Apple Blueberry Awesomeness

I don't know if you remember, but last summer I spent a great deal of time making smoothies. I suppose I could've continued to make smoothies through winter, but it seems like such a summery/nice weather thing. Cole was pretty excited when he noticed that I was busting out our blender, I was pretty excited too!

Earlier this week I was cleaning out my freezer when I saw a bag of frozen apples that I completely forgot I had frozen. Since they last about 6-9 months in the freezer, a quick calculation (yes, I used my fingers to count out the months), told me that I need to use these apples up soon.

Using a handful of apples, blueberries, and spinach (all of which are frozen), as well as a fair amount of white cranberry and strawberry juice, we now have a new favorite smoothie at our house. I've also used apple juice in place of the white cranberry and strawberry juice, and it is equally as tasty. If it's a little too watered down for my taste, I'll throw in a few ice cubes to thicken it up.

 Cole didn't want to wait for me to take the pictures, he wanted his smoothie, and he wanted it now!

 Good to know smoothies make my kid sit still, at least for a few minutes.

 We decided to enjoy our smoothies outside. If you direct your attention to the previous 2 photos, you'll notice Cole's cup has a yellow straw. He decided his smoothie was getting low, so he traded and drank mine. It's a good thing I love him.

Photo Friday the 13th!

Day 7: Christmas Tree. Originally, I had hoped to get a picture of Cole's silhouette, but my boy was just too wiggly for it, so we'll stick with a regular old Christmas tree shot!

Day 8: Something cold. I love and hate when I wake up to a chilly house. I love bundling up and being cozy, but those first few steps on the chilly tile floor, are not my favorite. Cold toes are the worst when you don't have a husband to sit on them to warm them up. That's true love folks!

Day 9: Baking. I love baking around Christmas. These great cookies came out of an unfortunate attempt to make spritz cookies. Word to the wise: buy a metal cookie press, the plastic ones are worthless. Recipe below.

Day 10: Underneath. Her new favorite place to hang out. 

Day 11: Holiday drink. When we moved to Germany, we were introduced to Gluhwein. Our first Christmas here, I was unable to partake because I was pregnant, but last Christmas I finally got to give this wonderful beverage a try. It's especially tasty when your checking out a Christmas market! Another recipe to check out below!

Day 12: Joy. One of my favorite things about Christmas is receiving holiday-scented soaps from my mom! Cole decided he didn't like the way I had them arranged...his way looks better.

Day 13: Handwriting. Every year I could always count on getting a Christmas card from my Grandma. This will be the first year I won't be receiving one from her. I'm so happy I'm a hoarder and keep old cards. Merry Christmas Grandma, I miss you terribly.

I made this dairy-free by using vegan butter.

You can use the same ingredients to make spritz cookies if you have a cookie press that won't break at your first attempt to use it. Just reduce the cooking time to 5 or 6 minutes.

I used a Pinot Noir. I've heard that you can substitute grape juice for the red wine if you're wanting an unleaded version, but I've never tried it so I can't tell you if it's good or not. I found this recipe on Food.com.

Cold drinks and vintage books

How absolutely amazing does this book look?! My mother and father in-law sent us this cute book, and I'm in love with it. 1. it's practical to our situation (you know, the whole living in Germany thing) 2. it's an old library book and smells like an old library book, which makes me adore it just a little more 3. it's a children's book, and who doesn't love vintage children's books?! 4. does anyone else look at the author and think Dr. Sheldon?! I totally do! Thank you Jerry and Gina, I think this is one of my favorite care package gifts we've received! 

I think from now on I'm going to give my drinks crazy names, I'm tired of always writing smoothie. This beverage I created will be called:

The Calm Before the Storm
Ingredients:
Raspberries
Pineapple
Mango
Apple Juice

Blend them all together until smooth. Be generous with the pineapple, it makes all the difference in the world.

I'm calling this drink The Calm Before the Storm because it was hot yesterday, I made this groovy concoction and today we are experiencing the best rain so far! Please Germany friends, make this drink, we need all the rain and coolness we can get!

Trying something new on the blog

For a while now, I have been wanting to do a new series on my blog of things I've been "loving lately." I think sometimes it's nice just to take a step back and enjoy the little things, and maybe share a few of them. Hopefully I'll be able to make this a Monday thing, because let's face it, Monday's could use a little love. Plus, I like lists.

 Loving lately:

• It may be hot (and we don't have air conditioning) but I love looking outside and seeing the beautiful blue sky. It's so cloudy here, I just need to remember in a few months I'll be craving this sunlight.
• Josh surprised me with a new water bottle and it's amazing! It keeps my water cold all day! Another bonus of this water bottle: I feel like I've been drinking a lot more water with it! 
• Even though it's summer, I still have to have my coffee, and it tastes even better when Cole is down for a nap. Strange coincidence right?
• Nessa has been through so much with me. She's finally starting to warm up to Cole, I think they'll be best friends soon enough!
• With all of my furniture rearranging, I felt like my bathroom decor needed a makeover as well. I looked countless times online for the perfect shower curtain, and I couldn't find one that I knew I wouldn't get sick of in a month. When Josh and I went to the BX the other day, it kind of hit me that the reason all those other curtains didn't work was because they were too busy. I like things simple, what's more simple than a white shower curtain?! I paired it with some pink and white towels we had in storage. 
• Because of the weather, I made myself a temporary blogging cubicle. Also, my desk is super tiny, so it's fun to stretch out a little!
• The Euro store (aka Kik) provided us with more amazing finds! We got an indoor bocce ball set. I can't wait to use it on a rainy or snowy day when we're stuck inside. We also bought 3 new canvas photos for our living room, a Coleden-sized chair, and a swing. All that for less than 40 Euro!
• Smoothies*. I promised I'd post more drink recipes, and that turned into smoothie recipes. I don't mind, do you?!

*Blueberry, Strawberry, Spinach, and Pineapple Smoothie
Ingredients:
applejuice
1/2 cup blueberries
3/4 cup strawberries
3/4 cup spinach
3/4 cup pineapple
honey (optional)

I'm guessing on the amounts. I just tossed in handfuls of everything. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Red, White, and Blue Smoothie

If you haven't noticed by last couple of posts, we like strawberries and blueberries in this house. A lot. I like getting to try new combinations. In my last post, I shared my favorite summer drink, it's pretty safe to say that this is Cole's favorite summer drink (minus the whipped cream).

Ingredients:
blueberries
strawberries
apple juice
honey, optional
whipped cream, optional

Blend blueberries, strawberries and apple juice until smooth. I used frozen for this smoothie, so I wouldn't need ice, and it helped to keep it from tasting watered down. Depending on your berries, you may need a little honey to sweeten it up. I was feeling a little fancy and wanted my smoothie to have a Starbucks or Scooters feel, so I added a little whipped cream to the top of my smoothie. I now have my red, white and blue! A great drink we enjoyed on the Fourth!

Strawberry Limeade Slushie

I found this drink on Pinterest a while back and have been itching to try it. I wish I would have made it sooner. Oh. Golly. Josh tried it and thought it was a bit tart, but I completely disagree, it's tangy and fizzy and just plain wonderful!

Ingredients
1 can frozen limeade
1-2 cups frozen strawberries
1/2 can of lemon lime soda
-the pin suggests the pulp of 2 limes, I didn't have any limes so I just skipped this one

Blend it, pour it, enjoy it! My new favorite summertime drink!

Strawberry, Kiwi, and Mango Smoothie

First of all, sorry it took me so long to post this drink. I feel like a recipe hoarder. This last week has been so hot, I couldn't face coming upstairs to grab a pen, let alone trying to sit a spell to blog. We have finally cooled off a bit-thank goodness, and I am typing as fast as my fingers will allow me!

Last weekend, Josh and I made our way to the commissary to use up the last of my WIC checks. In case you aren't familiar, I would receive 3 checks each month. Two of my checks are for milk, eggs, brown rice, juice, that sort of thing. The last check is my favorite. I get $10 worth of fresh produce! That's where we got those giant strawberries!

Remember a week ago, I said I wanted to try adding more drink recipes to the mix? This smoothie is in the mix. Oh man, is it in the mix! It's a great summer drink, completely refreshing, please, please try this, you won't regret it!

Ingredients:
1 cup sliced strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 kiwi
1/2-3/4 cup cubed mango
1/4 cup apple juice
ice
sugar-optional

In a blender, combine the fruit and juice until smooth. Add in desired amount of ice (I like plenty of ice, so I added about 8 cubes, I think). At this point, I poured a small cup for Cole and he sucked down half of it before I finished making mine! It's safe to say, my kid is a smoothie (and fruit) freak! I added a scant tablespoon of sugar. Voila, your done! For a little extra zip, maybe try adding coconut or pineapple rum!

Strawberry Daiquiri Mocktail

This is one of my favorite drinks of all time! It's delicious, and sometimes its nice to have a fruity drink with no alcohol, however, feel free to add liquor if you so choose! I've only ever used a Magic Bullet cup for this drink, just so you know!
Ingredients
1/4-1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2-3/4 cup ice
2 tablespoons sugar
Dash of lime juice
Directions
Combine ingredients in Bullet fill cup half way with water and blend until desired consistency!

Mocha Frappe

Yield: 4 drinks

Ingredients

For the Coffee Ice:

3 tablespoons sugar

2 cups warm strong coffee

For the Frappes:

1 cup reduced-fat milk

whipped cream, for topping

Chocolate syrup

Directions

Make the coffee ice: (or just chill coffee in refrigerator) pour into 16-cube ice-cube tray and freeze about 3 hours

Make the frappes: Puree 8 coffee cubes, 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 to 1/2 cup chocolate syrup and 1 cup plain ice (about 8 more cubes) in a blender until smooth.

Pour yourself a glass and top with whipped cream and more chocolate syrup! 

Source: Food Network Magazine