choco-nut coffee frappe

i may have mentioned before that i worked as a barista at a local cafe for 4 years during grad school and part of doctoral school.  one of the things i loved doing was experimenting with different frappe flavors, and i still like doing this at home.

when i have free time, i like to brew a large batch of my favorite decaf coffee and put it in the fridge for myself for quick-access iced coffee.  i brewed a large batch last weekend since i knew i had a busy week in the theater and at the pavilion.

i often whip together a drink when i'm running out the door, so i don't have time to snap a photo.  however, one evening last week when i had a few free moments at home, i used some of the brewed cold coffee for a frappe.  i grabbed what i had on hand in the kitchen to make a delicious frappe treat.  this frappe combines chocolate, peanut butter, and almond for a great choco-nut flavor!

choco-nut coffee frappe
total time: 5 minutes
yields: 1 large smoothie

ingredients:
1 cup cold coffee
2 teaspoons half-and-half cream
2 teaspoons natural chocolate syrup
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 tablespoon powered peanut butter
6-8 ice cubes

directions:
blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth

enjoy!

love, laurie

apple cinnamon oatmeal smoothie {vegan + gluten free}

even though it's not really apple season, i bought a humongous bag of empire apples at the grocery store recently.  we've been juicing them, eating them with peanut butter, adding them to salads, and putting them in pancakes.  however, there are still several apples left.  i'm starting to think that they are multiplying on my kitchen counter.

yesterday i was looking for a way to use up another apple before the remaining apples go bad.  what haven't i done with these apple yet?  put them in smoothies!

peeled, cored, and diced, these apples went right into the blender along with oats, chia seeds, flax seeds, cashew butter, cinnamon, and almond milk.

the result was an awesome smoothie that tasted just like apple cinnamon oatmeal.

this glorious smoothie could be anything you want it to be.  it's not sweet so it could definitely be a breakfast smoothie, yet you could treat it as dessert if you wanted.

it's good for you since it's packed with protein and fiber.  it's thick, creamy, delicious, and really filling.  hey, this smoothie is vegan and gluten free too!

apple cinnamon oatmeal smoothie
total time: 5 minutes:
yields: 1 smoothie

ingredients:
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups almond milk
1 medium apple
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon cashew butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon agave nectar
5 ice cubes

directions:
combine oats and almond milk in a blender and let sit for a few moments so that the oats can absorb the milk.  meanwhile, peel, core, and dice the apple.  add the diced apple to the blender along with the chia seeds, flax seeds, cashew butter, cinnamon, agave, and ice.  blend until smooth.

enjoy!

love, laurie

mocha peanut butter banana smoothie

i had some left over black coffee in the refrigerator for a few days.  instead of just using it for iced coffee, i decided to make it into a smoothie.  in an effort to use up a few things in our kitchen, including a very ripe banana sitting on the kitchen counter, i threw a few ingredients together in the blender.

the result was a refreshing smoothie.  the cold coffee paired perfectly with the banana, peanut butter, and cocoa.  a splash of half-and-half cream and agave nectar gave it a great flavor.  it really hit the spot!

mocha peanut butter banana smoothie
total time: 5 minutes
yields: 1 large smoothie

ingredients:
1 cup cold coffee
2 teaspoons half-and-half cream
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 banana
3 ice cubes

directions:
blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

enjoy!

love, laurie

tiramisu smoothie for williams-sonoma's smoothie week

i was thrilled when williams-sonoma invited me to create a smoothie recipe for their smoothie week.  i was excited to take the theme of "not your typical smoothie" and give it a holiday twist since christmas is just a few days away.

christmas time is so special for us because we got engaged on christmas day in 2007.  after ryan proposed, we had tiramisu for dessert.  my mom made the tiramisu for dessert the year we got engaged, and keeping with tradition she has made it for dessert each year on christmas day since then.  my mom's tiramisu is so delicious.  (i shared her recipe here a few years ago.)  it is a classic, and it has always been one of our favorite desserts.  we especially love the special memories that it brings back for us each time we eat it.

as soon as december rolls around, i start craving tiramisu.  i was excited to put a twist on this classic dessert by taking the flavors from my mom's tiramisu recipe and translating them into a smoothie.  the result was a delicious smoothie that is super indulgent.  the combination of the espresso, cocoa, mascarpone cheese, and soft italian lady fingers give this smoothie an unmistakably distinct tiramisu flavor.  it's dangerous how easy this smoothie is to make!

ps: if you are in need of a blender, williams-sonoma has a ton of great options including traditional blenders and immersion blenders too which are great for pureeing soup.  by the way, a blender would make a great christmas gift!

tiramisu smoothie
total time: 5 minutes
yields: 2 servings

ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1 tablespoon mascarpone cheese
3 soft italian lady fingers
1 cup ice

directions:
dissolve the espresso powder in the milk.  pour the milk into a blender, along with the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, mascarpone cheese, and three soft lady fingers.  add the ice and blend until smooth.  garnish with additional lady fingers dusted with cocoa powder, or whipped cream if desired.

recipe notes:
> mascarpone cheese gives this smoothie the classic tiramisu flavor.  however, if you do not have mascarpone cheese on hand, you could substitute cream cheese in the smoothie.
> be sure to use soft italian lady fingers instead of hard italian lady fingers.  soft italian lady fingers can typically be found the in bakery section of most grocery stores.

enjoy!

love, laurie

chocolate peanut butter chia seed smoothie

i found a leftover banana sitting on our kitchen counter that was getting pretty ripe.  so, i decided to put it to good use in a smoothie.  into the blender it went with cocoa powder, peanut butter, soy milk, and chia seeds.  in my opinion, you just can't go wrong with the combination of chocolate and peanut butter and banana.  yum!

laurie, you put chia seeds in there?  yes!  now, i will be the first to admit that i was skeptical when i initially heard of chia seeds a few years ago.  it took me awhile to warm up to them, but now i'm a huge fan.  i didn't know what i was missing all this time, and who knew there were so many uses for those little seeds?!  we are totally on the chia seed bandwagon at our house now.

this smoothie is delicious.  it is like drinking liquid dessert.  you would swear it was a milkshake, but there isn't any ice cream in there.  in fact, there isn't any dairy at all.  soy milk all the way.

the chocolate and peanut butter give this smoothie an awesome flavor, and the banana acts as a great base.  the chia seeds make it super thick.  when chia seeds mix with liquid they expand and become gelatinous.  (it's like nature's version of gelatin.)  it's super weird, but it's super cool too.

you certainly could make this smoothie without the chia seeds, but you'd be missing out for sure.  chia seeds are rich in antioxidants, protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acid.  cheers to good health!

chocolate peanut butter chia seed smoothie
total time: 5 minutes
yields: 1 large serving

ingredients:
1 banana
2 teaspoons dark chia seeds
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1 cup vanilla soy milk

directions:
blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

enjoy!

love, laurie

strawberry blueberry yogurt smoothie

i was rummaging through the freezer the other day and found some frozen strawberries and frozen blueberries.  since they had been in there for a while, i decided to make a smoothie to use them up.  i blended them with vanilla yogurt and milk, and it was such a yummy combination.  i love a good smoothie!

this can hardly be called a recipe because i didn't even measure anything.  i just put a handful of each type of berry in the blender with a few spoonfuls of yogurt and some milk.  i added more milk as needed until i reached the consistency i wanted.  (i tend to like my smoothies thick.)

strawberry blueberry yogurt smoothie
total time: 5 minutes
yields: 1 smoothie

ingredients:
frozen strawberries
frozen blueberries
low-fat vanilla yogurt
skim milk

directions:
blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

enjoy!

love, laurie

sunshine smoothie

over the weekend i found a leftover banana that was getting pretty ripe on the counter and a cara cara orange that had been sitting in the fridge for a few days.  in an effort to use them up, i decided to make a smoothie.

i juiced the orange and put the juice in a blender with the ripe banana.  i added some frozen strawberries and some almond milk.  the result was a delicious and refreshing smoothie.

it was so dreary outside (i am sick of winter!!!) and this smoothie was so tropical and cheery . . . so i decided to call it a sunshine smoothie.  the weather may have been gross outside, but this smoothie sure brightened up my day!

sunshine smoothie
total time: 5 minutes
yields: 1 large serving

ingredients:
1 cup frozen whole strawberries
1 ripe banana
1 medium orange, juiced
3/4 cup almond milk

directions:
blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

enjoy!

love, laurie

banana peanut butter oat smoothie

we had one lonely banana hanging out on our kitchen counter for several days.  neither of us wanted to put forth the effort to make a small batch of banana bread/muffins with it, so we decided to throw it in the blender to make a smoothie with it instead.

after debating what should accompany the lonely banana in the blender, the choice was clear.  some things are just made to be together . . . bananas and peanut butter are a match made in heaven.

we also threw some skim milk, ice, and old-fashioned oats in there too.

the result was an awesome smoothie that tasted just like a milkshake . . . and it's healthy too!  i call that a win-win situation.

i think this combination is my new favorite smoothie recipe!

banana peanut butter oat smoothie
total time: 5 minutes
yields: 1 large smoothie

ingredients:
1 ripe banana
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup skim milk
4-5 ice cubes

directions:
blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

enjoy!

love, laurie

green smoothie

i'm not irish, so i don't really celebrate st. patty's day.  in fact, each year around the middle of march i make a conscious effort to avoid the downtown area just so i don't get caught up in all of the annual st. patty's day parade craziness.  i also tend to avoid most st. patty's day related foods.  things like corn beef just don't appeal to me.  (however, i do like a slice of homemade irish soda bread every once in a while.)

around st. patty's day there are always a ton of foods that are not naturally green but are dyed green for the sake of holiday spirit.  typically, i try to avoid food coloring as much as possible.  in an effort to not sound like a total st. patty's day scrooge, i decided to make something festively green in honor of st. patty's day this weekend.  it's naturally green and it's super healthy too!  thus, i present to you this awesome green smoothie.

the fresh spinach makes this smoothie naturally green.  i like to think of it as mother nature's food coloring.

are you on the green smoothie bandwagon?  green smoothies are all the rage.  (just try to scroll through your pinterest feed without coming across one.)  some of them are appealing and some of them are appalling, but i'm happy to announce that this lovely green smoothie tastes great and packs a whole bunch of nutritional value too.  just think about all of the awesome vitamins and minerals floating around in there!

if your looking for a way to get your fruits and veggies (or a way to sneak more fruits and veggies into someone's diet) give this green smoothie a try.

. . . and have a happy st. patty's day this weekend!

green smoothie
prep time: 5 minutes
yields: 1 smoothie
adapted from say yes to hoboken

ingredients:
1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
1 banana
1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup orange juice

directions:
blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

enjoy!

love, laurie

strawberry banana oat smoothie

we recently found this recipe and we highly recommend it.

you can never go wrong with a good smoothie!

. . .

love, laurie