Smoothie Addict

5 months ago my breakfasts consisted of cold cereal and toast. Somedays I would have eggs. Usually I would rummage around and find some cookies or a little bit of candy to reward myself after the morning rush getting the family out the door. That has completely changed. My breakfast now is usually a green smoothie.

The Eat to Live program guidelines call for 1 lb of raw veggies a day. So I have a huge salad for lunch and a smaller salad at dinner but that still isn't 1 lb of veggies. It is hard to chew all those veggies too and it takes a long time! Enter the green smoothie.

I pack the smoothie with spinach, kale and any sort of greens we might have (chard, romaine, etc.). I've been getting beets in my weekly CSA (community supported agriculture) share and I've tossed the beet greens greens in too. You want bland greens that you can flavor with fruit (spinach is especially bland).

These smoothies are loaded with protein, calcium, iron, vitamins, and phytonutrients. It basically kicks cold cereal's butt. And steak and egg's butt too. With one arm behind it's back. And if you don't use carrot greens or collard greens it tastes wonderful!

This recipe is flexible, use what you have and what you like. I load my blender full of greens - I want as many greens as I can get and still have it taste like a smoothie rather than a blended salad. I probably use 6-7 cups greens (that blends down into 2-3 cups). But if you are just starting - maybe ease into the green-ness. Maybe just do a handful of greens.

Robin's New and Improved Green Smoothies

• 1 cup liquid (I use water unless I suspect that the greens might be too greenish tasting then I use a milk substitute [soy milk, almond milk, or rice milk])
• Spinach - 3-6 cups - whatever tastes good to you
• Greens - work your way up -shoot for 3-5 large leaves of kale, chard, beet greens, or romaine
• Banana  - this is a must have item. It provides creaminess and sweetness. Sometimes I add 2 bananas
• Apple- or some other fruit cantaloupe, pineapple, peaches, whatever you have handy.
• Flax seed - about 1 T per serving. just toss in the whole seed and let the blender grind it. This adds creamy texture too.
• Frozen fruit - about 1 cup unless you want it thicker (add more for thickness) I am partial to blueberries. Also try strawberries, and frozen fruit mixes. they should be sugar free

If you don't have a vita-mix ( I don't) add the liquid and half of the spinach first. Then add the remaining ingredients a little at a time so they can mix in easily.  These are remarkably filling and satisfying. I usually make about 6 cups of smoothie. Roland and I drink about 2 1/2 cups each and Ike has 1 cup.

Another smoothie idea:

Watermelon Smoothie

I made these last week on a hot day at the cabin. They were so cool and refreshing!

• Watermelon cut into cubes
• Frozen Fruit (from costco)

Shove watermelon in blender and blend until smooth and watery. Add frozen fruit until thick "milk shake" consistency.