Triple Berry White Chocolate Smoothie starts with Driscoll's farm fresh berries

Photo/Recipe by Vicki Arsenault

I was so excited on Christmas to find a brand new Ninja blender under the tree! I could hardly wait to try out all my favorite smoothies.

When it comes to smoothies, most have a common ingredient. Fruit. And for me - fruit is a must to every great smoothie. Fresh, red ripe, sweet strawberries are the start of all my favorites. But whether I’m using just strawberries or a variety of berries, one name that is on almost all the berries in my refrigerator is Driscoll’s. 

Most people probably don’t think smoothies when planning meals or snacks. But if you want to get your family on board with getting more fruits and vegetables into their day - you may want to rethink the smoothie.

A recent survey sponsored by Driscoll’s - a family owned business for over a 100 years - revealed 97 percent of those surveyed, indulge in between-meal nibbling. Three fourths of those say they should be making healthier snack choices. People who snack between the hours of 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. reach for fruit, according to the survey.

Driscoll’s works with independent farmers to produce the highest quality, premium berries in the world. Whether you reach for a hand full of fresh fruit for that afternoon pick-me-up or get your healthy snack in a creamy, fresh and fruity smoothie - be sure to hit the grocery aisle and pick up a variety of fresh wholesome Driscoll berries. 

You'll get all these nutrients from Driscoll's Berry Farm fresh berries. And if you want to add even more nutrition don’t be afraid to throw in a little protein powder or flax seed.

Strawberries: Vitamin C; potassium; fiber; iron; protein

Raspberries: Fiber; vitamin C; iron; calcium; protein,

Blueberries: Antioxidant protections; vitamin C, A; iron

What’s not to love!

Triple Berry White Chocolate Smoothie

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Driscoll's strawberries

Photo by Vicki Arsenault

8-oz package Driscoll's red raspberries

1 cup Driscoll's blueberries

2 cups Vanilla Almond milk

1 cup Nestle White Chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Rinse and cut strawberries into quarters - enough strawberries to make 2 cups. If using medium or small berries only cut into halves. Rinse and drain the raspberries and blueberries. Pat dry and place berries (in separate containers) into freezer. Berries should be completely froze, a couple hours should be fine. To save time, berries can be prepared the day before and frozen for future use. You should remove the berries from the freezer about a half hour before using so that the berries are not sticking together. Use can use a knife to gently separate large clumps.
Measure out 1 cup of the white chocolate chips (do not freeze) and 2 cups of cold Vanilla Almond milk.

Using a high powered blender (as I stated above, I love the Ninja - works fantastic for a very well blended Smoothie) pour 1 cup of the Vanilla Almond milk and white chocolate chips in blender. Add half of each container of berries and blend until you have small chunks. Add remaining Vanilla Almond milk and berries and blend until completely smooth. During the final blending process, you may want to stop about halfway and using a spatula, push down any large chunks of berries.

Pour Smoothie into serving glasses, garnish and serve. For this recipe I garnished with red raspberries and 2 tablespoons of melted white chocolate chips drizzled over the top.

Thinking about Valentine’s Day - this recipe, provided by Driscoll’s is straight from the “Heart”.

In just 20 minutes you can treat your “Sweetie” to the perfect pair for Valentine’s Day - fruit and chocolate!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries with Sprinkles

Chocolate Covered Strawberries with Sprinkles.
Photo/Recipe courtesy of Driscoll.

INGREDIENTS

1 package (16 ounces) Driscoll's Long Stem Strawberries, if available

6 ounces semisweet chocolate (chips, chunks or chopped bar chocolate)

1 package (2.5 ounces) Sprinkles

DIRECTIONS

Rinse and dry the strawberries. Make sure you dry them well with a soft cloth. You do not want water on the berries when you dip them in chocolate.

Melting the Chocolate

Melting chocolate is a delicate but simple task that requires constant attention. Chocolate can burn quite easily, so it's important to melt at a low temperature, be patient and follow the right steps to ensure a bowl of smooth melted chocolate for dipping.

There are two trusted methods for melting chocolate: stovetop and microwave. The method you choose depends on your preference and comfort level, but you'll end up with the same result.

Stovetop

To melt chocolate on the stovetop, place chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. If you do not have a double boiler, place a glass or metal bowl of chocolate over a pot of barely simmering water. The gentle steam from the hot water will slowly melt the chocolate while you stir constantly to help the chocolate melt evenly. Don't let any water from the pot get into the chocolate as the water will cause it to clump and "seize", not melting properly.

Microwave

To melt regular chocolate in the microwave, place chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate at medium (50%) power for 1 minute then stir and continue to microwave at medium (50%)power in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until melted and smooth. The total time will depend on how much chocolate you are melting but should only be a couple minutes.

Dipping the Berries

Line a baking sheet with wax paper, parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place sprinkles in a shallow bowl or small plate right beside the baking sheet.

Hold berries by their stem or calyx (green leaves) and dip in bowl of melted chocolate, swirling until coated as much as you like. Gently shake off excess chocolate. Immediately dip chocolate covered berry in sprinkles. Place berry on prepared baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining berries.

Place baking sheet of chocolate-covered berries in refrigerator to set for about 15 to 30 minutes. If leaving berries in refrigerator longer than 1 hour, condensation may occur.

Chocolate-covered berries are best served the day they are made. Chocolate will hold up at room temperature for about 2 hours, depending on the temperature where they are being served. If you need to store overnight, do so in the refrigerator and let berries sit at room temperature about 30 minutes before serving.

Thank you to Driscoll's for providing the berries for my recipe.

Back-to-school: Nutritional snacks, meals and recipes to start the year

It's coming. Kids will grumble and parents will silently cheer as the big day quickly approaches.
It's the first day of school. Kids and their parents are beginning the yearly ritual of preparing for the fast approaching first day of school.
If you're out and about doing any shopping at this time, you can easily spot the school shoppers. Mom's will be calmly (or not) explaining to their children why they can't have the clothes they've picked out. The younger kids will sulk and the teenagers may be having what looks like mini-meltdowns. And then, after a little compromising the task of clothes shopping will be behind them and they will move on to the easier task of picking up the school supplies.
For the most part, parents allow their kids to pick out their own back packs and lunch bags. Supplies such as paper, pencils, crayons, etc. is pretty standard and usually determined by the teacher. So this part of the back-to-school preparation should be just routine and stress free.
Now that you've clothed them and filled their back packs with school supplies, it's time to plan the meals and snacks.

Photo courtesy of ALDI

What and when you feed your family will probably change when the kids make their way back to school. More and more you hear that breakfast is the most important meal of the day - and especially for kids. Studies show that kids who skip breakfast have a higher rate of tardiness and absenteeism in school. Everyone, and especially kids, need a nutritious breakfast to give them that much needed brain power to begin the day.
Most parents are looking for quick, yet nutritional snacks and lunch items when packing their child's lunch And there's nothing wrong with taking advantage of all the pre-packaged meals and snacks being offered at your local grocery stores and markets. A lot of these items are both nutritional and easy on the wallet.
If you shop at ALDI's, you already know they offer all these items and more. If you haven't shopped at ALDI's - you're missing out.
Here's a few lunch and snack items that ALDI's is offering to help with your back-to-school lunch needs:.

Lunch Mate Honey Turkey & Oven Roasted Turkey (16 oz.) – from $3.29 to $2.99 

Happy Farms Deli Sliced Cheddar & Pepper Jack Cheese (8 oz.) – from $1.99 to $1.79

Lunch Buddies Turkey & Cheese or Ham & Cheese Lunches (8.9 – 9.1 oz.) – from $1.99 to $1.79

Nature’s Nectar 100% Apple Juice Boxes (8 – 6.75 oz.) – from $1.99 to $1.49

Lunch Buddies All Natural Fruit Snacks (19.2 oz.) – from $3.69 to $3.49

Lunch Buddies Chocolate Pudding Cups (13-14 oz.) – from $0.89 to $0.69

Benton’s Animal Crackers (13 oz.) – from $1.29 to $0.99

Photo courtesy of ALDI

And parent's are not only looking for cost savings. Making sure kids are getting the proper nutrition and will eat what you prepare, is top priority.
Here's a couple recipes from Chef Jonathan, courtesy of Aldi Test Kitchen to consider when packing lunches or preparing a healthy snack: 
This is healthy and tastes great too!

Fruit and Hazelnut Panini

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Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Courtesy of ALDI Test Kitchen

Yields: 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

½ cup sliced strawberries

½ cup raspberries

½ cup blueberries

½ cup Berryhill Hazelnut Spread

4 ounces Happy Farms Cream Cheese, softened

8 slices L'oven Fresh 12 Grain Wide Pan Bread

2 bananas, sliced in quarters lengthwise

Directions:

Preheat sandwich press or waffle maker.

In a medium bowl, mix berries together.

In another medium bowl, combine hazelnut spread and cream cheese.

To assemble sandwiches: Spread 1 tablespoon of hazelnut mixture on each slice of bread, place 2 slices of banana on each bottom slice, top with mixed berries, and top each sandwich with 1 slice of bread.

Place 2 sandwiches in sandwich press or waffle maker, cook until bread is crispy and hazelnut spread is melted, approximately 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining sandwiches. Cut sandwiches in half diagonally or in quarters.

Kids can help to prepare this after school snack and can be made ahead.

Frozen Fruit Dippers

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Prep time: 10 minutes (plus 2 hours, 10 minutes to freeze)
Cook time: 2 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Dippers:

Courtesy of ALDI Test Kitchen

½ pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 banana, peeled and sliced into bite-sized pieces

1 cup strawberries, hulled and halved

½ cup raspberries

Dip:

½ cup Baker's Corner Real Semi-Sweet Morsels

¼ cup Peanut Delight Natural Creamy Peanut Butter

Directions:

Line a sheet pan with wax or parchment paper. Place all fruit in a single layer.

Place sheet pan in the freezer for 2-4 hours.

Microwave chocolate and peanut butter for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Stir; continue microwaving in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until fully melted and smooth.

Using your hands or a toothpick, dip the fruit halfway into the chocolate mixture and place on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Place into freezer for 10 minutes or until ready to serve.

TIP: Kids can help make the dip by combining the chocolate and peanut butter and pushing the microwave buttons!

And here at Grandma's house, you can't go wrong if you always have a bowl of fresh fruit on the table, no matter what you're serving up for breakfast.

Try this for a nutritional breakfast before school, it's always a favorite with my grandkids. Serve as finger food.

Mix in bowl and set on table:

Seedless grapes, cut in half

Whole strawberries, sliced

Blueberries

Toast a whole grain frozen waffle, or two for the bigger kids, and cut into strips. Serve with a side of peanut butter or substitute low-fat Strawberry Cream Cheese for dipping for variety or in case of peanut allergies.

This is quick, easy and your kids will eagerly devour this before school.

Teenagers always seem to want to skip out on breakfast. Try having this nutritional smoothie ready to blend of a morning and get their day started out right. One of my favorite smoothies.

Vanilla-Strawberry Smoothie

1/2 cup non-fat Greek vanilla yogurt

2 whole bananas cut into pieces

1 1/2 cups cleaned and cut-up fresh strawberries

1/4 cup vanilla almond milk

1 cup ice

Place all ingredients in blender except for yogurt. Blend until smooth. Add yogurt and blend just until mixed.

If you're looking for more recipes or cost saving products. Visit ALDI's website for back-to-school ideas, recipes and weekly product sales.

Contact Vicki.Arsenault@oakpress.com for food and product reviews.Email your favorite recipe to enter my bi-weekly cookbook giveaway. Follow on Twitter @OCKidsKorner.