Grapefruit Alaska

Grapefruit Alaska 

The other night we had a stay at home date that involved a nice dinner after the boys were in bed and us making this dessert together. It was so fun to make together and tasted so uniquely yummy. It is definitely one to make again. The presentation is so fun!

Ingredients:

• 4 large grapefruit
• 2 teaspoons rum extract
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp cream of tarter
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 8 maraschino cherries

1.  Halve grapefruits and section (so, so important!!); drizzle 1/4 teaspoon rum extract over each grapefruit half. Top with 1 rounded tablespoon of whipped cream, place on a foil lined baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl beat the egg whites, cornstarch and cream of tarter on medium speed until soft peaks form. 
3. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until stiff, glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Mound 1/2 cup on each grapefruit half; spread meringue to edges to seal. 
4. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes or until meringue is brown. Top each with a cherry and serve immediately. 

The original recipe makes enough for 8 - I only used one grapefruit (enough for 2) and then followed the recipe for the meringue and made cookies out of the extra.
The recipe called for cherries to top the meringue, but we settled for toasted walnuts as that is all I had on hand.

Sharing on Tasty Tuesday

Lychee Fruit & Green Smoothies - 5 recipes

 A lychee fruit on top of a smoothie

Lychee fruit has become a favorite special treat to add to our Green Smoothies. 

I probably shouldn't even admit it since we buy it canned as they aren't in season yet and the canned fruit probably has none of the nutrients that Lychee fruit is known for, but Lychee fruit is SO yummy!

Lychee fruit has a bit of an odd texture when eating it whole but blended up in a smoothie you would never know. It has a light, sweet taste to it and all four of us really enjoy it. I pick up a can every time I am at the Asian grocery store, and they have told me that they should be getting fresh Lychee fruit in sometime in June.

I have 5 recipes below that we made up using the Lychee fruit. 

We have also introduced coconut oil and cod liver oil to our smoothies for the added health benefit they each offer - I'll get more into the details later - but you will find one or both of those ingredients in all our smoothies from now on. They can easily be left out.

We freeze our bananas, peeled, in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen we transfer them over to a ziplock bag.

I think that is all I wanted to mention about the ingredients... let me know if there's questions! 

Here are our 5 Lychee fruit green smoothie recipes:

• 2 frozen bananas
• 3 lychee fruit and 1 tsp syrup from can
• 1 TBSP coconut oil
• 8 oz kale
• 1 cucumber
• 1 cup water
• 1 mango

 

• 8 oz Kale
• 2 celery 
• 1 avocado
• 1 cup water
• 1 TBSP coconut oil
• 1/3 pineapple
• 4 lychee
• 1+ cup of ice

•  8 oz Kale
• 2 bananas
• 1 grapefruit, juiced
• 1 mango
• 3 lychee fruit
• 1 TBSP coconut oil
• 1 tsp cod liver oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1+ cup ice

• 8 oz Kale
• 3 lychee and 1 tsp syrup from can
• 2 celery stalks
• 10 oz frozen blueberries
• 1 TBSP coconut oil
• 1 tsp cod liver oil
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1+ cup ice

• 10 oz mixed greens
• 1/2 can coconut milk
• 1/3 pineapple
• 1 mango
• 2 frozen bananas
• 10 oz frozen strawberries
• 5 lychee fruit
• 1 cucumber
• 3 TBSP coconut oil
• 1 cup water
• 1+ cup ice

Sharing on Tasty Tuesday and Tempt my Tummy

Green Smoothies - Fast Food for on the Road

Two weeks ago we purchased a Blendtec Blender - it was a hefty investment but Green Smoothies are such a huge part of our life and we have been through 4 blenders in the past 5 years. None of them have stood up to our daily use and when we decided to make Green Smoothies three times a day we knew we would have to purchase a blender that could keep up. After much research we chose the Blendtec and have thus far been thrilled with its performance.

We have used this blender at least 3 times a day for the past 2 weeks and it has surpassed our expectations. 

It efficiently blends everything to a drinkable consistency - full length carrots, kale, whole apples, flax seeds - we've tried many other various fruits, vegetables and seeds too and they have all been blended into a smooth, drinkable consistency.

It is so simple to clean - the Blendtec has a wide base making it a breeze to clean, unlike traditionally shaped blenders where things get caught in the narrow base. We rinse under hot water and then put a bit of water in it and pulse and it's clean - this was especially helpful over the past weekend when we took our blender with us on our trip. 

Paul blending at our campsite on Grand Isle

Paul told me he'd like to bring the blender along with us on our anniversary trip and while I initially thought it a bit weird I am so glad we had it - it helped us maintain a healthy, regular diet which made the trip so much more enjoyable!

We kept a cooler full of greens, carrots, fruit, eggs and ice. Our initial plan was to simply use our power converter in our car, but it wasn't strong enough to power the blender so our backup plan was to seek out truck stops along our way to use the outlets in the trucker lounges. 

While there are signs up saying "Truckers Only" we were welcomed into all of them, if you try this yourself I would advise making certain that you aren't disturbing or annoying anyone by your non-trucker presence. :)

Traveling with the Blendtec made for inexpensive, convenient and nutritious meals and we have decided we won't be traveling without it. While we did end up paying more for fruits and vegetables as we picked up exactly what we wanted on the go (as opposed to purchasing them in bulk and on sale) and we occasionally picked up overpriced convenience produce (pre washed greens or cored pineapple) none of the smoothies rang up at over $5 for a blender-full that was more than enough for Paul and myself to share.

That is $2.50 per person for breakfast, lunch or snack! You can't beat that price and you'd be hard pressed to beat the nutrient packed meal at any price from a restaurant.

I am working on writing down exactly what goes into our smoothies so I can share recipes - it's hard to do as Paul and I both have a tendency to throw things together, hold our breath and hope it works.

Both our boys adore these smoothies - in fact Wesley woke up hungry in the middle of the night and when I brought him into the kitchen and asked him what he'd like to eat he asked me for a smoothie. The boys have no idea that they are eating about 4oz of Kale or Spinach, 1-2 carrots and various other fruits and vegetables each day - they just love their "Smoovies".

And we love them too.

4th of July Themed Food

Remember THESE sticks I picked up at Target? This is what I did with them on the 4th. I wish they weren't so pointy and sharp on the ends - I'd love to do something like this for snacks for the boys! Any ideas on something similar I could use that isn't quite as dangerous?!

Fast Food Inspired

Mmm. McDonald's yogurt parfaits inspired me. I made these, along with eggs and toast, for a laid back supper. I layered plain yogurt, mixed berries and honey. Then I sprinkled walnuts on top. It was delicious! And so cute.