Milk?!?!?

Does anyone else hear the term almond milk and have one of these moments?

I don't know.  I was always under the impression that in order for something to produce milk, it needed to have....errr.....milkers.  

Apparently that is not the case.  Due to many people discovering they are lactose-intolerant, there has been a recent surge in cow-milk alternatives.....soy, coconut, rice, hemp, and almond.  And, if you notice, none of these have...errr....milkers.

Almond milk is basically made by soaking almonds in water, blending the almond/water mixture, and then straining the remaining almond pieces.  According to this website, almond milk is a good source of magnesium, manganese, selenium, and Vitamin E.  That means it's good for your bones, immunity, cell membranes, and thyroid function.  Almond milk is a source of unsaturated fat, protein, flavanoids, and potassium.  

The great thing about almond milk is that we can make our own.  A while back, I followed this tutorial and made a batch of almond milk that lasted a whopping 5 minutes in my house. So, I am being completely honest here.....I have been cheating and buying my almond milk.  And lately, I have been really bad and buying flavored almond milk (dark chocolate AND vanilla).  

My minis love almond milk (especially dark chcolate) and my minis love smoothies.  So, I guess it would make sense that they use almond milk in nearly all their smoothies.  Here are the ones I have shared so far:

1.  Chocolate Shake Smoothie

2.  Pumped up and Buff smoothie

3.  Peanut butter and spinach smoothie

And, remember chia Pudding?  You need almond milk for that too.

So make some almond milk.  Or cheat and buy some.  A friend of mine shared this recipe with me yesterday and you should use your almond milk to whip up a batch.  It's totally delish.

Monkey Maddness Smoothie

• kiwi
• mango
• ginger
• strawberries
• kefir (he suggests peach, I would use plain homemade yogurt or plain keifer and add 1/2 of a fresh peach)
• cinnamon
• dark chocolate or vanilla almond milk 

 1.  Blend and enjoy!

Remember my friend Deb?  Deb told me the other day that her minis do not drink smoothies.  I was stunned and speechless (I mean, really, her minis do not drink smoothies?!?!?)  Then I remembered that once I made a smoothie that my minis turned their noses up at, and then I tricked them into eating it by pouring it into popsicle molds.  It worked!  So ever since then, whenever I have leftover smoothie, I make them into a popsicle.  And then I win best-mommy-ever award when I offer the minis popsicles for breakfast!  And that cancels out the worst-mommy-ever award when I make them eat chia seeds for breakfast.

Ambush!!!

This week was the last week of school for my minis.  My tiny, girlie mini had her last day of school on Tuesday.  Here she is, very excited because she was going to celebrate her summer birthday with her classmates that day.

My boy minis had their last day on Wednesday.  They're looking forward to a summer of swimming, baseball, vacations, puppy-time, and lazy days with their mama.  Here they are on their last day of school.

You're probably wondering why my boy minis look like drowned rats on their last day of school.  Well, this is why.  They were ambushed.  By me.

First, I did this (don't mind the Happy Birthday balloons, it was nobody's birthday but all we had in the house).....

Not impressed?  You shouldn't be.  All this was simply my cover-up.  This here was my ambush....

When I picked my minis up from school I told them I had a surprise for them.  When we got home, they were less than impressed with my surprise, but humored me as I asked them to please stand in front of the garage so I could take their picture.  While they were standing there posing instead of getting my camera, I snuck onto the front porch and grabbed my water balloons and AMBUSH!  It was awesome, lots of screaming and running.

But, I forgot one thing.  Mama didn't raise no fools.  Guess where they ran?  Guess who ended up looking like she peed her pants?

A great time was had by all.  And once we all dried off, we did what only made sense.....enjoyed homemade popsicles!

I made these popsicles using a smoothie recipe that was passed on to me from my  best friend.  She has recently fallen in love again with fruits and vegetables, so she calls me regularly to gush about the beautiful produce she has in her fridge.  And then we spend hours talking about all the different ways we can eat fruits and vegetables.  It's lovely.  Not odd in any sort of way.

Best Friend's Fruit Smoothie (for those of you on weight watchers, I believe this is zero points)

• handful of strawberries
• 1-2 frozen bananas
• whole cucumber (peeled or unpeeled;  I peel, best friend does not peel.  She's always been more of a badass than me.)
• small handful of spinach (you can experiment with the amount of spinach)

1.  Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Blend WELL.

I added fresh mint from my garden when I made my fruit smoothie.  It was lovely.  Until I choked on that cute little mint leave that I put in there for photographic purposes.

This is a TRUE fruit smoothie.  This is what a fruit smoothie should taste like.....FRUIT!  If you are someone that loves fruit smoothies made out of a can of smoothie mix or ice cream, you will probably be disappointed in this.  If you are someone who can appreciate fruit for what it is, I think you'll love this.

I made a second batch of this smoothie and poured it into popsicle molds.  My minis loved them!

Happy Summer!!!  And to moms everywhere, I highly recommend a water balloon ambush on your minis!  Just make sure to hide the hose!