Watermelon Jolly Rancher Smoothie

When I tested this recipe for the first time yesterday and all of my taste testers said it reminded them of a Jolly Rancher, I knew I wouldn't be able to wait long to share it with you. It is so refreshing and cooling - perfect for summer. I can't wait to make popsicles and sorbet with this recipe!

Before I give you the recipe, I need to warn you...do not do what I did. See, when I first tested this recipe and let you all know on Facebook that I would be sharing it soon, it looked like this:

Yesterday morning, I prepped my watermelon so I could test this smoothie in the afternoon. I used a melon baller to scoop out all of the fruit, then stuck it all in a gallon-sized freezer bag and placed it in the freezer. A couple hours later, I went to check it to see if it was frozen yet. It wasn't. It was only about half frozen. I decided to go ahead and make the smoothie anyway, and the result was what you saw yesterday. Today, however, the watermelon was completely frozen (obviously...it's been in the freezer now for over 24 hours). Yeah...I learned today that blenders (even the fancy schmancy kind) do not like frozen watermelon. It took me about 15 minutes just to get all the fruit in this thing thawed enough to blend and I had to add way more liquid than I did yesterday. This is why the smoothie in today's picture is much more pink than red. So now you know...don't let your watermelon freeze all the way. Only half-way frozen watermelon for this one. ;)

Watermelon Jolly Rancher Smoothie
Servings: 2

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup organic coconut or almond milk
- 4 cups of organic, half-frozen watermelon
- 7-10 organic strawberries, sans leaves
- 1/2 organic banana
- organic peppermint leaves (optional)

Blend (wet ingredients in the blender first) and enjoy! =)

p.s. If you forget to take your watermelon out of the freezer before it completely freezes, you can still try to blend it...but you're going to end up with more of a sorbet (unless you add a bunch of extra liquid) and it's going to take a lot longer to prep.

Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie Recipe

A couple years ago, we were major cereal junkies. Cereal for breakfast almost every day, if not every day...cereal as a snack...cereal for dinner. We just liked cereal. The problem? Most cereals (even "healthy" ones) are loaded with sugar, artificial "vitamins" and other synthetic substances, genetically engineered ingredients, and all sorts of other nasty junk. It took us awhile to find a quick, easy breakfast alternative and in the process of searching, we developed this recipe. We now start each day with a smoothie for breakfast and this one is one of our favorites.

Recipe (2 servings):

1 cup water
1 cup almond milk (organic, unsweetened; or substitute your favorite milk)
1/2 cup organic oats (we use Bob's Red Mill extra-thick rolled oats)
1 cup organic blueberries (use frozen if you don't have access to fresh)
1-2 TBSP organic, unsalted, raw almond butter
1 organic banana
Cinnamon, to taste

Sometimes we substitute blueberries for strawberries or coconut milk for the almond milk. When we've been around sickness or are feeling yuck, we add echinacea powder and vitamin C. Sometimes we add other herbs/antioxidants. You can change it up to suit your tastes or needs. The smoothies in this photo were left kind of chunky, but most of the time we blend them completely.

We have found that smoothies for breakfast are perfect for us. They are quick and easy to make (we prep ingredients for the week on Saturdays and then we just have to blend them in the mornings) and they fill us up. Enjoy!

Question: What do you normally eat for breakfast?