It's All About The Journey

The Purlpe Smoothie

I have a  smoothie every afternoon for my lunch . It's purple, it's yummy and it's oh so good for you. I know that I shared this smoothie recipe last year but I've changed it a bit and thought that I would share my updated version of it. I have been drinking this every day for the past 3 months and I'm totally addicted to it.

 Here is a photo of the ingredients that I use to make my healthy smoothie. The only thing missing are the ice cubes.

 Recipe

1/4 cup of frozen blueberries

4 frozen strawberries

1 small banana

1 scoop of Vanilla Protein powder

1/2 cup of low fat Soy milk

2 Splenda

4 ice cubes.

I use a Ninja blender to blend all of the ingredients above. In less then 40 seconds of blending I have a frosty that is almost as thick as ice cream,tastes likes ice cream, gives me 16 grams of protein and is under 300 calories. Plus I am getting at least 3 portions of my daily fruit. If your watching your calories you could always cut the ingredients in half or not add protein powder. Because I do not eat meat or dairy I need to find different ways to get my protein in each day. 

Here is a photo of what the smoothie looks like in my glass. Oh and if you have some free time check out Becky's "Feed My Family Friday."

 

 

Did you know that we are suppose to have 65 grams of protein each day? I didn't and was shocked to learn that I was getting perhaps 10 grams a day. No wonder I was losing muscle and my hair! Within a few months my hair is doing lots better. :) Just thought that I would share that tidbit. If any of you have a great way to incorporate protein into your daily meals I would love to hear about it.  

That's it from me today. I hope that all of you have a wonderful week.

Stay Safe and Smile. :)

 

Happy Times

I have had a wonderful birthday. I was very fortunate to be able to share my day with some of my family, especially with our new baby Grace. I love babies. :)

Wayne has once again made sure that my birthday was a very special day. I have a few photos to share and a free Quote that you can use on one of your baby photos or on a digital page.

 Here is a photo of my cake this year.

It was delicious!!! I love gold cake with a whip cream topping so every year I get the same cake. The only difference are the colors of the flowers. I'm easy.

Wayne gave me a new Pandora bracelet. I absolutely *love* it.

During the party we had Molly and other family members go downstairs to our studio and I took photos of Grace with Mom, Dad, her grandmother and her Aunt Darcy. Here is one of the photos with Molly & Grace.

And here is the quote that I added to the photo above.

Feel free to download this quote for your own personal use at 4Shared  

Lastly, an informal photo of 4 generation of women in our family. What a great feeling it is to be a great grandmother. I never thought I would see the day and yet.......here I am. :) I am truly blessed. Thanks for stopping by and sharing in a little bit of the newest chapter of my life.

Stay safe and Smile. :)

Wayne & I Make Irish Soda bread

Wayne and I took on the challenge of making our very first Irish Soda Bread last night. We made quite the mess when all was said and done......but we did it!   :)

 Wayne sifted the flour because it was an easy job for him to do.

 Here I am adding in the ingredients to make the bread.

 

And here is the finish result. We made two loaves so we will be giving one loaf away. I think it turned our delicious.

If you would like to try to make Irish Soda Bread Here is the recipe we used:

 

Irish Soda Bread

Recipe courtesy Brother Rick Curry, The Secrets of Jesuit Bread making, HaperPerennial, 1995

Prep Time:

20 min

Inactive Prep Time:

20 min

Cook Time:

1 hr 0 min

Level:

Intermediate

Serves:

2 loaves

Ingredients

• 5 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 pound (1 stick) butter
• 2 1/2 cups mixed light and dark raisins, soaked in water for 15 to 20 minutes and drained
• 3 tablespoons caraway seeds (I used 1 tablespoon)
• 2 1/2 cups buttermilk ( I used low fat)
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter 2 (9 by 5-inch) bread pans.

Stir together the sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Cut in the butter and mix very thoroughly with your hands until it gets grainy. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.

Add the buttermilk and egg to the flour mixture. Stir until well moistened. Shape dough into 2 loaves and place in the pans.

Bake for 1 hour. Test with a toothpick for doneness. Cool in the pans for 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Hope you like it as much as we did. :)

 I thought I would play along with Farm Girls' Feed My Family Friday. Okay this is not a lunch or supper but it was sort of a supper fro Wayne and I last night. 

 Here is a collage I made using a few of the photos of Wayne and I making the bread. I used the MDS program to make it.

Personal Ramblings.

When I was a young girl and a young woman St. Patrick's Day was a very important day of the year for me, some of my family and many of my friends. My Mother was of Irish descent, she was very proud to be Irish.  The schools that I went to were Catholic and it was a huge day for all  of the students who attended even if they were not Irish. Or in my case 1/2 Irish. :)  Although we had to wear uniforms we were allowed to wear something that was green. Some wore green socks, a green tie (boys only) a green accessory for our hair (girls only) or a green sweater or pin. We were also allowed to bring in green carnations to give to our close friends. When I went home from school my mother had Corned beef and cabbage cooking for dinner and a fresh loaf of Irish Soda Bread.  In the background you could hear the sounds of the Clancy Brothers singing the their beautiful Irish songs. Although that was a very long time ago this year for some reason I missed those days. Wayne does not eat cabbage and I no longer eat corned beef. I did buy 3 green carnations and decided to make the Irish Soda bread. It has been many years since I've last celebrated St.Patrick's Day, today however small I celebrated it and I'm so glad that I did. :) Happy St. Patrick's day to all of you.