Oatmeal & Smoothies: A Quick Meal for a Hot Night

This one is a simple quick one folks, but fairly nutritious, or so I tell myself, and little cooking needed for a HOT HOT night.

I spend a lot of money on the fruits on sale at the grocery store and at the local market. I was blessed to have a son who, usually, loves most veggies and loves his fruit even more. So, I buy a wide array each week and let him pick what he'd like to eat throughout the rest of the week. This, of course, leads to lots left over which is fine with me since I then freeze them and use them for several different uses later. My favorite use, SMOOTHIES!

I'm referring to this recipe as a hodge podge smoothie because you can literally put in whatever you want. From fresh or frozen fruits to fresh or frozen veggies. Accompanied by anything from fruit juice (of any flavor) to milk to yogurt to frozen yogurt to ice cream. Almost anything goes!!! Great right! The only thing I would say, if you have no frozen fruit I'd try to add ice cream or frozen yogurt for that cold creamy factor. At the very least, throw in some ice cubes! I'll give you approximately what I put in this one but, seriously, the sky is the limit! Have fun with this one!

Hodge Podge Smoothies

I mixed this all in my tall Magic Bullet cup with the cross blade attachment but any blender would work fine. It's just a convenient size so I don't make too much.

Asst. Frozen fruit filled to top of cup (roughly 2 cups worth)
              Watermelon Chunks, Cantaloupe Chunks, and Mixed Berries including strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries
1/2 a fresh banana (sliced) - leftover from oatmeal to follow
Orange Carrot Juice (about 1/2 the bullet cup - approximately 3/4-1 cup)
A few splashes milk (for added creaminess and to thin out to a drinkable consistency)

Once you have all this in the cup or blender, just blend until everything is smooth.

I know I didn't use any veggies in this one but I have before and I promise you, it's delicious!! Try carrots or spinach or avocado is delicious and adds creaminess. You can also add things like almonds or nuts for protein and energy or seed such as flax seeds. I also found out that some fresh pieces of peeled ginger are delicious blended into the mix! SO good and GOOD FOR YOU!

Cinnamon Banana Honey Oatmeal

This is another simple one! I used instant (the 5 min or 10 min cooking stuff in the canister) but I'm sure you could do it with the regular oatmeal too.

Measure out the ingredients for the portion you'd like as directed on the back of the canister using the milk version. Now, here's the trick for extra special oatmeal. When bringing the milk to a boil, add a good sprinkle of cinnamon. Follow directions as usual. When finished, I always cook mine a little longer than directed to dry it out a little and then I add extra fresh milk once it is in the bowl (just as you would any other cereal). I think it tends to make it a little creamier. Slice banana 1/2 to 1 banana and drizzle with a healthy amount of honey. I used a local honey from a neighbor bee keeper. This is such an easy and YUMMY meal!

ENJOY!!