Would you believe, I have never had a professional smoothie? Sure, I blend some concoctions at home but I have no idea what a real smoothie is supposed to taste like. Until now. The other day I stopped at a Panera’s to buy a bowl full of hot sobo noodle soup when I got offered a discount on a beverage. The people on line before me ordered two strawberry smoothies, so I decided to use my discount and try a real, live smoothie!
WOW! I had no idea smoothies could taste so good. So, the first thing I did when I got home (and after I finished my smoothie) was look on the internet to see if there was a Panera recipe and sure enough, there was:
- 4 cups fresh or frozen strawberries (hulled if fresh), blueberries, and/or raspberries.
- 2 cups 2% plain Greek yogurt.
- ½ cup 2% milk.
- ¼ cup honey or agave nectar.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Pinch of salt.
The recipe makes four (4) smoothies, so divide the ingredients by four in order to make one smoothie. Delish! I make my smoothie with skim milk, low fat or non fat plain Greek yogurt, four to five fresh whole strawberries, honey to taste and a tablespoon of vanilla extract (I believe this is THEE secret ingredient to a fantastic smoothie!) I do NOT use salt!
The Panera recipe nutrition values are listed below but since I use skim and/or non-fat products and NO salt, my calories and values are different (if not better!)
Nutrition (Per Serving)
- 211 calCalories
- 13 gProtein
- 34 gCarbohydrates
- 3 gFat
- 10 mgCholesterol
- 55 mgSodium
- 3 gDietary Fiber
Next, I have a pesty summer problem and that is one of my cabinets in my kitchen is being hounded by ants! I can’t get rid of them no matter what I do. I tried cleaning, washing the interior down, covering the shelves in baking soda, place in ant traps and then eventually actually spraying ant poison on the interior shelves (plus I threw away anything in a permeable container). Not good!
And still those ants keep marching on. They’re the teeny tiny ants. I think they come in from the vent (yes! we sprayed there too!) The only thing I can do now is to keep everything in zip locked bags or containers. I may have to store the sugar in the fridge BUT that makes them too hard to use when needed.
In the interim, this is what the cabinet looks like now. I have the interior stuff all out on the counters. I’m hoping the light of day will permanently scare them away! If not, we may become a sugarless home.
UGH!
Have you tried the Terro traps? Those are what we have used.
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I’ll give it a whirl. At this point, I’ll try anything. Thanks.
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Yes, Terro traps are amazing!!
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Thanks. On my list!
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Here’s my cure for little black ants: Mix peanut butter, borax washing powder and water to make a sludge. Put it in a plastic margarine container with holes poked high on the sides of the container. Put the container on the ground outside near where you suspect the ants might be getting in. Within a few hours, everybody gets the word that there’s something good outside to eat. You might want to secure the lid with tape or string if you have raccoons around.
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Wow. Thanks Bonnie. That’s awesome! I’ve got everything except the borax. Going to give it a try because I can’t stand them anymore!
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Well, now I really am the last person on earth who has never had a smoothie!! LOL!!
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Florence, go try them! I can only recommend the one I had at Panera’s. It’s delish. Been home making one every morning ever since. YUM! is all I can say. 🙂
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Thanks for the recipe, especially happy it’s one without bananas. Ants are such a nuisance! Lara
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Thankfully, the system works. We are now 100% ant free! Yay!
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Instant grits. They pick it up, take it back to the next, can’t digest and basically explode. Much as I hate to kill god’s little creatures.
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Thanks Barbara. That’s a great idea. I understand how you feel. I wish no living thing any harm. But I have to protect my food supply. It’s them or me. 🙂
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