3 Summer Recipes You’ll Love

If you’ve been following along on the Young Mommy Life Facebook page (and I’m going to assume you have, because don’t you love me?), you’ll see that I just started a new workout DVD, Jillian Michaels’ Ripped in 30 Days.

Now, I’ve done her 30 Day Shred before and got decent results. (Click here for my before and after photos of my last hardcore workout regime.) I also started running again, doing my first 5K in April. I finished in 43 minutes, a full seven minutes under my goal time, but I know I can do better.

So the focus is on eating better. You ever notice how you sit down to eat what you *think* is a great meal, only to push yourself away from the table feeling tired and sleepy? I hate them, especially considering how busy life is. I need energy from my food – I don’t have time to take a nap after every meal!

So here’s some lighter recipes I’ve been tinkering with for the past week or so in an attempt to cut some calories. All of these recipes feature Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice, one of the sponsors for this blog! Go ahead and connect with them, if you so please. It’s just one of those ingredients that can find its way into anything, I always have it on hand, and it tastes better than the other brands. Plus, Tropicana Pure Premium is 100% pure Florida orange juice (I love that!) so I can make these recipes even when I don’t have fresh oranges on hand. I also like to get my kids in the kitchen with me and these recipes do the trick.

Strawberry mango smoothie

2 cups frozen strawberries

1/2 cup mango (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup plain yogurt (you can use flavored yogurt if you’d like to boost the flavors)

1 cup Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice

Blend all ingredients in the blender; enjoy. You can also add some protein powder to increase the protein and keep you feeling fuller longer. My kids love these and it’s only way I can get my daughter to eat fruits.

Asian Glazed Wings

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

12 whole chicken wings, drummers and tips

Pepper

3/4 cup plum sauce (Find it in the Asian foods aisle. A small jar is about $3.)

1/2 cup Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice

2 inches ginger root, peeled or 1 teaspoon dried ginger

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce (start with one and then taste it to make sure it’s not too salty)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, medium heat to extra spicy (leave them out if your kids don’t like spicy food)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional but great if you have it!)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (optional but great if you have it!)

Preheat oven 400 degrees F.

Liberally season the chicken wings with pepper. Assemble the asian glaze: in a small pot over high heat combine the plum sauce, Tropicana orange juice, ginger root, tamari and hot pepper flakes. Bring up to a simmer and lower the heat.

Bake the wings in the oven for 30 minutes or until brown. Pour the glaze mixture over the browned wings. Roast in the oven for 10 more minutes, or until the glaze is nice and thick on the wings. Finish with the fresh cilantro and basil. Serve hot or room temperature. My son tears these up. Like, seriously. I have to make sure I put some on my plate first or he will demolish them all.

Orange Chicken

Click the title for a link to one of my favorite “fake-out” recipes. Instead of the soy sauce this recipe calls for, I add a tablespoon of hoisin sauce, which is similar to an Asian BBQ sauce. You can buy it for about $3 in the Asian food aisle. If it’s on sale, buy two jars ’cause the sauce is awesome on ribs as well.

What’s on your family’s table this summer? Any links to great recipes? Let me know in the comments! 

Disclosure: As part of the TropiMommas campaign, I received compensation for this post.