Power Smoothie

I don't talk about it a lot here, but one of my greatest passions is exercise and fitness.  It seems a little contradictory--a food blogger (and not a healthy one) who loves to run and work out!  But, it's the truth.

I didn't always love working out.  After Mike and I got engaged, I started working out every day to get in shape for our wedding.  I ate well and felt great.  When we got married, I was at what I believe to be my lowest weight as an adult.  Then we got married, and I started eating as much as Mike, and the pounds started packing on.  I wasn't exercising as much because I didn't have the motivation of my wedding!

A few months after we got married, I found some motivation and started the couch to 5k program.  I realized how much I still enjoyed working out, and discovered a new love--running. The summer after we got married, I purchased a trial gym membership for each of us.  I would get up in the mornings with Mike and when he would head to work, I would go to the gym.   After our trial membership ended, we purchased a "real" gym membership at another gym.  I loved going every morning and getting a good workout in before work.  I also fell in love with spinning and weight lifting.

After a hard workout, I'd often come home and make what I call a power smoothie.  It's called power because it has blueberries (high in antioxidants), kale (a superfood), and flax seed (a wonder food) in it.  It tastes great, and I found it to be a great recovery drink after a workout.  Sometimes I'd even add a scoop of protein powder to the mix for more staying power.

I made one of these for Mike after we worked out together.  I didn't tell him that it had kale in it until after he finished drinking (and enjoying) the smoothie.  Then I told him it was really a green smoothie and he wasn't too impressed!  He told me to never hide healthy stuff in his food again.  Ha!  That's one request I don't think I'll be following ;)

Power Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 small handful spinach or kale
1 frozen banana
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
1/2 cup yogurt

Blend ingredients together in your blender until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Baked Spinach Cups

Superbowl is just a few weeks away, and if you're anything like me, you're probably already brainstorming your menu plan!  Because we all know Superbowl isn't about football, it's about the food!  Right?

When planning my Superbowl menu, I like to come up with a good mix of savory and sweet foods.  Like the jalapenos I shared last week, these are great appetizer sized foods--perfect for the big game!

These spinach cups were a huge hit at Mike's family potluck.  All the cousins love spinach dip, so I had a feeling this would go over well.  You can serve these warm from the oven, or at room temperature.  I even had some cold the next day and they were great cold as well. 

*As a side note, if you look to the left of this post, you'll see a poll I created for you.  I'd love to get some feedback from you about what kind of recipes you'd like me to post more of.  Please vote for as many as you'd like--I appreciate your input!

Baked Spinach Cups

Makes 24 cups

You will need:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup water, plus a little more
1 batch of Spinach Dip

1.  Sift flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center.

2.  Whisk together egg, salt and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl. Pour into flour well. Mix together, adding additional water until the mixture will stay together in a ball.

3.  Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and pliable.  Let the dough rest for 30-60 minutes.

4.  Divide dough in half. Keep one half covered while you roll out the other one on a surface lightly coated with cornstarch. Roll dough into approximately a 21"x7" rectangle.

5.  Cut into 3-1/2" squares. You should be able to get approximately 12 wonton wrappers out of each half.

6.  Press each wrapper into the bottom of a greased mini muffin tin to form a cup.

7.  Scoop spinach dip into each wonton cup.

8.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until wonton wrappers are golden brown and spinach dip is warm.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

*If you would rather not make your own wonton wrappers, you can substitute store-bought in this recipe.

Superbowl Round-up~~Spinach Dip

Spinach Dip (2/6/11)

I really don't know if this needs much of an explination...really...spinach dip.  It's just so good!  I went back for food probably 3 times during the Superbowl game, and every time, this dip was on my plate!  I do have to say, I was pretty happy that there was a little bit leftover after the party, so I could enjoy it the next day!

You will need:
1 8 oz package cream cheese (I actually used Neufchatel)
1/2 cup mayonaise (I used light)
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 package frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and chopped
1 cup cheese crumbles (I cut a block of cheese into small pieces)

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate!