Nature's Bounty | Fresh, Healthy, Colorful, Vibrant Ingredients

 If I would have seen all of this fresh and delicious food when I was younger, I would have been like, Nooo!!!

I never knew I could be so in love with real food.

My horizons are expanding and I learn to cook and utilize new and different vegetables every week and I love it. Some people probably think, "why would you take pictures of your food or plain fruits and veggies", and probably think it's weird. I feel like, how can I not? Look at all of the color, and on top of their simple beauty, I know how they taste and how wonderful they are for me.

Look how different and vibrant their colors are. Shiny red tomatoes, Vibrant greens, sunny yellows, deep purples and bright oranges. You can't get any better or more beautiful than that. I got the green apples to make a few small apple pies or crisps in the next couple of days. I got jalepenos and cilantro to make some fresh salsa fresca. One of my favorites. I save a lot of money by making my own in a big batch and storing it in the fridge to snack on or add to our favorite fresh dishes, like salmon and rice. Mmm mmm good!

See those little heirloom cherry tomatoes in purple, yellow, orange and red?

Heaven! They taste like heaven.

I made a small layered dip with beans, sour cream, avocados, cheese and topped it off with those superb little tomatoes and they made the dish. The purple ones are my favorite, with a robust tart and lingering sweet flavor.

How can I not get excited about real food that is so amazing for my health? This is beautiful and it makes me happy and most importantly, it makes me want to cook well and eat well.

So grateful for this food!!! Get you some!!!

 

Blessings to all

 

 

Check out my previous post on

The Benefits of Himalayan Salt

 

Orange Julius copycat recipe

Remember those delicious Orange Julius smoothies that Dairy Queen used to make? They stopped making them for years and then in the past couple of years they brought them back but they don't taste quite the same. I am not sure if they changed the recipe or did something different but something is definitely different.

 

I always loved the Orange Julius and have attempted to make my own on several occasions. They didn't always come out so great but never so bad that I didn't drink them. I have searched high and low for the perfect copycat recipe for making my own Orange Julius and I finally found some good ones. There are a lot of these out there. The general ingredient seem to be pretty common among all the recipes that I have found. I did find this one on Pinterest from The Recipe Critic that I liked in particular. I had to do a little tweaking to make the recipe just how I wanted it and this is what I ended up with. I hope you like it.

 

Recipe

What you will need:
Blender
Spoon
Cups
Straws

Measuring cups

Measuring Spoons

 

Ingredients:
6oz frozen orange juice concentrate (half a can)
1 cup milk (try 2% or skim for a healthier version)
1 cup cold water
1/3 cup sugar or (sugar alternative)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

10-15 ice cubes

Makes about 4 - 8oz glasses

This is such an easy recipe and all in all not too fattening. If you use a less fattening milk (or milk alternative) and less sugar (or a sugar alternative) then this can really be a healthy. I don't mind the few extra calories and I want my Orange Julius to taste as close to the original as possible, so I use the original ingredients. 

 

To make the smoothie, combine all ingredients into your blender and mix until smooth. It should take a couple of minutes. I use the ice crush button on my blender because I don't like chunks of ice in my smoothie. Use your spoon to taste and make sure it is sweet enough or thick enough for you. Most recipes called for more sugar, about half a cup. Also, less ice. I found that I like mine with a little less sugar and a little more ice. 

If the Orange Julius Smoothie meets your standards, then pour into glasses, add a straw, maybe a little orange garnish and go to town. 

Yum!!!

Well, I hope that your Orange Julius experience is as good with this recipe as it was way back when the original Orange Julius was around. If you find that it doesn't quite fit the bill then tweak the recipe a little until you find your own balance. That is what is so fun about cooking and playing in the kitchen, you get to be creative. 

 

As always, Enjoy your journey in the kitchen!

Blessings to all