Receta Naked Juice Pops for #Waunstrong Wednesday
Many readers already are aware that I’m dedicating Wednesdays to my daughter Lauren who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s not going to be a diary about her journey; she’s doing that herself with a site at CaringBridge.com. In this space I just want to share the nutritious foods, including these Naked Juice Pops, that we’re making to keep #Waunstrong during treatment. (Combine the pronunciation of her name by the little girl she started babysitting for over 15 years ago (Waun) and add it to the word strong and you get WaunStrong!).
I’ve been making Kale Green Smoothies for her each week and freezing enough for her 5 day work week. She takes a 32 ounce container to work every day and sips on it throughout the day; having regular nutrition instead of just three meals a day is so important. Packed with a variety of fruits and veggies; it’s a powerful combination of the recommended dose of many vitamins and minerals she needs and it’s something she enjoys but I’ll tell you it’s a fair amount of work. Five of those large containers of blended fruits and veggies is a lot of produce and a fairly timely activity…all that I’m willing to do but I do think we’ve found a product that has made my job a lot easier and has an added bonus as well…popsicles!!
When I was asked to review Naked Juice I made a pretty big swerve from my norm. When given the opportunity to do a sponsored post I require two things. First, that I have used and already like the products that are being featured…and that fit because I love Naked Juice. Secondly, I need to be able to provide a recipe to my readers with the product; I consider this a recipe blog and no matter what else I do I want to fulfill that obligation. But life has thrown us a huge curve-ball and on this and probably other occasions I might find myself punting. Why?
No exaggeration, Naked Juice is going to help me with this journey. Although I’ve most often picked up a small bottle when I needed a quick breakfast on the go, I noticed the other day at Sprouts that they have several popular flavors available in 64 ounce containers. We are determined to make healthy choices for Lauren and one main way Naked Juice fits into the program is that it’s not a juice product that is supplemented with added sugars which is so important to her food program right now. We want #WaunStrong calories…not empty ones!
So I made her a test smoothie in my Vitamix (who knew when I got that machine how important it would become!). I combined a 16 ounce bottle of Naked Juice Strawberry Banana with some kale, carrots and steamed asparagus. I have to be honest, the cooked asparagus was potent and might be better suited for dinner but we’ll always have some greens, carrots, cucumbers and more for the veggie part. If you think about the work these folks have done for me, it’s so worth it. A pound of fruit in every 16 ounces and no peeling, seeding or juicing for me. I say YES!!!
One other reason I was so interested in Naked Juice is because some of Lauren’s medications make her feel slightly flushed; almost as if feverish. I was going to get her popsicles last week but everything we found had added the processed sugar she is trying to avoid. Frozen Naked Juice to the rescue! I plan to keep her freezer full of different flavors for cold snacks; some just plain juice and for a bit of variety, I’ll add some yogurt to others. I think this is a great idea for moms with kids of all ages. We figured out that at approximately $7.00 for two small bottles of Naked Juice, we had enough for 10 popsicles; try finding any ready made popsicle filled with fruits and no added sugar for $.70/each. Buy the 64 ounce containers for a bit more than $9.00 and the unit price is even better. I’ve sold several of my friends with little kids and they’re already on it…and it doesn’t have to be limited to little kids either. I might have finished off one already…OK maybe it was two. All in the interest of scientific experiment of course! :}
The two I made included:
The mango, also known as the king of fruits, really is mighty. I feel like I’m giving Lauren the royal treatment with an exotic and incredibly yummy mix of mango, oranges, apples and more. Simply put, mango rules.
It’s a good thing fruits aren’t claustrophobic, because the folks at Naked Juice jam-pack 22 red, ripe strawberries into every lip-smacking, nutrient-loaded bottle and still found room to squeeze in 1 & 1/3 bananas. “How,” you ask? Geometry they say. And a mallet.
I knew this plan would be helpful to me as well as cost effective but Lauren was the real deciding factor. She loved both the smoothie and the popsicles and when I suggested I use Naked Juice in the way I had planned; she was all for it. Not only easier for me, but let’s be honest, easier for her too. I know I’m being a bit over-protective but she has started staying at her own apartment again and she will surely find herself being responsible for making her own smoothies occasionally; knowing she has a great product that will make that job easier is a blessing for both of us!
Really…no recipe; hard to believe even for me but it was so easy. I poured the Naked Juice into the popsicle forms ‘straight up’ and simply added some veggies to it in a blender for the smoothie. Simple. Healthy. Convenient. And most of all? So good.
Naked Juice is worth its weight in good!
There’s a pound of fruit in every bottle!
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Naked Juice via Glam Media.
The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Naked Juice.