Can I just say how happy that I am that it’s Friday? An 11 mile run tomorrow morning stands between me and enjoying the weekend!
Another thing that I’m happy about- 80 degree weather today! Even though it doesn’t really feel that warm, I made myself a big smoothie when I got home from work this afternoon. I see plenty of green smoothies in my future- my spinach is already going bad, and blending it up with fruit makes the nasty taste disappear 
Take Me To The Tropics Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup frozen fruit (I used a mix of papaya, pineapple, and mango)
- 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach
- 1/2 banana, frozen
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut
- 1 cup almond milk (you may need a little more depending on your blender)
- 1/2 tsp xantham gum (optional, but it makes it soooo spoonable)
Directions:
- Feed your blender a tiny piece of fruit at a time, add way too much milk, add more fruit to try to thicken the smoothie, smack the blender hard enough to get it to work that it starts leaking, curse yourself for thinking a smoothie sounded good, stop and clean up the spill, and finish adding all the fruit until well blended.
- Oh… maybe that’s just my Magic Bullet. If you have a normal blender, just toss it all in until blended
So thick, so creamy.
Hit the spot!
I picked up this bag of frozen fruit from Costco last week and I love it in smoothies! I picked out most of the strawberries and ate them plain.
I wouldn’t consider myself a picky eater by any means, but I never considered myself a big ‘tropical fruit’ fan. I didn’t even like bananas until pretty recently (gasp!) and I’ve never liked coconut. I had a bag of shredded coconut in my freezer that I felt obligated to use, though, and I ended up loving the smoothie! Maybe I’ll turn into a coconut lover after all.
Another food I’ve recently made peace with? Cottage cheese. I have a love / hate relationship with it. I used to love it, until I made the mistake of buying it from Wal-Mart (don’t even ask why I was at Wal-Mart) and it was expired! Too bad I didn’t realize it until after I tasted it. If you want to get yourself to hate a food, just eat it when it’s expired.
I keep seeing people put cottage cheese in oats, so I decided to face my fears and give it a try.
Cottage Cheese Overnight Oats
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup oat bran
- 1 1/3 cup water, plus 2 tbsp
- Dash of cinnamon
- 1/3 cup cottage cheese
Ingredients:
- The night before you want to eat these, cook the oat bran with the water and cinnamon until the water is absorbed. Let cool completely and stir in the cottage cheese. Cover and pop in the fridge overnight.
- The next morning, top with your desired toppings and enjoy!
Cottage cheese- welcome back into my life.
These oats were so thick- definitely the best overnight oats I’ve had! I topped them with honey apple butter. Heaven in a bowl, I tell you.
Since I was trying all these foods I used to hate, I figured I might as well test out my taste buds on the number one food on my ‘naughty no-no’ list.
Vinegar.
I hate vinegar. The mere smell of it actually makes me feel nauseous, and I refuse to taste anything that has vinegar in it. It’s really the only food that I can actually say I really hate…
…so I don’t know why Angela’s salt and vinegar roasted chickpeas sounded so good.
I don’t know why my brain works the way it was, but I decided to make them anyway. I didn’t think I was going to like them- I was pretty much gagging when I opened the bottle of vinegar- but guess what?
I loved them!
I do not, however, love this picture. I didn’t realize until too late that I switched the color balance on my camera?!
Anyway, I served them with broccoli (drizzled with garlic sea salt and vinegar, just like the chickpeas) and butternut squash with maple syrup.
I don’t know what’s weirder… the fact that I was eating vinegar or the fact that I ate my broccoli first.
Is there a food you used to hate that you now love?
I used to hate avocados!! seriously who doesn’t love guac?! i have always been a chocolate hater and i doubt that will ever change. good luck on your 11 mile run tomorrow! i hope one day i can run that far!
I absolutely love tropical smoothies, they are so refreshing! Good luck for your 11 mile run!
I was never a picky eater, I pretty always liked everything, but now I like them even more! Chickpeas used to be pretty dry and bland to me, but now I think that’s part of their charm, but know they can also be smooth and creamy as in hummus.
Good luck on your 11 miler! I’m doing 11 miles tomorrow too.
Coconut + banana is one of my favorite combos in a smoothie. I never used to like beans, but now, I eat them like everyday.
‘Healthy’ fruit soda like Hansens! Those type used to gross me out but I need some fizzy sometimes and it’s way better than going for like a Coke (although I do that sometimes too).
Um, I definitely hate cottage cheese. Not sure I’ll ever like it. Or mushrooms.
In terms of food I’m starting to like? Avocados (used to be love/hate).
I used to sip on tiny glasses of vinegar as a kid
Love the sound of your smoothie! Xanthum FTW!
I was extremely picky eater as a child so almost everything I eat now I used to hate! Your smoothie sounds so refreshing. Good luck for your long run x
I’m also not a huge fan of tropical fruit, but this smoothie sounds wonderful. I’m having a bit coconut moment right now. And pineapple and coconut are great together. Pina Coladas are proof of that!
Good luck with the run today. And have a good weekend!
I was a picky eater when I was younger, in that I mostly ‘picked’ at junk! But the foods that spring to mind the most are mushrooms, broccoli and lentils.
Love the clear, vibrant colour of your tropical smoothie and hope the run went well.
xxx
Brussels Sprouts. Easy. And once I roasted them I absolutely never looked back
Good luck with your run! I’ve got a 12 miler this morning and will be thinking of you on the treadmill
Yummy green smoothie!
The food looks wonderful.
Have a good weekend!
Whitney
Aww, yay for second chances! Man, there are SO many things that I used to hate that I now love! Coconut, cottage cheese, goat cheese, kombucha (I know), chickpeas! I’m all about second chances…sometimes you just have to have something made the right way before you can determine it a like or dislike! I used to love cottage cheese when I was younger, but then one day I was totally grossed out by it! I only recently started eating it again! I’ve added it to cooked oats, but I’ll have to try your overnight version!
PS, LOVE your directions on the smoothie! Bahahaha!
I sed to hate blueberries!! I wouldnt touch anything that had them, unless it was a sugar filled muffin
But now I cant get enough of the little buggers and ususally have 3 containers in my fridge at all times!
Awesome smoothie!
I also crave smoothies more when it gets warmer outside, although I also drank them in the winter.
I think asparagus and Brussel sprouts are two good examples of foods I hated as a child and love now.
Have a good run!
Oh, and salmon! How could I forget salmon?
I don’t like bananas, but I’m hoping I will start to like them soon. I see so many delicious looking recipes that contain bananas.
I love vinegar, especially balsamic! I used to not like coconut very much, but now I love it!
There are TONS of foods that I love now that I used to hate. Cottage cheese is one of them! I tend to go through phases with it though. I’ll buy a container of it and eat it everyday for a week or two, and then I’ll get totally sick of it and go a month without it.
Hope your run went well today!
That smoothie looks so good. I love putting spinach in smoothies. My husband thinks it is gross and won’t even try it. Oh well, more for me.
I hope you managed to finish your long run in today’s heat! This tropical smoothie would make an amazing and refreshing post-workout meal!
Wow, I really need to buy a blender! It’s basically the only kitchen appliance I don’t have, and I keep seeing all these green monster smoothies on peoples blogs! I have had oats every morning for years and can’t believe I haven’t tried them with cottage cheese. I can’t stand the sight or smell of cottage cheese, but I tried putting 1/2 cup in my pancakes batter and it was amazing. You can’t taste it all, and it makes the pancakes so fluffy and good. Thanks for the oats idea. Check out my giveaway!
I LOVE a good tropical flavored smoothie! Delicious!
I used to hate Salmon, but now I eat it a few times a week! So good!
I hope you had a great run today. I can’t stand cucumbers or avocados. I’ve tried…just isn’t happening.
I use to hate pickles but now I love them! I was also the same way with cottage cheese until I found Friendship 2%. Amazing
I don’t know how I feel about cottage cheese in my oats yet! Does it lend a really strong flavor or more texture?
I used to hate beans! So crazy I ever thought that way. Now I am addicted to hummus.
Definitely texture only- I add cinnamon and sweetener and you can’t taste it at all!
I used to hate garlic bread. Now I love it! That and shrimp.
I used to hate cottage cheese too! Well, not the taste, but the texture. Now I love it!
In the past year I’ve retried so many foods that I hated as a kid and now I love all of them! Now there are very few foods that I don’t like.
i LOVE me some smoothies! esp. with pineapple in them YUM!
Vinegar would be a tough thing for me to hate! esp with boardwalk fries that I eat once a year on vacation HA
Second chances are well deserved
For some weird reason I used to really dislike avocados…I really don’t know why but I think I thought the taste reminded me of Crisco..slimy and tasteless. Now I love them! They’re seriously DELICIOUS!
That is too funny, can you do balsamic vinegar? Apple cider vinegar?
I go in my phases with food. I use to be obsessed with cheesy scrambled eggs and now can’t touch the things…same with granola bars.
Mmm, I’ll be trying that smoothie tomorrow! Wish I had some cottage cheese, though. I don’t think I’ve bought any all semester, but I do loooove it.
That’s awesome that you confronted so many foods you didn’t like, with good results! I can relate to the Magic Bullet issues, too… Until I got my blender, I could only use my mom’s MB. It was interesting…
Personally, my hated-but-now-love food is broccoli. I used to despise it. It is now in a tie for my favorite cooked vegetable (along with fresh corn and cauliflower).
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