(I know it does not look green--but those greens are there!)
Since our new home is under reconstruction and I am not quite unpacked enough to be "back' in the normal cooking and baking routine--I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you our families morning tradition. Every morning I whip up a healthful smoothie (full of greens, berries, bananas, flax) for my boys and they LOVE it and I love that they do! Seeing my boys drink up all that heart healthy stuff, makes me very happy!
First of all I highly recommend this amazing blender the BLENDTEC. It is pricey, therefore it was my Mothers Day/Birthday/ Anniversary present last year. I love it!! It was worth every penny. And even my hubby agrees (now) and that is really saying something!
(I purchase my fresh and frozen greens and fruits at Sams or Costco. We go thru a lot each week and it is much cheaper to buy in bulk!)
Step #1 THE GREENS
Puts lots and lots of greens in there--I usually use fresh organic baby spinach and we love Kale. If you use Kale remove the stem. Next pour some water in --up to the 2 line.
Then pulse until you have a beautiful bright green "water" Now your ready for the fruit...
Then pulse until you have a beautiful bright green "water" Now your ready for the fruit...
(i usually add at least one more handful of spinach than is pictured)Step #2 THE FRUIT
First I always add a fresh banana or two. Then I put in lots of various fresh and frozen fruits, such as:
Fresh:
*a whole organic apple (seeds and all)
**fresh pineapple--do not core it--great fiber**this is my favorite ingredient!
**fresh pineapple--do not core it--great fiber**this is my favorite ingredient!
*orange--just remove rind
Frozen:
(sometimes I skip the fresh fruit --but I always add frozen berries)
*Strawberries-the berries are a must for us!
*Blueberries--if you add this smoothie will not be green
*Blueberries--if you add this smoothie will not be green
*Mixed frozen fruit from Sams or Costco
Step #3 THIS & THAT
I like to add a big spoonful of frozen Juice concentrate, such as orange or pineapple for sweetness. This insures that my boys LOVE it and want seconds!
Sometimes instead of juice concentrate, I add a little Agave --that is a natural sweetener that is very low on the glycemic index.
I also add a scoop of ground flax . You can grind flax seed yourself in a little coffee grinder (my grinder was $10 at Walmart) and keep it in the freezer or purchase ground flax seed at Costco.
Step #4 PUSH THE WHOLE JUICE BUTTON
This is of course my boys very favorite part!:)
ENJOY!!
My husband drinks this same thing every morning! My kids love it too, they hear the blender going and come running for some! He adds a couple of different things to his though...flax seed oil, yogurt and pasteurized egg whites for a little protein.
ReplyDeleteSounds similar to mine- though I add yogurt to mine. One thing though, it may be minuscule amounts, but apple seeds contain cyanogenic poison. If you can, I would highly suggest you remove the apple seeds.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to get some good fruits and veggies in! And it sounds like you are getting a lot of use out of that blender. :)
ReplyDeleteI want one of those blenders! What a great way to get your greens.
ReplyDeleteThose smoothies are so good! I want one of those blenders BAD!!
ReplyDeleteI have a smoothie a day... And now I have blender envy
ReplyDeleteThis re-inspired me to get back to making our green drinks! Yours looks better than mine, though, because it actually turned out pink! (not green or brown!) We have a Vitamix blender, which I love as well.
ReplyDeleteHave you used frozen peaches? If so, what to put with them? Also, what is the model of your blender? I would love to do this for our family. :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to have more specific amounts on the ingredients. :) For someone just starting out with the smoothie thing.
ReplyDeleteYay for green smoothies! I just recently started making them and love them...and so does my 5 year old son! I used to make it with just banana but after seeing this post threw in some frozen blueberries! Yum!
ReplyDeleteDear Lexie,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry that I missed answering your questions until now. I have used frozen peaches and it is wonderful in a smoothie with spinach (of course), bananas (ALWAYS add a banana or two-it makes it creamy), and then whatever fruit you have really--I prefer berries--frozen strawberries and blueberries. A cup of fresh pineapple really adds a lot of sweetness. In fact if I add pineapple, I usually don't add any orange juice concentrate for sweetner...because it is sweet enough. I am sorry but I never measure. To save time I just pour the frozen fruit in from the bag--or take big handfuls. i would start out with a cup of strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries and maybe 3-4 peach halves. That would make a lot. My family is big though. Also my blender is the Blentec, totalblender. It is awesome! I hope this helps. you can email me if you have any other questions. Melandboys@gmail.com
Wow, I would really love to try these things. I am going to have to save my pennies and work on it. What a great way to get the kids to eat greens. There has to be a ton of vitamins in these!!
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