Recipe: AB&J Smoothie

I can't believe I haven't shared a recipe with you guys yet! I'm really passionate about food, and I live to cook. It's a bit difficult in a dorm room, though! Now that I'm home for the summer, look forward to a lot of Frankenstein-y vegetarian/vegan recipes. Some of it may look a little funky, but I promise there's a method to my madness.

I love smoothies for breakfast, and I always try to experiment to make something that marries really healthy and really delicious. Enter the AB&J - fruits, veggies, protein, and Omega 3s make a breakfast worth getting out of bed for.

Ingredients:
1 large banana, frozen in chunks
~4 strawberries
~3 baby carrots
1 heaping tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp ground flax (whole flax works too, but makes the smoothie a little chewy)
3/4 cup almond milk (or whatever milk you prefer. This makes a realllly thick, milkshake-esque smoothie, so if you like yours thinner, up the quantity accordingly)

Instructions:
Throw everything into a blender, with milk last
Even the baby carrots will blend up...I promise

Blend until smooth

And enjoy! This is seriously the perfect summer breakfast, and the almond butter/strawberry combo makes this smoothie taste like a delicious peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich. Bonus: there's about 8 grams of protein in this sucker, and it's jam packed with healthy fats and sweet, fruity goodness. Other bonus: it tastes like a milkshake.

Let me know if you give this smoothie a try - I swear by it! Happy blending.

Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Have you ever been to a New England apple orchard and eaten apple cider donuts fresh from the fryer, covered in delicious cinnamon sugar? They make your hands all sticky and grainy, but it's SO worth it, because your taste buds are doing dances of joy. If you've never experienced this, make these donuts IMMEDIATELY. If you have, I probably don't need to convince you.

We don't need to get into semantics about how these are in no way, shape, or form seasonally relevant - I made these for my mother's Christmas office party a few months and people went nuts over them; I made a batch for my roommates last month, and they were gone in a day. They're (slightly?) healthier than their fried counterparts because they are baked and made with white whole wheat flour. You don't need a special donut pan for these, which is not something you can say about a lot of donut recipes. And reducing the apple cider makes your house smell like a warm, apple-y wonderland. They're so perfect for Sunday brunch, and they keep for a week or so in an airtight container (not that they last that long in my house) for an on-the-go breakfast, or lunch, or dinner, or snack. These are just really good, guys. Check out my post on Simmer Magazine to get the recipe, and get cookin'!