Fallen Souffle

So I am on a major health kick right now which led me to buy the largest bag of baby spinach ever! I guess I thought I would be eating alot of salads but I can only takes those for about two days before I am bored, so I had to get creative with the spinach. I have sauteed it with olive oil and garlic, then squeezed a little lemon over it. I have put it on pizza, I have even thrown it in some pasta. Now that the spinach is looking less than desirable I needed a way to squeeze the last bit of life out of if.

So I turned to my girl Ali in one of the issues of Very Good Things and found her recipe for Fruits and Greens Smoothies. This was perfect! I just so happen to have a plethora of fruits hanging around in the fridge was well as about a gallon of vanilla yogurt (yeah I told you it was quite a kick!) So with a little tweaking I was on my way to a beautiful start to my day!

Never underestimate the power of spinach! It is so good for you and extremely versatile. I will be writing alot more about it in the coming days as I experiment more with it.

Jen’s take on Ali’s Fruits & Greens Smoothies
Makes 1 Giant Breakfast Smoothie

1 banana, cut in chunks
1 mango, diced
1 (6 ounce) tub vanilla yogurt
1 orange, peeled and de-seeded
1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves

1. Place the banana, peaches, yogurt, apple, juice and spinach into a blender. Cover and blend until smooth, stopping frequently to push down anything stuck to the sides. Pour into pretty glass and serve.

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No, this is not on my yearly calendar but I did notice this day while checking out this month’s issue of Very Good Things and thought Evan and I must do our part to celebrate this special day! Actually I just needed another reason to eat chocolate

So our parfaits are simple just chocolate pudding, whipped cream and some strawberries but to make it extra yummy I made chocolate pudding from scratch. Don’t freak out! It’s really easy and requires zero effort and I promise it tastes better than the box. Plus since it is homemade you know exactly what goes in it (did anyone else see today’s Oprah? I raided my pantry to read all of the labels!)

So do you part in commemorating this special day with your own chocolate parfait!

Microwave Chocolate Pudding

1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups milk (I used skim milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa and cornstarch. Whisk in milk a little at a time so the mixture does not have any dry lumps.

2. Place in the microwave, and cook for 3 minutes on high. Stir, then cook at 1 minute intervals, stirring between cooking times for 2 to 4 minutes, or until shiny and thick. Stir in vanilla.

3. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming, and chill in the refrigerator. Serve cold.

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