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.

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Once upon a time I was 30+weeks pregnant and said to myself more than a few times — I can’t wait to lose this pregnancy weight! It’s going to be fun, like a game! I’ve done this before, it won’t be hard! I’m going to walk with the baby in the stroller so much the weight is just going to melt off! I’m going to get fit in no time!

Clearly, I was a bit mental at the time. What in the world. Crazy pants.

Now here I am 20+ weeks post partum and I can not even believe how out of shape I am. I’m so low energy and just feel bleh all the time. Pair that up with not sleeping well most nights, I pretty much feel like a mess lately. Oh and it’s full on spring in Florida right now and let’s just say black yoga pants just aren’t cutting it anymore. Something has to be done here.

So I’m committed. I’m committed to exercising in some capacity every day (even if it is just a quick stroller walk with my baby). I need to be selfish with my workouts, it’s very important “me time”. I got back in the gym last week. I also got myself jogging a bit over the weekend (that felt GOOD!). Things have to change and it’s starting first with my attitude —

I need to be telling myself things like:

Just do it!
No more excuses!
and on the days I’m feeling down… What are you going to do about it? (this one is key)

So far it’s working.

I got this. But dang, it’s hard!

I’ve been making this kefir smoothie in the afternoons lately for my car ride to pick up the kids from school. It gives me exactly what I need to hold me over until dinner and I like to believe it gives me a little energy boost too. Micah’s not a huge fan of the blender so I have been avoiding making smoothies for a few months. Now when I turn the blender on I have to put on a really happy funny face to distract him from that “loud scary noise”. You gotta do what you gotta do right?

If you’re not familiar with kefir, it’s very similar to yogurt and can be found in the dairy aisle most likely near the milks. I discovered it a couple years ago when I was on the 17 Day Diet (…for 14 days). It’s a probiotic, has a good amount of protein and calcium, and is a great option for an afternoon snack. I personally like it’s natural tartness but feel free to add a little honey or sweetener of choice if that’s your thing.

Happy Monday!

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Let’s talk about breakfast. I have always been in the “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” club and I can honestly say that if I miss my breakfast it really impacts the rest of my day in so many ways. Lately I’m noticing that I am not getting around to eating my morning meal until way later in the morning (closer to lunchtime sometimes!) and it’s becoming a bit of a bad habit for me. I’m making a huge effort to change that.

On the days that my kids ask for oatmeal, I am starting to make myself these refrigerator oats. What I love about refrigerator oats is that they can be ready to eat whenever you are (well, for the most part – they do need to sit in the fridge for about an hour). When I’m prepping my kids’ hot oatmeal I scoop out some oatmeal in a bowl for myself. While they are eating, I finish preparing mine with almond milk and stick in in the fridge for later. As long as it sits in the fridge for about an hour the oats will absorb most of the milk and have a slightly firm, nutty texture that I really love. Once it gets to this point it’s ready for all the fixins’ which for me is a spoonful of peanut butter, chopped banana and fresh or frozen berries (if using frozen I prefer blueberries). You can sprinkle some cinnamon on there too! A dollop of your favorite yogurt would be a nice topper too. With all the fruit and peanut butter I don’t feel the need to add any sweetener but if you do go ahead and drizzle a little agave, honey or pure maple syrup (or whatever sweetener you like).

I’ve been pretty excited about my refrigerator oats lately. It’s a nice change from eggs, it’s easy to prep (you just need to remember) and they are forgiving, meaning you can forget about them and come back later or take them with you if you have to run out the door. Since I never know when baby boy is going to let me have breakfast this has definitely become a breakfast I’m enjoying. Not to mention it’s not such a shabby way to kick start the day!

Refrigerator oats for the win! 🙂

Refrigerator Oats with Berries and Banana

Ingredients:

• 1/4 heaping cup old fashioned oats or Coach's Oats (see note in post on Coach's Oats)
• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
• chopped banana
• fresh berries (or frozen blueberries)
• sprinkle of cinnamon or sweetener of your choice, optional
• dollop of your favorite yogurt, optional

 

Directions:

1. In a cereal bowl, combine oats, chia seeds and almond milk. Place in refrigerator and let sit for one hour. Most of the milk will be absorbed.
2. When oats are ready, stir in your peanut butter and top with banana and berries (or fruit of choice!) Drizzle with sweetener and add yogurt if using.

Note: My all time favorite oats are Coach’s Oats. The best way to describe them is a cross between steel cut and old fashioned oats. They cook up quick and have more of a grainier texture than regular oatmeal, which I love. I discovered them a few years ago when I came across a sample of them and also started seeing them mentioned on other blogs. I have only found them at Costco, but I’m sure that Whole Foods or other natural foods stores carry them as well. My Costco doesn’t have them anymore so I’ve been ordering them from Amazon.

There are Amazon affiliate links in this post.

Follow Aggie’s Kitchen’s board Healthy Breakfasts on Pinterest.

The post Refrigerator Oats with Berries and Banana appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Did you all have a nice Easter weekend? I took some time off online the last couple of weeks, enjoying Spring Break with my fam. Hard to believe we are heading into the last 9 weeks of our school year here, I feel like the time after Spring Break always zips by and next thing you know it’ll summer.

But let’s not move too far ahead yet. Is it finally safe to say Spring has Sprung yet?? If it hasn’t yet by you, please, make yourself this smoothie, close your eyes and picture yourself somewhere warm and sunny. I promise, it will work. The weather seems to be cruel this year in parts of the country, I truly feel bad for anyone still dealing with low temps and even (I really can’t believe it) snow. It’s just not fair.

I’ve been in a major smoothie making mood lately. I love this time of year when it seems like our grocery produce section is bursting with so much color. I’m truly happy to see it, especially all the melons and berries. My favorite kind of smoothies are simple, a combination of fresh (and sometimes frozen) fruit, a splash of juice or water, and a handful of ice. I have learned that the order you put your ingredients into your blender really help how your smoothie blends – start with your liquid, then your softest or juciest fruits, then add the rest of your fruit and ice. You basically want to have a good base of liquid working in your blender base so that all your ingredients have a chance to incorporate without burning out your blender. I put all the ingredients in at the same time, just in layers following that order.

Hope you enjoy this bright and refreshing smoothie today!

And oh…by the way. I’ve got some happy and exciting news to share. It’s been hard keeping it a secret, and I’m finally ready to let you know that this upcoming September there will be a new little addition to the Aggie’s Kitchen family. Yep! You heard right….our little family is growing and we are thrilled. 🙂

I’m officially out of the first trimester cave I’ve been living in. I was hit pretty hard by the typical first tri stuff and am so happy to be finally feeling like my old self again this week! Food is my friend once again.

Especially smoothies just like this cantaloupe smoothie 🙂

Cantaloupe Smoothie

Yield: 1 smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 clementine or small orange, cut into segments or chunks
• 1/4 cantaloupe, cut into chunks
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 6 ice cubes

Directions:

1. Place fruit in blender starting with your softest and juiciest pieces. Top with ice cubes. Blend and enjoy!

More smoothies for you to love:

Cinnamon Pear Green Smoothie

Fruity Greek Yogurt Smoothie

You Are My Sunshine Smoothie

The post Refreshing Cantaloupe Smoothie (and oh by the way…) appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

There’s a new butter in town folks, and it’s made with one of my most favorite things in the world – coconut. Coconut butter may not be all that new to some of you, but it’s new to me. I’ve seen it popping up around here and there and I finally broke down and bought some today. At first, I didn’t see much of a difference flavor wise or texture wise as coconut oil, and I felt confused. But as I dug my spoon in a little deeper into the jar I saw a slight change of color and I knew then that I had found gold. Holy cow, this stuff is good (if you love coconut that is).

What is coconut butter? Well, it’s basically just the flesh of the coconut ground up and processed until creamy – similar to nut butter. You get all the nutrition of eating pure raw coconut into a small amount that can be used as a spread or as a supplement to meals such as smoothies, granola bars or even oatmeal. Coconut is full of good stuff – lots of fiber, vitamins & minerals, along with a little protein and good for you fat.

When I got home with my jar of gold I immediately knew I wanted to add it to a smoothie. I love simple banana smoothies, especially right after a morning workout. This smoothie isn’t your typical thick smoothie – it’s light and refreshing and makes a perfect snack for those in between meal times. Enjoy!

So tell me, am I the last person on Earth to try coconut butter? If you’ve had it, tell me how you like it!

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My kids have been out of school now for summer vacation for just under 2 weeks. Despite the unusually heavy amount of rain we’ve been getting every day, we are still getting in a good amount of pool time along with movie, library and bowling dates in the afternoons. We usually have those afternoon dates planned to get out of the heat, however, it seems like these days its to get out of the house and stay dry (in some sense).

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{Giveaway Now Closed}

I’ve mentioned a few times that we are a smoothie family. Smoothie making definitely got a little easier after the addition of our Blendtec blender, but I’ll be honest, we were making smoothies regularly way before that happened. My blender has always been my friend.

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The post You Are My Sunshine Smoothie and Blogging For Fishes {Cookbook Giveaway} appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

How many of us have a beautiful bowl full of fruit sitting on our counter…that never gets eaten?

My fruit bowl is always full. It’s overflowing usually. Depending on the season and what’s on sale you can almost always find apples, oranges, bananas, lemons, limes, tomatoes and an avocado or two. (the rest of the fruit I buy gets stored in the fridge…pears, peaches, grapes, berries, etc). I tend to go overboard when I’m in the produce department apparently.

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My kids went back to school yesterday. I seriously can’t believe our summer break is officially over…though our summer surely isn’t. It’s still hotter than heck and not much is changing for a while other than our schedule.

One of the best parts of summer, other than the obviously fun activities that come along with it, is definitely the fruit. You can’t beat summer fruit. Especially peaches. Gosh, do I love peaches. My favorite are the ones that come from Georgia and the Carolinas…those are the ones I look for around this time of year, they smell so darn good. I love popping one in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours then slicing it up into a glass of red wine…that’s my grandpa’s version of dessert…and that’s another post for another day.

My kids and I have been playing with our new Blendtec the last few weeks. We are blending up everything in sight. One hot afternoon, my daughter and I made this juice. Just like most 4 year old girls, my daughter loves anything pink. When asked what ice cream flavor or smoothie flavor she wants, her response is always “pink”. Not strawberry, but pink.

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Another month…another gathering of the Cooking Light Virtual Supper Club.  This month one of our members suggested the theme, Cooking with Wine.  Now if you know me, you know that got me excited.  I love my wine.

There were so many great Cooking Light recipes using wine to choose from!  I really wish this “club” wasn’t virtual…I would love to have each of these wonderful ladies cooking these dishes for me!

Cheese Fondue with Apples – Shelby from Grumpy’s Honeybunch

French Onion Soup – Helene from La Cuisine d’Helene

Baked Rice with Butternut Squash – Val from More than Burnt Toast

Salmon with White Wine-Mustard Sauce – Jamie from Mom’s Cooking Club

Red Wine Pear Crisp with Spiced Streusel – Aggie from Aggie’s Kitchen

I’m not a huge dessert eater (not saying I don’t like dessert…just don’t have it often) but when I do I tend to make something with fruit.  I like fruit cobblers/crisps/crumbles…whatever you want to call them.  I like them because they are easy to make, usually without too much fuss, and for the most part they are on the healthy side.  This pear crisp was just that.  I’ve never made a crisp/cobbler/crumble with pears, so I was looking forward to trying this.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Bosc pears to make this with (as the recipe calls for), so I had to settle for Bartlett and I left the skins on (it may not look as pretty but the skin is where the nutrients are!).  And instead of the whipped topping I opted for a dollop of vanilla Greek yogurt.

I don’t have to tell you how delicious my kitchen was smelling while the pears were simmering in the wine and then baking in the oven with the spiced streusel.  It is a great fall dessert to treat yourself with.

The recipe can be found here on Cooking Light’s site.

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