Green Breakfast Smoothie + Menu Plan

Back in July I got into juicing and making my own smoothies. I think I have tried just about every combination of fruit and veggies imaginable! Some I really like, some the kids will tolerate and others were a "well obviously these fruits don't mix well with these vegetables." It's truly been a trial and error all summer! 

However for the past 9 weeks now, I get up every morning, grab some coffee and get to work making this smoothie. It's a good start to the morning and depending on how ripe your fruit is, it can be rather sour (which may help to wake you up!) or it can be really sweet. In the case that it's too sweet, I either cut back on the over-ripe fruit or I'll add grapefruit juice to mine. I've also recently become a big fan of flavored green tea, so I'll add a glass of it to each smoothie or juice that I make. I love Lipton's Green Tea Superfruit brands, the Dragon Fruit Melon and Blackberry Pomegranate are my two favorites! 

Pineapple Orange Spinach smoothie 

makes 2 large servings

- 2 handfuls of spinach or about 2 1/2 cups 

- 1 handful of kale or about 1 1/4 cups

- 2 oranges, juiced (set juice aside) 

- 1 cup pineapple chunks

- 1 small mango peeled or 1/2 of a large mango (peeled) 

- 2 sprigs of mint leaves

- 1/4 of a carton of wheat grass or about a 1/4 cup

- 12 oz. of cold green tea or water

- grapefruit juice (optional) *** make sure that grapefruit won't interact with any medications you are taking beforehand ***

Directions

Add all ingredients into the blender, leaving out the orange juice. I have a smoothie setting on my blender, but you'll just want to blend everything until it is smooth. Once your smoothie is... smooth (no chunks left behind!) pour in the orange juice (and grapefruit juice if using) and stir to blend. I pour mine over ice in a very large glass add a straw and enjoy! 

I've made a few variations of this smoothie like using a 1/2 head of romaine lettuce to replace the kale and spinach, or replacing the pineapple with peeled guavas. You could also add ground flax seeds or ground chia seeds to this smoothie too! This is now Peter's favorite drink in the morning, it grows on you after awhile. :) 

Here's what I have planned so far for dinner this week! I love making these menus,  I've always found that it's helpful to plan out everything I want to make for the week, and I'm nosy and like to check out what other people are eating too! :) 

Monday
Minestrone Soup, wheat rolls

Tuesday
Pulled Pork tacos with shredded cabbage and mango-avocado salsa, Honeydew

Wednesday
Honey Sesame Chicken Thighs (slow-cooked) coconut brown rice, sauteed green peas and green beans (grilled tofu for me) 

Thursday 
Grilled garlic butter Salmon, Pinenut Couscous, Roasted Strawberry Spinach salad 

Friday
Broccoli Cheddar Carrot Soup, Grilled Ham and Swiss cheese on Wheat Rolls

Saturday
Southwest bbq salad with grilled shrimp (tomato, avocado, black beans, corn, cilantro, green onion, red onion, with a Bbq ranch yogurt dressing) watermelon 

Sunday 
Grandma's Sopes (and lots of leftovers!) 

Breakfast ideas
pumpkin butter (for lattes and oatmeal) 
pumpkin pie oatmeal 
zucchini-carrot-wheat coffee cake muffins
Turkey mushroom breakfast burritos 
Pineapple Orange Spinach smoothie 


Hope your week gets off to a wonderful start! 
xo ~ Tara

Tuesday Menu plan 7-2

I've been doing a little menu planning for while we're away but also to finish out the week here. I love summer cooking, everything is so light and fresh and grocery stores are filled with the scents of strawberries and nectarines. What's not to love! So here's this weeks menu, and next week I really want to add a few extra fruit inspired recipes - I'm thinking peaches will be the star of next weeks menu! (ohh, wouldn't that be fun to choose one fruit or vegetable for the week, and to try and use it in different ways!) 

Tuesday:

Spinach Quiche

Turkey Sausage 

Berry Muffins 

Watermelon

Wednesday:

Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Butter

Roasted Cauliflower

Garden Salad

Thursday:

Slow cooked Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Coleslaw 

Watermelon

Baked Beans

Friday: 

Turkey Enchiladas 

Avocado & Roasted Corn Salad with honey-lime dressing

Honeydew and Nectarines

Saturday and Sunday are still in the works, but I know I want to visit a local Farmers Market for vegetables so maybe salads, grilled veggie sandwiches and fresh fruit desserts? Today is full of completing to-do lists and hopefully packing a little. Lot's to do today! 

Have a wonderful start to the week! 

Sweet November: Autumn Picnic

Hello! I thought for my first project for this years Sweet November week, I'd start by sharing some of the photos from that Fall picnic I packed up last weekend! Nothing says Fall to me more than enjoying lunch outside under the cover of old Elm trees while the afternoon breeze creates just enough chill in the air. With the kids running about gathering up the fallen leaves, I got to set up our first picnic in the park! Below, you'll find lots of photos, my picnic menu outline and (hopefully) some helpful tips for planning your next picnic!

picnic menu

  

turkey & cranberry sandwiches (with/ lettuce, blue cheese, and red onion)

guacamole with blue corn chips

roasted spicy pumpkin seeds

tomato and pepper soup

apples with caramel dip

black plum and mint fruit salad

apricot and strawberry jam cookies

hot apple cider

Tara's top 10 best tips for planning a picnic:

- plan your menu and then create a shopping list & head out shopping 2 days before picnic

- do all prep work the day before; like making sandwiches and preparing salads

- bring along a small cutting board and knife for cutting up fruit

- pack 2 plastic bags, 1 for garbage and 1 for dirty plates/utensils

- look for metal trays at thrift stores (I love them because they are so much sturdier than a paper plate on it's own) and a cup will easily balance on one! 

- keep soup's and drinks bubbling warm by storing them in a thermos

- use vintage linens cut into a rectangle shape with pinking shears in place of paper napkins

- I like to pack cold foods in a ice-cooler and the dry foods in the picnic basket

-   to help transport everything from car to picnic site I have a old red wagon that I like to use, it's kind of nostalgic and super cute full of picnic stuff!

- use a large plastic ziploc bag and fill with; utensils, napkins, wet hand wipes, and the 2 plastic bags

   

 

Hope you enjoyed my Autumn picnic photos, I couldn't wait to share them on the blog! It's never to late to pack up lunch and head out to your favorite park! Be sure to pop into Jessica's blog today for a couple of sweet Fall inspired recipes! 

what's for dinner!

My little guy is home sick today, so while he naps quietly on the couch it gives me a chance to play with some ideas for this week's menu outline. I'll admit after a week of being sick myself and spending much of last week in bed, I'm kind of looking forward to cooking and getting this week's menu sorted out! 

(there's nothing better than Greek yogurt and Granola for breakfast!}

Tuesday: Grilled Turkey Panni's w/ Spicy Tomato soup

Wednesday: Chicken and Vegetable Stir-fry Bowls, fruit and steamed Edamame

Thursday: Turkey Meatballs w/ Brown Rice, Sauteed Peas, salad, fruit

Friday: Fish Tacos, baked nachos, 3 bean salad, watermelon

Saturday: Breakfast Night! French Toast Skewers w/ fruit & Chicken Pineapple Sausage

Sunday: we're hosting a bbq at our house for 3 other families!

appetizers:  Pumpkin Dip w/ Apples & Gingerbread Crisps, hot Artichoke Dip w/ Pita chips, Mango Guacamole w/ tortilla chips
dinner:  Southwest Chicken Pasta Salad, Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Grilled Bratwursts, Grandmas Baked Beans, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Fruit salad, Coleslaw, mini Grilled Cheese skewers & Vegetable cups (for the kids)
dessert: Strawberry - Angel Food Cake w/ maple whipped cream
drinks: Pomegranate Orange Punch, Cucumber Strawberry Water (I'll let Peter handle the beer and wine portion ;)

So, I think that about does it... unless of course I think of something else to add to Sunday's menu! Hope you are having a wonderful start to the week!

Easter re-cap

Yesterday was so much fun and super busy all at the same time! We hosted Easter dinner at our house this year and as I went searching through my blog and Flickr for photos of past Easters, I didn't find anything! Hard to believe but I tend to be so busy on holidays that taking photos isn't even a passing thought in my mind. I need to remember to put someone in charge of taking photos at the next family get together. :)

We left out carrots for the Easter bunny but inside of leaving them outside for him, Alaina insisted that we should put them in a China dish and leave them inside "so he won't get all grossed out." She woke us up at 6am on Sunday to tell us that he ate almost all of the carrots! After excitingly tearing apart their Easter baskets (and showing the kids next door) we held our Easter Egg hunt out back. This year I decided to mix in a few plastic eggs in with the 18 eggs the kids had colored the night before. I filled some of the plastic eggs with candy, money (Chase's favorite eggs) and teeny-tiny toys. I think I'll do this again next year, it was a big hit with the kids! 

I'm also adding my menu so I have a reference for next year. I started cooking on Saturday and I try to do all of the prep-work the day before so that dinner is as effortless as possible!

 Easter menu

starters:
Hot Artichoke & Spinach Dip - baked pita chips
Apple Dip - Green Apples
Guacamole - tortilla chips
Deviled Eggs
Vegetable Platter

 dinner:
Apricot Glazed Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Sauteed Peas w/ toasted almonds
Sauteed whole Green Beans w/ garlic
Orange Mandarin Salad
Spinach Salad w/ strawberry, feta & onions
Sweet Rolls - Wheat Rolls

drinks:
infused water, lemon and cucumber w/ mint
sparkling cider
nectarine tea

dessert:
Coconut Macaroons
Mini Carrot Cakes w/ cream cheese frosting & grated carrot
Flan
Strawberry Jam cookies

*a before and after shot*

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with their families this year!

Monday Menu

it's back! I've been playing with the idea of re-introducing this series of posts and today seems like the perfect Monday!

menu 2-13 by taraanderson featuring plastic jewelry

I'll start the menu for tomorrow since dinner tonight is already over with and it wasn't exciting enough to write about anyway. :)


Tuesday: Valentines Day!!
Shrimp Fettuccine with a Parmesan Cream sauce
Garden Salad
Bruschetta on grilled Sourdough
Chocolate Strawberries & Mini Cupcakes


Wednesday:
Pork Chops w/ pan seared apples
Mashed Potatoes
Garlic Green Beans
Garden Salad

Thursday:
Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches
Broccoli Salad

Friday:
Terriyaki Chicken Thighs
Brown Rice
Peas and toasted Almonds
Garden Salad

Saturday:
French Dip Sandwiches (I make mine in the slow cooker)
Coleslaw with Blue-cheese and poppy seeds

Sunday:
Garlic Herb Strip Steak
Caprese Salad
Roasted Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes (I typically hate potatoes but I made these last month while my sister was visiting and they were, by far, the best potato I've ever had! I hate them a little less now :))

** If you plan on posting your menu somewhere please leave me a link! I love to check out what other people are planning for dinner.... yah I'm kind of nosey like that. I have a very full day planned for tomorrow: Alaina's class play and then Valentines party, Chase's class party, I need to prep everything for dinner, make the desserts, make little-tiny flags for the cupcakes and sew a bunch of garlands for the kitchen, finish a science project with A and write up a post for the Crate blog..... whew! I'm so happy I work well under pressure - I probably shouldn't leave so many things for the last minute either..... Oh well, no one is perfect.

Happy Valentines Day to everyone! Hope your day is filled with pretty flowers, yummy candy and lots of love! xo ~ T

Food talk: 7-26

Funny how Monday's seem to fly by. It's likely because our Mondays are most peoples Sunday, it's our family/errands/laundry day. So, while I would like to keep my menu's on track for posting every Monday.... it rarely happens. Tuesday is fast becoming the new Monday. :)

Menu Outline for 7-25 by TaraAnderson on Polyvore.com

Weekly Menu

Monday:
Chicken Linguine w/ Pesto
Watermelon
Garden Salad

Tuesday:
BLT Cobb Salad (w/ turkey bacon)
Grilled Naan Bread
melons with strawberry's & mint

Wednesday:
Lemon & Herb Fish Cakes
Romaine Leafs with Salad Shrimp & Avocado
Couscous
Honeydew melons

Thursday:
Grilled Strip Steak
Spinach Salad w/ strawberries, red onion, feta cheese and pan roasted sourdough croutons - poppy seed dressing
Roasted Baby Potatoes w/ herb spread

Friday:
BBQ Chicken Salad (tomato, roasted corn, avocado, black beans, grilled chicken)
Watermelon
Berry Lemonade

I haven't thought of anything yet for Saturday's dinner. Sometimes when it gets this hot out, it's hard to be interested in food and we end up eating alot of salads and sandwiches. Things that are easy and light... and generally simple. While I was in Oregon, I found some of my grandmother's & great grandmother's hand written recipes that had been saved all these years. My grandmothers family is German, so a few of the recipes were for things like Sauerkraut Cake and lots of Sourdough recipes. I'm determined to find and recreate at least one of the recipes this week. :) Wish me luck and happy start to a good week!

Monday Menu

It's been awhile without posting my weekly menu!

I actually enjoy going to the grocery store in the summer time. Not only is it about 40 degrees cooler than the blazing outside temps., now when you first walk into the store you can smell the nectarines & peaches. yummm! Plus, during summer, it's perfectly acceptable to serve salads every night of week and no one complains! So cooking during this season is super simple!

Here's this weeks menu.

Monday:
Fish Tacos
3 bean salad
watermelon

Tuesday:
Grilled Garlic Chicken
Mango Salsa
guacamole
Salad

Wednesday:
Eggplant Sandwiches
honeydew & blackberries with brown sugar lime sauce

Thursday:
Asian Beef & Vegetable Wraps
"fried" rice * I use brown rice with soy sauce to create an non-fried rice

Friday:
Terriyaki Chicken
Thai Coconut Rice with Mango's
Roasted Zucchini

Saturday: Breakfast night-
Grilled French Toast skewers
grilled white peaches with mascarpone cheese and honey
turkey bacon
eggs

Sunday:
either left-overs or Pizza

Now, time for a late night snack and some photo editing! night-night!

Monday's Menu

on a Tuesday.... because I run about a day late with everything. :) Have you ever had one of those weeks when you crave a certain fruit... or salad? Of course it would be easy to say no, I crave sour-cream & cheddar potato chips, but really, we're suppose to be healthy here. So, my answer is yes, I've been wanting nothing but nectarines, blackberries, coconut and cabbage. Luckily for me, our grocery stores have recently stocked white peaches & nectarines!! Oh joy - oh happy day!

menu - 4-11 by TaraAnderson on Polyvore.com

This weekend, I made homemade lemonade with blackberries and big sprigs of mint. Not only was it perfectly bitter-sweet it was oh-so lovely. Seriously, I'm going to make it again this week just for the photos, it's really that pretty! I also tried Coconut Gelato for the first time yesterday..... maybe my new fav. dessert.

Alright, here it is. This weeks menu for those that emailed me needing ideas this week! :))

Monday:
Chicken Salad on Wheat with avocado & romaine lettuce
Honeydew Melon & fresh berries

Tuesday:
Southwest Chicken Taco Salad
Sweet Corn Bread casserole
watermelon

Wednesday:
Swedish Turkey Meatballs
Brown Rice
Sauteed Peas & Almonds
Garden Salad

Thursday:
tBLT's (turkey-bacon) w/ turkey & avocado spread on Honey Oat bread
Cantaloupe

Friday:
Broccoli & Beef Brown Rice Bowls
Edamame Salad
Fortune Cookies

Saturday:
BBQ Chicken
Cherry tomato, roasted corn, avocado salad with green onions
fresh melons & berries
grilled white corn tortillas


I cut probably 194,568.12 pieces of vintage fabric today.... Well, maybe not quite that many but I did spend the majority of my day bundling fabrics into kits. My work table is covered with little stacks of vintage florals. It's quite the sight and I've started to realize that I may have a problem with collecting vintage linens... if there is even such a thing! I'm going back to the cutting table this evening while the house is nice and quiet. :) good-night all!

a little bit of this & a little bit of that

a glorious end to the weekend.



Alaina was on Spring Break this past week and me, well I was still in recovery mode. Recovery is such a pain, no lifting anything over 5 pounds, so that takes care of kids, little dogs, groceries... no pushing grocery carts, no exercising, and no vacuuming. I miss picking up Chase, when he sees me in the morning he'll run towards me and I'll catch him, lift him into the air and then he giggles and hugs me tight. It's so sweet and I miss my morning hug. I miss vacuuming too. I'm one of those weirdos who will vacuum a couple times a day because I like seeing the vacuum lines in the carpet. :) 5 more weeks, got to make it until then!

I've planned out my menu for the week. Has anyone out there been planning a weekly menu? Have you ran into any bumps in planning? With me, there is at least one day a week that I get stuck and cannot think of anything to make. nothing. It's usually the last day of the week and I just run out of momentum. I'm kind of thinking that maybe I should try a new recipe on the last day of each week? That might work!! So, here it is, Monday's Menu: (and it's actually being posted on a Monday this week - sometimes I surprise myself too!!)

Monday:
Organic Tomato Soup
Grilled Crab & Cheese on Wheat Sourdough (think grilled cheese, except imitation crab and jack cheese. it's a favorite of mine whenever I visit Florence Oregon and this little coastal cafe for soup and sandwiches.)

Tuesday:
Mandarin Chicken Rice bowls with peas, green onions, water chestnuts and cashews
Roasted Zucchini

Wednesday:
Fish Taco's
3 Bean Salad
Honeydew melon

Thursday:
Garlic Chicken with Farfalle Pasta
Caesar Salad
Cantaloupe

Friday:
Cobb Salad
Garlic Naan Bread
Peach, Nectarine Blueberry with mint salad

Saturday:
Grilled Petite Steaks
Caprese Salad
Honeydew melon
french bread

I spent most of the weekend working and taking breaks to play outside. It's so nice here. Warm and sunny.. I suppose that is the draw to Arizona, our weather. It's perfect picnic weather! I need to put that on the to-do list again soon because you can never have to many Spring picnics!! and I'm working on something big at the moment, I'll leave you with a sneak-peek tonight! :))



I'm calling it an semi-early night. I stayed up way too late last night watching the NatGeo channel. There was a new show-special on Egypt and I couldn't turn the tv off. Darn that channel, it gets me every time! good-night all ~

menu time

I don't know why today continues to feel like a Monday. I should have posted this yesterday but Tuesday is the new Monday in my book. :)

Menu 3/14 by TaraAnderson on Polyvore.com

Monday:
Grilled Chicken
Greek Pasta salad
fresh melons

Tuesday:
mini Grilled Pizzas
Cantaloupe

Wednesday:
7 Layer Burritos
Spanish Rice
Honey Dew melon and blueberries

Thursday:
bbq pulled Pork sandwiches (I hate this type of pork, but since I can't eat anything that day, I figured it would be perfect to make for everyone else. :))
Coleslaw

Friday:
Garden Lasagna
Italian Salad
garlic bread

Saturday:
Chicken Casserole
Salad
fresh fruit salad

Sunday:
leftovers

This week is all about ease and planning ahead. I have another surgery scheduled for Friday morning.... I know it probably sounds familiar right? At least for me anyway. I'm so over it!! I've joked with my Dr. that because this is the 3rd surgery in 10 months I've now reached my limit. So no more.

For that reason, I've put a couple of casseroles and one crock-pot meal on the menu this week. It takes me a few days to bounce back from any surgery I've ever had, so I figured I'd help Peter out and try to make enough so that he has left-overs. I plan on measuring and chopping everything prior to Friday and that way Peter can put together dinner for him and the kids. I think a good-classic casserole is Lasagna. It's such an easy dish to make and yet no one makes it the same way. Have you noticed that? Since there's not a recipe really here's a list of what's in mine:

Tara's (almost) Garden Lasagna
Italian Sausage
diced eggplant
diced zucchini
diced onions
frozen chopped spinach
chopped mushrooms
1 jar of garlic and onion spaghetti sauce
shredded mozzarella
oven ready lasagna (noodles)

If I had company, I would make my own sauce and use 2 types of meat, but Peter is pretty easy to please so I can keep it simple. I sauteed all of my vegetables together and then cook the meat separately. Once everything is cooked through, I mix the meat, vegetables and spaghetti sauce together and then start the layering process with noodles, cheese and the meat/veggie mixture. I love lasagna and it keeps well as a left over for the net day too!!

Want to share what you include in your lasagna recipe?

Picnic Sunday in the park

Sunday was the most beautiful Sunday we've had in awhile. Breezy, sunny, warm but not too warm... and just perfect for spending the afternoon in the park. We played on the slides, dug for dinosaur bones, rode the train, fed the ducks, relaxed on a vintage quilt underneath pretty shade trees and enjoyed a rather lovely early Spring day.

I love parks, especially this one, it's so-so peaceful! I almost forgot to post the Menu for this week! I couldn't find good sourdough bread last week, so my Clam Chowder had to get pushed into this week. I have a good feeling that this week, as well as next week, are going to be ever so slightly hectic, so I'm keeping my menu stress free and simple.

Tuesday:
Clam Chowder
Sourdough Bread
Salad

Wednesday:
Swedish Meatballs
Sauteed Peas w/ toasted almonds
Salad

Thursday:
Fish Taco's
fresh Melons and Mango's

Friday:
Tomato soup
Turkey & Havarti Panni's

Saturday:
Petite Steaks
Watermelon
grilled corn tortillas
Corn & Avocado Salad

I need to finish up editing some photo's this afternoon. One of my previous projects is being revived with a fresh new look and a new home!! I have to wait until the 1st to announce it but I'm super-duper excited to be working on it again!! Plus new inspiration is always a good thing in my book. Enjoy the rest of your day!

the end of a monday

I finally have a few minutes to myself tonight! I just made the most wonderful Chai coconut tea... I want to say latte but it's more like a creamy tea. It's a wonderfully perfect end to a non-stop day.

I woke up this morning with a mind full of ideas and, like almost all of my mornings, I spent it talking to a friend. A little craft pep-talk to get the day started right!! You know how most people call their mom each day, well I talk to one of 2 really good friends everyday. Every women needs a few great girlfriends to surround herself with. I'm so thankful that 3 of my girlfriends live in different time-zones!! So, no matter when I want to talk or need someone to listen to my greatest new idea, one of them is usually available! Lucky me. :)

That brings me to this weeks... make that the rest of this years mantra.

dreams by TaraAnderson on Polyvore.com

perfect right? I think so. I'm working on such a big creative-project right now and I try to spend a little of everyday working towards that dream. That would also make a great mantra: work a little each day towards your dreams.

It's Monday. This week's menu is going to look a little like last week's menu. I got sick last Monday and it lasted until yesterday. There were 2 days where I wanted nothing but Gatorade and saltine crackers. Needless to say I didn't do much cooking last week, in fact I did nada. nothing. zilch. I left it all to Peter which the kids LOVED anyway (go-figure) because they had things like pancakes and quesedillas for dinner. :) So, here's my kinda repeat menu for this week.



Monday:
Organic Tomato Soup
Turkey and Havarti Panni's

Tuesday:
Marinated Chicken Tenders, (coated in Panko Bread crumbs and baked)
Grilled Polenta with a Mushroom Ragu
Watermelon & Strawberries

Wednesday:
Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
toasted Pine Nut Couscous
Cantaloupe

Thursday:
Clam Chowder
Homemade Croutons
Garden Salad

Friday: breakfast for dinner night!
Baked French Toast Casserole
turkey sausage
fresh melons and berries
raspberry lemonade

Saturday:
Chicken Taco's
Broccoli Coleslaw
fresh fruit

I was on a phone call the other day with Chase's Dr. and I gave him a feather. This was a first for him and I've come to realize that if you give a boy a yellow feather - he'll stay entertained (and quiet) for 30 minutes. :) We have an in-home evaluation tomorrow for him. I spent a good part of my day running around the house like a crazy person, cleaning and trying to find a space for the 165,320.25 toys that are scattered through our home. It's so unnerving to know someone is coming into your home to observe you. You can't help but want everything to be perfect!




I have my fingers crossed for a low-stress day tomorrow! Oh, and one more thing!! For 2 weekends in a row now, I've been lucky enough to add 2 new Kodak cameras to my collection. Sweet!



Happy start to a good week!