No Excuses Green Smoothie

This is a simple, economical way to get your morning smoothie. I'll break down the price for you in this post.

You will need:
2 handfuls spinach
1 cup almond milk
1-2 T cocoa powder
1 T ground flax seeds
1 frozen banana *see note
1/4 cup old fashion oats
1 packet stevia or to taste-You can use sugar or agave, but I like stevia because it doesn't have any calories.

Ok, to buy these ingredients you will have some initial investment.
a) The ground flax seed will run you about $3.00 for a box and will last forever. You can also use this as your egg substitute (1 T ground flax plus 3 T hot water = 1 egg).
b) Cocoa powder will run you about $5 and will last a very long time.
c) Old Fashion Oats are like $1.
d) Stevia packets will be about $4 for a box but you can use it for other purposes.

So the only things you have to buy that you have to use up within about a week are:
Spinach - box of organic runs about $4.50 and you can use it for salad
Bananas- $1.50 for a bunch
Almond Milk- $2.50-$4 and you can use it for cereal or other recipes

The spinach, bananas and almond milk should last you all week. You end up only having about $8-$12 invested  in a weeks worth of smoothies. That's pretty economical!

* To make your frozen bananas- take ripe bananas when they are just starting to get brown spots, cut them into sections and put in freezer bag. Try to seperate the chunks and freeze the bag so they aren't all stuck together. Keep several bags of these in the fridge. This way, you don't have to use them up in one week.

Now, to make your smoothie just put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Zucchini Blueberry Muffins or Bread

If you love zucchini bread and blueberry muffins this is the treat for you!
Sorry I didn't take an actual picture of these but they didn't turn out so pretty. They taste great but I ran out of liners so they stuck to the muffin pan. The bottoms are all messy.

Ingredients:

Egg substitute for 3 eggs- I used 3 T ground flax seeds mixed with 9 T hot water
1 cup canola oil (next time I may substitute apple sauce to cut out some fat)
3 t vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups white whole wheat flour (unbleached whole wheat flour, I use King Arthur brand)
1 t salt
1 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1 T cinnamon
pint of fresh blueberries


Decide whether you want muffins or loaves. Grease pan or use liners. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In large bowl, prepare your flax eggs or other egg substitute. Whisk well and add in oil, vanilla and sugar. Fold in the shredded zucchini. Using your mixer, beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon until just incorporated. GENTLY fold in the blueberries.

Bake 30-50 minutes depending on whether you make bread or muffins. You will know they are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.