I'M MOVING...Plus, Sweet Potato Cinnamon Smoothie Recipe!!!

I am moving to a new address (on the internet, that is)!  I have been tirelessly working on my new site and I think I am ready to go on and make the transition. Luckily, I haven't had the blog long enough for it to be a huge ordeal. I have a few more details to iron out, but hopefully everything will go smoothly.

This will be my last post from yestorealfood.blogspot.com. My new website address is http://www.yestorealfood.com. It's obviously still going to be a food blog, however, I am turning it into more of a food + lifestyle + photography (in other words...all the things I love) blog. If you subscribe to the blog, I hope to automatically redirect the blog feed so you don't have to resubscribe (however...unfortunately I'm not a "techie," so this may not happen). So...if you suddenly stop getting my emails, you may need to resubscribe from the new website (once I get the subscriber feed installed). Alright...on to the recipe.

I had some left over sweet potato, and I didn't want to throw it out (I hate wasting food)! I had heard of making a smoothie from a sweet potato, but had never tried it, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I am so glad I did, because I will definitely be making this again. It would be a great smoothie to drink in the fall. It has that creamy cinnamon taste that sort-of reminded me of pumpkin pie (I know it must've been from the cinnamon). If you try it out, let me know what you think.

Ingredients:
(Makes 1 serving)
1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
1 medium sweet potato (cooked and peeled)
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Sprinkle some cinnamon on top, and enjoy!

Protein Blueberry Bars

Who doesn't love protein bars? Their convenient, delicious, and an easy way to get more protein into your diet. They're also good for you, right? Well...not always! There are some really good ones out there, but many of the protein bars you see lining the grocery store shelves are basically glorified candy bars. They are loaded down with extra sugar, and most of the time, not the natural kind. And while they might be delicious, they are not always as healthy as they claim to be. Many of the ingredients in these popular protein bars can include:
-High fructose corn syrup
-Canola oil and hydrogenated fats
-Artificial sweeteners (sucralose, etc)
-Refined sugars

Why not try making your own homemade protein bars? Give it a shot! What do you have to loose? Nothing...but you might just fall in love with these. Not only are they better for you, but they will end up costing you less in the long run. AND...major bonus...you don't even have to turn on the oven for these. Just freeze for an hour and they're ready to go!

I am going to give you the exact ingredients that I used for these particular bars in the picture (I think they taste pretty amazing). Below the recipe, I will also give you substitutions, or some other ideas to try (if, for instance, say you're not crazy about blueberries).

Homemade Protein Blueberry Bars

Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup all natural peanut butter (I use Crazy Richard's 100% Natural)**

3/4 cup honey
2 cups of instant rolled oats
1 cup fresh blueberries (see possible substitutions below)
1/2 cup protein powder (chocolate)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)
1 cup flaxseed

In a saucepan, combine almond butter, peanut butter, and honey. Stir well and heat until well combined and softened. Remove from heat. Transfer to a large bowl and add oats, blueberries, protein powder and flaxseed. Stir until thoroughly combined. Transfer mixture into a square glass baking dish and press down firmly. Freeze for one hour. Remove and cut into bars. Store in refrigerator for up to one week.

Possible modifications to recipe above:
*Be sure to use one cup of a type of nut butter. However, you may wish to use one cup of peanut butter, or one cup of almond butter (instead of half of each).
*If not a fan of blueberries, could try substituting for dried cherries, dried cranberries (YUM!), or whatever kind of fruits you like.
*You could omit the coconut flakes, if you prefer
**Crazy Richard's is a 100% all natural peanut butter. The only ingredient is "peanuts." This brand can be found at Wal-Mart, or Harris Teeter. Be careful with the popular brands of peanut butter. Many contain high fructose corn syrup.
On a side note: Not only are these bars high in protein, but extremely high in antioxidants, as well. It is said that flaxseed may help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. According to Web MD, it owes its healthy reputation to three healthy components:

*Omega-3 essential fatty acids, "good" fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects.  Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s.

*Lignans, which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Flaxseed contains 75 to 800 times more lignans than other plant foods.

*Fiber, Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.

If you try these out, please let me know what you think in the comments below! I'd love to hear from you!

PATRIOTIC LAYERED SMOOTHIE

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!! As families across the country prepare to celebrate America's independence from Great Britain, with parades, fireworks, and barbecues, I am once again reminded of how great this country really is. Political views and opinions aside,  I am so proud to be an American and my prayer is that God will bless this nation beyond measure in the years to come.

Alright...moving on. My boys have been away at their grandparents for most of the week (thanks mom and dad...love you), so when they came home today (and I really did miss them like CRAZY), I wanted to surprise them with a little Fourth of July treat. They love smoothies, so I whipped up this layered smoothie. If you've never made a layered smoothie before, but want to give it a try, the trick is to make sure each layer is thick enough to withstand the next layer. Usually sticking each layer in the freezer for 30 minutes will do the trick. I'll be honest...because I usually tell it like it is. One liked it, the other didn't. That's usually the way it goes around here, though! :) Go figure!;-)

Ingredients:
Mix each layer separately, in blender. Pour and freeze each layer in 2-4 glasses for 30 minutes each.

For red layer:
1/4 cup yogurt (I used plain greek yogurt, but you can use reg. or flavored yogurt, as well)
1/4 of a large banana
1/2 cup of strawberries (frozen or fresh...may also use cherries...make sure their pitted)
1/2 cup almond milk, acai or cranberry juice (I used almond milk)
1 Tbsp honey
3-5 ice cubes


For white layer (this was my favorite):
1/2 cup yogurt (I used plain greek yogurt, but you can use reg. or flavored yogurt, as well)
1/2 banana (frozen is best, but fresh will do)
1/4 cup milk (I used almond milk)
1 scoop Vanilla protein powder (optional)
1 tbsp honey
3-5 ice cubes

For blue layer:
1/4 cup of yogurt
1/4 of banana
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup almond milk, acai juice, or cranberry juice
1 Tbsp honey
3-5 ice cubes

Have a great day celebrating with family and friends!!!

Homemade Cranberry Almond Trail Mix

 Who doesn't love trail mix? I mean it's delicious, it's tasty, it's healthy, extremely portable for people on-the-go, and full of good-for-you stuff! It's also a great snack for the kids on those long summer drives to the beach (I'm counting down the days)!! However, I also know that most store-bought mixes are loaded down with extra sugar and salt. So, why not try making a batch of your own?

In this post, I am going to give you a few ideas for different ingredients to try in your homemade trail mix. First, here is the ratio of ingredients I used in the mix above.

Easy Homemade Trail Mix

1 cup raw unsalted almonds

1 cup raw unsalted cashews

1 cup dry-roasted and salted pistachio nutmeats (simply unshelled pistachios)

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup of white chocolate chips

I love this combination of ingredients. You can leave out the chocolate chips if you prefer to have no added sugar. My kids love this mix and I know the chocolate chips have a lot to do with it, so I don't have the heart to leave them out. :) Besides, what's a trial mix without the fun stuff??? I do try to use the unsweetened dried fruit, and most of the nuts unsalted (with the exception of one type, or so). That way you still get plenty of the salty/sweet taste without it being too overly salty. I hear they even make chocolate chips out of stevia now, but I have yet to try them. You could also opt for organic chocolate chips, or even go with cacao nibs to make it even healthier.

One great thing about homemade trail mix is you won't have to pick through all the ingredients you don't like, because you'll be using everything you do! Below are a few ideas for you to make it your own. Choose one, or several, different combinations from each category:

1 cup each of two, or three, different kinds of nuts (this is the base of your trail mix):
Pistachios, almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, brazil nuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts, etc., etc.

1/2 cup of seeds:
Pumpkin seeds, sunflower, pinenuts

1 cup dried fruit:
Cranberries, raisins, golden raisins, banana chips, gogiberries, blueberries, pineapple, dried coconut flakes

1/2 cup fun stuff:
White chocolate chips, chocolate chips, cacao nibs, m&m's, carob chips, pretzels


Warning!! :) This stuff can be highly addictive, and while it is good for you, it can also very quickly add up in calories. What I like to do to help control my lack of will power, is to divide these up in ready made portion sizes. That way when I need a quick pick-me-up, I can just grab one of these. Then I'm not as tempted to sit down to the whole container of trail mix and start munching away till, before I know it, I've eaten 1500 calories worth of trail mix (it's not hard to do...at least for me, anyway)! I just scoop out about a 1/4 of a cup into snack size ziploc bags, and throw them in the pantry!

Let me know if you have a favorite homemade combination! I'd love to hear it!