Chocolate, Banana and Tofu Smoothie

Chocolate, Banana and Tofu Smoothie

I am a 30 something feminist with a master's degree. I also chose to stay-at-home with my kids. Right now my teenage self is cringing, so are some of the people probably reading this post. Before explaining my main point, a little background info is in order.

I grew up with a mother who was a giant feminist. I'm pretty sure she actually did burn her bras and was very vocal about her opinions. It didn't help that I grew up in Seattle and learned very young that strong outspoken women were awesome and should be appreciated. By the time I was a teenager I had decided that I would go to college, find a great job and excel in my field. This also entailed not getting married or having kids. The thought of being married, much less being a stay-at-home mom was something I thought was the opposite of being a feminist, my mother had raised me to achieve all the things that she hadn't (college, a great job etc). My father thought that I should do whatever I wanted, that no boundaries should stand in my way. I pretty much did exactly what I set out to do. I started a job at 17. It was supposed to be a summer internship, it turned into a 7 year job that helped to pay for school. I went into a field of geography that was dominated by men, I was the only girl in many of my classes. I excelled and was content.

Then I moved to West Virginia and met my husband. He challenged everything. Not only was he smart, but he called me on the things that everyone else was to afraid to. And I started to change. I realized that my life was about choice, my choices not someone else's. Two years after getting married I decided to be a stay-at-home mom when I got pregnant with my oldest. I no longer saw staying at home as something to be settled for, but rather something that I could excel at.  And I'm good at it. I still get people asking me why I stay-at-home with so much work experience and a degree. Don't I feel like I'm missing out on something? Honestly, I don't. I have experienced both sides and decided on the choices that are best for me. And I'm still a proud, smart and overly educated feminist.

Chocolate, Banana and Tofu Smoothie

I am a big smoothie fan, I drink one most days for breakfast. They are a nice way to get protein in the morning and I can drink them on the go to drop my oldest off at the bus. For the last couple of weeks I have been making a new smoothie recipe for  Banana-Cocoa Soy Smoothies from Eating Well magazine.

Chocolate, Banana and Tofu Smoothie

This recipe has 5 ingredients. It takes 1 hour of total time (including freezing), 5 minutes of which is active and makes 1 serving. I did make a few changes to original recipe. First, instead of soy milk I used almond milk. I prefer almond milk and it's the normal milk that I drink. Second, instead of honey I used Stevia. If you find that the smoothie is too thick you can add additional almond milk to make a thinner consistency.

Chocolate, Banana and Tofu Smoothie

I really love this smoothie recipe. The flavor of the chocolate and banana together is delicious. If you aren't a big chocolate fan you can reduce the total amount down to 1 tablespoon. I prefer the recipe as is since I love the taste of chocolate. It's a nice way to start the day with 17 grams of protein per serving!

For the recipe go to Banana-Cocoa Soy Smoothie. 

Recipe for Cocoa Brownies

Gluten Free Cocoa Brownies

I have a slight chocolate addiction. While other people grab for salty snacks I am the one eating a dark chocolate bar. I seem to have passed on the tradition to my two boys who make a bee line to the chocolate bars at whatever store we go to. Since chocolate is my vice I try to limit my chocolate intake to dark chocolate bars and the occasional homemade treat. I love baking at home since I can control the ingredients and I know exactly what goes into every recipe. My kids have been so spoiled that my oldest runs in the door most days asking what I made for his after school snack. One of my favorite chocolate desserts is brownies. Last week I tried a new recipe for Gluten Free Cocoa Brownies from the Food Network.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes one hour of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 16 servings. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First I used a combination of regular and dark cocoa. I love using dark cocoa in baking it gives recipes a nice slightly less sweet flavor. Since I eat gluten free I used brown rice flour in place of the all-purpose flour. Any type of gluten free flour would probably work, so if you prefer sorghum, white rice flour etc. it should come out similarly. Instead of baking the brownies in a 8 inch pan I used a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish. There was way too much batter for a smaller pan and using the larger size was perfect. Since my pan was larger my baking time was increased by approximately 5-10 minutes.

My family doesn't love most gluten free treats. Oftentimes they turn out dry or too moist. These brownies turned out great and my whole family loved them. I like that the recipe would work well with or without gluten which is nice. The actual texture of the brownies is a nice cross between a fudgy and cake brownie, not overly moist, but not too flaky. I would definitely make this recipe again.

For the recipe go to Cocoa Brownies.

Pumpkin-Chocolate Torte with Pumpkin Whipped Cream

My kids are able to make huge messes. As I sit here writing this post my living room floor which I have picked up 5 times today is once again full of toys. I think I might pick up the same toy over and over again everyday. My husband doesn't seem to be much better than my kids. I think he believes that his socks will actually walk themselves to the hamper. They don't. When I was gone for a week this fall my husband didn't pick-up any of his dirty clothes and dishes and was genuinely confused how nothing was clean or put away. Part of it has to do with my expectations of cleanliness. Growing up my mother had a lot of stuff. Not just a few things, but literally our house and then apartment were full of stuff. Nick-knacks covered every available space and there was always stuff everywhere. I am the opposite. I like everything put in its place. My living room is decorated, simply with everything having a spot. It drives me crazy when things are cluttered. Christmas has a tendency to stress me out not for the reason that most people deal with, but for the clutter. As soon as my kids open their gifts I am going around organizing. One way that I keep myself sane is chocolate. I love chocolate and it has an immediate effect on my anxiety. This week during the craziness of the holidays I made a Pumpkin-Chocolate Torte with Pumpkin Whipped Cream from the December issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 4 hours 50 minutes of total time, 50 minutes of which is active and makes 10 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I did not line my pan with parchment paper and I had no problems taking out my torte, so I don't believe that the step is necessary. For the whip cream I chose to just make a straight whip cream without the pumpkin puree and with just a small amount of vanilla. Finally I let the torte firm up overnight before serving. I think this helped it to firm up completely. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys and I really loved this recipe. I like that it only has 11 grams of fat per serving, which is much lower than most dessert recipes. The taste isn't overly sweet, but still has a nice chocolate flavor. I did not drizzle the top with melted chocolate, but I think it would be delicious if you wanted to add this step.

For the recipe go to Pumpkin-Chocolate Torte with Pumpkin-Whipped Cream.

Peanut Butter Cup Protein Smoothie

My oldest has been back in school for two weeks and my family has been doing great with changing our breakfast habits. I have been the one the most in need of reform and I am glad to say that I have completely changed my bad habits. No longer do I reach for the cookies and sweets in the morning, but instead consistently eat protein and fruit. This has been a major change for me and I feel a lot better. I have also changed by kids diets pretty dramatically. We have always eaten well and I started cooking from scratch years ago. However, I have always baked a little too much and can be hit or miss with using whole grains instead of white flour. In the last couple of months I have changed these habits and my family has discovered that they love quinoa, whole wheat couscous and brown rice flour. My two boys have also been much calmer and stopped all the snacking they used to do all day without eating meals. One breakfast food that I have found that my whole family loves is smoothies. They are quick and easy and can be full of protein. Last week I tried a new recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Protein Smoothies from the July issue of Family Circle magazine.

This recipe has 6 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes to prep and makes 4 servings. I'm not really sure why the recipe states that it takes 15 minutes to prep. I was able to put together this smoothie in literally a couple of minutes. I chose to leave out the salt. I tasted the smoothie before adding the salt and I liked it the way it was. I try to avoid unnecessary sodium, so I chose to leave the salt out completely. I actually used vanilla flavored almond milk instead of soy milk. My family prefers almond milk and the remaining soy milk left in the carton wouldn't be consumed and therefore it would be wasteful. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Everyone in my house thought that this smoothie tasted like something from a juice bar. It is absolutely delicious and I love that it has 15 grams of protein. It does have 14 grams of fat, but since it's mostly from peanut butter which is a good fat I think that it is perfectly acceptable. Plus I don't believe in eliminating all fats from your diet, especially since my family is very physically active. One of the best parts about this smoothie is that it keeps you very full. I wasn't hungry until well after lunch so it was a great way to control my mid-morning sugar cravings. I have already made this smoothie two more times and it is sure to stay in my breakfast repertoire.

For the recipe go to Peanut Butter Cup Protein Smoothie.