Well, here it is, the end of another 52 Journey for me. And wouldn’t you know it, my final ingredient is one I have chosen not to bake into a Sweet. Instead, I’m putting it into the blender.
You see, this is the end of three years of blogging about one Sweet every week. I’ve tried hard to limit my Sweet intake to only one thing a week, with exceptions for a few holidays and my birthday. And President’s Day, every third Wednesday, Thursdays when the temperature is above 40 and the barometric pressure is climbing…
In all seriousness, what I have found is that I no longer have an issue limiting how many Sweets I eat. Some weeks there are plenty of them, there’s an occasion to celebrate or a project that requires me to bake 9 or 10 recipes in just a couple of days. Sometimes I momentarily lose control, but I always get back on track. And then there are times when I am so tired of Sweets it becomes a task for me to create a recipe, to blog about a Sweet.
That’s how I reached this place I’m at today, blogging about a green smoothie to wrap up this year’s 52 Journey. Right now, today, I don’t want to bake a Sweet. I’m okay without a piece of chocolate cake or a hand pie packed full of caramel-drenched apples. Instead, I’m having a green smoothie. Next week, I’ll probably need a dessert to share at a friend’s potluck or I’ll be elbow-deep in sugar working on a recipe development project. But today, it’s a smoothie.
And hey, real quick, a note about where I’m headed. Next year’s 52 Journey is going to be much different. After three years of blogging about a Sweet every week, I’m done with weekly Sweets. I’ve got a really fun 52 Project going on over at Johnna52 (where you can find my non-baking adventures) and here at 52 Sweets, I’ll be sharing an occasional Sweet, just not one every week. What I will be sharing has a great new twist…
I’ll be blogging in 2012 about gluten-free Sweets that can be made for $5.20 or less. Get it? It’s like 52, $5.20. Gluten-free baking can be so incredibly pricey, so I wanted to make some inexpensive Sweets, simple desserts, with a minimum of four servings that can be made for $5 or so. I hope you’ll stick around for the Journey.
And now…here’s the green smoothie you’ve been dying to read about!
Kale Kolada
(Makes two generous servings)
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
3/4 cup coconut water
6 oz. cultured coconut milk yogurt (you could use almond yogurt or Greek yogurt, I was going with the coconut theme here)
1 1/2 cups pineapple tidbits, frozen
1 bunch kale, stems removed (I used 5 large stems of kale in this)
Blend on high speed until well combined. Super easy…and Sweet!
Wishing you a happy and healthy 2012!
Johnna, it's my three-year blogiversary today, too! I'm still working on my post on that topic though. I think it will be a tad late. 😉 I've been mulling over what to say and then hubby and I decided to go out and “play” today … movies and early dinner. Good times! 🙂
I can't wait to see what your Johnna52 project is and $5.20 sweets sound like fun. I don't believe sweets, even gf ones, have to be expensive, so I'll look forward to those posts.
I'm all for green smoothies with coconut and kale; they're some of my faves.
Shirley
Congrats, Shirley, on your blogiversary! This makes just two years of gluten-free blogging for me. I stand in awe of all that you have accomplished in three years. Here's to many more years of yumminess!