Pumpkin Pie...In A Glass?

I was browsing online and I saw several people mention making pumpkin smoothies and since I am on a smoothie kick recently I thought I would give it a try.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie:

1c skim milk

1/2c pure pumpkin (I used Libby’s)

2 level scoops of vanilla protein powder

Pumpkin Pie spice

The first time I made it that is all I used because I was using my immersion blender and I didn’t want to use ice.  While it was good, it was not really that thick.  Friday I went to Target and studied the blenders for quite awhile and finally decided to get a Ninja Professional Blender for an early birthday present (PS: it is on sale this week at Target for $20 off).  Apparently the wattage is what matters when attempting to blend ice and the Ninja has 1000 watts---so far it has worked amazingly well and I am super glad I bought it.

So Saturday morning I got out the new blender to try it.  I used all the same ingredients, but added about 5 whole ice cubes.  Wow! What a difference.  The smoothie was thick and frothy and the ice made it seem like I was having more smoothie than before!

I am really loving all the smoothies I have been making recently and the addition of protein powder really helps me stay full until lunch time.  I either don’t have a snack before lunch or have an apple to help tide me over!

The Great Immersion Blender

Today I decided to use a little of my tax return to get an immersion blender.  It is something I have been thinking about for awhile because I love soups and smoothies, but I find dragging out the huge blender is just an overwhelming task that I don’t often undertake so I usually just forego recipes that require any sort of blending.  I happened to get an email last week from Fabulessly Frugal (which is a daily email with coupons, deals, and other interesting tidbits) that featured a highlight of a Cuisinart Immersion Blender on Amazon that was on sale.  The model mentioned was a Cuisinart CSB-76BC, which I decided to check out and found that it had great reviews.  I checked yesterday at Target to see which immersion blenders we had, but I wasn’t really impressed with either one.  I was off work and out of school today for Spring Break so before I went grocery shopping at Publix this morning I decided to check Bed, Bath, and Beyond to see what they had because I was itching to try some new things with the blender while I had time.  They had the Cuisinart CSB-76 (white instead of brushed chrome) so I figured for $29.99 why not go ahead and get it (and the helpful salesperson said if I could find a BB&B coupon I could bring it and my receipt back in and get the difference refunded). 

Once I made it home I promptly got to thinking about great ways to use my new immersion blender.  I remembered that I had seen a relatively easy broccoli and cheese soup recipe somewhere, using a blender, which I had saved and filed away for the glory days of a new immersion blender.  I finally found it after 3 tedious searches through my Gmail.  My first experience with my new toy resulted in a tasty broccoli and cheese soup perfectly portioned for one.

The soup was so easy to make I’ve decided I have no more excuses to make PB&J or turkey sandwiches all the time for my lunch at work/school.  It seriously took me a max of 5 minutes to whip together and I feel sure it would reheat well for a more exciting lunch. 

Broccoli and Cheese Soup (for one)

Green Giant Just For One Broccoli and Cheese

1 wedge of Laughing Cow Light Cheese

½ cup skim milk

I just heated the broccoli and cheese up in the microwave according to the package directions.  In the included plastic beaker (technical term, I promise it says that on the box) I cut up the cheese wedge, poured in the milk, and added the veggies.  Blended for a couple of seconds until it was all a smooth consistency.  If I had some extra steamed broccoli I would have probably added some at this point and briefly blended to still have some chunks in it.  Add a serving of Sea Salt Special K Cracker Chips and some baby carrots for a delicious and easy lunch. 

I also bought some Greek yogurt and 3 tubs of strawberries at the store because I love strawberries and I thought the insane amount of protein in the Greek yogurt would make a delicious base for a post workout smoothie.  I came home from working out looking forward to trying out a smoothie that I thought up while <dying> on the ArcTrainer. 

Strawberry Smoothie With Greek Yogurt

1 single serving of plain Greek yogurt (I used Yoplait because I had a coupon)

½ cup skim milk

1 tbsp honey

Chopped strawberries (as many or as few as you would like)-I had sliced them when I got home from Publix and added a packet of Truvia to the container.

Mix it all in the plastic beaker with the immersion blender until it reaches your desired consistency.  I was a little nervous because I added all the milk at once and was worried about it being too runny, but it actually turned out to be the perfect consistency to drink without a problem. 

I figured since I had some free time today I would do a little food preparation to help me make good choices this week because after today I have to work and focus on getting some school things accomplished.  I already mentioned that I cut up all the strawberries I bought; I also put a pound of thin sliced chicken breast in the Crockpot, covered them in water and cooked on low about 6 hours.  I plan to use this shredded chicken throughout the week.  Tonight I used it in a simple pasta dish.

Santa Fe Chicken Spaghetti

2 oz (dry weight) whole-wheat thin spaghetti

3 oz (I weighed after cooking) shredded chicken breast

¼ cup Philadelphia Cooking Crème, Santa Fe flavor

Cook the pasta according to the package (I chose the al dente time and it was perfect), drain and return to pot.  I placed the pot back over the burner, added the chick and crème and allowed it all to heat through.  The cooking crème melted great and turned into a really easy sauce for the noodles and chicken.  If I had been thinking I probably would have added a side salad.  I could also see some veggies mixed into the pasta being really good as well. 

(Might I add that I was a little worried about the richness of this cooking crème, but I had a $1.50 off coupon from the Sunday Paper and decided that now was the time to try it out.  The container has 4 servings total and once I looked at the nutritional information it really was no worse than adding a tomato sauce and cheese to the spaghetti.)