Love love love food! And smoothies.

Sometimes I just throw together what sounds good. When it comes to smoothies & cooking, I don't follow any recipe, I just wing it. My creations turn out delicious most of the time, so it works out pretty good for me!

So lately I've done a few food things I thought might be of interest to you.

Note: I don't usually measure anything unless I'm baking. So if you want to make what I share with you, you get to just tailor the proportion of ingredients to your liking & tastes.

One of the many smoothies I've made recently (yes, I prefer thick smoothies that I can eat with a spoon, I totally dig it):

Blueberries, strawberries, spinach, blueberry greek yogurt, coconut water, & vanilla protein powder

So delicious, and gave me a much needed boost for my day! 

Besides using greek yogurt for my smoothies, the way I get 'em thick is by freezing the fruit first (cut up of course, have you ever tried cutting something that's frozen?) or use half & half and don't overblend, blend it just enough that you don't have chunks. Unless you like it chunky, but I like my smoothie to be smooth personally.

Another smoothie I made recently: 

Pineapple, mango, bananas, vanilla bean greek yogurt, coconut water & vanilla protein powder

I know I live in Florida, but sometimes a gal needs something that feels more tropical than the city :) This one turned out super thick, I was super pleased.

I had a hankerin' for banana bread for a hott minute, so I finally got around to baking some, one of my many favorites, although this time I did one loaf regular, and one loaf with dark chocolate chips. 

I like to put butter on a piece, or if I want a more complex party of flavors in my mouth, I slap on some peanut butter, so delish! 

If you'd like to bake this, here's my recipe, which I tweak sometimes based on how I'm feeling. If I want it a little more moist, I just add an extra banana.

• 2-3 very ripe bananas (like super brown on outside) (peel them obviously)
• 1/3 cup melted butter (must be real butter, no substitute!)
• 1  1/2 cups sugar (I like to do a mix of white & brown sugars)
• 1 egg (beat it obviously)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1  1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• Optional: nuts, chocolate chips,m&ms, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter two pans, each about 6x8 inches (whatever's close to that)

In a bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until smooth. Then stir in the melted butter.

Mix in the baking soda & salt. Then stir in the sugar, the beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Then mix in the flour. 

Pour batter into your pans. Bake for about 40-45 minutes total, but check it (and turn the pans) after about 20 min. (For me, with my oven, my bread is usually done after about 30-35 min, so just keep an eye on it and check it with a knife or toothpick to see if inside is cooked completely)

Let it cool, and serve. Or eat a piece while it's still warm, it's delicious either way!

Enjoy :)

My boyfriend baked some chicken, but I decided to reheat it by pulling it then frying it in olive oil and maple syrup, plus my own blend of seasoning since he made it bland. 

I like to add coarse black pepper, Himalayan pink salt, paprika, and italian seasoning

I really enjoyed this, the addition of maple syrup was a nice touch, so glad I had a sweet tooth here!

I love making different items, and I love to discuss different ideas for yum yums, so feel free to share your thoughts!