Simple Smoothie

Simple Smoothie

Good Friday morning, Dan Wells writing I hope this note finds you well and in good spirits!

With summer here, I haven't felt like eating much HOT food but I always love a good smoothie. Here's how I usually make mine. It couldn't be any easier!!

I thought I'd share with you my simple smoothie recipe. It is quick and easy to assemble, tastes great, fills me up, contains multiple fruit servings and protein!!!!

Here's the trick for me! I always keep a few bags of frozen fruit in my freezer. I also always keep a tub of Dannon (all natural) plain yogurt on hand. Those are the only two ingredients for this smoothie!

No juice, no milk, no fillers. . . Au natural.

For today's smoothie I used frozen raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. That gave me 3 servings of fruit! I always slightly defrost the fruit in the microwave before adding to the smoothie. This helps the blender to more easily combine the ingredients.

Order of assembly does count for smoothie success!

I also added one cup of the yogurt. You can add a sweetener of your choice if needed! Then you sit back and sip your smoothie. (around 220 calories and 13g. protein)

I drank this one for a mid-afternoon snack but I have also had one of these when I needed a "turn it around" meal.

I defrost the fruit in the same cup I drink the smoothie out of. (fewer dishes = easier clean up)

Let me know! Have a great weekend!
Dan

Hometown Forecasting

Good morning, and happy Thursday! Katy Morgan here… and I’m gearing up for the weekend! My plan this weekend is to continue my tri state adventure, visiting a bunch of cities and towns. My mission… to capture a beautiful picture showcasing your hometown to feature on Fox19. You may have noticed the Storm Tracker out and about before, taking pictures of downtown squares or courthouses. I then come back to work and edit the pictures into our weather computer, and put together a hometown forecast. It was one of our visions when starting the Fox19 First Weather at 4am show, to put together more local forecasts besides Cincinnati. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more cities around the tri state being featured as the “pick city” of the day. If you see me in the Storm Tracker this weekend capturing pictures, be sure to stop and say hi!

Habitat for Humanity

Worked my butt off this past Saturday.

Hi everyone. Rob here.

I volunteered to help rehab a house in Walnut Hills on Lincoln Avenue.

Fox19 has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to build a home for Nicole who works at Christ Hospital. Various employees will be helping out two days a week until fall.

This is the first time that this Habitat group has rehabbed a house. Usually they are all new builds. The volunteers showed up bright and early at 8. The crew leader said we would work until 11:30, then break for lunch and break for good. We only work a half day because of the hot weather. We got a choice. You can work clearing out the basement. (no thanks) Or ripping out the floor on the first or second floor. I picked the second floor thinking it was my best available option. BIG MISTAKE!! Ripping up the floor was a night. Someone got crazy with the nail gun when this floor was put in. It was back breaking hard work pulling up the floor. I have never sweat that much, and I have run the Chicago Marathon which had to be stopped because of the extreme heat. However knowing that I'm helping to build home for a Nicole and her two kids made it all worthwhile.

FOX19 First Weather At 4AM!

It was a early good morning for us here at FOX19 as we premiered the FOX19 First Weather At 4am. Marzullo here and if your a early riser we have you covered! Meteorologist Katy Morgan and I are committed to make sure your prepared for what is in store for your day ahead here locally. We spend 30 minutes letting you know what is happening right now, later today, and what the weather will be like across the nation if you have travel plans. The nice thing about having a entire show dedicated to weather is that we can actually take you into more neighborhoods and communities to show you daytime highs and current conditions where you live. We also have time to actually explain what is happening instead of just telling you, through Chief Meteorologist Steve Horstmeyer and his Inside The Forecast segment, to answering your questions on FACEBOOK. So if you want a refreshing way to start your day that is LOCAL and FIRST then join us each morning at 4am.

Need help with sunscreen facts?

Good Friday Morning. Dan Wells writing I hope this note finds you well and in good spirits!

Need help with sunscreen facts?

If you are like me, trying to determine what type of sun protection is best for your family is like trying to figure out bio-engineering! Do I need sunblock or sunscreen? Is there even a difference between the two?

Should I spend the extra money on the "Kids" formula?

What about the SPF?? Is SPF 15 enough protection? Is SPF 80 overkill??

Before we get into all the sunscreen facts, let's start by understanding what SPF even means!
SPF or Sun Protection Factor tells you how much additional protection you are getting from the sun.

For example, if you redden normally after 15 minutes in the sun, then an SPF 15 gives you 15 times more protection than your natural skin or 3 hours and 45 minutes in this case. (But, you should re-apply more often than that!)

Also, SPF tells you approximately what percentage of UVB rays are being blocked. SPF 15 blocks about 93% of UVB rays, SPF 30 blocks about 97% and SPF 50 blocks about 99%.

1. Most lotions you buy are a combination of sunblock and sunscreen. So, if you have sensitive skin, you should try to buy SUNBLOCK only. It is less irritating to the skin.

2. Always buy sunscreen with an SPF (sun protection factor) between 15 and 60. Anything lower is not enough protection and anything higher doesn't add that much more.

3. Look for a brand with broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection. Look for one of these ingredients: avobenzone, zinc oxide, titanium oxide or the newest member of the UVA protection family, mexoryl.

4. Your sunscreen should be water resistant (not just "waterproof") and should be re-applied after toweling off or being in the water for more than an hour.

5. The lotion should be hypo-allergenic, fragrance-free, and PABA free

6. Often times the kids version of sunscreen is more expensive. Feel free to buy the cheaper adult version if it meets the above criteria!

7. Certain types of clothing such as dark colors and tighter weaves do provide good coverage from the sun. There are also special fabrics you can buy that have sun protection as well.

8. The sun's rays are the strongest between 10am and 4pm which is generally the time most children are outside or at the pool. Protect your kids from sun damage by re-applying often.

9. Use more than you think you should! You should be applying a shot glass full (or about 1 oz)every two hours (or more often if you are swimming)

Bottom line on sunscreen facts: No matter what type of sunscreen or sunblock you choose to use, BE SURE YOUR FAMILY IS WEARING IT EVERYTIME THEY ARE OUTDOORS!

Have a great weekend!
Dan

My Brother, The Dare Devil

Good morning, and happy Thursday! Katy here… Have you ever wanted to go skydiving? Personally, I like my feet firmly planted on the ground, but my younger brother has a different idea. He loves to skydive and BASE jump! In fact, he’s currently BASE jumping off of some of the tallest mountains in Switzerland and France. For those that don’t know, BASE jumping stands for Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges) and Earth (cliffs). So, he’ll jump off of objects with a packed parachute and then deploy at a certain altitude. Scary for me, but fun for him.
His current trip in Europe involves a group of BASE jumping friends, and pictures seen in this blog shows him in his newest “wingsuit”. (I call him Rocky the Flying Squirrel). It’s designed to add surface area to the body to enable a significant increase in lift. I give him a lot of credit for doing what he does. I admit, it makes me nervous watching his videos, but knowing he loves his extreme sport hobby is pretty cool. And he gets some amazing pictures too… love this one of him jumping off the cliff into a sea of clouds!

Bad British Food: Myth or Reality?

Anyone who watches me chow down during our cooking segments, know I like to eat. I take food very seriously. Hey everyone. Rob here.

However, unlike Frank Marzullo, I am not a food snob. I'm not above a good hot dog. Chick-fil-A is not the only fast food restaurant I frequent. Not a major risk taker, like Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods, but I do give all foods a try. I was nervous about the British food scene. Some say the Brits only eat fish and chips, shepard's pie, carrots, peas and brussels sprouts.

After arriving in England, I discovered there's good and bad. I had a great meal at Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Covent Gardens. The bolognese I had there rivaled Via Vita and Nicola's.

My mate's mum also had us over for a proper English supper. It was a roast with Yorkshire pudding on the side smothered with gravy. My best meal during the entire vacation.

Don't get me wrong, there were some bad meals. I had the worst hot dog in my life at an "American Sports Pub" near Trafalgar Square. Eating at an American sports pub in London, probably a bad decision on our part, but a friend of mine was dead set on getting chicken wings. Also the burgers taste weird there. I don't recommend ever ordering one. I did try mint pea at a pub at the foot of the Tower Bridge. Delicious.