Coconut Milk Smoothie

I have many more vacay meals to share but I’m trying to space ’em out so I don’t lose all my readership on the same day. See that? I’m keeping ya on your toes. You don’t know if you’ll get something delicious or if you’ll just have to endure my delicious European adventure. I’m back to Cali for another event (last one!!!) so a smoothie seems timely for today.

Just add mango and coconut to my smoothie and poof! I think I’m in the Caribbean. I made a smoothie adding coconut, then I saw that Chobani had a new coconut yogurt and I was thinking about coconut milk and it all came together.

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Ingredients:

6 oz coconut Greek yogurt
1/2 cup frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup frozen peaches (or strawberries)
½ cup coconut Almond milk

Directions:

Assemble
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blend & enjoy.
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I wondered if buying a half gallon carton of almond milk with only smoothies in mind was a waste of money. Mr. J ended up liking it on it’s own and it stays good for longer than regular milk. I also froze some into cubes before one of my trips when I didn’t think it would be used.

We used to drink soy milk occasionally in cereal. I’m not a milk drinker but soy & almond is not the same in cooking, baking, or even drinking it straight. I think they’re great options (higher protein, higher calcium sometimes, lower fat contents, etc). I don’t envision this coconut milk is a flavor anyone wants regularly, but it was so great in smoothies.

Green Smoothie

I did it. I mean, in my defense, what kind of food blogger would I be if I didn’t give a green smoothie a shot and get on that bandwagon finally?
The Three Bite Rule - Green Smoothie

I’ve snuck some spinach into a smoothie before, but I did it with blueberries which hide the green-ness. I think this is more about the color and texture than about the flavor. Let’s be real: raw spinach blended doesn’t give off any huge aggressive flavor. It seems about time to blog about a green smoothie, with spinach, and avocado.

Ingredients:

1 green apple
2 cups fresh spinach
1 small avocado (or ½ of a regular avocado)
1/2 banana, frozen
6 oz greek yogurt
1 tbs honey
⅓ cup milk

Directions:

Blend all the ingredients.
Enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Green Smoothie

I liked this green smoothie a lot. It wasn’t as sludge seeming as I’ve heard the green juiced drinks are. I didn’t include any parsley or lemon which bottled green ones often have.

I didn’t feel like I was doing a cleanse detoxing. That scares the beejesus out of me. Do you know people who’ve done it? Bahhh. Yikes. Eeeek. I can’t imagine. I like the idea of detoxing off overly processed foods or striving for as many raw/whole/real foods. I’d rather try to eat more veggies or really, anything other than all liquids.

This smoothie isn’t exactly going to detox you, but the yogurt makes it come together and the milk & honey make it slightly sweet and drink-able. The apple & banana are both sweet and the spinach and avocado are kind of neutral to me. It is for sure a good way to get some more veggies into your day. That’s a plus for everyone.
The Three Bite Rule - Green Smoothie

Avocado – good for fiber & good fat
Spinach – barely any calories, more vitamin A than your usual bfast
Apple – upps your vitamin C & fiber
Banana – Potassium is ideal after an intense workout, or after an evening of drinks.
Greek yogurt – Greek yogurt has about 2x – 3x the protein of regular yogurt and wayyy more protein than just milk would give you, making this smoothie be filling enough for a meal. It’ll help get to your calcium daily suggested amount.

All that being said, I’d do it again. Do I want to juice green things? No thanks.

Brunch at Redd’s in Rozzie

I had been obsessing over trying this place Redds in Rozzie for brunch for a few weekends. It kept just not working out. Somehow Sunday morning were ending up busy. I was psyched when it fit in. If you follow @threebiterule on twitter, then you’ll see this also had trouble fitting into the ole blog schedule. I’ve just come in the door from Santa Barbara and now I’m off traveling again.

We went for brunch and sat outside. It was so cute and I just loved their menu even before eating there. My mum came with Mr. J and me and we ordered the same!
The Three Bite Rule - Redds In Rozzie

Breakfast sandwiches are my go-to for brunch and usually what I get the very first time, you know, to test the place out. I got the biscuit and egg sandwich with fried chicken. Ohh my goodness. I loved it. I ignored the hashbrowns and got right to business (grits were an option too). They make their own bacon & sausage, so that would be pretty amazing in here I’m sure.

The biscuit is to die for. It is so buttery, flaky, and huge. Everything you want in a biscuit. The egg was fluffy and sized perfectly. The fried chicken was amazing. It was super crispy and juicy. Ahhh! I’m salivating just telling you about this. I also wasn’t hungry 8+ hours later.
The Three Bite Rule - Redds In Rozzie

Mr. J likes traditional breakfasts so he got the old faithful. He liked it, and the homemade bacon was to die for…way better than it even looks.
The Three Bite Rule - Redds In Rozzie

I figured we couldn’t skip the house-made sticky bun. It was a necessity. It was delicious.
The Three Bite Rule - Redds In Rozzie

Next time I’d like to try their omelettes and maybe the hush puppies. I also spy some items from the dinner menu that I could really get behind (cough: scallops with a wreckage of summer veggies: crispy avocado: roasted leg of lamb: yum: cough).

It is such a cute spot and they care about local products while making everything themselves. I like the southern touches to their menu. The food is really good and true and not pretentious. I like that. A lot.

Breakfast Burgers

Happy Labor Day! I figured what was more Labor Day than a burger? This one has a twist!

I had some English muffins from the farmers market and thought they’d be great for a burger since they’re a bit more substantial than Thomas’. I went bfast inspired topping the burgers with cheese, a fried egg, and bacon jam. So good!

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Ingredients:

2 english muffins or bagels
2 tbs bacon jam or bacon slices
2 slices of cheese
2 fried eggs, over easy
tomato slices
2 burgers

Directions:

Timing is key for these burgers, so prep the toppings (bacon jam/bacon slices & tomato slices) and sides in advance.
While the burgers are cooking, heat a frying pan to medium.
Toast the English muffins.
Once the burgers come off the grill, in the pan, fry 2 eggs to your liking (I did sunny side up).

I liked the egg yolk becoming an instant condiment on here. The tomato slices also replaced ketchup. I served these burgers with tots for a grilled dinner giving breakfast a nod. This was oozy and delicious. I had tomato, bacon jam, and egg yolk dripping out and it was glorious.
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The timing is everything here. Eggs take only a minute to fry so I didn’t want them ready before the burgers came off the grill. I think this would take 2 people, or an octopus. I don’t think I could “man the grill” and have the English muffins toasted, the bacon/eggs/sides ready.

In the breakfast for dinner cookbook there’s a burger topped with an egg and a super-thin crispy shredded hash brown layer. Yum. These burgers could be even more breakfasty by grilling a sausage patty.
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Raspberry Lime Smoothie

My zester has gotten quite the work-out lately. What can I say I have a zest for life. Ok, onward from the corny-ness and straight to the smoothie. Who doesn’t need some Monday morning detoxing. (excuse the blender cup, I’m being real, not fancy)

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Ingredients:

raspberry yogurt
1 cup frozen raspberries
lime juice from 1 lime
lime zest
1 cup milk/juice/lemonade (liquid of your choosing)

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a blender.
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Blend & enjoy!
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I used some crystal light raspberry lemonade. I don’t like any extra calories in my smoothie (and I usually don’t like want it milky). I liked this one for a change of pace. The lime in there wakes you up and gets you going. It’s a nice flavor without being the fruit. The contrast is great and the flavors scream summer. I have a few more fun smoothies coming along soon. Stay tuned!

This reminded me of raspberry lime rickys that were super popular at the restaurant I worked at in high school. I believe raspberry lime rickys are a New England thing. What do you folks think? Are these drinks a New England thing?