3.3.11

How To Fuel A Whirling, Twirling Tornado


I am excited to offer you a great, tasty treat today -- it's The Kitchen Witch and she's offering delicious ideas for a quick, protein-packed breakfast. Go forth and enjoy!

How to Fuel a Whirling, Twirling Tornado

I'd like to introduce you to my first-born, Miss D. Otherwise known as "The Human Tornado." Miss D. is good at lots of things, especially making noise and wreaking havoc on anything within her vicinity.


I phone my mother every day at 4pm (yes, I just might have attachment issues), and as we're chatting, she'll hear the ruckus and racket in the background and say, "Good God, who is over there? The Green Bay Packers?"

And I will reply, "No, it's just Miss D."

Welcome to the world of ADHD. It's as full of twists and turns as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

When Miss D. hits the door after a full day of school -- a full day of reining in her jitters/jabbers -- that girl is rocket-powered and ready to par-tay, let me tell you. As you may suspect, late afternoons are a bit of a struggle. In fact, late afternoons are often cause for medicinal glasses of Chardonnay.

But do you know what's worse than late afternoons? Mornings. There are no medicinal glasses of wine to ease morning agony. Mornings in our house = Freakshow. Even when I'm organized enough to pack lunches, set out clothing, and put bowls on the table for morning cereal, I still can't seem to manage. No matter what I do, I'm scrambling and barking orders, and when I finally get her minxy butt on the school bus, I exhale and think, "Jesus. It's 8:30am and I. Am. Exhausted."

Mornings are particularly taxing because in the morning, Miss D. twirls. She twirls in the afternoons, too, but nothing compares to morning twirling activity. Morning twirling activity dominates all other things; she cannot get dressed, brush her teeth, be bothered to consume food. She's too busy twirling.

Twirling: (verb) The act of grabbing the nearest object (hopefully a pencil or marker and not a knife or pronged instrument) and waving it, in a hysterical whirl, while subsequently galloping around the house. Rinse. Repeat.

Twirling is exhausting. Twirling is the reason that I'm the blonde Stalin in the morning. Twirling is the reason that my child, my beautiful, spirited child, makes me dread mornings. And this sucks, right? I mean, who wants to be a crank and snap orders at their kid and rush-rush-rush to get out the door in the morning? That's not a way I want to start the day. It's not the way I want my kid to start the day.

I wish I had a solution -- a magic bullet for you -- but I don't. Truth: mornings are, and probably always will be, a cross to bear in my house.

What I have to offer you today is the Smoothie Solution. Even if you don't have a child with ADHD, smoothies are a great way to get protein, vitamins, and fruit into a child who is just too busy to eat in the morning. Another bonus? You can blend the smoothies the night before, store them in the refrigerator, and all you have to do (besides get clothes, sort socks, and brush defiant hair) in the morning is pour liquid energy into a glass.

If morning twirling has been particularly vigorous, you can even pour smoothies into a plastic cup, stick in a straw, and smile, heart bursting, as you wave goodbye.

***
All recipes attributed to Ellie Krieger, with some adaptations

Peach Pie Smoothie (serves 2)

1 cup milk
1 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt (I also use sugar free)
2 cups frozen unsweetened peaches
1-2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla extract
Healthy pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger
I cup ice cubes

Put all ingredients in a blender and whirr until smooth.

***

Blueberry Blast Smoothie (serves 1)

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt (I like Greek yogurt for this)
1 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries
2 teaspoons honey

Blend until smooth.

***

Peanut Butter Smoothie (serves 1)

1 ripe banana, peeled, sliced and frozen (y'all do freeze banana chunks, right? Smoothie awesomeness!)
1/2 cup milk (preferably non-fat)
1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

Guess what I'm gonna tell you to do? Blend until smooth. :)

***

Kelly, thanks for having me. You know how much I love you, and I'm honored to be here today. Whether you're an ADHD Mommy-Warrior, or a mom who dreads mornings because they're crazy (and let's face it, they always are), I hope you'll try these out. They've saved my blonde butt on many a morning.

Because, you know, a girl needs time to twirl.
_____________

Thanks for the ideas, Kitch -- and for being such a great neighbor! 

Share any other quickie breakfast ideas in the comments! (Um, and don't flame but we allow no Red 40 and only low sugar foods at breakfast on school days.)

20 comments:

  • Cathy Reaves

    Oh my gosh. The twirlings! For me, the torture comes from Legos. All things Legos and Star Wars. Send him off to brush his teeth, 5 minutes later I find him on the floor of his room happily playing away.

  • TKW

    Kelly, thank you so much for having me here today!

    Cathy: I almost killed myself once stepping on a Lego while carrying a full laundry basket. I hate the things.

  • Anonymous

    I have 2 energetic, argumentative, possesed ADHD boys! These smoothies may just do the trick. I'm a working mom and our mornings are usually ruthless. Thanks for sharing. By the way... I call my mom every day at 3:30 on my way home from work. It's the only quiet time I have. :)

  • Penny Williams

    I got my morning protein shake recipe from Pamela over at Road to Joy.

    1 scoop choc ice cream (yes, I give my kids ice cream shakes in the AM -- my son needs the added calories and my daughter's is made with Fro-Yo)

    2 tblsp or so peanut butter

    1 cup milk

    1 scoop protein powder (choc again)

    sometimes half a banana (only my son, daughter wouldn't touch it).

    I am looking to try some fruit versions but the anarchy is the last thing I need in the morning. A protein shake everyday has been a game-changer in our house. No worries about who will eat what. No waiting for the boy to stop his version of "twirling" long enough to decide what he wants to eat, only to change his mind no less than 3 times. No thinking about breakfast. Yea!

  • Leslie

    Finally unpacked the blender last week! After 2+ years of hibernation. (Next week: the stand mixer. Slow and steady.) Smoothie time! I like to toss some raw oats in there. Makes me feel proud of myself. :)

  • Anonymous

    OMG...smoothie recipes! Yum! You'd think I couldn't mess smoothies up, but I somehow do, so I'm grateful for full-on instructions. And mornings...yeah. Not fun! Glad to see Kitch here today!

  • Liz Mays

    That twirling would indeed be exhausting! Any kind of perpetual motion, especially in the morning is horrible!

    The smoothies sound GREAT though!

  • Bibliomama

    Really, 'blend until smooth' works on so many levels for anyone with kids, yes?

  • TKW

    Penny,

    You'll get no judgment from me about the ice cream. Life's too short to be the Food Nazi, especially when mealtimes are a battle.

  • TKW

    Lesie,

    Oats in a smoothie? Does it change the texture at all? Interesting!

  • Kelly L

    Great post - Mornings are tough here too -but I call it - "I've got to be a perfect teenager".. My girls are always running late because their hair might not be right..
    I'm your newest follower
    Love
    Kelly
    I've Become My Mother
    Kelly's Ideas
    Amazing Salvation

  • Belinda

    In honor of Women's History Month, hooray for a girl's right to twirl (and a momma's right to catch her breath at 8:30 am)! So fun to read TKW's words here, Kelly!

  • ayala

    I had to smile at "who is there The Green Bay Packers?", you are always funny and charming.


    Kelly, thanks for having TKW here !

  • Heather of the EO

    You're both so great!

    twirling sounds...terrible. :)

    and smoothies? a total WIN for everyone over here too.

    Great post, TKW.

  • The Drama Mama

    Its not so much the busy activity here as it is the attitude. I absolutely HATE getting up with Jellybean in the mornings. HATE it. This is why I let GC do it, and now? GC has a limp....*sigh*.

    Ay-yi-yi. I'm all on top of trying these smoothies though!!!

    Great guest post!!

  • Ben

    Haha, that's awesome. Miss D reminds me exactly of myself as a child. I could not be contained. Good thing I mellowed out a bit. Twirling sounds like a grand old time :)

  • Heather

    If I could do without mornings I sooooo would!! I'm with Cathy - it's Legos and Star Wars in this house too. I fight hard to keep them out of the kitchen in the morning. I find it slightly amusing when I'm yelling "No wars at the table!!!" Of course, it's only amusing after a cocktail when I'm reflecting on my day ;)

  • Rudri Bhatt Patel @ Being Rudri

    Glad to see you hosting TKW, Kelly! Those smoothies sound great. Think those will be good fuel to keep my little one twirling too.

  • Lisa Noel

    We have the same thing except times two or three. Mornings and right after school are the worst!!!!!

  • Anonymous

    I need some more whirling and twirling energy in my life. My reserves are getting depleted again. A smoothy I think is the perfect blend (ha! ha!) of a few wonderful things, so I'll be trying these out.

    P.S. Sorry I'm so late making the rounds to all of the neighbours.

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