Happiness is Raspberries and...

Fridays. Coffee. Runs with friends; friends who end up as roomies. Even more happiness.

So sorry for the long break; I truly cannot believe its August 16th. Last I checked it was August 4th then things got real and BAM here I am with August halfway over! But wonderful things happened while I was away and I loved it. We visited my new baby niece Leila (YAY!!!), I threw a bridal luncheon (pictures to comeeee) and we helped celebrate my brother-in-law and NEW sister-in-law getting married!!! Seriously, it was an amazing four days. If new babies and new marriages are not the best things ever to celebrate, I don't know what are. So many blessings in such a short time!

Okay then, I'll stop ranting and raving about last weekend's loveliness and tell you about my new smoothie I'm really excited about!

First, though, I'll give a shout-out to Trader Joe's and Aldi, (did you know they are sister companies?) who both carry cheap frozen raspberries. I usually skip over the raspberries elsewhere because you get way less for way more and I'm sometimes (read: most of the time) a cheapy who doesn't drop the big bucks on them. But alas, I've found cheap ones! And with their deliciousness they bring extra fiber to the smoothie so what's not to love??

Raspberry Banana Smoothie
serves 1

1 (preferrably frozen) banana, broke into large chunks
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup orange juice (or to top of frozen fruit)
optional: 1/4 cup frozen mango or pineapple

Toss ingredients into Magic Bullet/Vitamix/whatever you've got and blend on high for 30 seconds. Voila! Top with granola or dried fruit or maybe even shredded raw coconut if you're a fan. Yumsville for breakfast, lunch, snack, all three....no judgment.

Nutrition: 178 calories, .5 g fat, 6.7 g fiber, 2.7 g protein and a bonus 20% of your potassium for the day!

I'm off to enjoy the beautiful weather, you should do the same! Until next time. :)

--KQ