The First Green Smoothie That Didn't Make Me Gag

I know it's not the most attractive title, but it's true. Not only did it NOT send me running for the kitchen sink, I actually enjoyed it. I consider myself a fairly healthy person. I eat at least 4 fruits and vegetables daily, I drink almost a gallon of water, about 80% of my grains are whole, and we rarely eat processed food. I make my own bread twice a week, jam, ice cream, almond milk, and chocolate sauce, among other things.

We have a juicer, but throwing away all the fiber killed me. So we got a NutriBullet. Oh my gosh, I love this thing. Toss in fruits and veggies whole and it completely liquifies everything. Perfect! Now, I'll admit that I dumped a bunch of different green smoothies down the drain before finally conceding and just making all fruit ones. But I was determined to turn it all around and I recently accepted Desiree's 30-Day Love Your Greens Challenge from Unconventional Kitchen.

2-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream (no ice cream maker required!)

Come here, I want to tell you a secret. Closer... closer... that's close enough. Ready?

I hate bananas. I know, I know, you're so used to me telling you how much I love everything, but I really hate bananas. Totally despise the things. Really, really can't stand them. At all. I like banana flavored stuff - banana milkshakes, banana taffy, banana bread, banana pudding. But I absolutely, positively do not like plain bananas in their natural state. 

Whew. I feel better.

Now that we got that out of the way, I LOVE this. The baby loves this. Soon, you will love this.

Cinnamon Sauteed Bananas

Andrew is not a banana fan. He uses them in his green smoothies to make everything creamy, and he likes banana bread, but other than that, not so much. But, he said that if he HAD to eat bananas, this is how he would want them. Not the most eloquent compliment, but I'll take it.

Banana Nut Bread Muffins (aka The 3 Banana Tragedy)




This recipe was born the same way most banana recipes are born in my kitchen - by three bananas that were ready to kick the bucket. I'm not sure why, but no matter how many (or few!) bananas I buy, there always ends up being three left on my counter.

Every. Single. Time.



Flourless Banana Cookies




Every year for Christmas, I bake cookies for my family. They each get their own little tin filled with several varieties. Some classics, some new and different. This year, one of my sisters asked me for a banana cookie.

Surprise Banana Muffins

  

Picky eaters in your house? These are perfect! I love that they have fruits and veggies in them. I am also dabbling in a gluten-reduction thing this week, so I used brown rice flour, but feel free to use whole wheat or all-purpose. You can freeze them (if they last that long) and use them for quick breakfasts or pack them with lunches. Your kids will think they are getting a special treat, and you'll know they are getting fruit and veggie goodness with every bite.

Frozen PB&J Banana Bites



We used grape jelly, which turned the PB&J part a very deep color.


I bought a big bunch of bananas last week for my daily Banana-Berry Smoothies and Peaches and Cream Smoothies. Unfortunately, I ended up in the hospital for a few days and when I came home, a sad set of bananas were waiting for me on the counter. I had to do something pronto. Since my son loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I thought I'd give this a try. They are awesome! The bananas are so creamy because they are frozen and the peanut butter gives a nice little hit of protein. You could also skip the jelly and just do PB bites, or skip that too and use Nutella. Mmmm, Nutella...

Peaches and Cream Smoothie

I have been loving my Banana Berry Smoothies, but today I wanted something different. A quick search in the freezer turned up a bag of peaches hiding behind the berry blend, so I whipped this up.

Banana Berry Smoothie

I seem to have a new food obsession every few days. I eat something every day (or a couple times a day) until I find something new to drool over. Last week it was mini Triscuits and Garlic and Herb Boursin cheese. This week's fave? Banana Berry Smoothies. I can't get enough! The funny thing is I hate bananas, but the berries make it so worth it.