Reader Submitted Smoothie and Non Alcoholic Drink Recipes

Looking for ways to cool off?  A lot of these drink recipes don’t include ingredient amounts because it is really up to you and your tastes.  If you like strawberries, add more!  Hate bananas?  Leave them off out!  Here are some of your favorite reader submitted (and mine!) smoothie and non alcoholic drink recipes!  Read to the end of the post for links to other drink recipes!  If you have a recipe of your own, add it in the comment section!

Peach Berry Smoothie Submitted by PWK

1/2-1 cup peaches

1/2-1cup mixed berries

1/3-1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (or any flavor you like!)

Blend together and enjoy!

Strawberry, Orange, and Peach Smoothie  Submitted by M.

1 cup orange juice (or Dole: Orange Peach Mango)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen peaches
3 heaping tablespoons vanilla yogurt

Puree in blender until desired consistency. 

Veggie Smoothie Submitted by J.

“To help my son get his veggies I use spinach and you can’t even taste it. This will make a green smoothie. If you prefer a purple smoothie replace the mango with a frozen berry mix. I’ve also added a little bit of sweet peas and my son couldn’t tell. In the future I’ll try some canned carrots.I don’t measure out the ingredients but use approximately a handful of each of the following:”

banana
frozen mango
frozen spinach
orange juice (or fruit juice)
vanilla yogurt
add milk to thin if needed
add a little honey or more yogurt if it needs to be sweeter

I also asked for favorite recipes on Pensacola Moms Like Me.  These are the recipes that were submitted:

Strawberry and Honeydew Smoothie Submitted by E. 

2/3 cup strawberries

1/2 cup honeydew melon

3/4 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla whey powder

3 cubes ice

Blend.  It’s yummy and healthy too! My son loves this.  The whey powder adds protein and makes it more milkshaky than icy.

Strawberry/Blueberry and Banana Smoothie Submitter by V. 

To taste and texture wanted -

Ice

Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt

1 banana

Either Strawberries (3-6) or Blueberries (2-4 handfuls)

 The banana always makes it creamier!! Yummo and super easy.

Kiwi Orange Smoothie

1/4 kiwi

1/2 orange

1/2 banana

1/4 mango

Ice

Blend.

Pineapple Orange Smoothie Submitted by T.

2 table spoons of whey protein

pinapple

orange

and lime juice

Blend.

Pineapple and Honey Dew Smoothie Submitted by T.

pineapple

honey melon

banana

2 table spoons of whey or 1/2 cup of yogurt ( i like to add the key lime pie flavor but thats a bit of a calorie buster)

Blend.

___

I am absolutely in love with these Strawberry Limeade Slushes.  They are a little bit of work but they are oh so worth it!  There are some great drink recipes here including a yummy peanut butter milkshake

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe or non alcoholic drink recipe?  Share in the comments!

Submit Your Smoothie and Summer Drink Recipes!

Temperatures continue to rise and it is hot out there! 

We are compiling a list of your favorite smoothie and non alcoholic summer drink recipes.  If you have a recipe you would like to share, email it to me at jennifer at pensacolawithkids dot come or use the contact form!   

Photo by dailyfood

Blueberry Picking in Pensacola

It is blueberry time again!  If you haven’t been blueberry picking with your kids yet, it is time to give it a try!  We have so much fun when we go blueberry picking and if you are prepared for the trip then it can be an enjoyable time for both you and the kids.  Big S is a super blueberry picker, which is great because we usually find Little S inside a bush eating what she picked!

Our favorite place to pick blueberries is A and N Blueberries in Molino.  We have been picking our blueberries there for several years and just have to keep going back.  You can connect with A and N Blueberries on Facebook or check out their website.  The blueberry bushes are taller than me and are so easy to pick.  We went the first weekend that they were open for picking and still had no problem filling up a huge bucket in less than an hour.  There were still a ton of green berries that according to their Facebook page are perfectly ripe for picking now and should be available for about the next three weeks!  Blueberries are $1 a pound for U-pick and they take both cash and check.

This year, we also went blueberry picking with friends at Beulah Berries.  We stayed about 45m and were able to pick one gallon.  Beulah Berries only takes cash so be sure you have enough cash with you.  They do work on an honor system if there is no attendant so make sure you have correct change when paying for your blueberries.  When we went, blueberries were 10 dollars for a gallon bucket. 

My children, who are 3 and 5, love to pick blueberries but they do tire in the heat quickly.  After a couple years of blueberry picking, we think we finally have our blueberry picking trip figured out.  Check out the Things to Know Before You Go for our tips! 

There is still time in the season but be sure to call whichever farm you choose to visit before you go.  A lot of times, family issues or activities come up and the farm might be closed that day.  You can also get a blueberry report to see if there are blueberries ready for picking.

Blueberry Farms in the Area

Things To Know Before You Go:

  • Pack a cooler to leave in the car or carry with you.  Be sure to bring water bottles to drink while you are blueberry picking.  We usually leave the cooler in the car so that it is there with ice cold drinks when we are hot, sweaty and tired.
  • Wear tennis shoes.  You are going to be visiting a farm where there will be ant hills, mud and grass.  Leave the flip flops at home!
  • Bring a quiet activity for the kids because at some point they might burn out!  We like to bring a container of bubbles for each child.  This takes up at least twenty minutes!
  • Don’t forget your cash.  Most U-pick places only take cash.  A few take checks but don’t count on it without calling ahead!

Pensacola Family Vacation

Andrew’s Sod and Fruit – Walnut Hill, Florida

Frozen strawberries for smoothies this summer, strawberry bread, strawberry muffins, strawberry lime freezes, strawberry sauce, strawberry shortcake…

Last week we went to Andrew’s Sod and Fruit to pick strawberries.  Be sure to read to the end of the post to see what you can do with all your strawberries when you get home!  Myster Photo Monday #17 was taken here.

We had such a great time wandering up and down the strawberry patch picking and choosing the perfect strawberries.  When you arrive at Andrew’s Sod and Fruit, they give you boxes to put your strawberries in and will even give you a ride to the section that is to be picked for that day. 

Strawberries are $1.50 a lb.  We picked about 14lbs in an hour.  They are a bit pricier than what you would pay in the store, but we got to hand pick every strawberry. Usually I bring one of those pints home and throw half of them away because they have gone bad.

Hurry to the farm this week though!  The strawberries will only be good for a few more days.  Be sure to call ahead of time to make sure that they have strawberries available still before you make the trip out there.  Later on this month and next, Andrew’s will also have all sorts of other vegetables and fruit available for U-pick!  We will let you know when we head out there!

What to Know Before You Go:

  • Wear tennis shoes because the field can be muddy.
  • Make sure to bring a bottle of water, a hat and wear sunscreen.
  • Arrive as early as possible.  They open for U-Pick at 8am and I recommend that you arrive then.  We got left around 9:30 in the morning and the sun was already beating down on us.
  • Even though they give you a box to put your strawberries in, next time I would bring a basket or reusable grocery bag to put my strawberries in while I pick them.  Towards the end, the box got very heavy and was awkward to carry.
  • Bring check or cash.  Strawberries are $1.50 a lb.  We picked about 14lbs.  They are a bit pricier than what you would pay in the store, but we got to hand pick every strawberry. Usually I bring one of those pints home and throw half of them away because they have gone bad.

Once you have picked all your strawberries, what should you do with them?  Here are some links with recipes that we have used this week.  Do you have a favorite strawberry recipe?  Leave a comment with the link or recipe!

Strawberrry Freezer Jam

Strawberry Recipe Roundup

Food TV Strawberry Recipes
Pensacola Family Vacation

Mystery Photo Monday #17

My freezer is full of these perfectly delicious berries!  Any thoughts to where this picture was taken?

We hope you will play along!  If you know where this strawberry patch might be leave a comment.  The season only has another week or so.  I will try to get my act together and post the answer tonight rather than wait until tomorrow so you have plenty of time for berry picking!

Frugal Friday Tip – Free/Cheap Food!

Starbucks Happy Hour – Between May 7 and May 16, stop by Starbucks for their Frappacino happy hour!  Happy hour is from 3 to 5pm and you can get a half-price Frappuccino® blended beverage.  Call your favorite Starbucks before you go to make sure they are participating!

TCBY – Moms get a free cup or cone at participating TCBY stores on Mother’s Day.  Be sure to call ahead to make sure they are participating!

Palafox Market in Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza – Pensacola, Florida

On May 1, the Palafox Market had its opening day. 

This week’s Mystery Photo Monday was from the Palafox Market.  When we first woke up Saturday morning, we were not going to head out there.  The weather was gloomy and the kids were still fast asleep.  Once we got up and moving, we decided at the last minute to ride out to check it out.  I am so glad that we did!  The opening day started small but it was worth going out there.  The art and produce was so much fun to look at and we got some great deals on yellow squash! 

 

  We also bought a yummy chives plant.

Things to Know Before You Go:

  • If you see a parking space on the side of the road, take it.  The farther you drive, the less likely a space!
  • Arrive early if you plan on produce hunting.  We got there around 9am and there were already lots of stands out of eggs and some produce.
  • Bring cash.  This is something I always forget.  A few vendors were accepting checks, but it is more courteous to bring cash (in smaller bills) if possible so that they don’t have to worry about checks.
  • Bring your reusable shopping bags.  I didn’t notice whether the vendors were handing out plastic shopping bags with purchases because we brought our own bags.  I would definitely at least throw a plastic bag in your pocket for your purchases.

The Palafox Market is located in Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza on N. Palafox Road in between Chase and Wright Street.  They are open every Saturday from 8am to 2pm. Connect with Palafox Market on Facebook or sign up at the website for email updates.

Don’t forget to enter our latest giveaway: MLChapman Photography.  Stay tuned for our adventures in strawberry picking and we are also going to spotlighting Infant Swimming Resource this week.

Pensacola Family Vacation

Frugal Friday Tip – Buy Theirs, Try Ours Publix

Every few weeks, Publix has a special where they choose three items.  If you purchase the name brand of the item (for example Prego Spaghetti Sauce), then you can get the Publix brand for free.  This week, the three items are Classico Spaghetti Sauce, Ronzoni Bowtie Pasta, and Wishbone Italian Dressing.  Stop by Southern Savers to get more details.  She has great coupon matchups that will help you save even more.

Chick-Fil-A Receipt Day

Participating Chick-Fil-A locations in Pensacola and Pace are holding a receipt day on April 22.  Keep your original receipt from your Thursday, April 22nd purchases and return any day in May to redeem the same order FREE!!!  You can make your purchase tomorrow through dine-in, carry out, or drive thru.  According to an advertisement I saw, all Pace and Pensacola locations are participating.  If you are not sure, call your favorite location ahead of time.

Waffle Cone Wednesday at TCBY – Pensacola, Florida

We try to eat pretty healthy around the house, but we love our treats!  I can’t believe I didn’t know about this before last week.  Did you know that the TCBY in the Bayou Blvd Target shopping center has 99 cent waffle cones on Wednesdays?!?  For just over three dollars I was able to treat all three of us to waffle cones…they were huge!  Next time we go, I will ask them to not put as much frozen yogurt in the cone.

As always, be sure to call ahead to make sure this promotion is still going on.  TCBY is located at 4771 Bayou Blvd, Pensacola, FL 32503 and the contact number is (850) 475-8048.