Supergirl Smoothie Bowl

I have been obsessed with making green smoothies ever since it's gotten warm out. I love how you can completely mask the "green part" by adding delicious fruit and other ingredients. I also love how light and energized I feel after having one.

I came across the concept of smoothie bowls on Pinterest a couple of months ago. You basically just make a smoothie, pour it in a bowl and top it with fruit, granola or whatever else you want.

I've noticed that even though I feel energized and light after my morning smoothie, I find myself hungry a couple hours later. I feel like it's a mental thing and the fact that I'm drinking it versus chewing and eating it makes me feel less full. Now, when I make the smoothie into a bowl I have found that I am completely satisfied until lunch. I think it's the combination of eating with a spoon and having to chew the toppings.

You might be surprised to find that I used cottage cheese in this smoothie. I typically use nonfat Greek yogurt to give my smoothies great texture and extra protein. I recently read however, that cottage cheese can improve the consistency of the smoothie even more so than yogurt, and it has just as much protein. I was hesitant at first because the texture of cottage cheese grosses me out, although once you blend it you don't even know it's there! 

Cottage cheese is packed with protein which helps the body maintain healthy tissue. It is a great source of calcium which is essential to having strong bones. Lastly, it contains the Vitamin B12 which helps support brain function.

Ingredients for smoothie:

1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves

1 frozen banana 

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese

5-6 ice cubes

Toppings Ingredients:

handful of fresh strawberries

1 tsp. chia seeds

1/4 cup granola

Directions:

1) Blend smoothie ingredients until smooth.

2) Pour smoothie into a bowl and top with strawberries, chia seeds and granola.

Skinny Mexican Sweet Potato Skins

It's Cinco de Mayo so obviously that means I had to come up with a healthy Mexican meal! I recently made Pinch of Yum's Healthy Sweet Potato Skins and they were AMAZING. After I made her recipe, I instantly began brainstorming ways to make my own version. I instantly thought of making a Mexican sweet potato skin and tonight was the perfect night to test it out.

My husband and I have been having "meatless mondays" in our house for a couple of months now. I really like this tradition as its a way to eat a super healthy light meal on Monday nights after the weekend. Well, since Cinco de Mayo fell on a Tuesday this year, I thought we could have a "Meatless Tuesday" with these Mexican sweet potato skins.

I guarantee that you will not miss the meat in this recipe. These sweet potato skins are jam packed with protein and fiber from the potatoes and beans, and loaded with delicious flavor from the cilantro and all of the spices.

We topped ours with diced avocado, extra cilantro and salsa and they were perfect. Next time I think I will try a version with russet potatoes and ground turkey  to make them even heartier, so stay tuned!

If you want to know all of the amazing health benefits of sweet potatoes check out one of my other sweet potato recipes here.

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes- washed and scrubbed

1/2 cup corn kernels

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

3/4 cup black beans- rinsed and drained

1/2 red bell pepper- diced

1 shallot- diced

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

3 tbsp. light sour cream

1/4 cup medium salsa

1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 avocado- diced (optional- for topping) 

extra cilantro and salsa for topping (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Poke sweet potatoes with a fork and wrap in aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 60-75 minutes or until tender.

3) When sweet potatoes are tender cut in half lengthwise and allow to cool.

4) Meanwhile, saute shallot and red bell pepper with olive oil on medium high heat. Cook for 2 minutes then add cumin, chili powder, sea salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook another minute or until fragrant.

5) Combine sour cream and salsa in a large mixing bowl.

6) To the salsa mixture, add corn, black beans, cilantro, and the shallot with bell pepper. 

7) When sweet potatoes have cooled slightly, scoop out the flesh and mash with a fork. (Make sure to leave enough of the flesh in the potato so the skin doesn't break.)

8) Plate sweet potato halves on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle olive oil on top of the potato skins and bake for 5 minutes.

9) Meanwhile, add the mashed potato to the mixture and stir to combine.

10) Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary.

11) When potato skins are done, add the mixture evenly to each half. (There might be a little bit of the mixture leftover)

12) Top potatoes with cheese and bake in oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and the filling is hot.

13) Serve with avocado, more cilantro, and extra salsa

*Recipe makes 2 servings