So, messing around in the kitchen tonight and craving some ice cream. Unfortunatly, eating ice cream is not the best thing for a diet. Instead I decided to see what would happen if I did a shake with a melon and milk. Hey, it was worth a try and I was the only one who was going to drink it. Luckily, I really liked how it turned out. Now I am lactose intolerant but I can take some dairy in my diet each day – lucky me since I love dairy.

Blue-Dew Shake – put the following in a blender or large cup since its about 16 – 24 ounces

• 8 oz/1 glass of milk – I prefer fat free, but use whatever you want. If you are lactose intolerant try it with your milk alternative.
• About 1/2 – 1 cup of Honeydew Melon
• 2 hand fulls of blueberries – washed
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup of crushed ice (I find crushed blends slightly better then a cube of ice)
• 1 scoop of your preferred protein powder (still using a vanilla flavored Pro Her 5)
• 1 spoon of fat free yogurt

If you are doing this in a blender – low setting to mix for 30 seconds, then cream for another 30 then whip. Pour into a large cup. If you are using a hand held, just blend it and drink.

What I really liked about this drink was that it had the texture of a milkshake due to the honeydew melon and the crushed ice but was a slight bit less calorie wise. The entire drink was between 335 – 367 calories, depending on how much honeydew you use and it could be more or less depending on the protein powder you use. Mine has 130 calories per scoop. But it turned out really yummy and defiantly staved off the craving for ice cream and was a nice dessert. It does have a fun blue tint to it due to the blueberries, which makes it fun. Doesn’t it?

Nutritional fun facts – I got this from the free online calorie calculator site I use: Calorie Count:

Fat – 1.1% (0 grams)
Protein – 23.5% (20 grams)
Carbohydrates – 49.2% (41 grams)
Alcohol – 0.0%
Other – 26.2%

Daily Sodium Intake – 174 mg
Daily Sugar Intake – 25 grams
Daily Cholesterol Intake – 11 mg
Daily Fiber Intake – 4 grams

Now, health wise I would say this is pretty good. According to Calorie Count this is an A grade of an item. So, yummy and healthy?! Sounds great to me. But there are some other nutritional facts.

Blueberries – from blueberry.org
Antioxidants are thought to help protect the body against the damaging effects of free radicals and the chronic diseases associated with the aging process. Fresh fruits, including blueberries, and vegetables contain many of these naturally occurring antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E. Blueberries contain 14 mg of Vitamin C and 0.8 mg Vitamin E per 1 cup of blueberries. In addition, blueberries contain anthocyanins and phenolics that can also act as antioxidants. Based on data from the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (Boston, MA), blueberries are among the fruits with the highest antioxidant activity. Using a test called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), researchers have shown that a serving of fresh blueberries provides more antioxidant activity than many other fresh fruits and vegetables.

And berries are great at helping getting rid of belly fat – another plus.

As for the honeydew melon – extremely high in Vitamin C and a good amount of potassium which will help counter act a high salt diet or if you had too much due to frozen meals during the day.

If you get a chance to try it, please do and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.