Green Smoothie Madness :)
I posted this picture the other day and have since received several recipe requests. I figured posting it in a blog would be the easiest way to get it to the masses. Keep in mind I am no smoothie expert and to be honest, most of what we do is trial and error, but I will share some of our favorites.
Our Green Smoothie Adventure began just over a year ago when my son and I purchased our Nutri Bullet from an infomercial. Crazy right?!? But H said, if you buy that, I will eat a veggie smoothie everyday. SOLD! And I swear it is the best kitchen purchase I have EVER made.
Now, you don’t need this particular brand to make smoothies, but I have heard from other people the greens don’t blend as well in a regular blender. My suggestion is to do some research, know what you can spend and go from there.
List of Super Foods to Add in Every Smoothie
Here is a list of the Super Foods we try to get in every smoothie. We have other things we alternate with sometimes but these are our favorites.
Acai Powder
It is a bit expensive but a little goes a long way. I found the cheapest bag on Amazon. I would recommend organic, as berries are heavily fertilized. Click here for the link to Amazon
Greens Plus Advanced Multi Superfood Wild Berry
We had to add gradually. Now I add a whole scoop, and they can’t even taste it. I find this to be cheapest at Vitacost.com (which has free shipping on orders of $49 or more) but you can also find it at Amazon. I order things at different times so it depends on what I need as to where I order from.
Flax Seed
I get these from Earth Fare or Whole Foods. I think it is much cheaper in bulk. Flax seed works best when you grind it, which is where the Nutri Bullet comes into play again because it comes with a flat blade for almonds, walnuts, pecans, flax seeds etc… Then I just store it in a jar in the freezer.
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds go in after you have finished blending. They lose potency if over blended so I just throw them in after and stir them around. Also cheapest in bulk at EF or WF.
Spinach
fresh or frozen but always organic. I don’t buy everything organic; it’s too expensive. But I do have certain things I don’t budge on. I found that the spinach you bag yourself at EF or WF is the cheapest. S
ometimes HT has their organic spinach BOGO so I just buy a bunch a freeze it. I try and get all of these in our smoothies every morning. There are so many options out there. These are just a few we are digging into right now. Please don’t feel like you need to go out and buy all of this stuff at once. Start with the basics - Spinach and fruit and go from there.
If your blade is at the bottom (which is opposite of the Nutri Bullet) go in this order:
Frozen Ingredients
Fresh fruits, leafy greens
Powders
Liquids
I have noticed a difference since following this plan. With the Nutri Bullet, just flip the order.
Dreamin of the Keys
Frozen Mango and pineapples
if I have it a small piece of ginger or tumeric
½ Frozen banana
handful of spinach
Greens Plus Wild Berry – and again start off light.
TSP Acai Powder
scoop of flax seeds
water or coconut water – you may need to start by adding some juice but maybe eventually work it down to just water. Once blended
add ice ~ For some reason, this just tastes better.
then add scoop Chia seeds and stir
For a Berry Blend, follow the exact same recipe just add frozen berries ~ Frozen apples, pineapples and bananas with fresh ginger, mixed with the other ingredients, is also really good. The next two were created and named by the kids 🙂
Cinnagreen Swirl
Frozen apple
1/2 banana
Spinach
Cinnamon
TSP Acai Powder
Scoop of flax seeds
1/2c apple juice, 1/2c water
Blend ~ then add ice if you want~ then chia seeds after blending
This is a favorite but doesn’t get made as often because it has so many ingredients. ~
The Spicy Pumpkin
few carrots, 1/2 frozen banana , frozen strawberries
Spinach
TSP Acai Powder
nutmeg
ginger
cinnamon
TBSP plain whole fat yogurt –any kind will do this is just what we use because it has less sugar.
1/2 C OJ, ½ C of pineapple juice
Scoop of flax seeds *Blend ~ then add ice if you want~ then chia seeds after blending
Mike’s Favorite
1/2 Frozen Banana
2 or 3 frozen broccoli flowerets (shhh)
cut up carrot (small)
Spinach
2 or 3 tbsp Peanut Butter
Acai Powder
Cacao Powder –a form of raw chocolate but a bit pricy. I alternate between this and unsweeted cocoa powder
Hemp Protein Powder
Cup of milk and sometimes it needs a little water to blend.
After blending, throw in ice and blend again. This one needs a handful of ice because once it gets warm it is no good. Then throw in your chia seeds and stir.
TIPS
Fruits with peels such I don’t always buy organic. This might save you some money.
With berries, I always get the organic. Trader Joes and Costco are great for their organic berries and cost. Plus, EF just emailed that they have reduced their organic frozen fruit!!
Throw half a carrot or one or two broccoli flowerets into any of these; they will never know. *You can substitute Kale for Spinach if you want.
Freeze your bananas when they are overripe, makes for a sweeter banana
If your spinach starts to wilt before you use it all, freeze it.
You can still use it in smoothies, so you don’t have to use so much ice.
Keep all of your smoothie stuff in a container in the fridge/freezer. Makes it easier to grab everything and your less likely to forget an ingredient.
I hope this helps some. Please feel free to shoot me a note if you have any questions. I know this is a little long-winded but I feel like over this year, I have learned some tricks for getting greens into the kids.
As for the smoothie cleanup, I have no idea. It looks like a bomb went off in my kitchen every morning! If you have any smoothie recipes you would like to share, please do!!! Just add them in the comment section under this blog.
Melora is a certified yoga instructor teaching all over the Charleston area. She specializes in Wedding Yoga, Private/Small Group, Beach Yoga and Reiki. For more information contact her at Serenity Tree Yoga.
