Do What You Gotta Do

This morning's smoothie was a whole banana, 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries, two generous handfuls of spinach, 2 Tbls of coconut butter, and 1 cup of almond milk.

After making a whole bunch of dishes while preparing some meals for the week, I didn't feel like making another dish. I was *this close* to drinking straight out of the pitcher.

Fine.

I tried drinking out of the pitcher but the straw was too short.

So I found the next best thing: a measuring glass that was already "dirty" from making almond milk.

I choose to think of drinking out of the measuring glass as resourceful, not lazy.

If I was truly lazy, I wouldn't have taken the time to add a straw.

Clearly, adding a neon green straw takes the classiness up a notch.

Mark my words: drinking out of the measuring cup will soon be the new mason jar.

The Green Smoothie

"Blech," my mother said as she looked at me with her nose scrunched up. "Guess that's what you're having breakfast, hmmm?"

"Aaaaahhh," I said as I took a swig of my green smoothie. "It's so creamy and sweet. I can feel the vitamins and nutrients making the cells in my body spring to life!"

She rolled her eyes, grabbed her high fiber cereal topped with strawberries and left me to my mess.

I didn't used to be a smoothie girl, but since I've decided to make organic vegetables and fruits my primary source of food, I've jumped on the green smoothie bandwagon.

I like to use 2 cups of spinach as the base. Spinach is high in Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, manganese, iron, zinc, and so much more. Occasionally I'll use a combination of spinach and kale or just kale, but I really prefer spinach because the kale can taste bitter. To me, the spinach has no flavor in the smoothie.

Once I've got my spinach set, I'll add half a banana or avocado to make it creamy; 1/2 cup of frozen fruit to make it cold; some water, coconut milk, or almond milk to thin it out; and then I might add in some flax seeds for additional omega 3's and fiber. I will sometimes add in a tablespoon of a nut butter to make it extra satiating if I know I'm not going to be able to eat lunch at my usual time.

I know it looks weird. It's so...so... green. But I promise - all you will taste is the fruit and their sweetness.

Do you have smoothies for breakfast? What do you typically put in your smoothie? I'm looking to try something new - non-dairy - and would love to hear your suggestions.

Gnocchi with Baby Bella Mushrooms & Spinach in a White Wine Cream Sauce

Just a little something I threw together for dinner! 

Ingredients
1 17oz container of shelf stable whole wheat gnocchi
10oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 16oz bag frozen cut leaf spinach
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3Tbls butter, divided
2 Tbls butter
2 Tbls whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1/2 cup white wine
1 Tbls reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded 4 cheese blend cheese
1/4tsp nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste


Directions
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.

While waiting for water to boil, in a large saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. Saute mushrooms until soft and begin to brown. Add in frozen chopped spinach and cook until spinach is thawed and liquid dries. Add garlic; stir until garlic is fragrant. Set mixture aside.

The water should be boiling by now. Pour in the gnocchi and cook according to package instructions. Drain.

In the same saucepan that you cooked the mushrooms/spinach in, lower the heat to medium and melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour and keep stirring until the flour is cooked. Pour in milk and wine and stir constantly for two minutes until it starts to thicken. Stir in cream cheese, shredded cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Keep stirring until thick. Add mushroom/spinach mixture back in and stir to combine. Stir in drained gnocchi and serve.