smoothie queen :-)

i love smoothies. they are awesome for a quick breakfast to drink on the way to class, and they are a great nighttime study snack that is filling and sweet, but that doesn't have me crying for the gym. most smoothie recipes i have seen include more ingredients than needed to make for very complicated concoctions. so, here is a better way to make smoothies-- with less ingredients and with stuff you already have!

the secret: use flavored yogurt as one of your ingredients, rather than non-flavored yogurt and other sweeteners and fruits. flavored yogurt already has the fruit in it, as well as the sweetener. just don't go for the yogurts with tons of sugar in them, it defeats the purpose of this being healthy!

ingredients:

6 oz strawberry yogurt (dannon light and fit brand has the larger serving size yogurt (6 oz)-- it is the equivalent of 3/4 cup if you are using yogurt from a large container)

1 large banana

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

2 cups ice


steps:

1. Peel banana, spoon yogurt, and add blueberries to a blender
2. Add 2 cups ice and blend until smooth
3. If you like the smoothie thicker, add more ice (a few cubes at a time) and blend. If you like the smoothie more liquid-y, start with only 1 cup of ice and then add more ice (a few cubes at a time) if needed until you reach the consistency you like.


other combination ideas: (all with 2 cups ice)

- 6 oz strawberry yogurt, 1 large banana
- 6 oz blueberry yogurt, 1/4 cup raspberries, 1/4 cup strawberries
- 6 oz blueberry yogurt, 1/4 cup pineapple chunks, 1 large banana
- 6 oz peach yogurt, 1/4 cup strawberries
- 6 oz peach yogurt, 1/4 cup strawberries, 1 large banana
- To any of these combinations, you can try adding 1/4 cup orange juice or 1/4 cup apple juice or 1/4 cup pineapple juice to add some flavor! (For example, strawberry yogurt, banana, and orange juice is a good mix!)

*Hint: I don't recommend using banana flavored yogurt; it tends to be more tart than an actual banana. I would always recommend using real banana for that ingredient!!

*Don't be afraid to try different mixes of fruit! If you have ever had fruit salad, you know that you really can't go wrong with any different combination of fruit!!!

trail-mix clusters

have you even been studying or busy working on homework and then realized too late that you promised to take a dessert to a mixer, a club meeting, or another function? well, i have! and whenever i have that "oh crap! i was supposed to do that!" realization, i reach for these little gems. they take no time to make and people freak out over them!

here's what you do... now you can make 'em fast and get back to cramming for finals, and everyone is going to wonder how you can take a 17 hour course load and still manage to be super involved :-)

Ingredients:*

1/2 a package of milk chocolate almond bark (it comes in large bricks; half the package will be about 6 squares)

1/2 bag mini marshmallows

1/2 jar dry roasted peanuts (unsalted)

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup thin pretzel sticks, broken up into pieces (halves or thirds)


Steps:

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in a microwavable bowl according to package instructions**

2. Add the peanuts, raisins, and pretzels, and stir

3. Add the marshmallows and stir until everything is coated in chocolate (add the marshmallows last so the heat of the chocolate will not melt them)

4. Drop the clusters by the spoonful onto wax paper (you can make these as small or large as you want)

5. Let them cool (about 20 minutes) and then enjoy!

* The combination of ingredients in this recipe is definitely interchangeable; everything is good dipped in chocolate!
Some Ideas of ingredients you could use instead of the ones listed:
- dried fruit and peanuts into the chocolate
- banana chips, pretzel thins and marshmallows into the chocolate
- chocolate covered raisins and peanuts into white chocolate almond bark

** You have to work fast with the melted chocolate, because it will harden back up quickly! it might be a good idea to pre-measure the ingredients together in a smaller bowl so you can dump them in at one time. However, it is definitely doable to add the ingredients individually after the chocolate is melted, just pick up the pace!

Time Breakdown:
-Melting the chocolate: 45 seconds- 1 minute
- Adding the ingredients/ stirring: 30 seconds
- Dropping the clusters onto wax paper: 2-3 minutes