Lunchtime Yumminess

Lunch is my least favorite meal of the day. I rarely have supplies on hand to make a proper deli sandwich, so a lot of the time we end up eating PBJs or egg salad sandwiches, which are ok but not great, especially everyday. And, now that Laina has decided she doesn't like quesadillas, another easy staple is out.

Enter, smoothie! I have gotten on smoothie kicks before, but I am fully renewed and inspired by them again. While at my parents' house in CA, my mom made a delicious avocado (yes, avocado) smoothie that both I and Laina loved. This is a terrific way to get some Avocado action for Laina and smoothies are so versatile, you can literally mix it up however you want, adding all kinds of yummy, smoothielicious, goodness. I have been mixing one up for me and sharing it with Laina. She used to freak out when I turned on the blender, but now she is getting over that and asking for "some" as I'm blending!

I also started using this great protein powder that is actually very well-rounded on the nutrition scale. It has a nice balance of protein, carbs, and fats as well as fiber, vitamins and minerals. I am pretty impressed with it and just throw it in with some plain yogurt, milk, fruits and/or veggies and mix away! This actually might inspire me to pull out the ol' Champion juicer and juice up some carrots to throw in the mix, too. Yummm!!!

Avocado Smoothie:

1/2 ripe avocado
1/2 ripe banana
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk
about 1/2 cup crushed ice
1 Tbs ground flax seed
1 small squirt Agave nectar, to taste
your choice of protein powder as per directions

throw it all in the blender, mix well, pour into tall glass and enjoy! I just give Laina spoonfuls out of my cup as it's too thick for her to drink out of a straw. Of course you could water it down some and make it easier for little ones to drink themselves. I've also substituted mango for the banana and it's great, too.