Photo Credit: terriseesthings via Compfight cc
I’m finally used to the habit of making a smoothie almost everyday. I’m beginning to question the health of it however. Somehow, while drinking my breakfast everyday certainly seems efficient, I wonder if it’s really healthy. Next week I’m going to try adding egg casserole back in again to make sure I’m getting some extra protein at breakfast, plus I’m sure the extra veggies won’t hurt either.
STRAWBERRY BLAST
2 cups spinach, fresh
2 cups almond milk
2 cups strawberries, frozen
1 banana
I didn’t have enough strawberries to pull this off and you already know how I feel about banana, but what I did have in the back of my fridge was a container of kiwi that needed to be finished up, so I substituted a kiwi for banana.
I think I liked this, however, I learned two important lessons. I really don’t like almond milk that much. I think if I have the chance to make this in the future I’d use water as a base and then add milk and Greek yogurt to my portion of it, keeping the rest of it dairy free for my son. I also think I should have peeled the kiwi. I guess I thought it would be a healthy interesting experiment, but I my blender just couldn’t handle it. In addition to strawberry leaves (yes, I put them in whole too), and small chunks of kale (I ran out of spinach) I could feel the texture of kiwi skin. So the flavor of this smoothie wasn’t bad, but the texture was a little mealy for me. I also added hemp seeds for additional protein.
PINEAPPLE BERRY
1 ½ cups spinach, fresh
½ cup cucumber, peeled
1 cup water 1 orange, peeled
1 cup pineapple
1 cup strawberries, frozen
I modified this somewhat, using kale rather than spinach, and two cups strawberries and adding some Greek yogurt for protein. I actually liked it. For some reason the combination of flavors worked for me. It might have been the help of the extra strawberries, and the creaminess of the Greek yogurt. I didn’t notice the cucumber at all and the orange and pineapple wasn’t too pulpy this time.
BLUEBERRY KALE PUNCH
2 cups kale, fresh
1 cup almond milk
2 oranges, peeled
1 cup blueberries
2 bananas
Really enjoyed this one. I used a mixed berry blend instead of just blueberries since I don’t use bananas either and it turned out great. The amount of liquid was too little in my opinion so I added some extra water. I think perhaps my oranges weren’t juicy enough.
MORNING FUEL
2 cups kale, fresh
1 cup almond milk
2 oranges, peeled
1 cup pineapple
1 banana
¼ avocado
The idea of using avocado really freaked me out, and then, as it turned out, my avocado had gone bad. As usual, I didn’t use any banana. I used extra pineapple and a little bit of frozen mango. In the past I’ve found that almond milk and citrus is slightly nauseating so I decided to use coconut milk. I used ¾ cup of coconut milk and one cup water. I then actually had to add more water because the blender wasn’t spinning properly. I think I may have used closer to 3 cups kale. Overall the flavor wasn’t bad though.
So I’ve pretty much gotten used to the daily routine of using the blender, and I’m getting used to cleaning it as well. I wish I had a better one, but I’m OK with using the one I have. My husband and daughter still think the whole green smoothie thing is rather gross, but my two year old son is loving it. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve avoided, modified or deferred recipes that I found too weird (Cilantro Mango Detox anyone?) but overall I’m trying to stick to the recommended ingredients and see if I discover something new that I like. Three weeks down, one or two more to go.
Join the 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge
30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge: Week 1 Recap
30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge: Week 2 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.
