Oh, No >> Not Another Green Smoothie

Oh, yes, my friends, it IS another green smoothie; just what the world needed! I can't help it, I LOVE SMOOTHIES! I'll shout it from the rooftops if I have to. I know, I know, the interwebz are already flooded with smoothie recipes, and lordy knows I've done my share to contribute. But, you see, I've been on a bit of a health kick lately. I attribute it to equal parts spring fever, turning 30, one too many nights of one too many indulgences, and a desire to get in shape for our upcoming summer hikes.

Usually, I drink one smoothie a day, and I have an old standby that I always make (baby kale, banana, cucumber, pear). However, I have been wanting to mix it up a bit and expand to two, and I came up with this yesterday. It's an inspired by a recipe I got from a friend, but I added my own twists.

1 stalk celery
1 c. frozen pineapple and/or mango chunks
1 big handful of parsley
Coconut milk to taste/consistency you like

Blend it up and enjoy!

I toyed really hard with the idea of getting a juicer, but the more I thought about it, I decided that smoothies have got to be better for you since you're not filtering out all of the fiber and pulpy stuff. Instead, I got a new blender thingy (a Bella Rocket), and it's been working really well for me. I've been trying out new combinations that incorporate veggies, but still taste good. I mean, it's not hard to make a bunch of fruit mashed together taste great -- it's when you start throwing kale or broccoli into the mix that it gets interesting. Perhaps I'll share some more of my creations with you all...? Anyone else out there down with smoothies?

shanti >> sondra

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Green Power >>

I'm not gonna lie. Me and veggies have a tenuous relationship. I WANT to like them, but they're so much work to prepare, and honestly, many are just not my favorite thing to eat. One of my New Year's resolutions (remember those?) was to eat more vegetables, and so I've been working on incorporating veggies in new and sneaky ways. Enter, the green smoothie.

I know I'm not the only one on the green kick, because pretty much every time I check any social media these days, I see a new green smoothie recipe pop up in the feed. Even my grandma's been getting into the smoothie scene; she asked me for some tips just yesterday. I've got my own tried-and-true that I'd like to throw into the mix. It might not be that exotic, it might not even be the healthiest, but dang it if it isn't delicious. My goal when coming up with a smoothie was to get it to actually taste good, so that I would want to drink it everyday, and I have definitely succeeded with that goal. I have one pretty much every day as a late afternoon snack, to tide me over until dinner so that I'm not ravenous by dinnertime. The other goal was simply to up my fruit and veggie intake. There's one serving of veggies, and one and a half servings of fruit if you count the juice. Pretty good for a snack! Here's what I do:

• At LEAST two cups of greens (you need two cups for a whole serving). I have been using mixes of baby greens, since they're a bit more tender. Kale, chard, spinach, bok choy, tat soi are all good. I find full on "adult" kale a little fibrous for smoothies, but if you don't mind a little texture, go for it. Organic, if possible, since they're greens and all.
• Banana
• 4 ounces 100% pineapple juice
• Yogurt, about a quarter of a cup. I use whatever we have, but Greek has the most protein and keeps me full for a loooong time - perfect if you use this as a meal replacement. Plain works well, and sweetened is fine if you don't mind the added sugar or like it a bit sweeter.
• A nice big scoop of ground flax seed for some added fiber and Omega 3s. A friend gave me some that she picked up at Costco recently, and it has a great texture. You can also find it on Amazon.

I only have an immersion blender, so that's what I use and it works well for this. Someday I'd like to get a juicer and start juicing (that way I can throw all the weird interesting vegetables that come in our winter CSA box in there and drink 'em. Do you have a favorite smoothie or juicing recipe? Share it with me!

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