For me, summer is smoothie weather and I love having them for breakfast! It’s always fun trying out different flavors. Strawberries, kiwifruit, and bananas are a great combination, and this smoothie uses frozen banana slices to help thicken it and make it creamy. You can slice and freeze your banana the evening before you make it.
Continue reading
If you want to start your St. Patrick’s Day out with something on the healthy side, give this Shamrock Smoothie a try! It also makes a delicious cool and creamy treat in the afternoon! This smoothie gets it’s creaminess from the tasty blend of frozen kiwifruit, banana, and key lime yogurt. You can substitute vanilla yogurt, but I really like this with the key lime flavor!
Continue reading
I thought I’d try a flavored water with a green theme, since St. Patrick’s Day is coming up! But of course, this water is great any time of the year. You mostly taste the lime in this, but the kiwifruit and pear slices make the pitcher of water look so nice! 🙂 I think this water tastes best the same day you make it, but you’ll want to refrigerate it a few hours before serving so the water has more flavor. Use organic produce if you can when making this.
PEAR, LIME, KIWIFRUIT WATER by NancyCreative
Makes a large pitcher (half gallon) of flavored water
- 8 cups of water (I used 2 cups of sparkling water mixed in with 6 cups of regular water to give it a slight fizziness–see note below*)
- 1 large organic pear, cut into thin slices
- 2 limes, cut into thin slices
- 2 kiwifruit, cut into thin slices
Fill pitcher with 8 cups of water. Add slices of pear, lime, and kiwifruit, and stir all ingredients together in the pitcher. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving (the slices of kiwifruit tend to settle at the bottom, so you will need to stir before serving to mix all the fruit evenly). When ready to serve, add ice cubes to pitcher and stir or add ice to individual glasses and pour the flavored water over the ice.
*For a fizzy water drink, use Seltzer water or natural sparkling water (like Perrier) instead of regular water, or use some of each (do not use Club Soda or Tonic Water, as one is high in sodium and the other is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup).
Have you tried making any uniquely-flavored water lately?
Linked to Inspire Me Monday at Create with Joy.
My friend Lorinda is a very talented photographer. She came over to my new apartment for the first time a few days ago and happened to have her camera with her. She took some pictures and showed them to me later…I was really impressed with the beautiful job she did!
Photos by Lorinda Gray
I thought I’d share some of these wonderful photos with you. Lorinda has such a great eye for detail and captured objects that I look at every day in such a fresh, appealing way! She has a blog called Ragamuffin Creative, where she has lots of striking photography, so be sure to check it out!
Photos by Lorinda Gray
As you can tell from some of these pictures, I love hydrangeas! The dried ones you see in these photos were given to me from my talented artist friend Eileen. She has a beautiful hydrangea bush in her front yard.
The chair in the top right photo was rescued from my mother’s basement. It originally belonged to my grandparents and had become very worn and tattered over the years. I had the chair reupholstered and put some wood rejuvenator on the wood trim, so now it’s as good as new! I wish I had taken a “before” picture of it so you could see how dramatic the transformation was!
Another photo shows my little collection of birdhouses that are displayed on a ledge, and in the photo below it to the left, a bird votive holder rests on some antique books. Decorative birds and birdhouses just seem to make a room feel more light and airy!
Next to the bird votive holder, you’ll see a picture of my “magazine rack.” It’s actually an old shutter I bought at a flea market. It just leans against the wall and is perfect for hanging and displaying magazines!
I also have a collection of glass bottles that are displayed on top of a cabinet, along with more dried hydrangeas. It’s always nice having these bottles on hand–they make great flower vases, too!
Well, if you’re not really into decorating, you’re probably wondering where the recipe is in this post! 🙂 Okay, here it is…a really easy, delicious fruit salad. Lorinda took this picture of it, too…
KIWI-CANTALOUPE FRUIT SALAD
Place sliced kiwi fruit and chunks of cantaloupe in medium-size bowl. Add Mandarin oranges, drained, from can–be sure to set aside 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the juice from the can. Add berries if desired. Pour juice from the Mandarin orange can over the fruit in the bowl and toss with the fruit, evenly distributing the different fruits in the salad. This recipe makes 4-8 servings, depending on how much cantaloupe you use, and it makes a great addition to any breakfast or brunch!
NancyC 