The recipe I'm giving you is for.... Green Smoothies!
I can't take all the credit for this recipe; my family has been blending up frozen fruit concoctions for decades. But, I finally started getting diligent about making them every morning, and now Chris requests them even over bagels. BAGELS, GUYS. So believe me, it's good.
Some other reasons I love green smoothies for breakfast:
- Fast and easy to prepare
- You can eat them on the run (or commute)
- You can change whatever ingredients you need to fulfill your health requirements
- Chris says he thinks he's lost weight since he really started eating these regularly. So there is that!
- Way more energy than with a carb-loaded breakfast, and you won't crash later!
So here is how I make green smoothies!
1. You need to start off with your juicy fruit and other liquids.
"Juicy" fruits are just that-the fruits that have a lot of juice. Some that I've used include grapes, grapefruit (wouldn't recommend that one to all), oranges, and apples. Usually with bigger fruits, like oranges, I simply cut off the orange peel, quarter it, and stick it in the blending. Juicing made easy! Some are more pulpy than others, so I often will add some soy milk at this point for added creaminess and to mix it up a little better. You can also add yogurt here.
2. Get your green on! Throw in a handful of your choice of green, leafy vegetable.
For greens, you can use a lot of things: romaine, chard, kale, spinach, and even cabbage. Just be careful about what you mix in with what! Spinach is always a safe bet, especially if you're new to putting greenage in smoothies. It breaks down nicely and you can hardly tell it's there! I am also partial to kale, which adds a nice sort of contrast and body to the smoothie.
3. Add half to a whole banana and other fresh fruits. Blend.
It's pretty self-explanatory. Add whatever your heart desires!
4. Add frozen fruit, or about a cup of ice.
This will give the smoothie that thick texture!
5. Add anything else you may want!
This is where you might want to beef up the taste or nutritional quality of your smoothie. You might add som ground flax seed for fiber, some flax oil for those lovely fatty acids and omega-3's. I usually add about a tablespoon of protein powder, because vegetarians always need their protein!
Here's a simple version of my typical green smoothie recipe. Also, be aware this usually turns out more tan then green once everything is added.
Put into your blender:
1 orange, skin pared off and cut into quarters
1/2-1 c. vanilla soy milk
1 cup (about a handful) of kale or spinach
And blend! Then add
1/2-1 banana
other fresh fruits
Blend again!
then add
6 frozen strawberries
1 c. frozen blueberries
Pulse until frozen fruit is broken up, then blend until smooth.
Add 1 tbl vanilla protein powder, and blend in.
Pour into container of your choice!
This recipe for me makes about 3-4 cups of smoothie, which can be one huge helping of smoothie for you or two medium servings for you and a spouse. Also, I love to dip buttered toast in my smoothies. Try it!
Some other reasons I love green smoothies for breakfast:
- Fast and easy to prepare
- You can eat them on the run (or commute)
- You can change whatever ingredients you need to fulfill your health requirements
- Chris says he thinks he's lost weight since he really started eating these regularly. So there is that!
- Way more energy than with a carb-loaded breakfast, and you won't crash later!
So here is how I make green smoothies!
1. You need to start off with your juicy fruit and other liquids.
"Juicy" fruits are just that-the fruits that have a lot of juice. Some that I've used include grapes, grapefruit (wouldn't recommend that one to all), oranges, and apples. Usually with bigger fruits, like oranges, I simply cut off the orange peel, quarter it, and stick it in the blending. Juicing made easy! Some are more pulpy than others, so I often will add some soy milk at this point for added creaminess and to mix it up a little better. You can also add yogurt here.
2. Get your green on! Throw in a handful of your choice of green, leafy vegetable.
For greens, you can use a lot of things: romaine, chard, kale, spinach, and even cabbage. Just be careful about what you mix in with what! Spinach is always a safe bet, especially if you're new to putting greenage in smoothies. It breaks down nicely and you can hardly tell it's there! I am also partial to kale, which adds a nice sort of contrast and body to the smoothie.
3. Add half to a whole banana and other fresh fruits. Blend.
It's pretty self-explanatory. Add whatever your heart desires!
4. Add frozen fruit, or about a cup of ice.
This will give the smoothie that thick texture!
5. Add anything else you may want!
This is where you might want to beef up the taste or nutritional quality of your smoothie. You might add som ground flax seed for fiber, some flax oil for those lovely fatty acids and omega-3's. I usually add about a tablespoon of protein powder, because vegetarians always need their protein!
Here's a simple version of my typical green smoothie recipe. Also, be aware this usually turns out more tan then green once everything is added.
Put into your blender:
1 orange, skin pared off and cut into quarters
1/2-1 c. vanilla soy milk
1 cup (about a handful) of kale or spinach
And blend! Then add
1/2-1 banana
other fresh fruits
Blend again!
then add
6 frozen strawberries
1 c. frozen blueberries
Pulse until frozen fruit is broken up, then blend until smooth.
Add 1 tbl vanilla protein powder, and blend in.
Pour into container of your choice!
This recipe for me makes about 3-4 cups of smoothie, which can be one huge helping of smoothie for you or two medium servings for you and a spouse. Also, I love to dip buttered toast in my smoothies. Try it!
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