Guest Post: Laura from Bits of Sweetness

Hi guys! I'm Laura.
I blog over at Bits of Sweetness.
I'm a boy mom. Photographer. Wife of another shortie.
(People always wonder why our kids are short and then get it!)
I live in between Seattle and Vancouver BC and love it here!
The beauty this time of year is unreal!

I was pretty excited when Cami asked for a guest post.
I love her to pieces and love getting to write for you sweet readers!

It's funny but true- you know you are a blogger when...
you take pictures just for a blog post,
but then half of them don't even make it there!
I'm trying to work on it though because sometimes I find or create
some neat ideas that I love sharing.
Consider today's post a remedy for that!

Now, I mentioned our kids our short. It's kindof an understatement with
our younger one. He is such a little peanut! I love it though!
However, his pediatrician was kindof concerned and recommended
that we add more protein and nutrition into his diet.
While I happen to take a more balanced approach and know that any charts
are somewhat futile (I mean, genetics anyone?!) I realized that it is a challenge
for him (and for me!) to get good nutrition in one meal.
Goldfish crackers, while easy to snatch up, just don't quite cut it, if you know what I mean!
Good food takes time to prepare. With two boys and a full time job,
I don't always have the time (or energy, or motivation!) to take an hour to make a nutritious meal.

Enter the super smoothie.

Our pediatrician recommended a children's nutrition shake,
but, I would rather a)save money and b)make my own.
I don't why I forget how much I love smoothies but I was glad to have a good excuse to make them again!
They are so easy and can pack a lot of nutrients in one glass.

Our youngest was also low on the iron side so I wanted to get some of that in too.

I did some research and came up with my own super smoothie.

What you need:

1 c. Juice {We used mango orange}

Fruit {Bananas for the win!}

1/4 c. Green veggie {Spinach love here}
1/4 c. Protein {Almond butter to make it toddler friendly.
Protein powder or pb works too}
1/4 c. yogurt {I love greek for the protein but used natural vanilla for our son. Greek makes it thicker}
Oil for added nutrition {We used walnut oil. It's really good for you!}
We also added goat's milk since it's gentle on the tummy. I've used almond milk too and love it!

Add all ingredients. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!
I like to freeze my spinach because it blends a lot easier.
I promise you can't taste it, especially if you use OJ!

Our son loves this.
He chugged two sippie cups of it down.

Things I love about smoothies?
They are so customizable
Super easy to make
Handy for a nutritious drink to just grab on the go
You can make a batch of it for later
Pack lots of nutrients into a small space
And better yet-they taste amazing.

My personal favorite?
1 c. orange juice
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt
1/4 c. spinach
3 TBS honey
handful of berries
1 tsp cinnamon

I know we always hear about how important it is to eat healthy but I'll be honest-
it's really hard for me!
I love snack foods. LOVE THEM! Like I could make a meal from them!
Chips have my heart!
Anything crunchy and salty? Sign me up!
It seems like 11:00 hits and I'm ready for that fourth meal.
Too often it consists of melted cheese on doritos. Or a bag of salt and pepper kettle chips.
The madness kindof needed to stop.

Two weeks ago I asked my hubby if he'd take on a challenge with me-
No chips for me, no mountain dew for him.
And he said yes.
You know the times you make a bet, thinking the other person won't want anything to do with it,
and you'll end up out of it? Um yeah consider me guilty as charged.
I still can't believe he said yes. He's the one people tease about getting an IV of mountain dew!
So here we are.
Two weeks later though and we are both sticking to it.
I seriously can't believe it.
What's a girl to do now without her chips?? Go crazy?!
 I'll tell you-
Get creative!
It's amazing what you will find to eat when something is no longer an option!
I've started finding other crunchy stuff that I love.
fruit.
veggies and hummus. (especially sugar snap peas. Oh man.)
kale chips.
greek yogurt.
dark chocolate trail mix (still counts, right?!)
nuts.
Calbee snap pea crisps (amazing!)

Guess what? I'm not wanting chips as much. And, I am kindof proud of myself.
Little steps baby. Little steps!

--- Thanks, Laura! Isn't she just the sweetest?! Her blog title matches. :) Be sure to stop by her blog & send her some love! And definitely let us know when you try her killer smoothie!