Making popsicles. With smoothie.

There are many recipes for smoothies. With yogurt or without. With green leaves or without. With milk or without. How to make it without stressing out?

Simplicity is the key. What works for me now is to make smoothie for breakfast with ingredients I have on hand. Overripe bananas, frozen blueberries, may be an apple that looks less then perfect, may be some kale or lettuce leaves.

Blueberry banana flax seeds smoothie in mason jars with reusable straws

Blueberry banana flaxseed smoothie + popsicles

Ingredients
frozen wild blueberries, 2-3 cups  (I move them night before to refrigerator, so the smoothie will be cold, but not freezing)
bananas, 2-3 ripe (sometimes I use frozen, if I don't have fresh)
flax seeds, 1/4 cup (any kind, you may soak them overnight to make nutrients more absorbent)
1/2 - 1 cup water
apple, 1 (optional)
green leaves, to your liking (optional)

Note: the quantities are approximate. Substitute for other berries or fruit on hand. As long as you put fruit and some water, the result will be a yummy smoothie.

Method
Put everything in a blender. Blend on high for 45-60 second using strong blender, like Vitamix or Blendtec. If using food processor, consider to omit flax seeds, since they wont be crushed.

Serve in glasses or mason jars with reusable straws. Mason jars allow easy storage of leftovers - just put the cover on. I use it later for snack time. My son loves reusable straw made of glass and my daughter prefer one made of stainless steal.

Blueberry smoothie in popsicle mold

Any leftovers?
Make a popsicle. Pour into popsicle mold (BPA free), cover and freeze. Perfect on a hot day!

Welcoming warm weather. With frozen bananas.

The weather here at East Cost got warm few weeks ago. It was for a short time and it is sunny and crisp now. But warm weather is a first hint to get prepared with cold treats. Frozen bananas covered with chocolate is an amazing treat. And plain frozen bananas is a perfect treat, since they are so fast to make. And fast to go! And yes, no preservatives, colors, sugar, dairy and whatever.

Peeled bananas in container; banana close up

Plain sweet pleasure and perfect frozen treat.

Frozen Banana Popsicles

Ingredients
Ripe bananas

Method
Peel bananas, break in half, put on popsicle sticks. Freeze in container to prevent smashing.

Note: to cover in chocolate -  melt chocolate over double boiler and dip solid frozen bananas. For best results coarsely chop chocolate better melting and use quality dark chocolate with 70% cacao. Eat immediately or refreeze. 

Let's make a snack together! Banana bites with chocolate nut butter

For afternoon snack my little helper worked with me to assemble banana bites with chocolate hazelnut butter and hemp seed.

I have sliced the bananas length wise and spread natural chocolate nut butter on them. My daughter has sprinkled hemp seeds - working using small spoon first and then directly with her hands.

The result was eaten up immediately by her and her brother. For the second round, we have sliced banana crosswise.

Banana bites with chocolate and hemp seeds

Same great taste!