a berry good time

i've been wanting to take the bean to tanaka farms for ages, but always seem to forget about it.  so when lilcee suggested taking the girls for the strawberry picking and wagon ride, i was all about it.  although i knew she wouldn't be down with eating the fruits and veggies that we'd get to taste during the tour, i figured it'd be fun anyway.  after all, it's not a bad idea for her to see where it all comes from - maybe it would spark at least a little bit of interest.

surprisingly, the hub and the teen were willing to come along even though it required getting up bright and early on sunday morning.  it was exactly 9:30 when we pulled into the parking lot.

 there was lots of fun signage everywhere.

and we got a glimpse of what we'd get to ride through the fields.

with a little time to kill, we wandered around the market stand, where super fresh produce was available for purchase.

everything was gorgeous and colorful, and while she didn't want to eat any of it, the bean was fascinated with all that surrounded her.

we got to wear these stickers and each received a plastic basket to fill with strawberries we picked during the tour.

from the looks of this sign, you'd think the place was gonna be a no-fun zone.

hopping onto the wagon, the bean and mini cee begged to sit next to each other.  well, duh.

and look how happy the teen was to be there!

but i think she had fun.

we got to sample all sorts of fun stuff - carrots, string beans ("these taste like earth," the teen said), baby maui onions, fresh corn.  ever eaten corn raw?  i hadn't, but it was delicious - crunchy and sweet.  i could've sat there and eaten it all day long.

she's so predictable.

there were freaky scarecrows everywhere.

everyone had fun picking strawberries, and a few filled their bellies as well as their baskets.

 and when she came across imperfect berries, she happily tossed them to the ground.

the bean and mini cee had a blast.  BFFs, man.

more photo ops at the end of the ride.

such a fun time!  and maybe we'll come back in a couple of months for the watermelon picking.  something right up my alley - i actually like watermelon.  surprise, surprise.

going green

inspired by my friend nanette, i decided to try something totally out of my comfort zone:  a green machine smoothie that she'd discovered via pinterest.

i miss nanette.  but despite her recent move up to oregon, it's really nice to still be able to easily keep in touch with her as often as when she was here in l.a.  thank goodness for social media - i still get to talk to her all the time via twitter and facebook, although i can't say the same for the bean.  she misses her friend em, and still asks about her at least once a week.  "mommy, is em still far far away?" she'll ask.  awwwww.

anyway, so yeah - the smoothie.  i headed to the grocery store and bought a banana, which i promptly sliced up and stuck in the freezer overnight.  so after my yoga meltdown session with jillian michaels via DVD the next morning, i opened the door and was greeted by the aroma of fresh fruit.

i know you're probably thinking, what the hell has come over her?  she doesn't even like fruit!  now while this is certainly true, it's really chunks of the stuff that i dislike immensely.  i'm cool with the flavor and the smell of most of it (cherries, pears and peaches excluded, just to name a couple of my non-favorites), and if it's pureed into stuff - well, that i can totally get behind.  so smoothies are actually perfect for me.

following the recipe, i added a tablespoon-ish of peanut butter. 

and then the magic ingredient:  fresh spinach.  i'd sent the teen to the grocery store to pick this up for me and forgot to specify that i preferred the bagged kind, but that was okay.  this worked.

with the milk and fat-free greek yogurt, this looks...appetizing, huh?

i gave it a whirl.

i'm not gonna lie.  this stuff smelled really bizarre.  but i was determined, so i busted out one of my starbucks cold cups to make it look more appealing.

i posted a picture on twitter of myself hesitantly taking the first sip.  remember, this was post-yoga AND pre-fruit smoothie sampling, so click on that with caution.  heh.

anyway, despite the slightly off-putting aroma, it really wasn't bad.  i couldn't detect any spinach flavor at all, just the banana and a hint of the peanut butter.  except that there wasn't much sweetness to it.  and you all know how ginormous my sweet tooth is.  i have a feeling that the culprit was using plain yogurt instead of the vanilla flavored sort (because that's all i had in the house).  so i thought about it for a few seconds as i continued to sip, and then it came to me:

that's right.  i poured the smoothie back into the blender, took a spoonful of nutella, and started 'er back up.  and wouldn't you know it, the taste of that smoothie improved by about a gazillion percent.

nutella.  it truly cures all ills.