So last Friday I took the boys shopping. Spencer needed church shoes, they both needed snacks and miscellaneous items for their scout camp which starts tomorrow. I also wanted a new bedspread for my bed in my newly painted bedroom. School is approaching and I thought that we would do a little school shopping while we were out and about. We also have a 30% off coupon for Kohl's, so it seemed like a good time to a little shopping. It didn't turn out exactly the way we planned. Spencer did get shoes, we bought the needed scout items, but no school clothes and no bedspread, but we did get a Blendtec blender--hooray!!. I have been eyeing them and its competitor, the Vitamix for several years now. Every time Costco has a demo of either one of these I covet, just a little bit.
Well, this time we had our own personal demo. Taylor drank a smoothie that had a variety of fruits in them, seeds and all. And he ate green ice cream. The green coming from spinach. And he loved them both. I asked him if he would drink a smoothie every day if I got one. He said yes. Just for background on this child's eating habits, he ate baby food until he was close to two. The kinds that had no texture in them whatsoever. Then he lived on milk, toast (and other bread products minus pasta) and chicken nuggets from the time he was two until, well until now. He will gag down a small amount of corn one or two apple slices and his protein has expanded to all meats and even fish. He has texture issues. I have made him gag down a smoothie once in a while, but he can't stand the seeds--strawberry, raspberry, etc. This blender pulverizes the seeds and everything else into a texture he can tolerate, even enjoy. So, needless to say, Taylor, was the final sales pitch I needed to indulge in this expensive purchase. It is substantially cheaper than the competitor. That helped too.
Destry has been doing side jobs so we had a little extra money. I called him to see if he approved, but he didn't answer. I knew he wouldn't care, but I need reassurance for large purchases. Knowing that Costco has a great return policy I bought it. Destry was home when the boys and I returned. He was the first one to use it. He made an orange julius with whole oranges and yellow squash fresh from our garden. It was delicious. I think we made three other smoothies and green ice cream just that afternoon. The kids gobbled them all down. For the record, each recipe makes about 4 cups of smoothie. There are 7 people in our family and we always have a few neighbor kids on hand here as well. So, sharing 4 cups of smoothie or ice cream 10-12 ways gives each person a relatively small amount. On Saturday we had a smoothie for breakfast and strawberry ice cream after our lunch smoothie. Then Emma and Estelle each had a friend over and wanted to have a smoothie making competition. Spencer, his friend Ethan and I agreed to be the judges.
They did a great job. We have a recipe book that came with the blender. They used that and made substitutions for items we didn't have. The boys and I were impressed. It really was hard to choose a winner. Spencer and Ethan both chose the the one with strawberry being the dominant flavor and I chose the raspberry/blackberry one. Both teams were happy. It was fun and they even cleaned up their mess.
We have church from 1-4:00 p.m. The kids wanted to have another smoothie war this morning. So the girls teamed up against the boys. They made their creations while I lounged in the bathtub listening to conference talks. That has become a lovely Sunday morning activity for me this year. While I was getting dressed I heard frightening outbursts like, "That's disgusting!" and "Put in some sugar." I was worried that the boys had gotten a little bit too creative and the the smoothie was going to be a brown gross mess that I, as a good mother, would be required to try and pretend to like. I was pleased when they were brought to me and both glasses were a lovely shade of orange. Not only did they look alike, but their flavors were similar. The textures, however, were different. Come to find out the boys had used a large amount of half and half I had purchased to make ice cream with. Theirs tasted a lot like a melted creamcicle. The girls' smoothie was more like a smoothie. It was cold and icy. It was more tart, but orangey like the boys'. I told them we should mix them together and put them in the freezer to have for dessert tonight. So we mixed them and put some in our Popsicle holders and the rest in a bowl. I'm sure we will all enjoy it after dinner tonight.
I had no idea that "my" blender would have brought so much joy to every member of our family. I bought it thinking I could get some fruits and vegetables into Taylor and have it be a healthy supplement for the whole family. What I didn't know is that everyone would want to make the smoothies and be somewhat willing to try a variety of flavors and colors. Eating green ice cream that isn't mint flavored and peppered with chocolate chips is, I would guess, a stretch for many eaters, not to mention my extra picky ones. But they ate it, green spinach and all, and keep begging for more. I'm sure that once the newness wears off it will be mine. For now I will enjoy the smoothie sharing and smoothie warring for as long as it lasts.
Well, this time we had our own personal demo. Taylor drank a smoothie that had a variety of fruits in them, seeds and all. And he ate green ice cream. The green coming from spinach. And he loved them both. I asked him if he would drink a smoothie every day if I got one. He said yes. Just for background on this child's eating habits, he ate baby food until he was close to two. The kinds that had no texture in them whatsoever. Then he lived on milk, toast (and other bread products minus pasta) and chicken nuggets from the time he was two until, well until now. He will gag down a small amount of corn one or two apple slices and his protein has expanded to all meats and even fish. He has texture issues. I have made him gag down a smoothie once in a while, but he can't stand the seeds--strawberry, raspberry, etc. This blender pulverizes the seeds and everything else into a texture he can tolerate, even enjoy. So, needless to say, Taylor, was the final sales pitch I needed to indulge in this expensive purchase. It is substantially cheaper than the competitor. That helped too.
Destry has been doing side jobs so we had a little extra money. I called him to see if he approved, but he didn't answer. I knew he wouldn't care, but I need reassurance for large purchases. Knowing that Costco has a great return policy I bought it. Destry was home when the boys and I returned. He was the first one to use it. He made an orange julius with whole oranges and yellow squash fresh from our garden. It was delicious. I think we made three other smoothies and green ice cream just that afternoon. The kids gobbled them all down. For the record, each recipe makes about 4 cups of smoothie. There are 7 people in our family and we always have a few neighbor kids on hand here as well. So, sharing 4 cups of smoothie or ice cream 10-12 ways gives each person a relatively small amount. On Saturday we had a smoothie for breakfast and strawberry ice cream after our lunch smoothie. Then Emma and Estelle each had a friend over and wanted to have a smoothie making competition. Spencer, his friend Ethan and I agreed to be the judges.
They did a great job. We have a recipe book that came with the blender. They used that and made substitutions for items we didn't have. The boys and I were impressed. It really was hard to choose a winner. Spencer and Ethan both chose the the one with strawberry being the dominant flavor and I chose the raspberry/blackberry one. Both teams were happy. It was fun and they even cleaned up their mess.
We have church from 1-4:00 p.m. The kids wanted to have another smoothie war this morning. So the girls teamed up against the boys. They made their creations while I lounged in the bathtub listening to conference talks. That has become a lovely Sunday morning activity for me this year. While I was getting dressed I heard frightening outbursts like, "That's disgusting!" and "Put in some sugar." I was worried that the boys had gotten a little bit too creative and the the smoothie was going to be a brown gross mess that I, as a good mother, would be required to try and pretend to like. I was pleased when they were brought to me and both glasses were a lovely shade of orange. Not only did they look alike, but their flavors were similar. The textures, however, were different. Come to find out the boys had used a large amount of half and half I had purchased to make ice cream with. Theirs tasted a lot like a melted creamcicle. The girls' smoothie was more like a smoothie. It was cold and icy. It was more tart, but orangey like the boys'. I told them we should mix them together and put them in the freezer to have for dessert tonight. So we mixed them and put some in our Popsicle holders and the rest in a bowl. I'm sure we will all enjoy it after dinner tonight.
I had no idea that "my" blender would have brought so much joy to every member of our family. I bought it thinking I could get some fruits and vegetables into Taylor and have it be a healthy supplement for the whole family. What I didn't know is that everyone would want to make the smoothies and be somewhat willing to try a variety of flavors and colors. Eating green ice cream that isn't mint flavored and peppered with chocolate chips is, I would guess, a stretch for many eaters, not to mention my extra picky ones. But they ate it, green spinach and all, and keep begging for more. I'm sure that once the newness wears off it will be mine. For now I will enjoy the smoothie sharing and smoothie warring for as long as it lasts.
That sounds like so much fun! I love smoothies and it was one of the only things I could eat in the morning when I was first pregnant... now I want a new blinder :)! David and I will be a judge any day.
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