Smoothie Template

With these tips, your kids can love green smoothies too! (he's saying "popeye's spinach")

Every day I try to drink 1 quart of GREEN SMOOTHIE... I like to use recipes to make sure I get a good taste and consistency. Then, with more recipes in my head, it's easier to have success when I'm creating a smoothie from scratch!

Here are two templates for making your own smoothies! The BASIC SMOOTHIE is a perfect one to start with! Sweet and filling, you won't even know there is spinach in it! The EXTRA MILE SMOOTHIE is delicious and will make sure you're starting your morning off right!

BASIC SMOOTHIE

Serves 2

2-4 cups spinach

1-2 bananas

water, juice or nut milk

1-2 cups berries

honey or agave nectar if you need/want

EXTRA MILE SMOOTHIE
Serves 2 quarts (Make your hubby drink a quart too! He will have lots of energy and clarity at work!)


Always add:
2 cups almond milk or clean water
1 cucumber (for alkalinity)
1 avocado (for creaminess)
1 heaping tablespoon high quality, whole food protein powder (recommended protein powder)
1 heaping tablespoon coconut oil 
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon flax seeds (or flax oil)
8-10 ice cubes
2 cups of greens

(Choose: kale, spinach, chard, romaine, etc.)

2 cups of fruit
(Choose: berries, apples, pears, oranges etc.)


Optional:
6 medjool dates (or 1 tablespoon honey or agave) for sweetness
1 peeled lemon to mask bitterness
spices (like cinnamon)
fresh herbs (mint, basil, parsley, ginger root)

TIPS:

• Use a different kind of greens every day. I keep chard, romaine, spinach and kale in my fridge and rotate. Don't worry, it won't go bad because you are using so much of it! If it does start wilting, wash and freeze it! 
• Spinach and Romaine are the most mild greens to use. Kale, Chard, Mustard, Dandelion, etc. are much more bitter so you might want to work up to them!
• Don't use bananas very often. They can be constipating. (They even caused post-green smoothie stomach aches in me for a while! :( Not fun.) For creaminess, we use avocados and for sweetness, we use dates instead. (I usually save bananas for dessert smoothies.) *Not all smoothies need a sweetener, it depends on the fruit you use.
• Fresh herbs are strong tasting and delicious, they mask the flavor of bitter greens. Also, lemon can neutralize those bitter tastes as well.
• If you don't have almond milk, you can use 3/4 cup-1 cup raw almonds (preferably soaked overnight) with 2-3 cups water

I LOVE green smoothies.  We've been making them for over 5 years now and I can tell you I never feel more alert and energetic than right after I drink my green smoothie! Let me know if you have any questions. Have fun creating something good in your blender, it's always an experiment at our house!