Polar Plunge & Healthy Hot Chocolate

This past weekend my hubby did a polar plunge!

 Which is crazier?

Running a race vs. plunging into a FREEZING cold lake where ice was chiseled away just before the plunge?! 

Might I point out the man standing on the iced lake in the background and the fact that they were serving alcohol there! I'm sure it's due to the craziness factor to get people to jump into freezing cold water!!

I am going with the plunge!

CRAZY!

My little feet were so cold just standing there. I think I wore the wrong shoes! I felt like I could break every single toe off. I am such a wuss when it comes to the cold.

It was a fun atmosphere though! It kind of reminded me of the ragnar race where teams were all dressed up! The dressing up (or down) ranged anywhere from tighty whities (which I am glad I did not see them come out of the water!), floaties, super heros, to scoobie doo and the gang.

Mr. Polar Bear himself was even there, who my son had a constant eye on, to make sure he wouldn't come anywhere near him! I had to assure him that there was a man underneath it and that he was just wearing a costume to ease his worries!

Getting ready for the plunge

 

The pep talk

 The admiration
and then

 THE PLUNGE!

All in all, he said it wasn't too bad!

Well besides the alcohol, they did have hot chocolate, crispy creme donuts, bagels, and pretty much every unhealthy thing there tempting me!! I must confess I did have some of that sugary hot chocolate with some half & half to cool it down! Just a little! It was freezing, I had too!

When I got home I was inspired to see if I could come up with a concoction of healthy hot chocolate and here it is.... 

3 simple healthy ingredients, okay maybe 4!

Healthy Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

1 cup milk (I used so delicious sugar free vanilla coconut milk)

1 tablespoon of cacao

1 tablespoon of agave

a dash of cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

Mix ingredients together. Add more or less cacao & sweetener to your liking, if desired. I used my blender! If using a blend tec, you could just use the soup button. If not throw it in a sauce pan and just warm to desired temperature. Don't scorch though, you don't want to take all the healthy nutrients out of the cacao!

Zucchini Bread Smoothie

I thought it would only be fitting to also try my other favorite sweet bread in a smoothie. Man, what I would have given to have this during the holidays when I gave up sugar and all I wanted to do was eat zucchini bread. Yummers!

Zucchini Bread Smoothie

Ingredients:

3/4 cups apple juice

1/2 frozen banana

1/4 of zucchini (med. size)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoon walnuts

2 tablespoon oatmeal

ice

Directions:

Blend ingredients together and add ice to desired consistency.

Banana Bread Smoothie

Woke up this morning to this!! This was dang good! I am a sucker for banana bread and usually like nibbling on the batter! It felt like a was drinking the batter in a good kind of way;) Here's to a good day!

Banana Bread Smoothie

Ingredients

1/2 cup your favorite milk (I used vanilla coconut milk)

1 frozen banana cut in slices (mine was ripe, but not very ripe)

1 Medjool date, pitted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2-3 tablespoons walnuts

2 tablespoons oats

Directions:

Blend milk, walnuts, date, oats together until well blended, then throw all the other ingredients in. Add ice, if desired.

Candy Corn Milkshake

This recipe was posted by my sister in law Erin!

Here's a little healthy Halloween treat for ya!

Candy Corn Milkshake

Bottom Layer: Pumpkin

2/3 cup vanilla yogurt (I used greek)

5 tablespoons pureed pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon milk

blend until well mixed. Pour into a cup or bowl and place in freezer for 30 minutes.

Middle Layer: Vanilla

2/3 cup vanilla yogurt (again I used greek)

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons agave

Follow the directions for previous layer

Top Layer: Banana

2/3 cup vanilla yogurt

1 banana

a scant amount of turmeric to add yellow color, or just a few drops of yellow food coloring

Blend until well mixed. Pour into bow or cup and place in freezer for 30 minutes.

So what I did, was started out with the vanilla flavor, because I knew that it would blend well with all the other flavors, and I wouldn't have to wash my blender between flavors! Then I followed with the banana layer, and then the pumpkin. If you do it this way, you will use very little milk for the subsequent layers, because the liquid left over from the previous layer will be sufficient for the next one. 

Once your layers are chilled for about 30 minutes, they are perfect consistency for a milkshake. If you don't want to wait, add ice and you'll have more of a smoothie texture, but it will still taste great! Enjoy!

Jamba Juice Chunky Strawberry Topper

I love, love, love jamba juice. My hubby use to work there when we were dating in high school. Oh how I loved to visit him there!! Too bad they didn't have this one then. This is one of my new favorites there! So much cheaper to make at home!

Jamba Juice's Chuncky Strawberry Topper!

Ingredients:

½ cup of vanilla coconut milk (not canned)* (I used Vanilla Sugar Free So Delicious)

¼ cup plain yogurt

1 ripe frozen banana

1 heaping cup frozen strawberries

2 tablespoons natural peanut butter

1/3 cup granola

top with fresh banana slices (optional)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in blender except granola & additional bananas.

After blended stir in granola & top with banana slices.

ENJOY!

* You can also use vanilla soy milk, vanilla almond milk, milk with a dash of vanilla, etc. I know Jamba juice uses soy milk, but I usually don't use soy milk.

Did you know strawberries are well known to fight against the onset of many differet forms of cancer due to the combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents?!

Source: http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/8-health-benefits-of-strawberries.html

Peach Sunrise Smoothie

This recipe was posted by my sister in law Erin! 

So my inspiration for this smoothie was to make a peaches and cream smoothie... well, that was a little bland, so I threw some strawberries in and voila! Peach Sunrise smoothie! Hope you enjoy it too! My kids love it, in fact, they love it anytime I make smoothies for breakfast! I think they think they get to have a treat, but really I am happy to fill their bellies with fruit and veggies with out them knowing any better! I've added spinach to this as well, and as long as you don't put too much in, it doesn't change the flavor. I would say start out with one handful of spinach if you decide to add it in. The recipe for this is really simple...

Peach Sunrise Smoothie

  

1c. Almond Breeze (or your favorite milk)

8-10 ice cubes, or about a cup of crushed ice

2 peaches, peeled and sliced

3 tsp. agave or your favorite sweetener

1 banana

6-8 fresh or frozen strawberries

blend until desired smoothness. Enjoy!! 

Did you know that peaches can prolong your life and prevent cataracts?!?! 

http://www.healthfood-guide.com/HealthBenefitsOfPeaches.aspx