Pumpkin Oatmeal Smoothie $2.48

2 cups milk .12
1 cup pumpkin puree .88

I love this drink because it is cold and refreshing and choke full of nutrients.  Oats are probably one of the most heart healthy foods that one can consume.  Via its high fiber content, oats are already known to help remove cholesterol from the digestive system.  that would otherwise end up in bloodstream.  1 serving a day, helps stabilize blood sugar for diabetes.  In addition to fiber, oats are a very good source of selenium which works with vitamin E as a very strong antioxident in our body. 

1 cup pumpkin puree

 

1/4 cup raisins  .20
1/4 cup cashews .65
1 cup oatmeals .23
1 tablespoons honey .40

Pour all ingredients in a blender and mix until even the raisins and cashews are ground up.  Pour into two large serving glasses, or four smaller glasses.

Cashews Raisin Date Smoothies $2.00

OMG, i pulled this together in 2 minutes from my cuppord full of a hodge podge of food. It was soooo good. I never "drank" raisins before, but they made the drink complete. This drink was loaded with nutrients. 
Dates high source of fiber
Figs are rich in iron, and keeps body active
Cashews protect our bodies nervous system
Raisin are also high in fiber
Milk of course provides calcium, iron, protein

ingredients
1/4 cup raisins .45
1/4 cup figs.45
1/4 cup dates .45
1/4 cup cashews .65
1 Cup milk .12
8 ice cubes

put all ingredients in blender and blend for 1 minute until all ingredients are combined.

Coffee Almond Smoothie $1.31

1 cup brewed coffee .08
1/4 cup raw almonds .60
1/2 cup milk .06
1/4 cup dates .45
1 tsp vanilla extract .12
8-10 ice cubes

This drink is loaded with nutrients.  Milk is high in protein and calcium, dates high in fiber and vitamin A which has a lot of antioxident properties, and almonds high in fiber and protein as well.
blend almond and dates until smooth and creamy
add coffee, milk, vanilla and ice cubes
blend until smooth
serves 2-3

Cashew Date Smootie $1.45

5 medium dates .50
1/4 cup raw cashews .60
1 1/2 cup milk .21
1/4 cup crushed ice
1 tsp honey .14

microwave date 15-2o seconds
pour all ingredients into blender

blend until smooth
if you have a sieve pour into a glass using sieve, if not some pieces of dates will go to bottom of glass
enjoy!!

Mandarin Strawberry Smoothie

Working lunch duty at school the other day, I was reminded again how much kids like canned fruit, and many times choose it over fresh fruit. Mandarin Oranges were a fruit choice, along with bananas, apples, oranges and pears, and more then half the students chose mandarin oranges. This may be because of their sweetness, but I dont really care the reason, I know if that choice wasnt there, the students wouldnt eat any fruit at all. The mandarin oranges inspired me, so on the way home from lunch duty I stopped at my local convenience store and picked up a few cans of mandarin oranges, a few containers of strawberry yogurt and a gallon of vitamin D milk. Our afterschool snack today would be smoothies.
For less then 4 dollars made four 8 oz delicious, refreshing and healthy smmothies.
ingredients
2 cans mandarin oranges
2 containers of strawberry yogurt
2 cups of milk
2 cups ice
throw all into blender or food processor, pulse or blend until all smooth(about a minute

Pumpkin Banana Green Tea Smoothie $2.57

Ok, the running joke in my family is I try to sneak pumpkin puree in everything, but

the truth is, Im not actually sneaking it in, I just like to cook with it. It provides a rich creamy texture, with out fat or lots of calories. This recipe is simple, but as usualy a great pick me up. I can make pumpkin smoothies so many different ways, that its always a pleasant surprise. This version served as my lunch today, along with a few pieces of cheese. It kept me going all day.
serves 2
1 can pumpkin puree 1.99(I actually just spent .88 on this can because it was on clearance, but for arguement sake, I put in the higher price)
1 cup brewed and cooled green tea.10
4 ounces banana babyfood .44
1 tsp cinnamon .04
1 cup ice
put all ingredients in blender
Blend for 1 minute

Green Tea Pinapple Smoothie-Supercharged Antioxident Drink $1.99

When I was younger, I learned a secret to not breaking my blender when blending ice-dont blend ice!!! Infact, the simple easy way to give the illusion of a cold slushy drink, is to freeze my fruit. That works great with fruit out of a can. I blend up these fruit smoothies atleast 2 to 3 times a week and I love them. They are cold, sweet, and loaded with lots of nutrients. The consistent ingredient I always use is green tea for the liquid. Why green tea you ask? There may be no drink in existence with as many health benefits as Green Tea!!
GREEN TEA has been used by the chinese for 4,000 years for treating anything from headaches to depression. Infact a study in Purdue recently states a direct link with green tea inhibiting cancer cells. Consuming green tea has also been linked to lowering cholesterol, which inturn lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke. It is suggested to drink Green Tea everyday, which I do. When just a cup of hot tea doesnt interest me, I will venure out and make a fruit smoothie. Most convenience stores have the typical canned fruits-peaches, pinapples, pears, fruit coctail, mandarin ranges. I have tried all in smoothies, sometimes mixing and matching. If Walgreens or CVS is your conveniences store of choice, very often canned fruit goes on sale.
Today my fruit is pinanpple, and boy was it tropical!!

I love canned pinapple because cutting fresh pianpple goes down as one of my least fave food prep jobs. Its a pain!! Opening a can, draining and rinsing much, much better. Watch for many more pinapple recipes.

Pinapple is chock full of nutrients. Very high in Vitamin C, B6, A, K. It acts as an antioxident warding off bad cells, along with providing the body with much need fiber which keeps the digestive track moving.

recipe:

1 cup brewed green tea

.40

1 cup frozen pinapple(drained and rinsed)

.99

1/4 cup plain or fruit yogurt(whatever available, but plain preferred)

.40
1 tsp honey

.20

in blender place all ingredients and blend until smooth and frothy. consume immediately

Pumpkin Smoothie $1.09

Im not ready for Pumpkin season to be over, and actually I dont think it should ever really be over. I know this causes gag reflex in some people(hint, hint, Kim) but the bright color alone should inspire anyone to find a way to like pumpkin, because the brighter the food, the more nutritious. ie, tomatos, carrots, beets etc..... Now that I have discovered many more ways to use pumpkin then just pie, I am having a great time taking in all this alpha and beta carotene, fiber, vitamin A, C, and E, and potassium. This lowfat fruit gem is high in fiber which ofcourse helps control cholesterol and consquently heart disease. That coupled with the Alpha and Beta Carotenes which together are extremely high in antioxidents which do what???? Keep bad loser cancer cells away. Not to mention beta carotene is great for the skin and can reduce the signs of aging as well keep vision strong and its counterpart alpha carotene can stop or stunt tumor growth-yipee. So those 3 reasons alone are great ones to keep on consuming.
simple and good recipe
this serves 1
1/2 cup pumpkin puree(frozen-I froze for a few hours so the drink will be cold without adding ice) .49
1 cup milk .25
2 tsp spoons of brown sugar, or honey.25
2 tsp cinnamon .10
blend all together and drink up

Coffee Smoothie .80

1 cup cold fresh brewed coffee .20
1 tsp sugar .20
2 ounces dark chocolate .30
1/2 cup cold milk .10
4 ice cubes

melt dark chocolate in microwave. make sure to only give it 30 seconds, if the chocolate isnt completely melted give it another 10 seconds
when melted pour chcolate in milk and stir until completely blended

pour chocolate milk, coffee, sugar and ice cubes in blender and mix until smooth

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Recipe $1.35

This is a shake that Elvis would have approved of!! It was filling and more like a meal. It has lots of nutrients and good stuff for our bodies. Peanut Butter provides protein, fiber and an important nutrient called reservatrol which contains high amounts of antioxidents. Along with potassium from bananas and calcium and protein from milk, this beverage makea a great nutritious snack.
serves 1 person
ingredients:
1 tablespoon peanut butter .25
1 cup banana babyfood .80
1 cup cold milk .20
1 cup ice
1 tsp honey .10

combine all ingredients in blender, blend until smooth

This recipe serves 1, if you perfer a bit less fat, you can stretch recipe to serve two by adding another cup of cold milk and serving two

Honey Nut Cheerios Smoothies

13 vitamins and minerals. low fat, good source of calcium, made with whole grains. helps reduce the risk of heart disease, can help lower cholesterol, excellent source of iron Peaches are high in vitamin A, C, fiber iron and protein. Milk contains 9 essential nutrients and vitamins, including protein, vitmains A,D and B12, calcium, potassiu, phosphorus, riboflavin, niacin, zinc and manesium.

8 oz yogurt(whatever flavor preferred)
1 1/4 cups honeynut cheerios
1 cup milk(2% or skim milk)
1 can peaches
1 can banana babyfood

mix all in blender 20 seconds, turn off blender scrape the sides and blend another
40 seconds
serve 4 glasses

Pinapple Pumpkin Smoothie $2.14

I wasnt sure I was going to like the combo of pumpkin and citrus from the pinapple and OJ, but I did. The pumpkin was over powered in a good way by the pinapple with the sweetness and the tartness. The pumpkin added a velvet smoothness.
This drink was a great afternoon pick-me-up.
makes two hefty servings

1 cup Pinapple rinsed and drainedy 1.20
1/2 cup pumpkin(canned) .44
1 cup orange juice .45
1 tsp cinnamon .05
1/2 cup ice
Pour all ingredients in blender and blend. Serve in two glasses

Green tea, Pinapple and Banana Smoothie $2.09

I know it has only been a solid month of my Convenience Store challenge, but I am going to go out on a limb, and hope I dont jinx it and say I feel great!! Im engergized, I dont feel weighed down, like I feel when I eat poorly, my mood is fairly good considering for me January leading into February has always been my least favorite period of the year in the Chicagoland. The cold, dreary days just get me down, and I start to get very unmotivated and prefer to stay home and veg, but not this time, I feel like spring is around the corner, and I am keeping busy and taking care of any and everything as best I can and enjoying hanging with family and most of all my son. Another improvement I believe I see is in my skin. Ive been drinking 3 cups of green tea a day. Sometimes I drink it hot, some times over ice and usually everyday as an afternoon pick me up, I put it in a smoothie. I feel like my selections of ingredients is endless from my local convenience store, and I love mixing and matching ingredients. Ive been informed that Some Walgreens carry bananas- mine does not, so I am not going to base this recipe on fresh banana because that will limit people. So I am going to incorporate my new "disovery" banana babyfood into this smoothy, just to give it the potassium that we all need, the smoothness, and ofcourse the natural banana taste.
serves 2
ingredients:
1 cup brewed green tea(let cool off) .20
1 cup canned frozen pinapple .70
1/2 cup banana baby food $1.19
4 icecubes
place in blender all ingredients
bel

Green Tea Pumpkin Beverage $1.46

This makes a great breakfast drink that is loaded with lots of antioxidents in both the green tea and the pumpkin. Green tea is also known to increase metabolic rate and along with diet and exercise can help with weightloss and weight maintanence. I always like to throw in a little cinnamon because it contains lots of nutrients such as calcium, iron, and fiber.

serves 2
2 cup green tea- 4 bags green tea brewed with a cup of water .28(onsale at Walgreens, 40 bags for $2.50)
1 can pumpkin puree .88
1 cup ice
1/4 cup honey .20
2 tsp cinnamon .10

total $1.46

Green Tea and Pinapple Smoothie $1.69

Im a big Dr Oz fan. I just like his demeaner, bedside manner, compassion and knowledge. I remember seeing him a long time ago on Oprah talking about the health benefits of Green Tea. At the time, my father had just been diagnosed with Bile Duct Cancer(he later passed away from the dreaded disease) and he said that consuming Green Tea was one of the best beverages for our bodies(he may have said one of the best food/drink period for our bodies-but dont quote me on that, Im not certain) I just remember him saying one of the benifits of green tea was the antioxidents that it contained. I had learned early on with my dads cancer what an antioxident was, and realized it is vital for our body to keep bad cells out, because once they are present, they can and do often spread like wildfire. I became a green tea advocate immediately and gave my dad several cups a day, along with vitamins, fresh fruit and vegetable juices. My dad lived almost 2 years with his cancer, and it was a cancer with dismal statistics. I will never be sure if it was the green tea, vitamins, or juices that gave him some time, but I dont feel it hurt, and I firmly believe prevention is absolutely the best medicine. Ive seen the horrors that cancer can wreak on a body, mind, life and life of loved ones, so if drinking 2 or 3 cups of green tea a day, can prevent that havoc, I say DRINK UP!!! I will drink a few cups a day plain, and then I will make a smoothie almost everyday. One of my favorite combos is Pinapple and green tea. I remove the pinapple from the can, rinse them ofcourse, and freeze them for a few hours so the drink is slushy. Very refreshing and supercharged antioxident!!
Green tea has been used by the chinese for 4.000 years for treating anything from headaches to depression. A study recently at the University of Perdue states a direct link with green tea inhibiting cancer cells.
Consuming green tea could also be linked to lower cholesterol, which inturn lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke. The combo of the pinapple and the tea creates a very powerful antioxdent, since they both contain bad cell fighting nutrients. Pinapple also adds lots of vitamins including b6, A, K and Vitamin C.
Ingredients:
serves 2
4 green tea bag .40
2 cups canned diced pinapple .99
1 cup ice
1 tablspoon honey(optional).30

brew tea, let cool
if pinapple frozen, remove from freezer
pour into blender with ice
add honey
blend until smooth and frothy
drink!!

Pumkin Smoothie $1.53

A while back I stumbled upon a blog that I absolutely love. Its address is www.skinnytaste.com, and the premise behind the blog is the blogger had a difficult time finding out the weight watcher points in recipes, so she created a blog to include those numbers with all her recipes. Well, it is obviously a great site because it is in the top 2 food blogs on the internet. I like her recipes because they are obviously low in points, they look amazing,simple and many of them dont have super funky ingredients and I can work with them from a convenience store standpoint.
I found this pumpkin smoothie idea on her site, I tweaked it a bit because it called for Greek yogurt, and that I have never seen at my local convenience store, and she made pumpkin butter out of the pumpkin puree, and I thought that was too much work, so I just used the pumpkin puree straight out of the can. I loved it. I drink one almost every day and I swear not only do I feel revived when I have my afternoon fix, my skin feels and looks revived. That must be the beta carotene and vitamin A working. There are large amounts of both those nutrients in pumpkin and have been known to aid in keeping skin looking and feeling healthy, and can slow down the aging process. Beta Carotene along with alpha carotene, is also a strong antioxident and aids in keeping bad cancer cells away(yipee) Pumpkin also contains vitamin E another powerful antioxident, tons of fiber, which helps to control cholesteral and in turn is very heart smart, and vitamin C and potassium. There are no reasons not to eat pumpkin or drink pumpkin. When Im craving a healthy, filling sweet snack, this drink hits the spot.
My Convenience Store doesnt sell pumpkin puree all year long. It is strictly a seasonal item. Sometime in October I noticed it on the shelf, and now January 3 I found it on clearence for .88 a can. I stocked up on 10 cans. I have a bunch of recipe ideas other then pumpkin smoothies, so I am sure the cans will go fast.
Here is the recipe I found on www.skinnytaste.com.(altered)
makes 4 servings
1 can pumpkin puree-about two cups .88
1 cup milk .40
1 1/2 cup ice
1/4 cup brown sugar, or honey .20
1 tsp cinammon .05
put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth
total $1.53 or .38 a serving