Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer

Last week my sister and I were having one of our daily book conversations and she mentioned that she was sent a request to review a book. After reading a short synopsis she thought it might be a book that was more up my genre ally than hers...low and behold....It was!...well sort of. Let me show you what I mean.....

“Puberty was a ticking time bomb planted in each and every teen. The older you were the louder and faster it ticked...”

 A few months ago Abby moved with her Dad and younger brother and sister to a small fishing island off the coast of Maine. She was looking forward to the weekend when she would be able to see her Mom, following what was predicted to be the meteorological event of the century!

That night the the Earth would be making it's first pass through the tail of the Rudenko- Kasparov comet. It was expected to be a spectacular show, covering the entire atmosphere with harmless space dust and turn the moon a beautiful shade of purple. Unfortunately it did a lot more than that....

When she woke up the following morning Abby and her siblings discovered that not only was the space dust harmful but it had silently killed almost every single adult and older pubescent teenager on the planet. (seriously, all gone) 

Now, at the ripe old age of 13 she is one of the oldest children on the island it fell to her to try to keep not only herself and her siblings alive but the rest of the younger children on the island as well. That is at least until they could find a cure or they hit puberty and succumb to the space dust...which ever comes first.

My first opinion....

Stephen King's: The Stand meets William Golding's: Lord of the Flies.....with a twist.

As a mother of young children Mr. Cramer has managed to captured one of my greatest fears. That one day my children will wake up and find that my husband and I have died in our sleep. How will they survive?Who will take care of them? Not to mention when they were really little, how do they even get out of the house seeing as that they can't open the doors yet? These were questions that would keep me up at night.

And while the writing was excellent.... It flowed well and I understood everything without confusion or inconsistency. I must say as a mother, I really didn't like this story. It scared the crap out of me!

....which leads me to.......

My Second Opinion.....

Stephen King's: The Stand still meets William Golding's: Lord of the Flies.....but from a different perspective.......and still with a twist.

As I went through this book I realized that if I was going to finish it I had to try to hang up my “Mommy” cape but keep on my “Nerdy” boots and then mentally dig deep into my past before I had kids. Back to a time where I liked thrillers and watching movies with just this sort of thing....Hey, I like The Stand so why couldn't I like this? ( I never really liked Lord of the Flies, but then again, I doubt it was meant to be a “likeable” book. It was meant to teach you a lesson. Sort of like this one)..... And so looking at it from that perspective I found that as Sci-Fi Apocalyptic Underdog stories go.... It was pretty darn good! :D

After a while you almost tend to forget that the main characters were not adults but children and that makes the weight of their survival even more important. It shows the good and the bad in human nature. It showed how society has a choice even at a young age to either work together for the good of everyone or go savage and run rampant and just destroy until there is nothing left to save.

It also makes me realize that we need to be teaching our children how to be more self reliant. If it hadn't been for a few of the kids knowing basic survival skills and how to do real work they wouldn't have survived for long.

This story also reminded me about how we as a society need to value life. No matter how long or short it is. We need to tell those around us how much we love and care about them because for all you know they may not be there in the morning....now if you 'll excuse me, I'm going to go teach my 3 year old how to start a bond fire with some twigs and a tampon.

If you are interesting in reading this ebook you can find it at Amazon.com right HERE for $2.99 or if you are one of the elite and have a Prime account it's FREE.

Moving up in the blogesphere...

So I just reviewed a book on someone Elses blog!!! They specifically asked me and everything!!! (granted it is my sisters blog, but hey, that doesn't really matter. Right?) I feel important now. I'm going places! Movin' up in this wild and  crazy world! Getting my name out there!
WACH OUT WORLD!!!! I'M COMING FOR YOU!!!!

If you would like to read my review of "Bloodlines" by Richelle Mead and check out my sister's much more, put together blog, just clickity click right here. or here. or even here would work.

My recent Book Bender - Vampire Academy series.

It's been a while since my last post. My only excuse is that I've been kind of busy...there was spring break then a visit to my sister in Utah, breaking up with my best friend (one I mentioned in a previous post), my husband went way for a week on business so my sister actually came with her family up here for a while. The day she left I started reading.

I've heard of some people going on " drinking benders". Basically they take a week or weekend off and just drinking themselves into oblivion...well, I don't drink so instead I read myself into oblivion.
So in a matter of 8 -9 days I managed to get through the entire six book series of  "Vampire Academy" by Richelle Mead.  (And for you speedier readers out there who are all "well, that's not that fast." Remember I have 2 kids, a dog and a husband. Not to mention that even though they start out around 300 pages, by the end they are pushing 600 pages. So for me...that's pretty darn zippy! )

When I borrowed the first two books from the library, going on a bender was NOT my intention. I figured I'd read the first one and see if I had time for the second...well I decided to make time! Thankfully because the series ended in 2010 there wasn't a long wait to acquire the other books... obviously it sucked me in.
If you haven't heard of this series I'll give you a quick over view of the beginning...but before I do I need to give you a few definitions. (things that took me a while to grasp (let alone pronounce)  in the beginning.)

There might be a test later soo pay attention...


Dhampir (pronounced 'Damp-ear') - Half human half living vampire. Most train their entire lives to be  "Guardians" to the Moroi. Look like humans. Has the durability of humans but also have the higher senses of the Moroi (night vision, better hearing and sense of smell). Does not drink blood. The sun doesn't bother them at all.
Moroi (pronounce 'Moe Roy') - they are peaceful "living" vampires that are not immortal but do require small amounts of human blood to survive. (they eat other human food too). They can also stand limited amounts of sunlight. Have differing degrees of magic that controls at least one of the 5 elements, but they refuse to use it for defense. They rely on the Guardians to protect them. Can use compulsion but it's taboo.
Strigoi (prounced 'Stri goy') - The bad guys! Your stereo typical Vampire.Will burn in sunlight. They are immortal vampires that kill and drink only blood to survive. Most used to be Moroi who killed willingly thus causing them to change or were Dhampirs forced to change against their will. Either way they are evil from here on out and their favorite food group is the Moroi. They do not have magic anymore but are much stronger and faster than most Dhampirs or Moroi and they can use compulsion.


Ok so that's pretty much what you need to know....

    In the beginning we meet Rose Hathaway, a novice Dhampir who has trained her whole life in the hopes of being a guardian for her Moroi best friend Princess Lissa Dragomir. Starting after an accident that killed Lissa's entire family and almost killed Rose, the two have been psychically bonded. With out saying Rose is very protective of Lissa.  So two years ago when they perceived a threat to Lissa's life, they ran away from their home, a remote Moroi/Dhampir boarding academy in Montana.
    Living among humans and trying to  avoiding any Strigoi and especially any retrieval squads from the Academy. Things had been quiet for months until one night they were ambushed and dragged back home by the new addition to the Academy's guardians, Dimitri Belikov.(insert happy sigh)
    Now, forced to integrate back into school she must find a way to keep protecting Lissa (some times from herself) and catch up on her training if she has any hopes of passing the final tests at the end of the school year to become a true Guardian and protect her best friend. Unfortunately, due to her bad temper and previous record the only person willing to train her is Dimitri. (insert happy sigh) Who, while extremely good looking (of course), is seven years older and is not known for his social skills but has the reputation of being a "God" when it comes to his job.......and thus the forbidden romance and drama with the occasional fight scene ensues.

And.....scene!

While this series is all from Roses perspective, due to her one way bond with Lissa we get to see what Lissa is thinking and feeling even when they are not together (which can be good and bad at times) thus almost making it seem like two different stories.
And I've never really cared for the type of male lead who reminded me of Fabio with the long hair but I must say that if Dimitri were real......(insert happy sigh) Let's just say I won't be able to see a guy in a leather "duster" coat without wishing he really was real... I might have to put him on the shelf with Edward and Jace in my opinion....
The writing is easy to read but also a bit repetitive as the series goes on. Mostly though to accommodate those who have had to wait long periods of time between books and who may have forgotten some details. So I found myself skipping paragraphs here and there if I saw she was going into more back story that I already knew about.

As the books went on I also got the feeling she (the author) could have cut 100 pages if she didn't put quite sooo much detail and extra explanations . And despite me sometimes yelling at the book "I get it already!" it never really made anything drag. So no harm done.

Oh! Without giving anything too spoilery away I must mention that due to something very very bad happening in the third book the fourth book will require tissues...lots and lots of tissues. But like I said by that point you can't stop reading! And it all gets better...so as the British say Keep Calm and Carry On.


Needless to say, I reallllly enjoyed this series. I try to only obsess over one series at a time and I was hoping it would be something good but not get to invested in it...nope! It doesn't help that I discovered that there is a spin off series called "Bloodlines" following one of the minor characters ....It's on hold for me at the library right now!!!...and the second one in that series comes out in June!! Between that and the next Mortal Instruments book coming out in two weeks, I have a feeling my kids are going to have to learn how to use the microwave because.... "Mommy will be unavailable."

Books in the Vampire Academy Series....
-Vampire Academy
-Frostbite
-Shadow Kiss
-Blood Promise
-Spirit Bound
-Last Sacrifice

My cookie story and a recipe with Nutella...need I say more?

So today (Sunday) has been very emotional for me(in fact the whole week kinda sucked). And what is better to do when emotions are high than turn to a best friend. And since my best friend is my husband, he knew how miserable I was so he told me to go make some cookies while he folded the two weeks worth of laundry that 'somehow' got dumped out on my side of the bed this morning (by not me).
So I did....I entered my kitchen with the intention of looking up a guilt free but still yummy chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe and satisfying my unhealthy need to use food as a comfort object. My goal was to make something with my left over Almond and Coconut flour and try to keep it wheat and sugar free. (i.e. guiltish free)
I opened my (one) cookbook that contained recipes that fit into that criteria and couldn't quite find what I wanted so I looked on the internet...nothing really looked like what I wanted so in the spirit of "invention comes out of necessity" I decided that for the first time really I was going to EXPERIMENT! Almost every single (baking) recipe I"ve made has been inspired or tweaked from a recipe that has been proven worthy in someone else's kitchen. But tonight I believe I made up something of my own creation (if I haven't then I'm sorry to who ever really made it first)

But first let me tell you a short story I mentioned that I would in another post about my first solo cookie attempt....

When I was a freshman in college I decided that I was going to do something nice around Valentines day. I was going to try my hand at Domestic Engineering and make traditional Chocolate chip cookies and give them to people at school.
Some I just liked and other I really Like liked. (this was over 12 years ago so now I just like everyone instead of Like like them) So, using the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag I proceeded to make the dough and cook most of them to a nice golden brown. Out of the whole batch of maybe 5 dozen I really only felt that only one or two dozen were worthy to distribute because they were nice and round and (in my opinion) perfectly browned. They were not chewy but I thought they looked great!! So I packaged them up in baggies and took them to school. (the rest of the rejects I left with a note that my (psycho)  roommates could eat at their own risk)
It was one of those days that I had a lot of time in between classes so I just sat in the hallway and waited to see people I knew. The first guy friend I saw I flagged down and gave him a bag. He took a cookie out and looked at it and said kind of disgusted "Um, it's Burnt!" I was taken aback..."No it's not!" and he was all "Yes it is." And proceed to tell me that it was burnt because it was hard. (or something like that, I was still reeling from the embarrassment and insult) Then he showed me a bag of Hershey kisses some 'other' girl gave him and how nice that was..bla bla bla!

Anyway, I didn't give anymore out to my friends. But it was that "experience" that motivated me years later to learn how to bake and make things look good and taste even better for someone who actually Like liked me!

This could have all been for You my friend!

As a side note: I went home that evening to find that the rejects, while not perfectly round or brown were soft and chewy and very very yummy.


Anyway, this is what I (believe) came up with tonight

Chocolate Chocolate chip Nutella cookies

1 cup Chocolate whey protein powder (I used MRM dutch chocolate)
1/2 cup Almond flour
1/2 Coconut flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt

1 stick of butter
1/4 cup *Maltitol Sugar (I use "Steels" that I ordered online)
1/4 cup  Maltitol Brown Sugar (Steels)
1/3 cup Nutella
2 eggs
1 Egg white (optional)

1/2 bag chocolate chips (Not optional!!!)
Pecans wouldn't be a bad thing (optional)
Or maybe even Marshmallows?

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
In a separate bowl mix your dry ingredients
Then in a larger or stand mixer bowl mix up you wet ingredients.
Then combine add the wet to the dry. At first it looks like there may not be enough liquid but it all soaks in eventually.
After it starts to come together then add the chocolate chips.
Using a small cookie scoop plop them down on your cookie sheet and then you can use your (clean) fingers to flatten them to about 1/4 inch. (the dough didn't stick to my fingers at all so no need to grease them)
Bake for 8 minutes.
yields about 4 dozen 2 inch cookies (It made about 40 whole cookies but I also ate a good deal of the batter throughout the whole process so I'm saying 4 dozen)


*If you don't have Maltitol you could probably sub with Truvia or xylitol  OR if you don't care about it being sugar free I'm sure you could used regular sugar... it might even give it a better texture.


*Now because these cookies are not made with your typical cookie ingredients and have a lot of egg (hence why the extra egg white is optional), the texture isn't as dense. They more resemble a meringue cookie,(a little bit spongy) so if you feel so inclined feel free to use them as a "sandwich cookie" I found they make wonderful bookends to a dollop of Nutella or maybe your favorite frosting. And as with most things glutenish free, they are a bit better the next day...not so dry.

Either way, they won over my son and that is not easily done!

Oh and because it is that time of years....

I know the feeling little girl.....

                     

French bread....and LIARS!!!

So, I love to make bread. Almost any type of bread really...I like quick breads (muffins) and as I call them "slow breads" (sour dough) and all in between. If it has flour, chances are I've thought about trying to master it. But for years there is one thing that has alluded me....french bread that looks and tastes like the store bought baguettes (yeah, after 6 years of French lessons I still had to spell check that word)
Speaking of my years of French language education, when I was in college my French teacher gave me a recipe to make for a class party. It really was my first ever attempt at a yeast bread that I can remember. And I followed the instructions to the T. I added the yeast to the water, let it sit. Then the salt and the flour. I kneaded the best I could, let it rise and then punched it down and formed it into free standing "loaves". Let it rise again and then baked it......what came out could have been used as a prop on one of the planets on the original Star Trek....it's looked "Ok" for my first attempt . Not professional, but not tooo bad (everyone told me so...the LIARS!) .... I also took comfort in the fact that it was going to be cut up into chunks for dipping. As the day went on, I was actually feeling pretty cool about how I "made" my own french bread....Until.....

She (My French teacher) brought them to class still warm from the oven....fresh and golden brown. Two beautiful, crunchy crusted, spongy centered thin baguettes....My spirits were dashed! My accomplishment made to look like someone named Brunhilda next to Bell from Beauty and the Beast. (In fact, it reminded me of the "cookie" incident from a year earlier. But that's another post)  Oh, she was very humble about it. I asked her what she did differently and the only thing she could tell me was that I needed baguette pans and it would be just like hers the next time...oh look another Liar!

Fast forward a few years...I now had a professional baguette pan...Industrial really (thank you Ebay). It was so professional that my Dad had to cut the one end off so it would fit in my standard oven. (thank you Daddy!:D) Anyway, I was ready to try again! I combined all the ingredients and went through the whole process, knead, rise, etc. And then I got to the hard part....the shaping.

Side story: I can't roll out things very well. I will never be able to fulfill my dream of working for Auntie Anne's Pretzels because even though I have great customer service skills,and can pull off a hair net, I can't roll an even straight line....it's always been like this, ever since I was little I couldn't even make "logs" from play dough. Oh sure, every once in a while the stars would a line and things turned out even, but most times than not, I usually just end up with what looks like an uneven broken turd. Those who have seen this in person try to give me the same advice. "You just need to press down with the same amount of pressure and keep your hands moving as you move it out/along." 

(once again) LIARS! Maybe my left hand is heavier than my right? I don't know. Either way, it just wasn't in my bag of skills I was born with...now, back to the bread.


So I "log rolled" it out and even though it looked uneven and lumpy I placed it on my new pan and waited for it to do its magic.....hhmmm, I think my dad cut off the magic portion of the pan...
Because while it came out in a more baguette shape it still was not very nice to look at and tasted very very bland. So I decided to scrap the whole endeavor.  There were plenty of other breads to make that had cinnamon and berries and stuff that were much more compliant...I don't need the stupid yummy French bread! I can always just buy one at the store.....stupid baguette! :( I DON'T NEED YOU!!

Fast forward even more years to yesterday....We had spagetti and meatballs planned and I wanted to make some yummy bread to go with it. Not really remember my last attempts and armed with the past few years of experience I thought this would be easy peasy....nope.
It pretty much turned out like the last tragedy. Long, lumpy, tasteless and hard as a rock. Even my husband, who will eat almost anything (bless his heart) took a bite and  said "eh, it's not too bad." Then made a bit of a face. I told him he didn't have to eat it. For which he looked quite relieved...in the end even my carb loving dog wouldn't touch it. Hopefully the birds aren't so picky.....

"Spock! I've never seen a barren planet that shape before! Mr. Sulu, what do you think?" "Oh my!"

Needless to say I was put out. After all these years of making great bread and thinking I knew my stuff I still couldn't get it! So I woke up this morning with a goal...I was going to try it again with a different recipe! (cue "Eye of the Tiger.") So I turned to trusty Google and looked up recipes...Ugh! They were pretty much alll the same. Water, yeast, flour and salt. And all pretty much in the same proportions...so how could I be messing this up?! It was then that I read the instructions from one of the recipes...in relation on how to shape the loaf. (add Fireworks to "Eye of the Tiger")

So now, without further ado! After a really long story! I bring to you my French bread recipe...

1 cup warm water
1 TBS instant Yeast
1 1/2 tsp. Sugar (optional, it helps the yeast grow)
3 cups Bread Flour
1 tsp Salt

1 Egg beaten or Egg White (for Egg wash, optional)

(This recipe will make 1 baguette. The original recipe was doubled so the flour was 6-7 cups just FYI. And if you are going to double it, chances are it won't fit in you bread maker)

- In your bread maker or in a large mixing bowl.Add the yeast to the water and let it start to get frothy. You can also add the Sugar at this time if you want it.

- Add 1 cup of the flour and swirl it around a bit just to incorporate it.

- Add the rest of the flour

-Add the Salt Last! Salt, while important in bread, it actually hiders yeast growth if it's added before the flour. ( I think it's funny how in most recipes they add the salt before the flour. Maybe they just don't want you to succeed as much..just a thought)

- Either put in your bread maker on the "Dough" setting and then walk away  OR you can use a mixer with a Dough Hook OR you can get your exercise and mix it by hand i.e. Knead for about 10 minutes until it's smooth or your arms fall off which ever happens first.

- If not using a bread maker. Place in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap that's been sprayed with cooking spray and then put a kitchen towel over the whole thing.

-Wait about an hour or until it's doubled

-Punch it down, let it rest another 5 minutes or so and start the shaping (my nemesis)
You can shape it any way you really want to. It's your dough. But there are traditionally a few ways to do it. Free standing or using a Baguette pan.

Free standing you just knead it a little bit and then shape it into an oval, tucking up and under. Put some corn meal down on a cookie sheet and then put it on ,ugly seem side down.

Baguette pan shape. (Here comes the "oh DUH!" moment I learned today) What you need to do is take your ball of dough and using a rolling pin Roll it out into a long rectangle shape and then roll it up Hot dog style and then tuck the ends in a bit...Viola! An actual baguette shape!!! Then you just spray you pan with cooking spray and place your lovily seems side down.

From here you just put the plastic wrap back over it along with the towel and let it rise again for about an hour.

Once it's risen take a sharp knife very carefully and make a few slashes about 1/4- 1/2 deep on top to let the steam out. (On my previous attempts I had so many holes in the dough, I didn't need to this. It would just escape through one of the craters )

You can brush it with an egg wash (beaten egg) but only if you want to. It gives it a shine and a chewy texture on top. Brush it on just before it goes in and at about 10 minutes before it's done.

Bake it at 375 degrees for about 24 minutes.

Now, if all goes well. Yours should look something akin to THIS!

this one is missing the end piece...resistance was futile!

Oh? You want to see the difference again? Well, alright.

 And this is how you know that it is good

You can see the remnants of crust behind her..she saves them for me.

And here are some suggested condiments to enhance the flavor even more....

All in all, I can't tell you why it tastes better once it was shaped better (maybe it had self esteem issues) but I can tell you that it worked! mmmmmm mmmmm mmmm.

Oh That's so Un-Christlike!

Alright so this isn't going to be like my other posts. This one is going to have some serious over tones. With a touch of mad rant. Just bare with me and I'll try to get back to normal for the next one.......

So the other week I was driving with a good friend of mine. It was a long drive so we were pretty much just blathering on about random things. We talked about everything from our kids to how complex men are etc. About an hour into the drive  I told her about how my mother (whom she's never met) was concerned about my brother in law (also whom she's never met) putting off finishing something that was almost done and very very important and so she's been kind of nagging him to get it completed.
My friend's response was not the casual. "Wow, I can't believe he would wait so long.." Instead she sounded almost angry and indignant about how horrible and "Un-Christ like" my mother was for being so hard on him.
Um...wait, What!?
Her reaction was so confusing and hurtful that it made me angry. I decide that was a good time to look out the window and try to stop myself from crying.(that's what happens when I get too upset) While doing so though I tried to defend my mom. My friend seemed to back pedal a bit and calmed down. But the comment still stuck with me even though we moved on to better topics like the tattoos we wanted when we were twelve.
But it's not the first time I've heard it used in that trivial a matter. And it seems to be growing in popularity as some sort of knee jerk/go to reaction to things people deem "not kind enough".

Hmmmm......Let's break it down shall we?....

It has a few forms but I've been hearing it more and more from my friends and family and their friends.
"What do you mean we have to start on time and be rushed? That is so un-Christlike!"
"You told someone my secret who is in no way connected to me. That's so un-Christian and un-Christlike.

Give me a break!

 I wonder if those who use phrases like this in their everyday life are aware of just how Puritanical and Self Righteous they sound? Not to mention plain Judgmental! (was that judgmental of me to call them judgmental?)
It's like these people have no other way of saying "Your response was not as nice or as understanding as I feel it should have been." Or "This upsets me and I don't like it." Or even "Hey, that's kind of mean." They feel they have to go straight for the "guilt". This is a very powerful trump card. And to use it as a reprimand is not only insulting but  is even worse because, really, they are then responding in a way that is by itself, not Christlike. Because I doubt Christ is watching our conversations and saying "Boy,(or Girl) I wish you would step in and tell them that I wouldn't do that." :(

In my opinion (because this is my blog and it's all my opinion), calling another Christian's actions Un-Christ like is like a slap in the face, Especially when no malice was intended.(I'm sure non-Christians wouldn't care so much.) Because, for Christians, what's a better way to make us feel guilty than to tell us that we are not behaving in the way our Lord and Savior would like? And in essence making us feel that we are a horrible person for doing or saying what we did.

The thing though, is that more and more people are using it for the most benign things.  Someone I know posted their opinion (on their own wall) about how sad it was that the media was giving so much attention to a celebrity death (who had a history of drug abuse) when there are soldiers dying everyday. The first person agreed with him. The second ripped him a new one for not being sympathetic enough to the celebrity, "such Christian attitudes.." was their first line. And they didn't stop there. Oh no, they went on and on....
Now, if the person who posted started calling the celebrity nasty names and called for violence against anyone who so ever dared posted a condolence post. Then I would consider that to be on the extreme side.Go ahead and make them see the error of their ways.... But not for just sharing their opinion about the hypocrisy about someone who seemed to waste their life compared to someone who died in the service of their country.

Do you see the difference people?

Can you see where this is could get annoying and out of hand?

I mean really, Christ's name is already used so much in inappropriate ways. Why must we use it as a form of reprimand or insult and hurt even more people?

Did someone say Smoothies?!!!

Oh yeah! It was me! Because on a semi dank and dreary day like today and it being close to Valentines day,who wouldn't want to cuddle up next to their Honey (aka a good book) and a large cup of frozen yumminess?

As I'm sure you are all aware, there are thousand of smoothie recipes out there but for some reason when I go into a smoothie place I always try to find one that does not contain Banana...

Now,some would ask, "But why not Banana?! All smoothies must have Banana!" And I would say to them "NOO, you are mistaken my friend. For my smoothies shalt not contain Banana because Banana is the bully of all fruit kind. The flavor takes over everything!" Not that I have anything against Banana, I just have to really be in the mood for it and when I find that it was slipped in without my knowledge it's like an angry assault to my taste buds. ...so moving on.

Some people think that smoothies are expensive but being the frugal and forward thinking person that I am, I've found a way around that. I buy fresh fruit like strawberries and blueberries when they are on sale and in mass quantities and then I freeze them. If you aren't quite as enterprising (paranoid some may say) as I am, you can just as easily buy the frozen stuff in the store. If it's out of season it's usually way cheaper to buy than the fresh stuff anyway.

And now for a little background story....
When I was in college, I used to go to Jamba Juice when I wanted to treat myself. I thought they were the BEST EVER. That is until a few years ago I stumbled across a small coffee/smoothie chain called Jolt and Juice in Ontario, OR. (Jamba, I still like you like a friend)


It was there that I weighed my options and ordered their "Cruisin Todd" (apple juice, blueberries, strawberries and heavy cream) with a shot of Mango syrup....and then, of course whip cream on top. It was like Manna from Heaven. And due to it's yumminess I craved it often. Unfortunately at the time the closest Jolt and Juice was about 45 minutes away and even then I could rarely convince my husband that stopping was truely necessary. So I had no other choice but to make my own...but in a not quite so "heavy whip cream" way. And this is what I came up with.

Here are my Ingredients:

(most of these measurement are approximate so you just have to go with it and hope it turns out close to mine)
1-2 handfuld of Frozen Blueberries
1 handful Frozen Apple slices (peeled, the skins do not blend well)
1 handful or 3-4 large Frozen Strawberries
1 inch piece of Frozen Mango (they are behind the blueberries)
about 1/4 cup of Plain Greek yogurt ( you could use Vanilla if you want)
about 1/4 cup of Apple sauce
1/2- 1 scoop of Vanilla Whey Protein powder
I also add about half a dropper of Grape flavored Stevia extract. it helps with the tartness of the yogurt.


Put all that in a food processor or blender and pulse once or twice to get it mixed a bit before putting it on high speed for about 20 seconds. Make sure to stop every few seconds and scrap the sides to ensure there are no giant bits.

The longer you blend it, the smoother and less thick it will become.

From there you just poor it into a cup and start popping a vein...or you could get a spoon until it melts a bit. Either way, Enjoy!