Day 154 : Raspberry Sauce & Raspberry Lemon Shake

I wanted to make a lemon shake and got the idea to add raspberries, but I didn’t just want to throw whole berries into the mix.  A few years ago I created this raspberry sauce I knew would be perfect for this so went ahead and whipped some of that up and then used a bit of it for the shakes.  You will end up with extra sauce, but it is great over ice cream, on pancakes, or drizzled over cake, etc.  Tonight I used sugar free/fat free pudding because it’s what I had on hand, but honestly I HATE them.  I hate that fake sugar flavor and the feeling it leaves on my teeth, so unless you are dieting (and in that case you are likely aware of the issue and it doesn’t matter) I would suggest using the regular version.

 

Raspberry Sauce

Serves : makes about 1 cup              Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 1 1/4 T. sugar
• 1 T. raspberry preserves
• 4-5 T. prepared pink lemonade (I just make a glass from the powder and measure from that)

Directions :

1. Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. 
2. Push contents through a sieve to remove seeds.
3. Cover and store in the fridge.

Raspberry Lemon Shake

Serves : 1                 Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• 1 T. raspberry sauce
• 1 1/2 T. lemon pudding mix (instant)
• 1/2 cup milk
• whip cream

Directions :

1. Combine all but the whip cream in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Top with whip cream.

 

Day 153 : Oreo Cloud Shake

You may recognize the name of this one… or at least the cloud part.  My son insisted I name it that after we did so for the strawberry one earlier this year.  If you haven’t guessed by now it has marshmallow creme in it… hence the cloud part.  We used homemade cookies and cream ice cream for this, but I assume store bought would work just fine.  You may find you need a bit more milk though in that case, as the homemade stuff was pretty soft to begin with.

 

Oreo Cloud Shake

Serves : 1-2          Time to make : 3 minutes

Ingredients :

• 3 big scoops of cookies and cream ice cream
• 1/4 cup marshmallow creme
• 1/4 cup (or more) milk
• 1-2 oreos for garnish

Directions :

1. In a blender on high mix ice cream, marshmallow creme and milk until smooth.  You may have to stop and stir a few times to get the marshmallow mixed in properly.
2. Pour into one or two glasses and top with a crushed oreo or two.

Day 148 : Nutella Iced Coffee

Ok, so I know it’s starting to look like I have a nutella addiction…. and maybe I do, but I came up with this the other night and just had to share it with you all!  Although I enjoy making blended frappes at home with my nifty machine I have been craving just iced coffees lately and have been experimenting with new versions of that.  This is simply YUMMY!  Creamy, chocolatey, nutty, and satisfies both my need for dessert and coffee all at once!

I don’t measure when making my coffees, so below are just estimates.  Feel free to add more or less to your taste.

 

Nutella Iced Coffee

Serves : 1              Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee (I use hazelnut espresso beans)
• 2 T. nutella
• 1 T. chocolate syrup
• ice
• 2 T. fat free half and half
• milk (top off)

Directions :

1. Brew your coffee, then with that combine the nutella, chocolate syrup, and 2-3 ice cubes (helps it to blend) in a blender on high until well mixed.
2. Fill a tall glass about half full with ice then pour the coffee mixture over top.
3. Add the half and half and fill the rest of the way with milk.
4. Stir.

 

Day 147 : Islander Smoothie

I often make a parfait using similar ingredients, and in fact I believe I have shared it here, but today I just felt like having a drink for breakfast.  Normally I have fresh ingredients on hand, but today I was down to some I had frozen from before and I didn’t want to deal with thawing and then cutting them so into the blender they all went.  Add a bit of milk and you are left with a nice thick, creamy, and island inspired smoothie!  Even better yet… it’s healthy!

Sorry for the boring shot… as I said I didn’t have any fresh ingredients for garnish and the frozen one broke in half when I tried to slice one side.  It may look boring but it tastes great I promise!

Islander Smoothie

Serves : 1                      Time to make : 3 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/2 large banana sliced and frozen
• 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 container (I think about 6 oz) vanilla greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 2 T. shredded coconut (sweetened)

Directions :

1. Combine banana, pineapple, yogurt and milk in a blender and blend on high until smooth.
2. Add the coconut and blend until combined.

Day 142 : Creamy Lime Cooler

Since the weather never got better yesterday we rescheduled for tonight which meant a quick recipe for me.  I have lots to do yet tonight so I will just make this brief.

The drink is awesome!  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really like the creamy, but not thick texture and the lime with the pineapple is perfect.  I added the zest of the entire lime, and I really like the little pieces in there for some added texture and of course color.  I also went ahead and put the juice of the full lime in.  I will list the recipe as I made it below rather than the original.

Creamy Lime Cooler

Serves : 1              Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 cup pineapple juice
• juice of 1 lime
• zest of 1 lime
• 2 tsp. powder sugar
• 3 large scoops vanilla ice cream

Directions :

1. Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Day 139 : Fizzy Wizzy Juice

My son named this one, and got the idea from Wow Wow Wubzy I believe.  It was just something I came up with on the spot for a little treat and though it is super simple and can hardly be called a recipe he LOVES it and requests it almost every night now.  This, from my VERY picky eater….

I assume it would work well with all sorts of combinations for the sherbert and the sparkling water alike.  I am going to get the pineapple sherbet next time and I can’t wait to browse through the sparkling water section just to find something to accompany it!  Anyway, it’s a great dessert on a hot day, very reminiscent of a float, and the best part is that once the sherbert melts it just becomes a fizzy drink!

Fizzy Wizzy Juice

Serves : 1          Time to make : 2 minutes

Ingredients :

• 2 scoops raspberry sherbert
• 1/2 cup lime sparkling water, chilled

Directions :

1. In your glass of choice place the scoops of sherbert and pour the sparkling water over top.  It will fizz and create a sort of shell on the sherbert. 
2. Dig in!

Day 130 : Chocolate Banana Protein Shake

In keeping with the eating healthier I am also trying to get more protein into my diet.  I decided to get some soy protein powder the other day to have on occasion for breakfast or a snack.  I got some Gensoy Chocolate powder and it’s pretty good just mixed with the milk, but I tried this recipe suggested on the can today and it was quite tasty!

I can’t wait to come up with other ways to make it better, or even other ways to use the powder.  I am thinking about using some raspberries in it next time to start.

Chocolate Banana Protein Shake

Serves : 1                      Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup ice
• 1/2 ripe banana
• 3 rounded T. chocolate soy protein powder (such as gensoy)
• 1 cup milk

Directions :

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until frothy/smooth. 

Day 109 : Toasted Coconut Iced Mocha

Just a quick one tonight.  Needed a little pick me up after a rough day.  Baby has been sick for two days now, had a bunch of stuff to get done, and to top off my bad day Jack in the Box forgot to give me my salad which I didn’t realize until I got home.

This is just something I threw together and I think it turned out well. Now to get back to my poor sick baby.

Toasted Coconut Iced Mocha

Serves : 1                Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
• 2 T. marshmallow creme
• 2 oz. coconut syrup
• 2 T. chocolate syrup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee or espresso
• whip cream
• toasted coconut

Directions :

1. Blend ice cream, marshmallow creme, coconut syrup, chocolate syrup, milk and coffee together.
2. Top with whip cream and toasted coconut.

Day 108 : Fresh Strawberry Cloud Milkshake

This one is a little something for my son.  I already had a mocha today so I needed to NOT make some high calorie recipe for myself lol.  Yesterday Perrin requested a strawberry shake and I told him I would make one today so that is what I did.  I was getting ready to make the shake when I saw the jar of marshmallow creme sitting on the counter and a lightbulb went off in my head…. why not put that in the shake?!

I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out, or if I had the right amount, but it was AWESOME!  I did try it…. just didn’t have a full glass.  I can’t very well rate a recipe afterall without trying it.  Anyway the strawberry flavor was just how I like it, present but not overpoweringly sweet (since it was fresh strawberries) and I really enjoyed the marshmallow flavor and especially the times when a little of it didn’t mix in all the way and you got a small pocket of the marshmallow creme.  Sort of like a swirl effect in spots.  It was the perfect thick consistency too.

I have lots of plans to incorporating marshmallow creme into other drinks now lol.  Oh and Perrin helped me name the drink.

Fresh Strawberry Cloud Milkshake

Serves : 2                    Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 3/4 cup frozen strawberries
• 2 heaping T. marshmallow creme
• 3 scoops french vanilla ice cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• whip cream
• strawberry syrup

Directions :

1. Combine strawberries, marshmallow creme, ice cream, and milk in a blender and blend on high until thick and creamy and smooth.
2. Top with whip cream and a drizzle of strawberry syrup.

Day 107 : Orange Pineapple Mojito Spritzers

Trying to finish up some leftovers and whatnot before I go grocery shopping again so making simple recipes until then.  Tonight I wanted a nice refreshing drink to relax after a typical Monday.  I might have rather had some alcohol in them, but I decided to let the whole family in on the fun instead.

I came up with the recipe on the fly, just looking around at what I had.  I think it turned out pretty well, and Perrin definitely agrees since he had 3 small glasses lol.  Archer went nuts over it too, but we didn’t let him have as much since he’s only 1.

Orange Pineapple Mojito Spritzers

Serves : 4            Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 4 T. Orange Pineapple frozen concentrate
• 1 1/2 C. Roses Mojito Mix
• 16 oz. lime sparkling water
• ice
• lime wedges for garnish

Directions :

1. Combine juice concentrate and mojito mix in a pitcher and stir until well mixed.
2. Add ice, then slowly add the sparkling water (so it doesn’t foam up) and stir.
3. Serve in a glass with more ice, and garnish with a lime wedge.

Day 105 : Berry Frosty

Just wanted to have a bit of fun and make a family friendly treat tonight.  Ironically my son did NOT enjoy it…. so he says.  My youngest however, devoured half of Jeff’s.

These are great, because you can make any flavor you want, depending on what type of preserves you have.  You can also go sugar free and low fat if you want to feel a little less guilty.  I think I am definitely going to experiment with other flavors.  I really liked the little zing from the soda, though I might have liked it to overall be a bit thicker…. which could be easily solved by putting more ice cream or less milk.  I eyeballed the ice cream in mine so that might be part of it too.

Oh, tonight I made ours with seedless raspberry preserves.

Berry Frosty

Serves : 3              Time to make :  5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup preserves of your choice
• 1 cup 7 up
• whip cream (optional)

Directions :

1. Combine all ingredients, except the whip cream in blender and blend until smooth and well mixed.
2. Serve in a tall glass, or even a frosty one if you prefer. 
3. Top with whip cream.

Day 104 : Blood Orange Lemonade

While out shopping the other day I noticed they had blood oranges at Yokes.  I have seen them on tv, and have always wondered what they could possibly taste like so I decided to buy a couple.  I had no idea how I wanted to use them, but I was leaning towards some sort of drink since I figured I would likely get the best taste of the blood orange that way with fewer other ingredients to get in the way.

I came across this one while searching and thought it sounded perfect.  The original recipe is for double the amount, but I am glad I decided to make half because to my surprise when I cut into the second orange (which was not part of the recipe) that I wanted to use as garnish I discovered that it was not “bloody” at all, and in fact there was just a slight amount of red inside.  Having no knowledge of blood oranges I am not sure if this is something that happens once in a while or what, but it surely would have been a disappointment if I had needed for the recipe!  I still cut it up and threw it in though since I didn’t want to waste a perfectly good orange, bloody or not.

You definitely won’t find a more SIMPLE recipe and though the flavor is somewhat understated I found this drink to be quite refreshing.  I tasted a bit of the blood orange before mixing it in and it was very good.  Sweet and citrusy with just a hint of something else, which according to an internet search is raspberry.  I dunno, maybe it’s a hybrid of the two?  Anyway they are very good.  It also results in a nice pretty pink color to the lemonade!

Blood Orange Lemonade

Serves : 4            Time to make : 10 minutes

Ingredients :

• 8 cups cold water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 blood oranges, juice of
• 2 lemons, juice of

Directions :

1. Combine water and sugar in a pitcher and stir until sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Pour in the juice of your blood oranges and lemons and stir well.
3. Cut up what’s left of one of each lemon and blood orange and submerge in the lemonade.
4. If you want, add some ice as well.
5. Chill and serve.

Day 102 : Tiramisu Frappe #2

Ok, so I know I already did a similar drink for my blog not long ago, but I had a moment of genius when I was trying to decide what to use the rest of that sweetened marscapone I had left over from the other night.  I knew I could make a great tiramisu frappe with that and it turned out even better than I hoped!

If you didn’t catch the recipe for the marscapone it was just 11 oz of marscapone, mixed with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1/4 tsp. almond extract.  It was for the stuffed strawberries I made earlier this week, but I have found other great uses for the leftovers including this one.  It’s a great little spread to have on hand I think.

Anyway, back to the drink.  It is rich, creamy, and really tasted a lot like tiramisu.  The other tiramisu drink I made was an adult only beverage, but this one can be enjoyed by anyone…. well anyone who is old enough to drink coffee that is!

 

Tiramisu Frappe #2

Serves : 1                 Time to make : 3 minutes

Ingredients :

• 2 scoops french vanilla ice cream
• 3 T. sweetened marscapone (directions listed above)
• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1/4 cup milk
• whipped cream
• cocoa powder
• vanilla wafer

Directions :

1. Blend ice cream, marscapone, coffee, and milk in a blender until smooth and creamy.
2. Top with whipped cream.
3. Dust a bit of cocoa powder over the whipped cream, and finish with a vanilla wafer.

 

Day 87 : Iced Cinnamon Mocha

Another hectic day so this is going to be brief.  Had pizza for dinner since Jeff was home late and decided a nice iced mocha would be a good after dinner treat, and there’s something very relaxing about the combination of cinnamon and chocolate.  I had just gotten some chocolate marshmallow ice cream from Schwan’s so just used that, but you can use whatever chocolate ice cream you have on hand.  I went a bit light on the sugar in this since I didn’t want an overly sweet drink and found it to be just right for me, but you can adjust to your tastes.

Iced Cinnamon Mocha

Serves : 1                 Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee or espresso
• 1/2 cup chocolate ice cream
• 1 packet splenda
• 1 1/2 T. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup fat free half and half
• whip cream

Directions :

1. Mix in blender until smooth and top w/ the whip cream and another sprinkle of  cinnamon.

Day 84 : Iced Chai To Go!

Today was such a beautiful day here in Northern Idaho, and it was about time!  Finally I was able to do my first photography session of the year with a great mother and son duo.  Today I am enjoying my chai after all is said and done, but this would be the perfect drink to throw together just before you leave the house and bring along in a travel mug.

You may have had a chai latte at Starbucks before, and this is like that…. but SO much better!  I like the mix of the two brands of chai because each has it’s own special qualities.  The Tazo chai has an almost pumpkin pie taste to it, with similar spices, and the Oregon chai has the sweetness of the honey and stronger spice flavor.  Together along with just a bit of cream and milk they make pure heaven in a glass!  The vanilla I just throw in to bring them all together, and because vanilla is good in everything.

It really couldn’t be quicker to make this drink, and doing it at home yourself can save you time AND money!  So enjoy!

Iced Chai To Go

Serves : 1            Time to go : 1 minute

Ingredients :

• 1/3 cup Oregon Chai
• 1/2 cup Tazo Chai
• 1 T. vanilla syrup
• 1 T. heavy cream
• 1 cup milk

Directions :

1. Combine everything in a glass and stir!