That’s me! I’m a cheaty little chef. Well, I’m still a little bigger than I’d like to be this long after BIRTHING Rascal. But, in good time. In good time. In any case, I’m definitely a cheaty chef. I sneak as much as I can into my children’s food without them knowing it — because they are truly picky eaters, and I am truly obsessive compulsive when it comes to their diets. I am MISERABLE knowing my children aren’t getting EVERYTHING they need EVERY DAY. And, I do whatever I can to avoid the misery by being CHEATY.

Today, I share with you my easiest, yummiest, cheatiest method of getting SPINACH and other good stuff into my children’s diets…. And, hey! This is not limited to children, of course. Husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, CATS, grandmas — name a loved one — and YOU will love it, too!

CHEATY’S SPINACH YOGURT DELIGHT

Looks good, right? You’d never KNOW there was spinach in there! Now, really, anything goes here. But, the ingredients that follow worked really well. And, the combination of spinach and blueberries is ideal (iron and vitamin C should be ingested together for optimal absorption). The ground nuts provide much-coveted omega 3 fatty acids, an itty-bitty crunch, and a tasty nuttiness — because I’m nutty like that…. Check it:

INGREDIENTS
(Serves 4)

Oh gosh. The amounts of everything really vary…. You have to use your intuition. I’ll try to gage it here….

1 cup yogurt (soy, if you’re vegan like me)
1/2 cup frozen spinach
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 oz (2 tbsp) ground almonds/walnuts (if you don’t have a coffee grinder for grinding nuts and seeds, get one! I use mine all the time. They’re small and inexpensive.)

INSTRUCTIONS

Place all of the ingredients in the blender or food processor and BLEND! If it won’t blend, just add more yogurt. The monkey’s loved it.

My little monkeys ate spinach, Gorgeouses. They actually ate spinach! AND, Rascal’s constipation has been MUCH better thanks to the blueberries, spinach, AND nuts! Sweet.

ENJOY! And, let us know what you think!

Hi Gorgeouses! I hope you’re enjoying the holidays!

As New Year’s approaches, I’m really thinking about my resolutions. Of course, most of them have to do with my diet. And, one of the resolutions I’ve made already — early! — is to have a healthy breakfast every day. NO MORE STARBUCKS CHAI TEA LATTES. HOLLAAHH!

So, for about 3 days now, I’ve been having a HEALTHY smoothie every morning. This means that, by morning, I’ve had at least 2 fruits and maybe a, erm, VEGETABLE! That’s a GREAT plan for making my quota of 5-10 fruits and veggies a day! I also like to sneak in some flax oil — maybe a 2-3 teaspoons — to ensure I get my omega 3 fatty acids (the vegan way). Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for everyone. So, if you’re not a fish eater, you might as well sneak some organic flax seed oil into your diet, and a smoothie’s an excellent place for that.

My morning smoothies are usually a mishmash of things. Here’s what I blended up today:

1 cup Fortified Rice Milk (this helps me get the nutrients I need as a non-milk drinker)
1/2 Frozen Banana
1 cup Frozen Blueberries
1 tbsp Flax Seed Oil
1/2 cup Frozen SPINACH
1 scoop of Hemp Protein Powder

I couldn’t even TASTE the spinach. It was fab.

I actually try to put pureed spinach in anything and everything…like these banana-chocolate-chip muffins I made yesterday:

You can see a TINGE of green. But, I assure you, the kids (and JOSH) tasted no spinach. They had no idea it was in there MWAHAHA! And, they’ve been devouring them! I’ll give you the recipe soon. I’m just obsessed with muffins — because they’re so easy to bake. And, this blog is turning into MUFFINS GALORE! In fact, I’m thinking I should rename it CHEATY MUFFINS. But, there’s something not quite right about that…. By the way, the pumpkin seeds? Purely aesthetic. They help diffuse the green….

So, there you have it. We’re drinking smoothies daily to start the day off right. No more Starbucks mornings. I’m so dunzo with that. We’ll see if I can manage to sit and read there with a mint tea…. Not as exciting, but, you know….

Do you have any dietary resolutions? Please share in the comments!

Love!
xo Haley-O