I had planned on making a sailboat this morning out of toothpicks and apple slices, but we’re out of toothpicks. So I scrapped oatmeal all together for this:

Talk about the works here.

• 5 strawberries
• handful of blueberries
• 1/4 cup POM
• 1/3 cup oats
• 1 whole banana
• 2 teaspoons PB
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup ice

Blend it up!

I can’t even explain how much better my life is because of this blender. Thanks again, Eating Bender. 

I didn’t really get into smoothies until the summer of 2005. I was on this big “Power Abs” kick, where I made smoothies as part of my 6-meal-a-day regime. That’s where I first learned about putting oatmeal in smoothies – and PB (both fantastic ideas). I should probably revisit the book and give it a looksie.

In hindsight, I’m kind of sad we didn’t blend smoothies growing up. I could have put some ridiculously horrible things together without shame or guilt. Now that’s just foolish

Question of the Day

I am going to ask the same question this morning that my mom asked a few days ago in our “Question a Day” (for those who don’t know, my mom is sending me a question every day for me to answer, and then she answers back. It’s a way of getting to know each other better).

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

My grandparents lived on a farm so my favorite memory involves me and my cousins putting 30 chickens to sleep in the chicken coop. There is a method to putting a chicken to sleep, so if you want to know – I’ll explain.

Turns out they didn’t lay eggs for a week afterward. My grandfather was really upset.

S is for strawberries that haven’t gone bad.

M is for mangos that don’t make me sad.

O is for oatmeal, my secret true love.

O is for other, ingredients not mentioned above.

T is for time, that Bill saved me today.

H is for hurrying, in every which way.

I is for ice cream, a new favorite (smoothie) treat.

E is for exciting, that I didn’t spill this on my feet.

(ingredients: strawberries, blueberries, banana, mango, frozen yogurt, ice, oatmeal, peanut butter).

This ninja has been traveling in my cars for nearly ten years.

You might even say we’re been through a lot: three accidents, ten states and nearly 50,000 miles.

He’s definitely seen his share of smoothies in the car:

So this morning was no different.

Please ignore the mess that is my car. Esther needs cleaned. 

Today’s ninja mix included some of my favorites:

• Skim milk
• 1/8 cup POM
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Banana
• 1/2 cup oats
• Dollop of cool whip
• and PB – not pictured

Before:

After:

Afterx2: 

Afterx10:

I feel strange about there being no lobster placemat in this post but at least there’s a ninja. More LPs later on

What do you keep in your car?

I am slowly (but surely) coming back to reality. Sorry for the pics-only blog entry last night; I was just plain exhausted and didn’t feel like typing. My eats over the weekend were very sporadic, so there wasn’t too much to report. But there was a lot of exercise in the form of dancing, which was fun. It was wonderful seeing my friends – especially those will live far now. I really miss everyone.

This morning I was taking forever to get ready (just moving REALLY slowly), so I asked Bill if he would make me a breakfast smoothie.

The fun thing about this smoothie is that I’m not sure what’s really in it, but I’m going to take a stab based on the flavors in my mouth

• blueberries
• soy milk (this is definite)
• peanut butter
• oats
• banana?
• ice
• blackberries?? or raspberries?
• POM??

Not sure! But it was big and filling.

Forgive my parking lot scene. I was just snapping pictures this morning – not worrying much about composition or background.

Ah, I think I am feeling the after effects of not sleeping much this weekend. I have a headache, and my stomach is feeling oh-so-strange. Hope I can make it through work then class tonight!

I’ve heard mixed reviews on the idea of “catching up on sleep” – some of those opinions being that you CAN’T catch up on sleep. What’s your opinion?

I was really craving a smoothie this morning. As soon as I received the shipment of POM Wonderful, I knew it was finally time for me to make a pink smoothie. Ta-da!

This is, by far, the best smoothie I’ve made in the VitaMix 5200. Check out my ingredients:

• Milk
• Oats (1/2 cup)
• mixed fresh berries (about 4 strawberries, handful of blueberries)
• Banana (1)
• Peanut Butter (1 teaspoon)
• Pom (half the bottle)
• flaxseed (1 teaspoon)

Before:

After:

Oh my goodness. I can’t even get over how good this is!

Pom in a Smoothie = WONDERFUL!

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Today’s question comes from my mom who sent me a quick email this morning. She suggested that I ask – “Are you superstitious?  Are there things you will and will NOT do on Friday the 13th?”

Pretty fitting since today’s Friday the 13th, and I didn’t even realize it!

And oh, before I sign off – everyone should go over to Off Her Cork and wishing Andrea a Happy Birthday today!

Raise your hand if you love smoothies as much as I do.

I am totally addicted to the Vita-Mix. This morning I made a huge smoothie batch with the following ingredients:

In the end, I ended up omitting the orange juice. This smoothie pretty much included everything that was in my oatmeal yesterday. It was a great combination!

Check out the before:

And the after, in my new pretty smoothie travel cup!

This contraption also comes with one of those ice coolers.

And now the final product, Voila!

This is hardcore. I am ready to rock out Wednesday.

Do you have several travel mugs/coffee containers as I do? What do you use daily?