Smoothie Mania!

I am addicted to smoothies.

There, I admitted it.

I have one every morning. Usually, it’s a green smoothie – not really sweet, but bursting with greens and fruit. It is delicious, and it gives me a wonderful boost of energy for the day.

One morning, a few weeks ago, it was bitterly cold outside. We had left the heat on low the previous night, so I had been freezing all night long. I felt frozen from the inside out. I looked at my husband, who was preparing cold, cold veggies and fruit for the smoothie and I shook my head. I couldn’t even entertain the thought of putting that cold stuff in my cold belly.

“Not today. I’m having oatmeal.”

He looked at me, knowingly. “Are you sure? I think you might regret it.”

I was absolutely certain though. I made my oatmeal mix and headed off to work, braving the cold in anticipation of warming my insides all the way through with hot, cinnamon and walnut oats once I got to work. The oatmeal was good. It was even pretty good, but it was no smoothie. I missed my burst of energy. I missed the knowledge that I had ingested loads of nutrients before 9:00 a.m. I had a smoothie as soon as I got home, and it was as if all the cells in my body let out a sigh of relief. From then on, I decided that I would meet the winter coldness with a smoothie in hand.

The moral of the story is: drink smoothies! They are an awesome way to get more greens and fruit into your diet. The energy and nutrition are contagious! If the beginning of your day is so healthy, it’s hard not to follow it with more healthy choices.

I want to share our basic smoothie recipe as well as a couple special ones for you to try and enjoy. Just blend all the ingredients together in a blender. We have a crappy, old blender that serves us well. If you use kale and you have a cheap blender, you might have to blend a little longer to smooth up the tough kale leaves. These recipes will serve two hungry people, or four not so hungry people. I suggest doubling the recipes if you are trying to feed more than two or halving it if only feeding one.

Refreshing Cucumber and Berry

This is the usual formula for our breakfast smoothie. Sometimes we replace the fruit with an avocado, add some celery, and have a full on veggie smoothie, but only occasionally.

2 bananas

1 Cucumber, peeled

¾ Cup to 1 Cup frozen fruit (we are on a blueberry kick right now, but I any berry would be good)

Huge handful of spinach, kale, or romaine

1 to 1 ½ Cups Water

2 heaping Tbs of Hemp protein powder, optional

1-2 heaping Tbs of milled flax seed, optional

Sweetener to taste (stevia, agave nectar, dates, etc), optional

Handful of ice if needed

Almond Butter, Apple, and Banana Smoothie (Pictured at the beginning of the post)

We had this one for a weekend breakfast one morning and it was a thick, decadent treat.

3-4 bananas, depending on size

2 medium apples (sweet ones, not Granny Smith or the more sour apples, unless that’s your thing and then go ahead!)

2 Tbs almond butter (or peanut butter, if that is what you have handy)

1 Tbs milled flax seed, optional

Sweetner to taste, (stevia, agave nectar, dates, etc.), optional

Cinnamon, to taste, optional

1 to 1 ½ Cups Water

Handful of ice, if needed

Banana Cherry Peach Smoothie

This fantastic smoothie was discovered while we were in Arizona earlier this month. The sweetness of the peaches and the sharpness of the cherries makes a delicious treat.

2 Bananas

1/2 Cup frozen sweet cherries

1/2 Cup frozen peaches

Huge handful of spinach, kale, or romaine

1 to 1 ½ Cups Water

2 heaping Tbs of Hemp protein powder, optional

1-2 heaping Tbs of milled flax seed, optional

Sweetener to taste (stevia, agave nectar, dates, etc), optional

Handful of ice if needed

Also, the beauty of smoothies is that you have so much control. There are no rules, so you can alter these basic recipes to fit your likes and dislikes. If you don’t like bananas, replace it with cucumbers or a fruit that you do like. If you don’t like spinach, use romaine. Experiment and don’t be afraid!