Happy Friday and Some Recipes To Try...

I forgot that one of my coworkers aka "The Donut Stud" buys Dunkin' Donuts for the whole office every Friday. This is the first Friday I didn't appreciate his generosity. :-) I walked into bagels & a box of donuts on one end of the table AND a candy jar and the 12 Days Of Christmas depicted in chocolate (of course) on the other end! What a way to start the day...

On another, more helpful note, a friend sent these recipes yesterday (thanks Jai!) that I thought would be good to share. I'm looking forward to trying a couple of these:

Fruit Smoothie: Cut up desired berries: strawberry, blackberries, blueberries, whatever and put it in a blender. Add orange juice, apple or pineapple juice (if you use canned pineapples with 100% juice, just put the entire can in the blender). Now this is important... ADD BANANAS!! This helps thicken the smoothie as would a dairy product. Add ice and blend. Add extra ice if you prefer an 'icier' smoothie.

Strawberry salad: Use baby greens and slice strawberries on top. Add walnuts and top with Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing (sugar-free)!

Whipped sweet potato: Take sweet potatoes or canned (not in syrup), whip on medium speed with apple juice. Warm to desired temperature and top with raisins!

Sweet mixed berries: take blackberries and strawberries, cut them up in the bowl, top with a thin layer of honey and put in the refrigerator over night. The honey pulls the juices from the berries and makes a nice sweet, guiltless juice that you can indulge in after you eat the fruit.

Some other ideas: salad with Italian dressing (with olive oil), Kashi granola or Giant's Natural granola with almonds and raisins, all natural corn tortillas (baked) with salsa.