Tropical Fruit Smoothie

For some reason today I was feeling very summery, and I wanted to create a fruit smoothie whose flavor could be described as "summer" or "vacation" or "tropical". Personally when I think tropical, what comes to mind is coconut, pineapple, mango- the works. On top of all that I've been really into incorporating a little extra protein in everything I eat... and here the challenge was born. Create a delicious, protein-rich fruit smoothie that TASTES LIKE AN ISLAND VACATION. Did I succeed? Let me know.

I also posted the nutrition facts below, just in case you're curious.

If you're interested in watching me make this smoothie, the link to my YouTube video is here.

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This is what you're going to need.

• 2/3 cup Naked protein mango juice
• 1/2 ripe banana
• 3/4 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 heaping serving of powdered fiber (okay holdup that ingredient is COMPLETELY optional. I unfortunately happen to have an extreme difficulty getting enough fiber even when I eat a diet bursting with fiber rich foods so I add fiber powder to my smoothies and juices all the time just to keep my digestion working. Yes, it makes me feel like a 90-year-old man. This step is completely optional, I actually DO NOT recommend following suit here because I have a fiber deficiency and you probably don't. I recommend skipping this step entirely- the only reason I included it in the recipe is 1. maybe you like very high fiber diets too and 2. it affects the nutrition facts I posted below. If you don't include the extra fiber here, subtract approximately 15 calories and 6 grams of fiber from your total nutrition facts. Okay continue.)
• 1/4 cup of water to dissolve the powdered fiber in BEFORE adding to your smoothie mix
• 1/2 cup cubed pineapple
• 1/2 cup frozen mango cubes
• 1 cup frozen peach slices

Prep time: 10-15min

Serves: 2

Basically what I do is I combine all of the non-frozen ingredients in the blender first, and then follow with the frozen ingredients to achieve a smooth, thick, creamy smoothie.

• Pour Naked protein mango juice, protein powder, and optional fiber dissolved in 1/4 cup water to blender
• Blend briefly to stir everything up. This will maintain the smooth texture of your smoothie
• Add the banana and pineapple chunks to the blender
• Blend briefly to combine
• Finally add in frozen mango and peach chunks and blend until all chunks are gone. Your smoothie should have a relatively thick, creamy consistency. If it is too thin for your liking, add a few more frozen peach or mango chunks. If it is too thick to pour you can either lightly tap the side of your blender as you pour it into a glass, or blend in a little bit of water to change the consistency.

When I've made it, no thickness adjustments were necessary.

Voila! You now have a very tropical, summery, island-tasting smoothie that is fantastically creamy and lovely for a hot summer day.

PRO TIP: If you want an island-tasting Popsicle (who doesn't?!) feel free to pour this recipe into Popsicle molds and freeze overnight. Tropical Popsicles would be a great treat for a hot summer night, or to bring to a pool party. Enjoy :)

I entered the ingredients into My Fitness Pal, and app that I've been using to keep track of my calories, macros, and nutrients. Below is a screenshot of the nutrition facts for this smoothie. Remember to subtract 15 calories and 6g of fiber if you did not include the additional fiber above. If you can't read the text in the picture because it is too small, I will type the highlights below.

Calories: 344

Fat (g): 0.7

Carbs (g): 69.8

Protein (g): 20

Potassium (mg): 478

Fiber (g): 10.8

Sugars (g): 41.8

Vitamin A (%): 47

Vitamin C (%): 313

Calcium (%): 9.2

Iron (%): 5.5

Now before you freak out about the sugar content in this smoothie, remember that the recipe makes approximately two full glasses. If you want to make one serving, you either need to cut the recipe in half, give one glass to a friend, or freeze the remaining in Popsicle form. I usually drink both glasses myself because I need the protein and fiber, and I am also NOT AFRAID OF SUGAR. All of the sugar in this smoothie comes from fruit, which means it is natural as opposed to process. Health nuts tend to stray from diets heavy in fruit because of their sugar content but that is simply not necessary. Is sugar in large quantities bad for you? Yes. Will eating a bunch of fruit kill you? No. Studies have actually shown that diets high in fruit are actually better for you.

I usually eat a high protein low carb diet, but you need carbs for energy and often don't get enough if you are an athlete. This smoothie is fantastic if you're eating too much protein and fat, because it will help you balance out your diet and keep your macros in line.

This smoothie is NOT PALEO, but if you substitute 2 tablespoons of unsweetened vanilla almond milk instead of the vanilla protein powder you can make this smoothie paleo-friendly.

This is a great breakfast on the go, and a fantastic summer treat. Be sure to let me know if you like it in the comments below. 

Carrot Fries

I'm going to jump right in with a recipe for a healthy but TOTALLY DELICIOUS snack that I've been enjoying entirely too often. Maybe it's the fact that this is one of the easiest things I've ever made, or maybe it's how guilt free these fries are but either way I've been eating them by the batch.

The recipe is incredibly simple and you can find it almost anywhere if you google "carrot fries" (thank The Lord for the internet, right?) but I thought I'd post my take on the recipe anyways since it's something I've been eating so often.

A little background: I recently started the Paleo Diet, because I was inspired by a blog post about the 30 day paleo challenge. If you're interested you should click here. Anyways I didn't do the challenge laid out flawlessly for you in that blog because I'm less concerned with losing weight and more concerned with eating cleaner. Plus I'm a sucker for sweets and junk food, so when I found out about paleo spins on everyday recipes I couldn't resist.

These fries are totally paleo, there's barely any prep time, and they're wonderful to eat.

What you'll need is:

• Anywhere between 5-10 whole (I use ORGANIC) carrots (varies depending on how much you want to make)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder (optional)
• Italian seasoning (optional)

If you choose not to use the Italian seasoning I would definitely opt to use garlic powder instead, but I use them interchangeably. If you're feeling adventurous you could always use both.

The Italian seasoning I use is called Tuscany Blend, and it's actually a bread dipping sauce that's meant to go in olive oil, but I use it on literally everything. It's a great pasta topping, and if I'm short on time I throw it on pan fried chicken to make my cooking taste fancier. Feel free to improvise with your favorite seasoning instead.

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper

• Wash and peel each carrot
• Slice carrots once or twice horizontally until they're in pieces the length of a french fry
• Halve each carrot piece down the middle vertically, and then slice each half into small pieces about the width of a french fry (I usually go as thin as possible. The thicker they are the softer they'll be, and I like 'em crispier).
• Place the raw carrot fries onto the parchment paper, and spread them out (doesn't have to look pretty. Just make sure they're not in one big pile)
• Drizzle olive oil over the top of the carrot fries
• Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and additional seasonings onto carrot fries
• Bake in the oven for 24-30 minutes, pausing once halfway through to stir your fries around on the pan with a spatula (your bake time will depend HEAVILY on how big you made your carrot slices, and how crunchy you want them to turn out. I enjoy mine a little on the burnt side because then they're crunchier, but you will most likely need to play around with baking times until you get a batch just right. My first try was 24 minutes with very small thin carrot pieces, and that worked just fine. Later I tried 28 minutes with bigger carrot slices and they didn't get crispy enough so I should've left them in longer. Just guess and check.)

I actually whipped up a small batch today because I was in need of a fun snack, so I have a picture of the end result to show you, but I'm a horrible photographer. Oh well. I tried.

 Trust me, these are AMAZING.

I forced my sister to try one, and she enjoyed them even though she's a very picky eater.

I usually place them on a paper towel after I take them out of the oven because I overdo the olive oil a little bit, but that tends to make them a bit softer, so if you want the crunchiest fries I would leave them on the pan until they cool, and then drain them of their oils.