NUTHIN BUT A "J" THANG

I miss many things about California, but one of the things that always tops my list is how easy it is to find a Jamba Juice out there. These stores were seemingly in every other shopping center throughout Orange County, and when you walked into one, you could feel the vitamins just punching you in the face. With the sounds of Vitamix blenders whirling away and the smell of wheat grass being pressed through sieves, you could hear your immune system singing to you like a choir. 

Located at the exact opposite end of the country from California is Delaware. And what California has in terms of healthy food options, Delaware meets 1-for-1 with Dunkin' Donuts. I literally pass by four Dunkin' Donuts on the way to work every morning, and they are ALL PACKED. These people are out of their Dunkin' minds!

The closest Jamba Juice is in the Philadelphia Airport Terminal D. Yes, I'd have to buy myself a plane ticket and go through security just to satisfy a hankering for a Mango-A-Go-Go. So where's a Californian stuck in Delaware to go to get his juice on?  The answer, I found, is California. However, with my career being on a good track, and the low-cost of living in a tax-free state helping us save for retirement and our daughter's college fund, I didn't think that packing up the house and goin' back to Cali (just to get some juice) was in good form.  

The good ol' First State' wins this round; she'll have her claws in us for the foreseeable future. But just because we couldn't move back to California doesn't mean I can't bring a part of California back to Delaware. I just needed to create a tasty healthy breakfast treat. And that is exactly what I did. My daughter may have been born in Delaware, folks, but I could not just stand by and allow her to grow up to be a Dunkin' Junkie!

Here is my spinach and oatmeal smoothie recipe. It's a recipe I created to get my mornings started off right, and to give me an option to drink my vegetables, fruits, and a full heart-healthy serving of oatmeal. This doubles as a cholesterol buster but actually tastes great. I've tested it with a bunch of people now, so this recipe is good to go. The most important person to give it the seal of approval is my daughter. This is kid tested, father approved.

As for all of those Dunkin' drivers I pass along the way, I sip on this green deliciousness from a reusable mug and shout out "Cali-For-Ni-A."

Ingredients

1/2 cup 3/4 cup 1/2 cup 1 1 5 1/4 cup 1/2 tsp 1 inch 1 tsp

Almond Milk Oatmeal (old fashion) Baby Spinach Apple, skinned and diced Banana, sliced Baby Carrots Frozen Cherries Turmeric Cilantro, chopped Clover Honey*

*Clover Honey for extra sweetness. I actually omit this in my smoothies.

Directions

1	Blend all ingredients until smooth