The perfect blueberry smoothie

January 1, 2017 By in Berries, Beverages, breakfast 24 Comments

Oh, hello there. Welcome to Wendy’s Place and Happy New Year!

I’ve spent a busy year working, homesteading, cheesemaking, volunteering on another farm, doing lots of yoga, cooking, fermenting and not sharing one bit of it. Which I missed.

I think about how many voices are out there on the web and see it as a chorus in a way, collectively making music. When I sang in the chorus in Germany it brought me joy. It brought others joy. Most of the time my voice blended in with many and once in a while it stood out.  I enjoy the process of writing, cooking, sharing thoughts and photos. So here I am. I’m not here to teach you to cook but I do hope you might pick up a useful tip here and there, be inspired to cook and for sure be inspired to eat whole foods. I hope you might glean a new idea, relate to a musing or find something to chew on figuratively and literally.  And I hope you definitely feel a smile grow as you read.

My daughter, Chloe, turned 18 last July. I feel a need to give her her name back. Thus, I’m trying on Wendy’s Place. I’m entering the first year, after 28 years, of no children to feed, nag and hug goodbye every morning, prepare dinner for or kiss goodnight and all the fun that goes on in between. I haven’t know whether to laugh or cry, so generally it’s been both.  I am looking at life as an individual,  as a partner in a rockin’ marriage and of course, always as a parent… but we are officially empty nesters.

2017 is starting off with smoothies like this one here. Blueberry, cranberry, banana. Though we’ve been drinking these for years, I’ve never used cranberry till recently when Ollie thought we were out of blueberries and threw in some cranberries. (Correction- he thought they were blueberries!)

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I threw out a cautionary “dude they are so sour what are you doing?” and dug into the back freezer to retrieve the next 6 lb bag of blueberries (I carry a detailed map in my head of our refrigerator and freezers).  Some of the cranberries sunk down to the bottom and remained. I’ll be damned if it didn’t brighten up the whole thing. I thought “duh” – acid. Whenever a dish needs a little hit of something to round it out usually it’s a need for a little acid- a lemon, vinegar, citrus sort of thing.

We have survivor greens in the garden I’m foraging and always a steady supply of  pealed and frozen bananas. And always an extra sac of baby greens in the crisper.

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Fortunately, this isn’t a new year’s resolution- Going to drink more smoothies. It’s like saying we are going to have a sober January. You can’t really expect a pat on the back for something you already do. Right? We like beer and wine, and drink it, but if we didn’t have it for a month I might not notice. This is something I rarely admit to avoid being a social pariah.

This is our alternative milk of choice when we aren’t using our own goat’s milk. Not a paid endorsement. But I like this one and the plain almond- the no carrageenan is good. I couldn’t keep up with making homemade nut milk for daily smoothies.

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And I’m always trying new protein powders. Pea protein is big right now. I prefer the texture, or lack thereof in the whey powder but ultimately like to switch it up. Some of the plant protein blends are a little starchy. I switch between goat and cow whey.

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For 2 smoothies you’re looking at approx-

  • 2 cups milk (substitute a little yogurt if you like)
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • ½ c cranberries
  • 3 handfuls of greens – mix it up
  • protein powder of choice.
  • whatever other superfood you like to add- maca, lacuna powder… or just check out Nativa naturals in general- I like their products. Chocolate nibs and raw cocoa for instance.

Our blender of choice is a Vitamix. I researched till my eyes popped. In the end I like solid, old fashioned dials, knobs and switches. I think it’s the last blender we’ll ever own.

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With your greens and blue berries you still come up with a rather dull colored smoothie but it tastes great~

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That’s a wrap.

To love, health, and compassion in 2017…

wendy

ps- I’ve taped this old placemat to every bedroom wall I’ve known since I was 8 years old.

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24 responses

  1. Pingback: The perfect blueberry smoothie — Wendy’s Place | Wanda D. Jefferson

  2. Wendy I adore the new blog name! It’s perfect and feels like I could come on over and sip a cup of tea with you. Or drink a smoothie! Love the smoothie recipe and the idea of cranberries in a smoothie. We also use Califia Almond or Coconut milk and love it. You cracked me up with “I carry a detailed map of our refrigerator freezer in my head”. Lol! I thought I was the only one who did that. Welcome to the empty nesters club! We’re empty nesters as of September 2016 with the occasional visit from our youngest now at U of O in Eugene. It took some getting used to the first month or so and if I’m being honest, it was really hard. But now… I think I’m good. I feel just a little bit free! Hahaha! Good to see you back in action my friend! Best wishes for the most delicious and successful new year, Karista

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    • I’m happy to hear from you! And yes it was fun writing and taking pics again. It’s not like I’ve stopped cooking this year but didn’t make the time to share it. I think I’d like to move it back up on the priority list. Time will tell:) I sure enjoy taking the time to still see what you are cooking up- I love it. You are a busy lady! Happy New Year Karista xx

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      • Thank you Wendy! I am busy, trying to pay those college bills! Lol! Craig and I want to spend some time on the islands this summer and I’d love to see you when we visit! Take care and looking forward to all the new delicious posts. xoxo

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  9. 🙂 Hi Wendy,
    a very HAPPY New Year to you!
    Good to have you back, haven’t seen you around in a long time.
    I’m not a big fan of smoothies, as I don’t like all the greens (apart for in my salad) in there 😉
    All the best from sunny Vienna 🙂

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  12. This smoothie is a power pill! Blueberries make everything taste amazing!
    I like the new name “Wendy’s Place”, & it’s great to see you around again.
    It took me months to create a new Art Gown, and update my sidebar. Blogging does take time!

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  13. Pingback: Carrot, ginger, turmeric, cashew smoothie « Wendy's Place

  14. Pingback: The perfect blueberry smoothie — Wendy’s Place – saye monibah

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