30 Day Smoothie Challenge, Cooking

30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge: Week 2 Recap

April 16, 2014 by Bethany 4 Comments

Cyberfunk smoothies

Photo Credit: Ivana Vasilj via Compfight cc

RAZZY PEACH

2 cups spinach, fresh
2 cups water
½ cup raspberries
1 ½ cup peaches
1 banana

First smoothie of the week that I tried was Razzy Peach. It looked really unappetizing and only tasted marginally better than it looked. The only thing I can figure out so far is that I’m not adding banana and I guess I need a sweeter addition. I used extra raspberry and peach to compensate for the banana and it was still really bitter tasting. All I could taste was the very tart raspberries and the greens. I also added chia seeds because they don’t bother me when I’m using a seeded berry like raspberry or strawberry.

I took the leftovers of Razzy Peach and added Greek yogurt and some strawberries the next day. Much better. I’m wondering if I just need to add more fruit, especially fresh fruit to my smoothies. Since I usually drink these in place of breakfast, I may need to try for an alternate protein source, like eggs, to make sure that I get enough protein in the morning to sustain me through the day.

I also definitely prefer them with some kind of dairy product. But since my son is allergic I’ll have to add it after the fact. It’s amazing how much smoothie that little boy can drink. He’ll drink as much as I do in a sitting, if not more. Wish my daughter felt the same. I tried a little experiment with her.

I made her a small smoothie, about 8-12 ounces. I added a couple of kale leaves, but not a full serving my any means. I blended it up with whole milk. Then I added a cup of strawberries and couple scoops of Fage full fat Greek yogurt. It was beautiful pink color (as opposed to the unappetizing brown that most green smoothies seem to turn when you mix berries and greens), and she agreed to try it. She finished a four ounce cup and asked for more. It’s a start and considering how picky she is, I’m happy she made the effort at all.

 

MANGO PASSION

1 cup kale, fresh
1 cup spinach, fresh
2 cups water
2 cups mango
1 cup pineapple

So today’s smoothie was strange. I could definitely taste the greens, but it wasn’t as gross as I thought it would be. I had cut up the pineapple and mango the day before, the mango definitely wasn’t ripe, so not very sweet. I used a little more pineapple than suggested. It was very pulpy and tasted kind of “green” but it wasn’t bad. There weren’t any leftovers between my son and I.

 

PEACH COCONUT DREAM

2 cups spinach, fresh
1 cup coconut water, unsweetened
2 cups grapes, freeze overnight
1 cup peaches
When I first saw this recipe on the menu I kind of wondered what it would taste like. Grapes and peaches? I didn’t have coconut water so I used 1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup water. The taste was interesting. This is one of the few smoothies I’ve had so far that tastes sweet enough for me. That being said, despite the introduction of chia seeds, it probably still didn’t have enough protein, so I added some Greek yogurt to my portion. This is probably the first time that I actually drank the full recommended 16 ounces. My son drank the other half of the blender full and begged for more. Unfortunately the grape skins were not well processed by my not very good blender and leave the whole smoothie tasting a little chunky. Next time I think I’d rather try two cups peaches and 1 cup grapes.

 

TROPI-KALE 

1 cup kale, fresh
1 cup spinach, fresh
2 cups coconut water, unsweetened
1 banana
2 cups pineapple

This was just too pulpy for me. I know in my head that most of the pulp was pineapple, but it felt like spinach and kale. I used mango and extra pineapple to substitute for the bananas. Half coconut milk, half water for the liquid. It was OK. I’m beginning to think that at least part of the problems I have with these smoothies is related to my poor blender. Everything is just a little too chunky for me. Overall, the sweetness was pretty good though.

 PEACHY PEAR  

2 cups spinach, fresh
2 cups water
2 ripe pears
1 cup peaches

So I think this could be a really good recipe. But I kind of messed it up. After waiting for days for the pears to be ripe I finally gave up and used them crunchy and they weren’t very sweet. I also used frozen peaches because I forgot to defrost them the night before. So the smoothie was very cold and not very sweet. I think I’ve also learned that spinach and kale mixed is actually a better choice than either one alone. I did add Greek yogurt which did make it a bit bitter and all I could really taste was the Greek yogurt and spinach. I’m wondering if there is some kind of binding between the yogurt and greens because it seems like that’s often all I can taste, rather than the two pears and more than cup of peaches.

 Since I had tried all of the previous recipes this week, I decided to go back and try one I hadn’t done before.

BERRY CHERRY JUBILEE

2 cups spinach, fresh
2 cups water
1 cup cherries, pitted
1 cup mixed berries
1 banana

 

I really liked this one, which lets me see an interesting pattern. I definitely prefer smoothies that have lots of berries. The good thing about that is that berries are filled with lots of healthy things. The bad side is that they are very high in sugar and tend to be expensive, even worse if I dare to buy organic, which I usually don’t.

So it seems like I’ve liked about half the smoothies so far, but at least I’m still sticking with it. I can’t claim to feel any great surge of energy or have lost any significant weight, but at least I’m getting breakfast every day which is an improvement.

Join the 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge

30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge: Week 1 Recap

Disclaimer: All recipes are the creations of the ladies at Simple Green Smoothies. I am reproducing them here only for the sake of reviewing them and noting my own variations. I am in no way taking credit for their hard work. I provide links back to their site whenever possible.