As if living in California and making my own granola (There's a Hidden Tree Hugger in All of Us ) was not stereotypical enough , I have succumbed to the hippie powers that be and jumped onto the hemp bandwagon. Haven't you heard? Seeds are the new nuts. With 9 g protein, 500 mg of omega 3, 11 g fiber, and 19 essential amino acids (okay I'll stop there), I figured it was worth a shot (now there's an idea....). I bought an organic vanilla flavored hemp protein powder and tried it in a smoothie this morning for breakfast. As a sidebar, I love smoothies because you can go wild and put just about anything healthy in it and the sweetness of the fruits mask the flavor of whatever else you throw in there. I've "hidden" kale, spinach, my left shoe... and it's my little secret. It is a great way to get some greens into your finicky kid/husband. This a.m. I concocted the following:
Ingredients:
Half a bag of Frozen Very Cherry blend of berries from Trader Joes
Trader's Organic Hemp Protein Powder (vanilla)- 4 tablespoons
6 fresh strawberries
1/2-3/4 cup frozen wild blueberries
1 banana
Organic Vanilla Rice Milk (only because I was out of coconut milk which I love in smoothies- but it turned out good)
Blend all together adding more rice or coconut milk or fruit to desired consistency and finish with a cute straw!
Here are a couple of other favorite fruit combos:
mango and banana (especially when made with coconut milk)
strawberry, banana and orange juice
Channel your inner chemist and let me know your favorite smoothie combinations by leaving a comment below!
I am seriously going to have to stop buying Trader Joe's Cookie Butter. Ever since I first tried it, I have been dying to experiment with it. A new favorite snack of my four year old is dipping apple slices into cookie butter (it is really good and you feel a little less mom guilt since they are also eating fruit :).
Today, I was craving something sweet and made
Cookie Butter Almost S'more
Ingredients:
Cookie Butter (does contain wheat and soy)
Graham crackers
Non-dairy chocolate chips (I love the Enjoy Life brand, which are dairy, nut and soy free)
Directions:
Spread the cookie butter on a graham cracker. Top with Enjoy Life mini chips. It was great cold, but also super yummy zapped in the microwave.
I'd bet some marshmallow or banana on top would be yummy, too!
