It’s that time of year – we are back to school and back to packing lunches. I’m partnering up with my longtime friends at Produce For Kids for their annual Power Your Lunchbox campaign where their mission is to empower families with ideas and recipes to help pack nutritious lunches for your kids. In addition, our hope is for you to make the Promise because for each promise made, Produce For Kids partners donate $1 to Feeding America.

You guys, each $1 donated provides 10 meals to families in need.

That is powerful.

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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

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.7 from 6 reviews

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.

Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Smoothie & Fresh Juice Love on Pinterest.

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This is about as timely of a holiday/post-holiday recipe I think I’ve ever been. Egg salad the day after Easter – you got it!

I know if you are like me, right now you probably have a handful of hard boiled eggs in the fridge. I actually have been getting back into the habit of making hard boiled eggs the last couple of weeks to have for snacks, add into salads and make egg salad, which I love. I usually have eggs for breakfast but I’ve been trying to switch things up lately so that I can eat them at other times of they day.

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I’ve officially been logging my food into My Fitness Pal for 36 days. That’s a huge accomplishment for me! The first week I started, it felt cumbersome and time consuming but by my 5th week it’s become a breeze. Most of the food I eat regularly is already there and I’m finding I try to eat a lot of the same or at least similar meals (I’ve read that eating similar “predictable” meals each day is a habit of fit people – I agree!). I’m down about 5lbs and feeling really good.

One meal I have in rotation this past month are these Sriracha Shrimp and Hummus Lettuce Wraps. They are pretty basic and easy to put together, and quick! You can use frozen cooked shrimp that you’ve defrosted (that is what I’ve been doing) or roast up a bunch of shrimp and eat in salad or wraps like this over a couple of days. I’ve been loving lettuce wraps like this lately as a change up from my usual salad.

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Let’s kick of June with some delicious, HEALTHY, food shall we? Healthy quinoa salads are a total lifesaver for me in the summer. Just yesterday I found myself opening up my refrigerator looking for something quick to grab for lunch before we ran out the door. My kids are easy to feed in the summer, lots of quick sandwiches and quesadillas with fruit and baby carrots on the side…but that doesn’t do it for me. I need something a little more substantial and interesting if you know what I mean.

Of course, with summer come lots of barbecues and pool parties with family and friends. I don’t know about you but I’m always thrilled to see a couple of healthy options offered with the spread. Quinoa salads are a go-to dish always served at my family’s get-togethers (I can always count on my mom and sister to bring one or be happy about me bringing one).

I’ve compiled an incredible list of beautiful and flavor packed healthy quinoa salads from blogger friends for you to try – there’s something for everyone here!

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Before I talk about today’s recipe, I first want to thank every single one of you who took the time to fill out my recent Reader Survey. I read through every response and appreciate all of your comments and feedback. It was a treat to learn more about those of you who come here for my recipes!! Thank you thank you. If you have yet to fill one out and would like to, you can do that right here.

Today’s recipe is a special one. It is from my friend Andie’s new cookbook, Eating in the Middle: A Mostly Wholesome Cookbook and I’m so excited to share it with you. Her blog is a source of healthy recipes as well as wisdom and encouragement to live a balanced life after losing weight. Andie lost 130 lbs years ago and has shared her journey in her touching memoir It Was Me All Along (my review of it here). If you’ve ever struggled with weight, her very personal story about her struggles and relationship with food is one that many can and will relate to. (more…)

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One thing I am really trying to do lately is to have a container of “something” for me to grab for a quick lunch. Last week I was really craving a grain salad so I grabbed some wheat berries out of the pantry and cooked them up, with no real idea of what I was going to do with them. I was craving a salad like this one, but I didn’t really have the right fruit and such. So instead I turned these wheat berries into an Italian Wheat Berry Salad by adding roasted red peppers, garbanzo beans, fresh basil, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Super simple, fresh and delicious!

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We are well into our fourth week of school here in Florida. I know a lot of northern schools start right around now so the back-to-school season seems to be spread out a bit over a month. I’m happy to finally be back into the groove of school and settling into a routine.

Packing lunches are of course a huge part of that routine!

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As I’m trying to collect my thoughts to write this post there is quite the commotion happening around me. That commotion shall be named…Hurricane Micah.

This little man has been causing quite the ruckus in our house lately. Especially around the kitchen.

Anyone need tupperware? Micah makes sure we’ve got some ready at all times. Plus they make sliding around the kitchen even more fun.

Let’s just say we have entered the “getting into EVERYTHING” phase. This cutie is keeping us all on our toes these days! 🙂

The fun is only just beginning….

For the sake of keeping Micah out of the trashcan and away from my cookbook shelf, let’s keep this post brief shall we?

Rotisserie chicken rocks. It’s a “mom’s best friend” (a commenter on my last rotisserie chicken salad nailed it with that phrase). Buffalo anything also rocks. And I don’t make enough of it and am not quite sure why. That needs to change.

I loved this chicken salad. My husband LOVED this chicken salad. My kids didn’t go anywhere near it (they don’t care for spicy stuff, more for us). For the record, this Buffalo Rotisserie Chicken Salad is a keeper.

It’s great for lunch or dinner in a wrap, pita or on a salad. Or even better with pita chips or crackers in front of the football game paired with a cold beer.

Make it. Eat it. Love it. You won’t regret it.

Have a great weekend! Go Gators!

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This post is sponsored by Fisher Nuts.

Well friends, I’ve jumped on the rotisserie chicken bandwagon, if there is even such a thing. I have never been a big purchaser of rotisserie chicken, only because I’ve always been too lazy to deal with all the bones and such, but I guess you can say my perspective has changed.

Having a freshly precooked chicken available to me is definitely convenient and a huge time saver. The last few weeks I’ve been picking up a chilled rotisserie from the deli and making chicken salad with it. Lots of chicken salad. It’s been nice…real nice. A great change up in the sandwich category in our house. 🙂

I’m excited to share today’s recipe with you because it’s the first of several recipes that I will be working on with Fisher Nuts. You may recall I worked with Fisher Nuts last year and shared this Autumn Spinach Salad with Pecan Vinaigrette, these Gingerbread Spiced Nuts, and this Honey Nut Cocoa Crunch Granola with you all.

Nuts are a staple in my kitchen so it’s a no brainer when it comes to developing recipes featuring them. Fisher Nuts are preservative free and can pretty much be found everywhere. Follow the hashtag #ThinkFisher on social media for more recipes!

This salad was inspired by a chicken salad I used to always buy at my local grocery store deli that was made with tarragon and sliced almonds. I was obsessed with this chicken salad for years and lived off of it back in my post college days. I would purchase a container of it along with some fresh crusty bread and wine and that would be my dinner in front of the television after a long day at work.

I’m happy that I’m finally making my own version of it, even if it is 15+ years later….better late than never! I added some extra crunch and seasonal flavor by including chopped Granny Smith apples to the salad. I love apples in the fall, especially in salads.

This rotisserie chicken salad with apples recipe is perfect to serve while watching an afternoon football game this fall. It’s light and can be made ahead which is always a good thing. Prepare your chicken salad ahead of time then just assemble into sandwiches using small crusty mulitgrain rolls from the bakery and some fresh arugula. Or you can always turn it into a light weeknight dinner during the busy school year.

Of course it would be great in lunch boxes too. 🙂

Enjoy this Rotisserie Chicken Salad with Apples and Almonds recipe and hope everyone is having a great week!

If you’re looking for more ideas with what to do with your rotisserie chicken here are 20 healthy recipes using shredded chicken to help you out!

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