Strawberry Orange Julius

I just made a delicious strawberry orange julius, and I thought I'd better share. 

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup non fat plain yogurt
1 cup water
1/2 cup agave (you can use sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract
6-8 strawberries
ice cubes (I like mine thick, so I added about 18 ice cubes)

Mix in a blender until smooth.  Enjoy!

I think next time I'm going to use more yogurt instead of the milk.  You can do it the other way around, too. 

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Jeffree had class on Valentine's day until 7:30 p.m., so I offered to babysit for a family in the ward.  If I can't get my romance on, I might as well let someone else, right?

The mom already had dinner ready for her boys when I got there, but she pointed out some leftovers in the fridge for me to eat.  Oh my heavens!  It was sooooooooooo good!  Hands down the best chicken wild rice soup I've ever had.  I borrowed the recipe, typed it up, and thought I'd share it with you. 

Chicken (or turkey) Wild Rice Soup

1 Med onion diced

5 celery stalks diced

½ cup flour

1 pkg Uncle Bens Long Grain Wild Rice

2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey

½ tsp salt

2 carrots diced

½ cup butter or margarine

6 cups of broth (chicken or turkey)

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp dried parsley flakes

¼ tsp pepper

In large pot, sauté onion, celery and carrots in butter until onion is transparent.  Reduce heat.  Blend in flour and cook until bubbly.  Gradually add broth, stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute.  Reduce heat, add wild rice (pre cooked), cream, meat, parsley, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Yield: 10-12 servings.

Try it.  You just might love it.

health journal #3

It feels oh so good when I eat healthy.  It means I can consume more food for fewer calories (yes please).  Plus, I feel much better when I give my body the proper fuel.  I'm not perfect, but I do love learning about nutrition and feeding my little family healthy meals.  I promised a few people I'd post one of my favorite quick and healthy recipes.  On those days when you don't feel like making a meal, whip this up instead of going through the drive thru or popping a frozen dinner in the microwave.

Recipe adapted from Zonya Foco's Lickety-Split meals for health conscious people on the go (whew!)

Almond Chicken Salad 

Makes four 1-cup servings

181 calories per serving

1 can (8 oz)  crushed pineapple, drained

3-5 green onions, chopped

2 cups (12 oz can) diced cooked chicken, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup miracle whip light

1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Mix together and enjoy!

I like to wrap it in a whole wheat tortilla or stuff it in a pita half along with some lettuce or spinach.  When I've had my share of carbs for the day, I eat it with celery or on top of a lettuce salad.

It's seriously so easy to throw together.  Grape halves make an excellent addition as well.  

look at the blue, blue sky

Conference crepes... a tradition introduced to me by a college roommate. A tradition Jeffree and I have kept faithfully since we got married. Every conference weekend we mix up a batch of delicious crepes - either for breakfast or for lunch.

Here's the recipe we use:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

4 egg whites

1 cup skim milk

dash salt

2 slight T oil

*If you use store bought wheat, then you don't need to mix half and half. But our home-ground wheat is a little too course and the crepes come out tough.

Wisk ingredients together and cook on a skillet over medium heat.

Our favorite toppings:

Peanut butter

strawberries

bananas

(any fresh or frozen fruit)

cool whip

chocolate syrup

nutella

applesauce

Happy Conference!

stay tuned - much requested belly pics are on their way!

Scrumptious Swiss Oats...One great breakfast!!!

This is definitely my favorite breakfast. So easy and so deliciously healthy. The recipe comes from "Lickety-Split Meals for Health Conscious People on the Go" by Zonya Foco.

Mix the night before serving. Let soak overnight, covered, in fridge:

1 1/2 c oats (quick or old-fashioned)

1 1/4 c milk

2 T honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

In the morning, add,

3 c fresh or dried fruit of any variety

1/4 c walnuts, almonds, or pecans (opt.)

Eat up! Serves 4

This morning we had it with blackberries and peaches. Another favorite is strawberries and bananas.