Smoothie Freezer Packs

In an effort to streamline my mornings and make sure I get out the door with my mid-morning green smoothie, I made up some freezer packs last night. I didn't take pictures, but the idea came from Pinterest (big surprise).

In sandwich size zip top bags, I threw in a handful of spinach, a half a sliced banana, and some frozen fruit. I did several mixes...pineapple/blueberry, pineapple/mango, blueberry/strawberry. This morning, I just grabbed a pack, threw it in the Magic Bullet, added water and whirled away. That saved me the time from getting out all the different bags of fruit, the spinach and slicing a banana. Ok, so it doesn't sound that hard, but it was super easy this morning. No thinking invovled.

After making my smoothie this morning, I will say the frozen spinach leaves didn't blend as smoothly as the fresh leaves. I think next time, I might try blending the spinach with water first and freezing this mixture into ice cube trays. Then I'll just put a cube or two in each freezer pack.

I also threw together some smoothies for the kids' lunches. I've had these Ball brand plastic freezer containers for a while, purchased just for this reason, but I've yet to use them. It didn't take long at all last night, especially since I had all the fruit out making my packs.

For SB, I made a smoothie she really enjoyed last week as breakfast...banana, pineapple, blueberry, and milk. One totally full Magic Bullet's worth, made 3 almost-full containers. For Ryan, I have to keep his simple...banana, chocolate syrup and milk. I did add some flaxmeal to his to see if that helps his tummy issues.

I put the screwtop lids on and stuck the smoothies in the freezer. This morning, Chad just put those in with the rest of their lunches. I'm hoping by lunch they are thawed enough to drink/eat. My biggest worry is that they use Pack Its, and I'm not sure if they'll stay too cold to thaw.

If they like the way theirs turn out, I may try blending up my smoothies and freezing them as well. I'm guessing if I took them out of the freezer in the morning and set them on my desk, they'd be perfect by my conference period.

I also have dinner in the crockpot for tonight...terriyaki beef. I am planning on steaming a bag of Asian vegetables and making some fried rice or noodles. I love knowing I don't have to worry about dinner.

It's amazing how a little prep work and planning makes such a big difference.

Planning

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
― Benjamin Franklin

I've got to say, I'm learning this one the hard way again. You'd think I'd have learned it by now.  

I didn't plan my winter races well, and I missed out on a chance to do a full marathon in my hometown. Now, with this crazy season of our lives, training isn't really feasible. Lesson learned.  

I was eating super healthy during our fast (Daniel Fast for me), and it was all about planning. Once that ended, I quit planning my meals and snacks. While the number on the scale has stayed the same, the way my body has reacted has not. Lesson learned.  

School is crazy right now, mainly because I haven't done the planning necessary to take care of all the irons in the fire. And now I'm stressed and behind. Lesson learned.

So, I'm working on planning the things I can control...mainly workouts and food. The food thing seems to make the biggest difference in the way I feel (which carries over to all the other things I  have to do). I've found that if I plan our family meals, my breakfasts, lunches and snacks, I make much healthier choices overall. My mid-morning green smoothie has become something I look forward to...and it helps keep the rest of the day on track. I may have to add an afternoon smoothie!

We're also planning some remodel/redecorating projects. We're almost done painting the living/dining/kitchen spaces in our house. Along with that has come some new decorating ideas, like rugs, prints, etc. The next project is one I'm really excited about...and one that is going to take a lot of planning! We're finally going to turn the garage into a family play room...workout area, TV/game area, kids' area...so exciting! I can't wait!

Vegan pot pie

The picture really doesn't do it justice, but I just had to share.

We are have been fasting for almost two weeks now. My husband has been doing the daytime fast (basically he can eat if the sun is down). I have been doing the Daniel Fast, which is bascially vegan with additional restrictions. I can have fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and legumes. I can't have meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine or baking powder (which seems like such a minor thing, but I'm really missing it!).

Tonight I made a cross between a pot pie and a shepherd's pie. I used my mom's pot pie recipe and vegan-ized it. Here's what I did

Topping
6 smallish potatoes, peeled, diced, boiled with salt and garlic in the water, drained
Canola oil (probably a couple of tablespoons)
Almond milk (eyeballed it...half a cup, maybe?)
Salt/pepper

Filling
3 T. canola oil
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/4 whole wheat flour
1 cup almond milk (might reduce this just a bit)
1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
salt/pepper
poultry seasoning...eyeballed it, but it was a little too much
1 large can Veg-All

Heat oil. Add onions until transparent. Add flour to make paste. Slowly add milk and broth, whisking constantly. As it thickens, add seasonings and vegetables.

Place filling in a round casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Broil at the end of the cooking time if you want the top browned.

I served it with chicken for the rest of the family, but this was so good! If I make it again, I think I'd add white beans for some protein.

This was definitely comfort food tonight. Now, if I could just figure out how to have some chocolate :)

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G Touch

Let the training begin...

Tomorrow morning marks the beginning of another 8-week training period for a 10K I have planned September 25. My goal? Run the whole thing this time. That's it. Well, not really. I'd like to finish in less time than last, and considering I had to walk quite a bit of the last one, that should seem like a no-brainer. I'm hoping so.

But what the training means is that I have to a) stick with the plan, b) make a plan, and c) eat right. Ok, so maybe b should come before a, but I do have a basic plan...just have to figure out the strength training bit and work on stretching. Guess I'd better get on that, huh?

But the eating right part...driving me crazy. I know in my head what to do...it's just the doing that's so hard. I'm hoping when school starts, eating right will be easier since I won't be here to snack all the time. I also plan meals more carefully because I know we have to have dinner in the house and ready to go. We'll see.