If you have a big eater like me, making a breakfast that will fill your child up in the morning can be a real challenge. Although my little guy looks like a lightweight, he has been known to put away three to four bowls of cereal in the morning. This makes breakfast one of those meals that can really add up in our grocery budget.

Since his school year started, I am getting up early with him and have been making affordable breakfasts a priority in our house. Eggs, bread, oatmeal, and milk are inexpensive ingredients that I am trying to work into our morning meals.

One thing that I know my children really love is milkshakes. When I happened upon this recipe for banana cream pie smoothies, I knew that this would be a thrifty solution to get my kids fueled in the morning… in a really fun way.

When I got home from the grocery store, I sliced bananas and put them in this little dish in our freezer for our smoothies in the morning. I can get a whole bag of bananas at Aldi for $.99. I also bought the large tubs of low fat vanilla yogurt to add to the smoothie mixture. This is also an affordable steal compared to those small containers of yogurt. One tub equals approximately four batches of smoothies (eight smoothies in all).

To round out the meal, I make one or two slices of whole grain toast with a little smear of peanut butter on it. The kids love the combination and feel like they are getting a special treat in the mornings. I love to have one of these myself because they fill me up in the morning and have been a nice addition to my “only coffee” routine.

Just as one more fun idea to add to your morning routine, my son gets to choose his favorite breakfast on Fridays. They have a, “Fun Friday” at school where they get to wear their school t-shirt instead of a uniform. To go along with that theme, I make a “Fun Friday Breakfast.” He gets to choose what the breakfast will be that morning and all other days, I get to choose based on our time constraints. Can you guess what he chose this week?

I highly recommend adding this fun and thrifty smoothie to your morning routine!

Banana Cream Pie Smoothie (Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine, makes 2 servings or 4 smaller servings)

1 cup sliced ripe banana (about 1 large)
1 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
2 tablespoons whole wheat graham cracker crumbs (about 1/2 cookie sheet- we have been omitting this ingredient)
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ice cubes (about 1/4 cup)
Graham cracker crumbs (optional)

Arrange banana slices in a single layer on a baking sheet, and freeze until firm (about 1 hour). Place frozen banana and remaining ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 216 (12% from fat)
Fat: 2.8g (sat 1.5g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.3g)
Protein: 9.8g
Carbohydrate: 39.3g
Fiber: 1.9g
Cholesterol: 9mg
Iron: 0.4mg
Sodium: 145mg
Calcium: 315mg

We really put our blender to work in the summer and I wanted to share with you one of my kid’s favorite treats for our homemade pizza night.

This is another fantastic recipe that I found on Hillbilly Housewife called, “Magic Milkshakes.” To me, this recipe tastes just like a Wendy’s Frosty with a fantastic balance of chocolate, creaminess, and the spoonable or sippable goodness that makes them one of my favorite summertime treats.

The magical component about them is that there is no ice cream in this yummy milkshake and that all the ingredients can be found in your cupboards. I adore recipes that can be whipped up as a fun surprise without the need to run to the store.

If you haven’t tried this recipe before, do not let another summer pass you by without putting this into your rotation! These are inexpensive, delicious, and will score coolest mom every points!

Homemade Wendy’s Frosty (The Magic Milkshake courtesy of Hillbilly Housewife)

1-1/2 to 2 cups ice water
1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 1-1/2 trays of ice cubes, as much as you can spare
2 tablespoons corn oil plus a 5-second squirt of non-stick spray for emulsification purpose (I substitute the corn oil with canola oil & you can read her notes on why you need that non-stick spray)

Place all of the ingredients into the blender, including the oil and the non-stick spray. Use less water for thicker milk shakes and more water for shakes that are easy on your blender motor. The blender should be about 3/4’s full. Place the lid on. Process for a full 2 minutes. Pour into cups and serve. Makes 4 – 12oz servings.

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Homemade Slushies

One of my kid’s favorite treats in the world are mom’s homemade slushies. I have been making these for years now and they never fail to be a hit with everyone in the family. My husband loves slushies even more than ice cream and he lights up just as much as the kids do when I break out the blender.

Slushies at our local ice cream joint really add up and we could easily spend about ten dollars getting everyone one of these. This recipe costs me about fifty cents for four and is just as good. Aldi offers Mixade variety packs that are even cheaper than the Kool-Aid brand and still make vibrant and delicious slushies.

I tried this with the no sugar varieties and they flopped and tasted more like a shaved ice than a slushie.

Go ahead, live a little! Bring on the sugar for a special family night treat!

World’s Greatest Homemade Slushies (Courtesy of Hillbilly Housewife)

2 cups ice water
1 packet fruit-flavored drink mix (use your favorite flavor)
2/3 cup sugar
4 cups or 1 full tray of ice cubes

You need a blender to prepare this recipe. Put all of the ingredients into your blender. It will be about 2/3 to 3/4’s full. Put the lid on. Process the mixture on high for a full minute. Stop the blender, use a spoon to stir it a bit. Look for unchopped ice chunks. If all the chunks are grated up, then go ahead and serve it. You may need to process it for another full minute though. Serve immediately. I usually have to spoon this out of the blender with a measuring cup because the mixture is so thick. Makes 4 – 8oz servings.