Smoothies, Smoothies!

I'll admit it.  I like smoothies.  This affection for cold and creamy, though, was birthed long ago from chocolate shakes and malts at fast food restaurants and ice cream parlors from the 70's and 80's like Farrell's and Swenson's.

Then, in the late 80's, early 90's, I was introduced to Slim Fast, as well as other weight loss shake makers.  I thought it such a grand idea to be able to drink a chocolate shake two times a day AND lose weight at the same time!

A chubby chocolate shake lovers dream come true!

During all of this time it never occurred to me that my farty-ness was anything other than kinda funny. 

Or, let's face it, down right charming.

And why, even after weight loss shake after weight loss shake, made with 8 oz of cow's skim milk, one scoop of chemical-laden artificially flavored weight loss powdered supplement with main ingredients of high-fructose corn syrup/dairy/corn-syrup solids/partially hydrogenated oils/artificial sweetener, and 1/2 cup of ice, would it not occur to me that year after year I still had a stomach pooch and bloating?  You mean constipation and hemorrhoids as a child wasn't just normal?

Anyway, over the last, oh I'd say 8 to 10 years, I've still made smoothies but with cleaner and purer ingredients, experimenting with my food sensitivities.  I still know how to make a chocolate shake that rivals anything you could make, but mine doesn't make me farty anymore and it's one I'm happy to share with my children because I can pronounce all of the ingredients.

Speaking of which, I have a little smoothie fan right here at home.  Every smoothie recipe I make up I test out on my mini-critic.  If he says, "Moy!  Moy!  Moy!"  I know it's a winner.  (Translation:  MORE!)  If he says, "No moy, all done," well, then it's obvious he wasn't a fan.

Now, unlike "Chocolate Covered Katie," I do not make something with chocolate in it every. single. day.  That is not wrong, I'm just saying, I prefer to enjoy a wider variety of tastes and flavors.

And so, without further ado, here's what Ryan and I slurped up in the kitchen this morning:

The ingredients: golden flax meal, frozen blueberries, stevia, canned pumpkin, medjool dates, walnuts, frozen banana, water and ice

My little smoothie critic and biggest fan, Ryan, my little lover

Here's my smoothie critic, post-satisfaction with some traces still under his lips.  I didn't get as much smoothie this morning as I had planned because, "Moy, moy, moy!" was all I heard.  But there was plenty for both of us.  It was really creamy and quite scrumptious!

Here's our recipe:

• In a measuring glass, put 3T ground flax meal and 1/3 cup of water.  Allow to sit for about 2 or 3 minutes until it becomes gooey, or boogery as we say at our house.  Then fill measuring glass to 1 cup with water.  Add this to blender.
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
• 6 walnuts
• 1 large medjool date w/o pit
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin
• dash stevia
• couple drops almond or vanilla extract, if desired
• 8 to 10 chunks of ice

I had to put my blender on chop first, then puree, then liquify.  Basically, my blender is sensitive to frozen bananas.  Just blend until super creamy, put a straw in it, and enjoy!