snacks snacks snacks - and a new smoothie & ice cream recipe

my pantry was completely stripped of snacks when we went clean for abbie.

my kids were devastated about the snack change more than anything else.  i didn't realize how much junk was easily accessible to the kids and how much they were sneaking!!!  abbie was the worse of the bunch.  i would actually find wrappers on the ground under the shelves:)

have i mentioned that i used to have an entire target grocery cart full of boxes of various snacks? crackers, fruit snacks, cookies, breakfast bars, 100 calorie snack packs, gummy bears...you name it, i bought it.  all boxed, all processed.

now, before you get your panties in a bunch and think that i don't buy anything in a box, i still do...i am just v.e.r.y particular in what i buy.  here is what i have been buying/rotating in the pantry as of late:

granola bars:
kind bars (target, trader joes)
kid z cliff bars (target, trader joes)
bunny bars (costco)
homemade 4 ingredient oat bars

fruit, veggies and such:
fresh fruit (as much as possible!)
dried fruit pouches - apple/apple cinnamon/strawberry banana (costco)
go go squeeze apple sauce pouches (target, costco and trader joe's has a brand too)
carrots and organicville's non-dairy & gf ranch (target sells the dressing now!)
apples/celery and peanut butter (sometimes with raisins)

randoms:
skinny popcorn and angie's delightfully different kettle corn (costco)
organic & gmo brown rice cakes (trader joes) w/ peanut butter
homemade muffins, cookies and such
homemade icecream (da bomb)
applegate farms salametti slices (target)


there are so many more options for snacks...this is simply the mullies current go-to list we've been using and I wanted to share it with you.  i'd love to hear about your clean snacks!

here is the link that got me thinking about writing this post:

snacking the unprocessed, clean way

and now for the smoothie and ice cream goodness!!!  we all really needed a calcium magnesium supplement and here's my sneaky method of getting into our little bods:

cal-mag banana berry smoothie

(i split this serving between my 3 kiddos)

in your nutri-blender (or whatevs you have) add:

1 broken up banana

handful of frozen strawberries

handful of mixed frozen berries (blue, raz and black)

6 country life cal-mag tablet powder (each kid should be taking two tablets twice a day)

organic agave nectar (i squirt in about a tablespoon)

some ice

organic rice milk to the fill line + a little water

BAM!  

...i have to say i feel like a dealer every time i break open a capful...

my rule is they have to finish their breakfast smoothie first...works like a charm:)

vegan vanilla chocolate chip icecream

find the insp here!

1/2 c hemp seed

1 c water

1 can trader joe's light coconut milk

1/3 c organic agave nectar or honey

1 T vanilla

1 T coconut oil (melted)

1/4 c enjoy life semi-sweet mini chips

below is hemp seed.  i add this to my nutri-blender with the milling blade and it pulverizes even the smallest of seeds...sweetness.

see what i mean...it looks like milk...it is!  hemp milk!!!

1.  mill the hemp seed for 30 sec.

2.  add the milk, agave, vanilla and melted oil (add chips here if you want them pulverized).

3.  pour into ice cream maker and add chips here if you want them whole.

4.  process for 25 minutes in ice cream maker.  

5.  transfer to freezer safe container and just TRY and keep it in your fridge for more than a few days...

btw, last night, i mixed in another serving of cal-mag to it and got in their twice a day requirement!  

ps

been thinking about how to deal with the holiday crap overload coming...and here's a lovely post to help us with that!!!

how to help your kids deal with holiday snacks & sweets overload