Brittany's weight loss smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup or less prune juice
• 1 1/2 T Peanut Butter Powder (this is also really yummy if you use a vanilla slim fast)
• 1 whole banana, or 1/2 cup of fruit of your choice
• 1 cup or 8-9 cubes ice
• 1 cup water

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy. This recipes a 24 - 26 oz drink.

Perfect Lemonade

This was the perfect drink for our Easter meal today!












Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar (can reduce to 3/4 cup) 
• 1 cup water (for the simple syrup) 
• 1 cup lemon juice (either squeezed from fresh lemons or straight from the bottle in your fridge!)
• 3 to 4 cups cold water (to dilute) 

Make a simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely. While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice. (Or, if you are like me, and crave lemonade last minute and have no lemons on hand, just use a cup of bottled lemon juice - that works too!)  Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 3 to 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or if you simply can't wait that long, pour over cups of ice.  Enjoy!

P.S. We liked this just as is, but if it's too sweet for your taste, try adding a bit more straight lemon juice.

Homemade Hot Chocolate - 1 serving

It is a yucky, stormy morning at my house today.  On a morning like this, it's nice to give my family a warm cup of hot cocoa with their breakfast before going out in the cold.  I don't generally have cocoa mix on hand, unless it's been a gift, so this is my 'quick and easy' hot cocoa that I make for my family on a cold and busy morning.

Heat:

• 1 cup of milk 

I do this in a mug in the microwave.  I stir it about every 45 - 60 seconds and check the temperature until it's as hot as I want it.

Meanwhile, while it's heating up, mix the following ingredients together in a small bowl:

• 2 T. sugar
• 2 T. baking cocoa (I always buy the Hershey's brand.  Don't know how much difference this makes; other baking cocoas may have slightly different strengths or flavors?)
• dash salt

After the milk is heated to the right temperature, stir in the sugar/cocoa mixture.  Add:

• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract and stir well.  

Top with marshmallows or whipped cream if desired and enjoy!

I've also been experimenting with adding less (or no) vanilla and substituting other extracts.  Peppermint, mint or almond extracts are yummy!  My personal favorite combination is 1/8 tsp. vanilla and 1/8 tsp. orange extract.  Gerald likes raspberry extract; Katelee likes strawberry extract.

So if it's cold and stormy at your house today (or even if it's not!), go make a cup of hot chocolate and cozy up. 

This recipe is found on the can of Hershey's baking cocoa.  Also, I borrowed this image from http://www.gfcfrecipes.com/miscellaneous.htm.

McDonald's Shamrock Shake Copycat Recipe

After reading a few different recipes for this, I decided this particular recipe sounded the best in my opinion. We made it tonight for a St. Patty's day treat, and we all thought it was YUMMY! This might become an annual tradition. :) Definitely beats corned beef and cabbage, although I wouldn't really know since I've never actually eaten corned beef and cabbage... :)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups good quality vanilla ice cream
• 1 3/4 cups 1% milk
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• Green food coloring, if desired

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a blender until completely thick and smooth. Pour into glasses and serve!

This made plenty for all 3 of us. We also topped ours with whipped cream and green sprinkles, like the picture.

Homemade Root Beer

This is my brother-in-laws recipe. It's always a delicious addition to a family gathering!

3 – 5 gallons cold water (depending on how sweet you want it, use less water)
5 lbs. white sugar
2 oz. bottle of root beer concentrate
5 lbs. dry ice

Place all but one gallon of the cold water in a large container. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Pour in root beer extract and mix. Add the dry ice and put the lid on loosely so the gas can escape. Be sure that no one touches the dry ice with bare hands! Let it brew for about 15 minutes. Add the last gallon of water and let brew for another 15 minutes.

Blueberry Summer Smoothie

I think I made this smoothie almost every morning for breakfast last summer. I gave the recipe to mom and dad, and they actually drank it a lot, too. Dad liked it best extra cold, made with ice. With the warm weather back, I've been craving it again. This fills me up for breakfast and is a great way to start your day!

1 banana

1 c. frozen blueberries

1/3 c. fresh spinach leaves (I just throw in a handful)

1/4 c. plain low fat yogurt (Just a big spoonful)

1/2 scoop protein powder

1 T. ground flax seed

1/2 c. pomegranate juice

water, if desired, to make less thick. I personally don't add any water.

Mix all the ingredients well in a blender or food processor. Pour into glasses and enjoy! (This makes 2 glassfuls.)

Total calories: 184! Woot!

Blueberry Pineapple Smoothie

We bought pineapple juice today (in order to make Melissa's fruit pizza recipe) and found this recipe on the can. We had all the other ingredients on hand, so we tried it out tonight - yummy! Here is another 'keeper' smoothie recipe.

1 ripe medium banana

3/4 c. pineapple juice

6 oz. blueberry yogurt

1 c. frozen blueberries

Throw everything into your food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

*In our other smoothie recipe, we add a handful of fresh spinach leaves, 1 T. flax seed, and a scoop of protein powder. We didn't put these things in this smoothie tonight, but after trying it once, we know we could add them also without affecting the look or flavor very much. In the future, we'll add those ingredients to this one as well. :)

Easy Pink Slush

This is similar to grandma's slush, but easier and faster because there is no real fruit you have to mash or cut up. It tastes really good!

2 1/2 c. sugar
6 c. water
2 (3 oz.) packages of strawberry Jell-O
46 oz. pineapple juice
2/3 c. lemon juice
1 quart prepared orange juice
7-Up

Bring the sugar, water and Jell-O to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Then add the pineapple juice, lemon juice, and orange juice. Put into containers to freeze. When ready to eat, crush up and add 7-up.

Easy Pink Slush

This is similar to grandma's slush, but easier and faster because there is no real fruit you have to mash or cut up. It tastes really good!

2 1/2 c. sugar
6 c. water
2 (3 oz.) packages of strawberry Jell-O
46 oz. pineapple juice
2/3 c. lemon juice
1 quart prepared orange juice
7-Up

Bring the sugar, water and Jell-O to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Then add the pineapple juice, lemon juice, and orange juice. Put into containers to freeze. When ready to eat, crush up and add 7-up.

Grandma Thurston's Holiday Fruit Slush

6 c. water
4 c. sugar
5 oranges
2 lemons
5 bananas
2 quarts pineapple juice
7-up

Boil water with sugar; set aside and cool. Add the juice of the oranges and lemons. Mash bananas and mix in. Stir in the pineapple juice. Put in Tupperware containers and freeze. Chop up and mix with 7-up.

Homemade Wendy’s Frosty

This really tastes just like the chocolate frosty from Wendy’s; very yummy!

1/2 cup chocolate Nesquick powdered milk
3 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
milk (only if necessary)

Allow ice cream to soften in refrigerator for 1 hour. Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add milk if necessary.

Homemade Eggnog

I have always hated eggnog. It's so gross!

A lady in my ward made this last year at a ward party and convinced me to try a “sip.” It is seriously the most delicious thing I had ever tried! I drank two cups that night! (Beware: This is NOT low in fat!) This is definitely going to be an annual tradition around the Reynolds home now. If you think you hate eggnog, you should give this recipe a try once – you might change your mind!

1 quart half-and-half milk (or whole milk if you don’t have any half-and-half)
3/4 c. sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp. Mexican vanilla
1 pint heavy whipping cream, whipped with 2 T. sugar
nutmeg

Mix together in a blender the half-and-half, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Pour into mugs and top with whipped topping and sprinkle with nutmeg. Drink. Faint.

Grandma Kaye's Hot Spiced Apple Cider

This is a holiday tradition around our house.

4 c. water
2 c. sugar
1 can frozen lemonade (6 oz.)
1 can frozen orange juice (12 oz.)
2 qt. Apple cider or apple juice
1 small bag for spices (I use a brand-new sock for the bag, or a cheesecloth, tied with a string.)
whole ginger
whole cinnamon sticks
whole cloves
whole allspice berries

Fill the bag with the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Simmer water, sugar and bag of spices for about 30 minutes. Add the lemonade, orange juice, and apple cider. Simmer for about another 30 minutes. This makes the house smell delicious! Serve hot. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.