Banana Coconut Smoothie (Smoothie Saturday)

This banana-coconut smoothie was a happy accident of trying to clean out my fruits and fridges before we left town on vacation. It's simple but a summery way to start your morning.

Banana-coconut smoothie
1 cup yogurt
1 cup vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup sweeted coconut
1 banana

Blend ingredients. Add ice and blend to desired consistency.

Next time I may try this with a drop of orange essential oil too.

Vanilla pear smoothie

One of my goals for 2013 is simple: 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. And I admit I've easily eased into protein shakes in the morning, so adding fruit was the next step.

Here's a simple recipe for a vanilla pear smoothie recipe.

Vanilla Pear Smoothie
2 pears, cored (skins OK)
1 cup skim milk
1 scoop DoTERRA vanilla Trim Shake or other vanilla protein shake
1/2 cup ice or more if desired.

Blend all.

Calories according to MyFitness Pal: 400 for the entire thing. It tastes amazing and was so filling!

Disclosure: I do receive a percentage of the sales for the DoTERRA vanilla Trim Shake by following this link, however, I wouldn't use it if I didn't like it!

Oatmeal cookie peach cobbler

An oatmeal cookie peach cobbler was mentioned a while back on one of the myriad of travel-food shows my husband likes to watch. And after I was blessed with $18 worth of Carolina peaches from our stop at the Nashville Farmers Market, I had to come up with something to enjoy it!

Since I couldn't find anything similar to an oatmeal cookie peach cobbler in any of our cookbooks (and our PC was down), this was a take on the peach cobbler and oatmeal cookie dough recipes found in a cookbook. Worked out great, and I'm going to argue that there's a weak possibility of it being a healthier version of this summertime treat!

Oatmeal Cookie Peach Cobbler
1/2 c. wheat flour
1 1/2 c. oats (regular)
1 stick butter
1/2 cup packed plus loose (not packed) 1/3 c. brown sugar
5 c. sliced fresh peaches
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. water

Preheat oven to 400.

In medium saucepan combine 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and water. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add peaches. Heat through.

In bowl, mix flour, oats, butter and remaining brown sugar until crumbly.

Pour peaches into 8x8 pan. Add oatmeal mixture on top.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Serve warm or cold.

Veggie grilling

Might as well make the most of your farmers markets while the summer is hot. In just a month or two, the growing season - at least in Indiana - will be winding down.

While I admit to stocking up my freezer this time of year, we also love to add our veggies to the grill when my husband cooks out. If you're a little shy about this, relax. It doesn't take very long, and it's one less set of pots to clean!

Here are some vegetable side dishes to make use of the rest of your burner:

• Balsamic grilled vegetables
• Grilled asparagus
• Grilled cauliflower
• Grilled citrus radiacho
• Grilled corn on the cob
• Grilled eggplant and chickpea salad
• Grilled fruit
• Grilled fruit with balsamic vinegar syrup
• Grilled fruit with carmelized orange sauce
• Grilled green beans
• Grilled potato wedges
• Honey garlic grilled eggplant
• Spiced tomatoes
• Spring asparagus and new potato salad

Enjoy!