Fruity Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

By Dianne Ruyack of Winners Drink Milk

Ladies and gentlemen, start your blenders: Smoothies make a quick, easy and healthy meal, snack or dessert. Smoothies are all the rage because they are a simple (and delicious!) way to bump up your daily intake of powerhouse fruits and veggies. Full of antioxidants, essential vitamins and minerals, they are the perfect way to sneak a whole lot of goodness into your family diet.You can use these recipes to make some yummy kid-friendly smoothies, or concoct your own tasty delights with what you have on hand at home.

It's not easy getting kids excited about fruit and vegetables. That's where smoothie recipes for kids come into play. If you present them a smoothie as something different and give fruits and vegetables a a new name (kid's smoothies) they are more likely to consume these foods.These bright, colorful, and delicious drinks will get kids to consume something healthy in a new and exciting way. Try starting your day with yummy smoothies.  Be creative and let the kids vote for their favorite!

Fruity Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie

Rating: 5

Total Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 2

Serving Size: 1 cup

Creamy and fruity breakfast in a glass and on the go!

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 banana, broken into chunks
14 frozen strawberries, 1 cup frozen blueberries, peaches, raspberries
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
Instructions

In a blender, combine milk, oats, banana and strawberries. Add vanilla and sugar if desired. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

For more Smoothie Recipes, check out Allrecipes.com.

A High What?

By Sarah Correll

Yesterday was National Haiku Day.  If you’re like me, you might not be exactly sure what that is.  I checked it out, and it’s a poem with three verses of 5, 7, and 5 syllables (it’s been a while since English class).  Nevertheless, here is my attempt!

Silos, corn cribs, cows

Indiana sights and scenes

Line the roads ahead.

Alright, so I’m no poet.  But this haiku about cheese from Cricket Creek Farm is pretty neat!

“cheese surprises me

i think i know her, but then

oh! impressed again”

While my poetry skills are still lacking, there is certainly a lot to appreciate about Indiana agriculture.  The Purdue University College of Agriculture hosted “SWAG Week” last week.  SWAG stands for See What Ag Gives, and they invited the entire campus to get involved with the event.

Buttons were found on jackets and backpacks with things that agriculture gives individuals all week.

Even the bell tower got involved with a special green glow.

But more than anything else, it was exciting to see students from across the College of Agriculture and from across campus come together to talk about what ag gives.  We already can’t wait for next year!

Great Grilling Recipes

By Sarah Correll

It’s warm.  It is finally warm. (Or we will pretend it is until it is!)  That means spring sports, show livestock in the barns, and, of course, grilling season.  In celebration of that, here is a recipe roundup of some tasty grilling recipes from the Real Farmwives of America and Friends!

 Ham and Pineapple Kabobs from Goodeness Gracious

 Grilled Pizza from A Latte with Ott, A

 Grilled Artichokes from 3 Kids and Lots of Pigs

Grilled Summer Salad from Goodeness Gracious

The Perfect Steak from Beyer Beware

Bourbon Tenderloins from A Latte with Ott, A

Barbeque Chicken Thighs from Goodeness Gracious

Asian Duck Burgers from A Latte with Ott, A

I’m definitely excited for this warm weather and everything (food and non-food) that goes with it!  If your favorite recipe isn’t listed above, be sure to share it below!

A Cheesy Champ: Grilled Cheese Month

By Sarah Correll 

It can be simple or quite complicated.  It has been served with tomato soup and with ketchup (or maybe that’s just me), with one slice and with 17.  It goes by at least two different names and is one of the most popular foods at the Indiana State Fair (only 121 more days!) every year.  What is it?  The grilled cheese.

  From the Grilled Cheese Academy’s creative takes 

To the classic school lunch favorite

To Indianapolis’s own Scratch TruckGrilled Cheese (complete with two kinds of cheese and red wine braised short rib), it’s no secret that the sandwich is popular.

  

But did you know that a classic grilled cheese (two slices of bread with one slice of cheddar cheese) has less than 300 calories and is a great source of protein?  If any sandwich deserves a full month of celebration, it’s definitely the grilled cheese.  Try something new or celebrate with a classic, and be sure to let us know which grilled cheese is the best!

Back to the at least two names thing…  I’m curious, has anyone who isn’t from Allen or Adams Counties in Indiana heard of a grilled cheese being called a cheese toasty before?

If You're Going to Wine About It

Indiana may not be the first state that comes to mind when you think of wine, but it could be.  Our state is home to 69 wineries, including two that also offer craft breweries and one that operates a distillery that produces craft brandy.

  

Huber Winery in Starlight, Indiana produces wine and craft brandy.

Indiana’s oldest winery is Oliver Winery in Bloomington and its newest is Carpenter Creek Cellars in Remington.  William Oliver, a professor at IU, began making wine as a hobby in the 1960s.  His production grew (literally), the Indiana Small Winery Act passed in 1971, and the rest is Indiana wine history.  Oliver Winery is now one of the largest wineries in the eastern U.S. and the Indiana wine industry continues to expand.  In fact, Carpenter Creek Cellars was just added last Friday!

Malena Zook enjoys a glass of wine Oliver Downtown.

Have you tried on Traminette?  Indiana’s signature wine is made from a hybrid grape bred specifically to grow well in Indiana’s sometimes harsh climate (last Sunday anyone?).  

Traminette, Indiana’s signature wine

One of the largest wine competitions and a very popular wine festival both call Indiana home.  Indy International is held each July and August each year.  It is the largest scientifically organized and independently run wine competition in the world.  Nearly 3,000 entries were judged last year.

Bottles are lined up and judged by 50 judges in the Indy International Wine Competition.

The 14th annual Vintage Indiana wine festival will be held on June 1st in downtown Indianapolis this year.  Bring the family for a day filled with wine, food, live music, and activities for the kids!

Vintage Indiana

As you can see, Indiana has lots to wine about :) . So go check out this map of all of Indiana’s wineries, visit, and let us know what you think!

Four Seasons of Comfy Cows

By Jackie of Winners Drink Milk

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stops the postal service from doing their job--add Sundays, federal holidays, and looming apocalypses to the list and then it would apply to dairy farmers, too!

Dairy farming happens in all weather and all climates, from snowy Wisconsin to sunny California. Here in Indiana (the if-you-don't-like-the-weather-wait-5-minutes state), our dairy farmers are gearing up to see to their cows' comfort as winter changes to spring.

March goes in like a lion and out like a lamb, they say, so farmers have to be prepared to change strategies quickly to keep cows warm when it's cold (like today) and cool when it's hot.

Cold winters may make you and me bundle up in mittens, scarves and coats, but even fairly cold temperatures aren't that much of a problem for an adult dairy cow. If she's in a draft-free barn, with clean, dry bedding, and a group of friends, she's pretty toasty.

 Cows generate a lot of body heat, so an enclosed barn  or even a pasture lean-to with a group of cows in it will be a lot warmer than the howling blizzard outside. Cows also have a big, powerful stomach and are constantly digesting their food. Ever notice that you feel warmer after a bite to eat? Cows do too, only they eat pretty much all the time, so their stomach is like a personal space heater.

 

The cold does pose a big challenge to baby calves, though. These youngsters don't have a layer of fat to protect them and since they are only drinking milk and not eating solid food, their stomach doesn't warm them up that much. 

In the winter, calves are bedded down with a lot of clean straw so they can snuggle down in and stay warm. Calves are either housed in groups in a draft-free barn so they can huddle together or have their own personal area so they are completely protected from any wind or draft. 

In very cold climates, calves even wear little coats, similar to a horse's blanket or a Paris-Hilton-style dog sweater, to stay extra warm! 

The warmer months may be a little easier on the calves, but that's when the mama cows need a lot of attention. By the time you would be comfortable standing outside in a T-shirt, it's already "hot" to a cow--she's using energy cooling herself down. 

The picture at the top shows a barn opened up for the summer time, with fans to circulate air. Farmers install fans and even misters to keep cows cool, and always have a supply of fresh water available so cows can take a refreshing drink. So whether March brings snowstorms, sunshine or anything in between, Indiana dairy farmers are prepared to keep their cows comfortable.

Celebrating Agriculture with Indiana Bloggers

Today is National Ag Day, a day for farmers and everyone who eats to celebrate all that agriculture gives us.  Governor Pence declared the entire month of March as Indiana’s Agriculture Appreciation Month, and we celebrated on March 5^th by inviting our friends to join us at the State House.

Here’s what some of our blogger friends had to say about their day with cupcakes, the governor, great food truck food, and lots of agriculture at the State House.

Jen at 4tunate talks about getting eating by an orchid and farmers as local heroes.

Ann-Marie at Chaos is Bliss shares her thoughts on how food gets from tractor to truck to table.

Katy at Indy with Kids chats about her parents’ ties to agriculture and how she is teaching her kids about where their food comes from.

Crystal at Mom for Less sampled delicious food and met with people ranging from sixth generation farmers to Governor Pence during her day at the State House.

Cherie of Queen of Free grew up in a farming community and reflects on a fun day at the State House here.

Jacqueline shares her appreciation for Indiana farmers and highlight of that day at Writ Rams.

We’re so glad we could spend the day with these lovely ladies at the State House- connecting Indiana bloggers and their readers to agriculture!  

Also in attendance that day were our friends from The Real Farmwives of America and Friends were also there to celebrate with us! 

Join these ladies on their facebook page as a great way to connect to agriculture everyday!

How are you celebrating agriculture this month?

Thanks to Heather at Basilmomma for helping us celebrate although she could not be there.