Quick Eats: Salted Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie

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I fully and openly admit that when it comes to Autumn-centric beverages, I much prefer salted caramel flavored anything over the immensely popular pumpkin spice flavored drink/food. There’s just something about the perfect mixture of sweet and salty that can satisfy nearly any craving.

Of course, it’s still technically Summer here- and with the temperatures still steadily soaring high- it might be a little bizarre to walk into any coffee shop to order a piping hot salted caramel latte or hot chocolate.

Thankfully, there’s a colder alternative available that takes no more than 2 minutes to prepare, mix and enjoy. Best of all, this recipe can easily be tweaked to become sweeter or saltier based on your own personal preference.

I went ahead and made it the old fashioned way, so the recipe below reflects what I used and how many measurements it’d take to make one smoothie.

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WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

* 1 cup vanilla almondmilk

* ½ frozen banana

* 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

* 1 tablespoon peanut butter (creamy- not chunky)

* ½ cup ice

* 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

* A pinch (or two) of sea salt

OKAY, HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

1. Blend all ingredients (except the sea salt) until smooth.

2. To garnish, sprinkle the pinches of the salt on top. You can also use chocolate bar shavings and/or caramel sauce to make it look more presentable.

3. Enjoy!

How easy is that, right? I’ve been loving these lately- and they’re a great way to transition from Summer to Fall flavors without burning your tongue.

If you have any Summer-to-Fall recipes (including beverages) that you swear by this time of year- I’d love to hear them!

xx

“Is It Summer Yet?” Giveaway!

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In some of my recent posts, I had hinted at an upcoming giveaway I was putting together in celebration of the Spring and Summer seasons finally arriving after what was undoubtedly one of the worst winters my neck of the woods has seen in a very, very long time. I wanted the giveaway to be seasonal, fun, and have a more personal touch with reflections of some of the items and essentials I covet in the warmer months. I’ve been carefully curating the contents (say that five times fast,) over the past couple of weeks, and I’m excited to announce that it’s finally time to share what one lucky, randomly selected winner will receive in my Summer-themed giveaway!

The “Is It Summer Yet?” giveaway is pretty self-explanatory- consisting of accessories, cosmetics, a bit of home decor- and a little something for the foodies out there. Each item was selected to help jump start a Summer/beachy frame of mind for the winner and are all products that I also own and use regularly every year after I dig myself out of the snow and welcome the sunshine!

*This giveaway IS NOT limited to United States residents only! Since I will be paying for the shipping and handling out of my own pocket- it’s open to those of you across the pond, below (or above) the border, and anywhere in between, too!*

Here’s what’s included:

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Lush’s Ocean Salt Scrub:

The first step to getting glowing Summer-ready skin is exfoliation, and I turn to this incredible face and body salt scrub from Lush to do just that! A scoop of this bright blue, Margarita-scented scrub is enough to gently buff away dead and dry cells, revitalize the surface of my skin, and leave my face, elbows, knees, etc. super smooth.

Bath & Body Works “Cool Amazon Rain” Body Lotion:

After exfoliating, I turn to lightweight body lotions that quickly absorb as they’re applied to keep my skin soft and hydrated all day and night. I love this newer lotion from Bath & Body Works which has an energizing, citrus, “tropical” smell to it.

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Harney & Sons Fresh Brew Iced Tea Tins in Peach and Raspberry Herbal:

I love iced coffee, especially before I go in for a long day at work- but in the warmer months I find myself taking afternoon iced tea breaks, too. These individually packaged fruit-flavored teas- made specifically to be iced- are especially nice and refreshing.

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Good Housekeeping Juices & Smoothies Recipe Book:

Iced coffees and iced teas aside- Summer is also the season of smoothies and healthy juices (and milkshakes and frozen margaritas on “cheat days” from all that healthy eating.) This hardcover book from Good Housekeeping has really great recipes that cover all ends of the frozen-beverage spectrum and will be sure to come in handy when you’re ready to have a picnic, BBQ, camp-out, beach day- or any other outdoor get-together.

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Maybelline “Baby Lips” Lip Balm:

When it comes to my Summer lip care, I stick to the basics. Hydrating glosses in bright corals and pinks, and sunscreen-packed balms. One of my favorites is this colorless “Baby Lips” balm from Maybelline with SPF 20. It keeps my pout soft and smooth for all-day wear and I don’t have to worry about any color fading since it applies clear. I just throw this in my bag on-the-go for quick touch-ups.

Sephora’s Formula X Nail Polish in “Prism” and “Incandescent” :

I love bright, tropical colors on my nails in the Summertime- and this year I find myself already gravitating towards bright blues, greens, and orange tones. I picked out two of my favorites, “Prism,” a metallic turquoise with a hint of pearl, and “Incandescent,” a bright and solid cantaloupe-tone. Both are from the Formula X line at Sephora, which is long-lasting and isn’t packed with harsh chemicals.

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Bumble and Bumble “The Surf Set”:

Despite having coarse and curly hair, I’ve managed to develop a relatively quick and simple step-by-step process to achieving beautiful and healthy-looking “beachy” waves over the past couple of years- no flat-iron required- thanks in part to Bumble and Bumble’s “Surf” line. In this giveaway, I’ve included three travel-sized bottles of the set: the shampoo, conditioner, and my personal favorite- the salt spray- guaranteed to get your hair looking like you’ve spent a day at the ocean.

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Old Navy Mint-Colored Beach Tote:

To store all your giveaway goods, I’ve included this faux-leather, mint colored beach tote from Old Navy. While I definitely love bold colors and floral prints in the Summer- I thought this lovely pastel was too pretty to pass up and would be suitable to carry along in the Spring, too.

Old Navy Sunglasses with UV Protection:

Rounded sunglasses seem to be a big trend this year (whereas last year was the Summer of cat-eye sunglasses,) so I opted to keep the shades simple for anyone’s tastes with this pair of chic rose-hued and thin wired sunglasses from Old Navy. I own a very similar pair, and I’ve been loving them so far! I feel kind of like Penny Lane in “Almost Famous” whenever I have them on.

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Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Candle in “Island Margarita”:

And finally, since I couldn’t include actual alcohol in this giveaway- I settled for the next best thing- this margarita scented candle from Bath & Body Works. With the lime part of the fragrance being the most distinctive, this is a great, slow-burning candle that will make your entire space smell amazing and tropical.

IMPORTANT STUFF:

The giveaway is running from now through midnight (EST) on Monday, April 13th, 2015, after which time a winner will be selected  at random through Rafflecopter and contacted directly to obtain additional information to process shipping. If selected, you’ll have 72 hours to respond to the confirmation e-mail. If I don’t receive a response in that time, I’ll unfortunately have to select another winner, instead!

Nothing in this giveaway can be traded or swapped for something else. What you see is what you’ll be receiving if you win!

HOW TO ENTER:

Like each of my past giveaways, I’ve set up an official page for this one using Rafflecopter – CLICK HERE to head over to it, review the guidelines, and make sure your entries are properly counted!

There are two ways to enter the giveaway and you can do one or both of them!

1. Comment on this post with your name and e-mail address. Please keep in mind that I have comment moderation turned on to avoid spambots- so if your comment doesn’t appear right away; don’t panic! I’ll put it through as soon as I’m able!

2. You can tweet about the giveaway and link back directly to this post or to my homepage: LegallyRedhead.com

Good luck, everyone- and remember to check the Rafflecopter page to make sure your entries have been counted!

xo

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Quick Eats: Red, White, and Fruit.

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Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans! Unfortunately for those of us on the East Coast, our day of outdoor cookouts and night of fireworks was rained out thanks to Hurricane Arthur barreling up the coast. We had a tremendous thunderstorm last night, and it’s been pouring out for most of today- limiting most of the festivities to the indoors.

While I will be braving the rain to attend a friend’s birthday party later on tonight, I’ve been settled in for most of this morning and afternoon- re-living the glory of past episodes of “The Walking Dead” during AMC’s “Dead, White & Blue” marathon (which spans seasons 1-4 and leads up to a Sunday night preview of the upcoming fifth season- for anyone who needs to catch up!)

I’ve also been whipping up some quick, healthy, delicious- and patriotic colored snacks, too- namely simple fruit and whipped cream bowls using fresh strawberries and blueberries:

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Using the extra strawberries and blueberries I didn’t put in the fruit bowls, I made smoothies by adding a sliced banana (for more flavor,) a couple scoops of non-fat vanilla yogurt, and a cup of milk into my Magic Bullet. Not to sound like an infomercial, but if you’re looking for a convenient, easy to use- AND easy to clean blending/shredding/chopping/slicing/dicing/mashing/whipping/etc. appliance, you have GOT to invest in one of these. The device does pretty much everything in a matter of seconds with no mess and no hassle, and it’s small for easy storage without taking up a ton of counter or cabinet space. The smoothies, after everything was added into the glass container- took all of 20 seconds to chop the fruit, whip up the yogurt and milk, and blend it all together for a delicious drink.

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The fruit bowls and the smoothies were so refreshing (despite the rain, it’s still stifling hot and humid,) were low in fat, and were healthy- which makes them even better. I’m hoping to share more detailed smoothie recipes shortly (I make a mean chocolate-banana one!) since I’ve been having such a blast playing around with the Magic Bullet.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the Fourth!

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