

ORANGE BANANA SMOOTHIE

      Yield:  Approximately 3-4 cups

1 container (approx. 10-12 oz.) of your favorite vanilla protein drink (Atkins, Slim Fast, etc.) 
     
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate (more or less to taste)
     
1 Banana

QUICK METHOD:
    
Add about 1 cup ice to blender and crush.
   
Add remaining ingredients and blend on liquefy or high for 
about 15-30 seconds until well blended.

Pour into chilled glass and enjoy!

                                 

PLAN AHEAD METHOD: 
 Pour milk and frozen orange juice concentrate into a tall 2-3 cup container and place in freezer for about 2 hours or more. (For ease of emptying into blender, the top of the container should be less wide than the top of your bender.)

Remove from freezer when ready to make smoothie and dump into blender.
     
Add banana and blend on liquefy or high until well blended.                           
Pour into chilled glass and enjoy!   

     
OPTIONS:

Omit orange juice and use chocolate protein drink or chocolate milk.

Add other fruits and/or berries.

Use Frozen Yogurt in place of protein drink.

Use regular milk (any percent of fat you like) instead of protein drink.

NOTE:  You may have noticed that the orange juice concentrate in the dish is thawed. You don't need to do that. It is just that it had thawed before I got around to taking the picture!

JUNGLE JUICE

This is my sister, Donna's recipe.

Dissolve: 1 package (6 oz.) orange jello

         in  1 cup boiling water

Add and mix until dissolved:

              2 cups cold water*

              1 can (16 oz.) orange juice concentrate

Add:       16 oz. Sprite

Yield: 1/2 gallon

 

*For cold water, place enough ice cubes or crushed ice to fill a 2-cup measuring cup, then add water to 2-cup line. 

OPTIONS:  Replace orange jello and orange juice with lime jello and limeade.

BANANA CRUSH

 From my sister, Nola.

Combine and heat in pan:

         1 cup sugar

         1 1/2 cups water

Add:   3/4 cup orange juice concentrate

         2 Tbsp. Lemon juice

         1 large banana, crushed

         1 cup pineapple juice

Freeze in ice cube trays or in thin layer in a pan.

When ready to serve, fill glasses half full with banana freeze and let soften to mush.

Add lemon-lime soda pop (Sprite, 7-up, Sierra Mist, etc.) or ginger ale to fill glasses.

NIKKI'S SMOOTH ORANGE DRINK

My daughter got this from her friend, Nikki.  It is similar in flavor to an Orange Julius. 

Combine in blender and blend on high:

      6 oz. frozen orange juice

      6 oz. cold water

      1 cup milk

      1/3-1/2 cup sugar

      1 tsp. Vanilla

      10-12 ice cubes

Options: add one banana.
             Substitute crushed strawberries for the orange juice. 
             Add more ice to make the drink thicker.
             Substitute sweetened tart cherry juice for orange juice, water and sugar. 
             For thicker drink, add more ice.

If you want to make a batch to save for later, you can blend all the ingredients except the ice cubes and store in the refrigerator.  When you are ready to serve, whisk the mix (it will separate), then place some of the mix plus the ice cubes into the blender to crush the ice, then add the rest of the mix as needed. For every cup of mix, add 4 ice cubes. If you are using bananas, put them in before adding the last of the mix.  Blend on high.



My daughter-in-law and I dried some cherries from her tree today.  The recipe said to add sugar, boil, then drain before putting the fruit onto a drying rack.  This left some delicious cherry juice.  I tried using it in place of the orange juice (12 oz. juice and don't add any additional water or sugar) and it was delicious! 

NOTE:  If your blender doesn't crush ice well, there are options. Put the ice in the blender first along with the banana, or a little orange juice, if you aren't using the banana.  Blend until the ice is crushed, then add the rest of the ingredients and proceed with the recipe.  If this still doesn't work, place the ice cubes in a heavy plastic zipper bag and smash with a hammer flat side or meat cleaver smooth side, then place in blender and proceed with directions in this paragraph.