Green Smoothies--my current "recipe"

I put "recipe'" in quotes, because I don't exactly measure, and the ingredients vary.  But it's basically a blender full of ingredients that renders about two pint mason jars (one for me and one for my better half).  Everything on the list doesn't go in every smoothie, these are just most of my favored ingredients.  Experiment and see what you like!

blueberries & raspberries!

-frozen mango pieces
-frozen strawberries
-frozen raspberries
-frozen blueberries
-regular green kale
-purple kale
-spinach
-broccoli sprouts (we blend better than whole broccoli!)
-cucumber
-apple (with the peel!)
-dandelion greens

cucumber & kale

-flax seeds or fish oil
**Optional additions
*half an avocado
*half a banana (frozen or peel-fresh)
(avocado, banana, and fish oil (and I assume other oils) give smoothies that creamy smoothie texture)
*beet root powder
*raw pumpkin seeds
*maitake mushroom
-filtered WATER (although recently, I tried tea instead of water--see my soon to be posted Owens Acres tea review--yay tea!)
-If it's a meal replacement, I like to include a significant protein like:
-white beans (If they're canned, I prefer BPA free brands like Eden.  But if you're not in a hurry you can soak and cook your own.)
-raw walnuts (these seem to be more blender friendly than my other favorite nut--the almond)

avocado!  

I try to buy all of my ingredients organic if possible.  Especially if you're eating the peel (like an apple or cucumber).  Consider checking out EWG's Dirty Dozen list for which produce items are best eaten organic only, as a starting point.  Apples, Strawberries, Spinach, Blueberries, and Kale are all on the Dirty Dozen list.

Just a note about why I use water instead of juice in my smoothies.  Why use juice when you can use the whole fruit?  And get all that healthy fiber too!  Juice has sugar without the benefits of the fiber you get from a whole fruit.  Okay, I'm off my soap box... off my fruit crate?  Off my rocker... never mind, that's a different blog post.

organic & raw pumpkin seeds and walnuts

broccoli sprouts

A lot of the fruit I use is frozen (If you can get it fresh and in season--even better).  But the frozen mango pieces and strawberries aren't very nice to my blender unless they've thawed a bit so I like to pop them in the blender half an hour before I make my smoothie.  Or I've recently tried pouring warm (not too hot) tea over them if I want to make my smoothie right then and there.

Another thing when making smoothies with frozen fruit, big chunks, or nuts--you need enough water for everything to blend together, and the PULSE button is your friend.  Use it to chop up everything and then hit "blend."  And don't hold down the pulse button, pulse it.

Any questions on green smoothies?  Blenders?  Mason jars?  Why I put what ingredients in my smoothies?  Mason jars?  I just hit the mason jar jackpot--1970s mason jar from my parents' canning days!  Can you tell I love Mason jars?  Oh yeah, so back to smoothies.  Questions?  Ask away.  What do you like in your smoothies?  I love new ideas!

But I don't want to eat my vegetables!

Are you like me and don't really care for vegetables?  I mean, I'll eat a salad (covered in not so healthy ranch dressing).  Or douse a veggie in garlic, cheese, and oil and I'm there.  But plain old raw vegetables just aren't my favorite.  This makes me feel like a five-year-old who doesn't want to eat her vegetables.  The current recommendation by the USDA is 30% veggies and 20% fruits on your plate at every meal.  That means, at every meal, HALF your plate should be fruits and veggies.  Here's a wikipedia link to the new "My Plate," that's replaced the old food pyramid.  Half a plate?  Eeek.  Are they begging me to complain about why I hate brussels sprouts?  Don't get me wrong, I want to be healthy, maintain a reasonable weight, and have the energy to keep up with a busy life.  So like any mature adult, I trick myself into eating them.  How?

SMOOTHIES!

I'm not going to lie, sometimes when I make a smoothie, I do have to chew a little tiny bit.  But you get used to it.  So what goes into these wonder drinks?  I don't really follow a recipe, just what I've got available in the fruit bowl, fridge, and freezer (frozen organic berries are the KEY to covering up that icky vegetable taste!).  For example, in the smoothie BB (before blending) pictured above there are:

Bananas
Manoges
White beans (I like Eden organic because they're BPA free.  YAY!  Or you can soak and cook your own, which is definitely cheaper, but more time consuming.)
Raw walnuts
Spinach
Kale
Blueberries (frozen)
Raspberries (frozen)
And a cup of filtered water.

All the fruits, veggies, and proteins listed are organic.  I know organic can be expensive, so check out the Environmental Working Group's list of the Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen to know which fruits and veggies you should try to buy organic.  Here's a link to the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen

I'll post a part two on smoothie making with more details and photos soon!