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5 Things Making Me Happy #7

Is it just me or was this week a blur to any one else? It’s been one of those busy, but really nice weeks. I got a lot accomplished and that feels good! This time of year is just fun! People in general seem to be in better moods, everything is so festive. We can spend our evenings riding around looking at Christmas lights and making Gingerbread houses…the song got it right, It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year for sure! Now on to what has been making me happy this week….

1. Harmless Harvest Coconut Water

Harmless Harvest Coconut Water

Coconut water is new to me and before I buy and try anything new I like to thoroughly research it. If I am going to consume it then I want to make a healthy, informed decision. Not all coconut water is made equal. Many of the ones you will find in the store have been heated (therefore killing all the wonderful nutrients) and have a shelf life of years. Not good! After doing some digging around I found that Harmless Harvest was the way to go. It’s organic, nothing added, nothing taken away and it tastes amazing! I’m super excited that my local grocery store carries it! 

2. This Raspberry Kombucha smoothie!

Raspberry Kombucha Smoothie

It’s like drinking a dessert for breakfast but it’s actually good for you! Be sure and make the coconut whip cream, it is amazing!

3. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

NationalLampoonsChristmasVacationPoster

Can you believe up until a few years ago I had never watched it. Jim was in shock, it’s his favorite….we look forward to it each year now! 🙂

4. This Peppermint Sugar Scrub!

I came across it while reading Melissa’s blog. I have been wanting to make my own coconut scrub for awhile and I was so excited when I saw this one because I had all the ingredients to make it. If you have 2 minutes and the 3 ingredients you can make it! I made it a couple of days ago and it is wonderful!

Here’s mine—

Peppermint Scrub

5. Date Day during the week!

Southern Soul

Southern Soul BBQ

This is something that is rare, but when it does happen it is a nice break from the usually day to day stuff. This time we headed kid free over to St. Simon’s Island to eat some awesome BBQ and do some Christmas shopping! We were back from our little trip in time to pick Lily up from school and a big thanks to Granny Faye for keeping Emma! We may have surprised the girls with these! 🙂

Small Cakes

What’s your favorite Christmas movie?

Disclosure: Some 5 Things Making Me Happy posts may contain affiliate links. I appreciate your help in supporting this blog!

I’m linking up today with Heather, Katie, and Clare!

Raspberry Kombucha Smoothie for Smoothie Week with Williams-Sonoma

A typical day for me starts with Jim and I waking up and getting Lily up and ready for school. Once she is off to school I head out for a run and Jim and Emma hang out. Jim starts working and Emma plays princess. 🙂 After an hour of running I come back hot, sweaty and hungry! So basically a smoothie is the perfect breakfast for me no matter the season! 

Raspberry Kombucha Smoothie

There are several reasons I love them so much….

1. They are healthy and delicious.

2. They are quick and easy to make. (This is perfect when you are starving and don’t have a lot of time in the mornings.)

3. I can sip on it while I’m getting ready for the day.

4. They keep me going til lunch.

I’m teaming up with Williams-Sonoma to create a “Not Your Typical Smoothie” for Smoothie Week. This is fun for me since I love to switch up my smoothies and trying different combinations. It’s great for your body by getting different nutrients and it also keeps you from getting bored. For a while now I have been thinking about the possibility of creating a Kombucha smoothie. For those who may not be familiar with Kombucha it is a fermented tea beverage that is full of probiotics, antioxidants, and vitamins. It can help boost your immunity and balance the pH in your body. I usually have a glass with my lunch or before dinner, so why not breakfast?! 

I wanted to make something festive for the holidays so I chose raspberries. I wanted a little Christmas-y spice so I chose Ginger Kombucha and added a dash of cinnamon. Frozen bananas gives this smoothie the perfect creaminess. When you blend it all together the color is beautiful light red. I took this smoothie one step further and whipped up my own coconut whip cream. This was my first making whipped coconut cream, and it was so simple! I used a can of full fat coconut milk that I refrigerated overnight so that the cream and the milk would separate in the can. Open up the can from the bottom, pour the milk in a separate bowl (save to use later). Scrape out the cream, add a little vanilla extract and honey use a hand mixer and beat it for about 3 minutes and you will have a fluffy mound of delicious dairy free whip cream! This smoothie is the perfect blend of tangy, fruity, and sweet, not too mention extremely good for you! 

Raspberry Kombucha Smoothie
Serves 1
A little bit of spice and alot of creaminess with a little kick of Kombucha!
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Ingredients
  1. 1 cup of frozen bananas
  2. 1 cup of raspberries
  3. 3/4 cup of vanilla coconut milk
  4. 1 tsp chia seeds
  5. 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
  6. 3 tbsp of Ginger Kombucha (I used GT's Gingerade)
Instructions
  1. Put all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.
  2. If you feel like getting fancy make the coconut whip cream and top smoothie.
  3. Enjoy!
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Raspberry Kombucha Smoothie 

When making a smoothie it really helps to have a good blender. I use a Vitamix and it makes smoothie making as quick as 30 seconds! Don’t forget to check out these great blender options at Williams-Sonoma!

 

Is Kombucha the ‘New Yogurt’?

Through reading other blogs I have started seeing this drink pop up everywhere, Kombucha.  Living in a small town with limited grocery stores I had not stumbled upon this drink myself, but it had definitely caught my interest.  So, while we were in Greenville the other day I decided to pick up a couple bottles from Whole Foods.  I first tried GT’s Organic Raw Kombucha in Gingerade, it is quite tangy with a vinegary taste but I loved it.  I am a huge fan of Ginger so this seemed like an obvious first choice for me.  I also bought a bottle of Synergy Organic and Raw Mystic Mango Kombucha it taste alot like the gingerade flavor to me with the same tangyness but also has the hint of mango.  I really enjoyed it and I think I’m hooked!

So what exactly is Kombucha?

Kombucha is a fermentation of sweetened tea and contains cultures of bateria and yeast along with the organic acids, active enzymes, amino acids, and polyphenols produced by these microbes. While drinking Kombucha you will noticed flat pancake like structures floating in the drink these are known as SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bateria and yeast).

Kombucha producers claim that it detoxifies the body and energizes the mind, although little research has been done to prove it.

So, even though I might be a little late to the game where Kombucha is concerned, I have thoroughly enjoyed drinking it and look forward to trying more of the flavors.  This is coming from someone who primarily drinks water and green tea. I love that it’s full of probiotics and antioxidants, both of which I love adding to my diet in as many ways possible.

Questions for Today :

Do you drink Kombucha?

What is your favorite flavor?