Berry Greenalicious Smoothie

Throw those nasty meal replacements in the garbage...that's what they are anyhow! They are loaded with artificial flavorings and sugars as well as synthetic vitamins that your body has a hard time digesting. My personal rule of thumb: If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it!

Here's a great alternative that is not only superior health wise but tastes good too!

Get our your blender and add the following:

1 cup yogurt or kefir
1/2 cup orange juice (not from concentrate)
1 cup frozen fruit (strawberries and blueberries are our favs)
1-3 tsp high quality whole food Greens powder (or throw in a handful of fresh spinach leaves)
1 TB Agave Nectar, optional
1-2 tsp ground flax seed, optional
1 scoop Whey Protein powder, optional

Blend together and enjoy! I make a blender full because even the kids beg for it.

To Do It By Hand...Or Not

So the question remains unanswered...or answered with many viewpoints. Does running the dishwasher use more water and energy then washing your dishes by hand? Well, here's my answer. It depends. Before you hit the 'X' at the top of the page give me a chance to explain.

Running water non-stop to rinse your dishes either before putting them in the dishwasher or after washing them in a sink full of water by hand uses a lot of water. Unless you are very conservative, running a sink full of hot, soapy water and rinsing under the running tap could use as much, if not more, water then running your dishwasher.

Newer dishwashers are now more energy efficient and therefore are meant to do the job using less energy therefore assisting you in being more 'green' and saving green. I'm sure if you can run some water in a medium sized bowl, wash all your dishes, rinse in 'super' speed and air dry it's possible to use less then your energy star rated dishwasher.

But, for most people, myself included, it's probably a sure bet that's not going to be the case. So, here are a few easy tips to help save energy and wash your dishes 'GREEN'.

1. Only run the dishwasher when it is completely full.

2. Use a plastic scraper to dispose of food particles on the dishes rather then rinsing under running water.

3. Change the setting on your dishwasher to 'air dry' rather then a heated dry.

And there you have it. My personal opinion on hand washing vs. using a dishwasher. :) Don't you feel much better already?!

Little To Big Blueberry Parfait

Put approximately 1 cup of plain or vanilla yogurt into 4-5 dishes, top each with a handful or two of fresh, antioxidant loaded blueberries. :)

Next, get out a heavy skillet. Put in 1 Tablespoon butter. Once melted, add 1 cup of rolled oats and 1/2 cup of slivered or sliced almonds. Stir constantly over medium heat until lightly browned.

Let cool slightly, if you wish, before adding to each parfait.

Yum! From Little to Big...Enjoy!
You might even forget about your apple-see 2nd pic. ;)

Pineapple Walnut Chicken Salad

Another one of my creations to 'use it up'. This is a quick, easy chicken salad that is tasty enough to take to a ladies luncheon.

Mix together in medium bowl:
2 cups shredded chicken
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup walnuts, chopped fine
1-2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup plain, yogurt
salt and pepper to taste

optional: dried cranberries would be a wonderful addition (my sweetie doesn't like them, therefore I left them out this time)

Serve on a bed of lettuce or a slice of fresh bread.

Have you tried my Ultimate Chicken Salad yet?

Cucumber, Tomato & Corn Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

My generous neighbor brought over a bag of cucumbers before heading out of town for the 4th...yippee! I love yummy surprises. Since we had a party planned ourselves and I'd been wanting to try out GrammyGoo's delicious looking recipe anyway...I decided to get creative and use up what I had in my refrigerator. And, now that you know the story behind my latest creation I'll tell you how to prepare it.

Add to a large bowl:
4-6 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
2-3 tomatoes, cut up
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 of a medium red onion

Mix well after adding 1 cup Poppyseed Dressing. Allow to marinate for 2-3 hours before serving.

Mel's Sweet n Spicy Chili

I know it's a tad hot out for chili but I'm thinking in terms of chili dogs! Yum! A bit of cocoa and strong coffee give this chili a taste that is sensational.

Here's what you'll need:
2 lbs ground beef
2 -15 oz cans beans (your choice)
4 cloves garlic, minced or chopped fine
1 cup chopped onion
2 -28 oz cans crushed tomatoes
1 cup strong coffee
2-3 TB chili powder
1 TB bouillon (from health food store- without MSG)
2 TB ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp sugar or agave
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa
1-2 tsp salt, to taste
hot sauce to taste

Brown beef, then add in onion and garlic until softened. Add in remaining ingredients except salt and hot sauce. Heat through. Add salt and hot sauce to taste. Simmer and enjoy! The longer you let the flavors simmer the better it will be. Try making this ahead of time and then transferring to your crock pot to simmer on low for 4-8 hours. Serve with cornbread, crackers or over hot dogs (preferably without nitrates). :)

It's an insect not a spider
it has 6 legs instead of 8
3 on this side 3 on that side
and it's crawling on your plate.

1 ant, 2 ants , 3 ants 4
our picnic is their grocery store
5 ants 6 ants 7 ants 8
they are crawling on my plate
8 ants 7 ants
stomp around
6 ants 5 ants
on the grounds
4 ants 3 ants
on the run
2 ants 1 ant
no more fun.

Don't despair! Ants in your house doesn't mean you are a bad house keeper. Here's a great, very frugal way to get rid of them.

Grease/Protein Ants:
Mix 1 tsp boric acid and 1/4 cup bacon grease or butter and dip cotton balls in jar (see instructions below)

Sugar Ants:
Mix 1 1/2 tsp boric acid, 1/3 sugar, and 1 cup water

Soak cotton balls in solution and put in small bottles/jars with a lids - poke ant size holes in lids and lay jars on side under sinks or behind appliances. This is good to prevent pets from getting to it.

Place your pets food bowl in a larger dish (ex. pie plate) filled with water (like a moat) to keep ants out.

I place the jars on my counters too at night when I go to bed or anywhere I see them.

*****Keep out of reach of children and pets.******

Wondering why you must keep it away from pets and kids and it's supposed to be low toxic?
Read this.