It’s hard to mess up a smoothie in my opinion. Once you get a basic formula down, and you’re using a blend of naturally sweet fruit with yogurt, milk or a little juice, then really the sky is the limit as far as combinations go. If you look in my freezer you could pretty much always find a few bags of frozen fruit ready to be put into a blender. Though I love to eat fresh fruit daily, frozen fruit is usually my go to when it comes to smoothies because I find that it makes them extra creamy and thick, and keeps them extra cold.

How do you make a smoothie with yogurt?

First, you need a blender! There are so many great blenders on the market these days. I’ve been using my Blendtec (affiliate link) for so many years, it’s high powered and worth the investment in my opinion (tip: buy a refurbished one if you can!). You could also use a Vitamix, Ninja, or Magic Bullet blender.

If your blender isn’t a high powered blender, then I suggest you let the frozen fruit sit in your blender jar a few minutes to defrost and slightly soften up to make it easier to blend. Always add your liquids to the jar first, then layer with your softest to hardest fruits to get a better blend.

Is Greek yogurt good in smoothies?

Yes! What I love about making smoothie recipes with Greek yogurt is the added protein. Greek yogurt typically has around 10 – 15 g of protein per half cup, depending on the brand. Depending on the flavor, it will have sugar and carbs too, so watch for that. If you are drinking a smoothie as a post workout drink your body needs the carbs so fruit and yogurt can provide them. A Greek yogurt fruit smoothie makes a great post-workout recovery drink!

These days, there are so many recipes that include Greek yogurt, the options are endless. I even went a little crazy and baked up a version of these Peach Yogurt Muffins for my kids (I really need to do that more often, why oh why don’t I like to bake?).

More smoothie recipes to try:

Refreshing Cantaloupe Smoothie

Cinnamon Pear Green Smoothie

My Green Smoothie

Strawberry Banana Smoothie | Add A Pinch

Pear Me Up Smoothie | Picky Palate

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Fruity Greek Yogurt Smoothie

• Author: Aggies Kitchen
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1 smoothie
• Category: Beverage
• Method: Blender

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Ingredients

• 1 cup pineapple Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
• couple of splashes of your favorite milk (nut milk or cow milk)
• 1/2 banana
• 1/4 cup frozen mango
• 1/4 cup frozen sliced peaches

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Instructions

1. Place ingredients into blender starting with Greek yogurt and milk and ending with frozen fruit. Let sit for a few minutes to let frozen fruit defrost just slightly (for easier blending).
2. Blend and enjoy.

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The post Fruity Greek Yogurt Smoothie appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Click Here to Pin this Spinach and Egg Breakfast Toast recipe.

Well, say hello to my current favorite breakfast. If you read my last newsletter, you know that one of my goals lately is to get more veggies into my day (if you don’t receive my monthly newsletter and want to, sign up here!). It’s not that I love veggies any less than I did before, I’ve just been a little lazy about eating them.

Salads are always my go-to way to up the veggie intake but lately I’ve been challenging myself to get some veggies in at breakfast time. Since I eat eggs most mornings, scrambles are usually how I add veggies in at breakfast but I wanted to change things up.  I’ve been eating this Spinach and Egg Breakfast Toast all week and feeling pretty proud of myself for getting in a serving of spinach bright and early in the day. The spinach cooks up in the tiniest amount of time and once it starts to wilt I just push it to the side in the skillet and add my eggs. While my eggs are cooking I take my spinach out and top my toast with it.

Literally so quick and so easy.

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This post is created with America’s Dairy Farm Families and Importers, in partnership with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. However, the views and opinions included are my own.

My kids love asking for parfaits when I offer to make them as an afternoon or after dinner snack (aka dessert). I started making parfaits years ago and they get excited about eating them every single time. Parfaits are not only pretty to look at, but they can be filled with some pretty tasty ingredients. With my recent trip to a local dairy farm here in Florida, as well as a trip to a dairy farm in Rhode Island, I can’t help but think about and appreciate the hard-working families that are really behind the wholesome dairy, like the Greek yogurt in these parfaits, that my family enjoys. You can read more about my experience at the farm here.

Whether I’m making a parfait for me or my kids, I always go with whatever combination of seasonal fruit, yogurt, nuts or granola I have on hand. This particular parfait was inspired by one of our favorite fall fruits, pears. We love pears this time of year, and you can pretty much always count on finding a tub of good vanilla Greek yogurt and nuts in my fridge too. Call it a snack or call it dessert (or even breakfast!), a parfait like this creamy Greek Yogurt Parfait with Pears and Walnuts always hits the spot.

To make our parfaits extra tasty (and fancy!) I like to spice them up a bit. I added a sprinkle of cinnamon and ginger and a drizzle of sweet honey and it was the perfect touch. I like to chop the fruit and the nuts to the same size so that it’s easier for each spoonful to have a taste of everything combined. The perfect flavors for fall and my kids absolutely loved the combination.

You can make the parfaits with traditional layers, or if you are in a crunch for time and just want to keep it simple you can add your ingredients to a bowl and enjoy it all the same. If you are looking for an entertaining idea for breakfast or brunch, set out the ingredients separately and offer a build-your-own-parfait bar.

Greek Yogurt Parfait with Pears and Walnuts

Yield: 2 parfaits

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups vanilla bean Greek yogurt
• 1 pear, chopped small
• ground cinnamon, for sprinkling, to taste
• ground ginger, for sprinkling, to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• honey, for drizzling

Directions:

1. Add 1/3 cup of Greek yogurt into the bottom of parfait glass. Top yogurt with chopped pears and sprinkle with cinnamon and ginger, to taste. Add chopped walnuts and drizzle with honey. Repeat layer, then top with a dollop of yogurt.
2. Serve immediately for best presentation or cover and refrigerate for up to 6 hours to serve later.

This post is created with America’s Dairy Farm Families and Importers, in partnership with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. However, the views and opinions included are my own.

The post Greek Yogurt Parfait with Pears and Walnuts appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

This recipe and post was created in collaboration with America’s Dairy Farm Families and Importers, in partnership with the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, however the views and opinions included are my own.

Since 1970, April 22 has been known as a national day of awareness focused on our environment – Earth Day! This Earth Day I am partnering with the dairy community to tell you about how dairy farmers work hard to take great care of their cows while committing to sustainable practices on their farms. My family consumes a variety of dairy on a daily basis, such as the milk in today’s Cinnamon Peanut Butter Chia Seed Pudding recipe, and I can appreciate knowing it’s coming from a place that is strongly dedicated to preserving our environment and providing a fresh, quality product.

Food memories, they can creep up on you when you least expect them to. My daughter and I recently watched a video for chia seed pudding and she asked if we could make it together. As I was pouring the mixture into the small jars and glasses I suddenly remembered how my mom always had little homemade pudding cups for us in the fridge. Granted, it wasn’t chia seed pudding – instead flavored pudding made from the box – but it was one of my favorite snacks or dessert when I was a kid. Pistachio was always my first choice, chocolate a close second.

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Click here to pin this Strawberry Almond Oatmeal Bites recipe!

I can’t believe this is my first post of 2017! I decided I needed a bit of a breather in January, some time to regroup after a month of helping my littlest guy recover from a tonsillectomy and my biggest guy (my husband) recover from a shoulder/rotator cuff surgery. I’ll admit, it was nice to take a break from worrying about picking up my camera and just focus on cooking for my family. My head is always spinning with new recipe ideas, as well as trying to figure out what to make for dinner that I honestly enjoyed just making recipes from cookbooks, friends and my blog without thinking too much of it.

One of the things I’m trying to get better at is making healthier snacks available for my kids to take in the car on their way to basketball or volleyball practices. We are full on entrenched in sports right now and spend many afternoons and evenings trekking back and forth between gyms. It seems like my kids are ALWAYS hungry and I’ve been trying to be more mindful about what they are snacking on and making sure they are eating more than just pretzels or crackers (it’s hard!). One thing I know for sure, anytime I make snacks like these oatmeal bites, quinoa bites or egg muffins, they are the go-to snack and don’t last very long. Seeing my kids choose those first is motivation enough to get myself into the habit of making quality portable snacks more often.

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I love the week that falls between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I am a reflective person so it brings me a lot of joy to look back at my year of personal experiences, my family, and my blog. I have to admit, having a blog makes it much easier to remember since it’s all documented and stamped with a date…makes me appreciate what this blog means to me even more, although due to the evolution of the (sometimes big, bad, scary) internet I find myself sharing more about food and less about personal & family over the years. It’s all good.

2016 was interesting. I turned 40. I went back to college. I embraced fitness and got strong (surprised myself). My oldest started middle school. We survived a scary hurricane. My daughter was a guest judge for a recipe contest at a produce conference. My baby turned 3 and became a little person, not really a baby anymore. I went out of my comfort zone and was a speaker at a dietician/healthy blogger conference (and loved it). I traveled to Vermont, Savannah and the Florida Panhandle. My friend Kristen came to visit me and we went to see Justin Bieber and Mickey Mouse. My family & I went to Disney – a lot. I withdrew from college. My husband & I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. I watched family members go through some health problems. We attended the most epic Indian wedding celebration. My daughter and I volunteered for the 2016 presidential campaign. I grew personally and professionally.

2016 was interesting, and good. As always, I’m ready and looking forward to a fresh start from starting a new year.

As for food…I shared a lot of recipes! I’m so grateful for all of you who visit me here, I wish you a very healthy and happy New Year.

Here are your favorites:

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The post Top 12 Most Popular Recipes From 2016 {plus my personal favorites!} appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

At breakfast, I’m typically an egg and toast girl. Every now and then I go through an oatmeal phase but for the most part I stick to a quick fried egg and a slice of lightly buttered Ezekiel bread with my cup of coffee. Eggs are also my choice when it comes to breakfast for dinner…which is when I started making these easy Black Bean and Egg Tostadas.

If you have all the ingredients on hand, which is highly possible, you can put these little tostadas together in literally just a few minutes. The recipe is for one tostada, but I can usually make (and eat) 2 at a time.

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Click here to pin this recipe!

We have been lucky to know a few people with hens over the years, one being a friend who once came over with an incredible box. This box full of eggs. Apparently his hens were happy hens.

More recently, we got these from a neighbor…they have been supplying us with a good amount of fresh eggs for the last few years and I am ever so grateful!

How gorgeous are those eggs??

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The post Greek Pepper and Onion Frittata with Feta appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Click here to pin this recipe for later! 

Friends, I’m excited to share with you today a recipe from my dear friend Liz‘s new cookbook and passion project, Food From Our Ancestors: The Ultimate Italian Sunday Dinner. Reading through her book and her husband’s family’s recipes gave me such nostalgic feelings of my own Italian family and our traditions (that revolve around food). The food I grew up with is a big part of who I am, and I treasure it. What Liz has done for her family by pulling it together in a beautiful cookbook like this is truly a gift.

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The post Spinach and Potato Frittata appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Click here PIN this refreshing Summer Melon Protein Parfait!

From what I can tell, it’s pretty hot all over the country right now, right? I know here in Florida we are in the upper 90s with heat indexes in the 100s every day. If I’m not near a body of water of some sort then I’m in air conditioning. I believe they call this time of year the “dog days of summer” (<– nerd alert – interesting info!).

Lately it seems like a) everyone I talk to feels like it’s too hot to cook, myself included and b) I am absolutely obsessed with cold melon (of all kinds). Watermelon for dinner? Sounds good to me!

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