I made up and created not one but TWO delicious beverages within the past 24 hours. Pretty impressive for a busy mom on the go (shoot me in the face)! I’m sure my award will be arriving in the mail shortly.

I drink smoothies for breakfast most summer mornings. Quick, healthy, tasty, and I fucking love drinking things out of straws so this habit gives me an excuse to buy them. If you keep a decent stable of ingredients on hand it’s pretty easy to keep your smoothie game interesting. This one was a winner. I was so obsessed with it that I texted my husband “I just made the best smoothie in the world” to which he replied “maybe at the time.” Rude!

PB and J Smoothie

Blend together for one smoothie (I used a Vitamix, you might want to omit the chia seeds if you don’t have a high speed blender):

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or similar)
½ frozen banana
3 frozen strawberries
1 medjool date
2 TBSP peanut butter
1 TBSP chia seeds
1 generous dash cinnamon

And now for something boozy. Balance! This next bev is still pretty healthy though, and really refreshing. Fruity, without being too sweet.

Watermelon Margarita

Serves two

Crush a cup, ish of watermelon in a cocktail shaker (I just mashed the shit out of two triangular shaped slices with a spoon-I used yellow watermelon but red would also be just dandy)

Add to shaker:
Handful of ice
3 oz silver tequila
Juice from two limes
Dash of orange juice (you can also use triple sec but I am too cheap to buy Cointreau and I think cheap triple sec tastes skanky)

Shake, shake shake and pour into your glasses of choice.

Delicious though I must admit that I probably won’t make it through summer without consuming one of these at least once.

Behold, some recipes I have made and enjoyed lately. Fruit is the theme here, apparently. Pregnancy makes me want sweet things and fruit is allegedly healthier than a “sharing size” bag of peanut butter M&Ms. Blah.

Also there is just so much delicious fruit in season right now and I want to eat it all. Summer in Seattle is the best!

Blueberry Pie (from The New Potato)

Here’s a secret (is it a secret?): fruit pies are a super easy dessert that will impress the shit out of people. You can go with a store bought crust but I went for the glory and made it from scratch, which wasn’t painful at all.

This pie was effing tasty. Serve with ice cream. Duh.

Pie friend needed way longer to bake than the recipe calls for; just keep an eye on it. I’d wrap the crust in foil at some point near the end so it doesn’t burn.

PB and J Breakfast Smoothie (adapted from something I saw on former Real Housewife of Atlanta Kim Zolciak Biermann’s Instagram, don’t judge me)

This was hearty, refreshing, and pink. Winner!

Blend:
1 cup milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1 banana, ideally frozen
½ cup berries, fresh or frozen
½ cup ice
½ cup plain or Greek yogurt (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP rolled oats (optional)
2 TBSP peanut butter

Burrata and Stone Fruit Salad

I kinda made this up though there are a lot of different versions floating around the internets. This is great for a BBQ, summer dinner party, or when you need dinner but don’t feel like turning on your oven which for me has been most days of late.

Salad:
Greens (I like arugula)
Sliced stone fruit, whatever’s ripe and delicious
Chopped basil
Sliced heirloom or cherry tomatoes
Burrata, ripped in chunks to a size of your liking

Dressing:
Equal parts lemon juice or champagne vinegar, and olive oil
1 TBSP or so honey or agave nectar
Salt/pepper to taste
You can throw in a splash of OJ if you have that around
A little minced shallot would also be nice