Berry-Coconut Green Smoothie

My kids have been asking for this smoothie ALOT lately.  I must admit, it's pretty tasty.  I don't really like it for breakfast, it can be a bit sweet for me, but I do like it for a snack in the afternoon.  Miss Pink wanted me to make her one for lunch (how could I say no??)

I must say that I was pretty shocked when Miss Pink started to eat the strawberries BEFORE they went in the smoothie.  The girl thinks that she is allergic to fruits and veggies and will only eat them in a smoothie.  Hmmm, maybe she is remembering that she actually likes strawberries???  Maybe.

 For your slurping pleasure, here is the recipe.  It was inspired by a recipe I found in this book.  I highly recommend it.

Berry-Coconut Green Smoothie

1 cup coconut milk (the kind in a carton, NOT a can)

1-2 generous handfuls of spinach

1 ripe banana

3-5 strawberries, with leaves on

1 cup frozen blueberries

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.  If smoothie is too thick, add more milk until desired consistency is reached.

(Note:  If you are using a standard blender, blend the spinach and milk first until smooth, then add the fruit.)

Parsley Berry Smoothie

image from web

It's been awhile since I have posted a smoothie recipe, so for your blending and slurping pleasure, here's another one of my favorites.  You might be a little nervous when you see the ingredients, but I promise it's delicious.  It tastes so fresh and is a great way to start the day.  I will warn you to put on a sweater
when you drink it.  Parsley has a cooling effect and my teeth are usually chattering away by the time I finish my quart of it.

Parsley Berry Smoothie
{printable recipe}

1-2 cups water (less if using fresh ingredients, more if using frozen)
2-3 ripe bananas
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 BIG handful parsely
3-4 leaves of kale
1 tbsp sprouted flax seed (optional)

Blend water and greens together then add the rest of the ingredients.  Makes about a quart of green smoothie.

Note:  I grew Lacinato kale and flat and curly leaf parsley in my garden this year.  At the end of the summer I washed the kale, cut it up and put it in gallon freezer bags.  I put about 1-1 1/2 cups of it in my smoothie.  I cut down the parsley at the end of the summer as well and mixed types together in gallon bags.  I break a nice-sized chunk of it off to put in my smoothie.  If you have a nice ripe banana (yellow with a few small brown spots) you can get away with less banana and it will still be sweet.

Enjoy!!

For more information on why I drink green smoothies go here.

"ice cream" smoothie

For the past several months weeks Mr. Orange has refused to drink his green smoothie in the morning.  We've tried all sorts of stuff to get him to drink it, but then I decided to give him some time.  He still had to have a huge bowl of fruit with his breakfast and I figured that since he snacks on fruits and will eat his salad at dinner, that not having a smoothie in the morning wasn't going to kill him.

The other day I came home from a run and both kids were so excited.  Dad had made them an "ICE CREAM" smoothie!  I thought that it actually contained ice cream because Mr. Blue will put a huge squirt of whipped cream on top of their smoothies to get them to drink it (yes, I just about pass out on the floor when he does that!!!).  They all promised me that there wasn't any ice cream or whipped cream in it.

That night they begged me to make one for their dinner.  They told me everything that went in it.  Then they both guzzled down a few cups of it.  The next day they ate them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I had a taste of it and it is delicious.

Ice Cream Smoothie

{printable recipe}

1 cup water

1 banana

1 orange

7-8 strawberries (use more if they are small, ours are really big right now)

1 - 1 1/2 cup mixed berries

1 cup blueberries

1-2 handfuls spinach (you could add more for sure!)

Blend and enjoy.  

This smoothie should be thick.  It's ice cream!

To find out more about green smoothies go here.

mango peach smoothie

Today is Day 16 of the Green Smoothie Detox.

I am supposed to drink green smoothies for every meal for 7 days.

Last week I didn't follow the menu plan very well.

Several of my smoothies were disgusting not the best.

It's hard not to eat the dinner you are making for your family when the meal you are supposed to be eating makes your stomach turn.

Needless to say, I ate several meals with my family, including a Pei Wei salad with chicken on it Saturday night.  Oh and pizza Friday night, cookies and lots of cookie dough on Thursday, on and on and on.

I should have at least taken the chicken off, and I did pick most of it off, but boy did it taste good.

The lettuce wraps I scarfed down tasted even better.

I even shared a candy bar with Mr. Blue while we watched a movie.

Ten days ago I said I had not completely fallen out of the wagon, this week I got pretty beat up trying to get back IN the wagon.

I was bound and determined to finish this detox off strong and to shrug off my bad habits for ONE WEEK!

Yesterday the smoothies sounded pretty good, much better than what I had been drinking, so I had some hope.

(I looked ahead and they all look pretty good this week.  Yeah!)

I asked Mr. Blue to pick up some bananas on his way home Saturday night and said, "Will you please get me some that ARE NOT green?  They need to be ripe."

What did he bring home?

GREEN BANANAS!!!

So I had to improvise a bit.

I have to say improvisation can be a great thing, and yesterday was no exception.

So here you go, another scrumptious green smoothie.

(By the way, you should really be letting me know if you like them or not!)

I will be strong this week.

So far, so good.

Mango Peach Smoothie

2 (ripe) bananas

1 mango

1 cup frozen peaches, or 1 fresh peach

1 cup mixed berries

3-4 handfuls (don't be a sissy about your handfuls!) spinach

1 cup water

Blend and enjoy.

PS - do you like my new blender cup???  Mr. Blue gave it to me for Mother's Day.  I love, love, love it!!!  I think I have used it 35 times since Mother's Day.

For more green smoothie goodness click here.

orange berry smoothie

Detox Day 14.  I have been struggling this past week with my willpower and last night I lost.  I ate pizza.  I blame it partly on having gross smoothies for breakfast and lunch yesterday.  My breakfast smoothie turned to cement before I could drink and lunch just didn't taste right.  I was determined to have a good smoothie this morning.  I don't crave anything when I actually have a good smoothie and I am rarely hungry.

So here's what I came up with.

Orange Berry Smoothie
{printable recipe}

1 1/2 cups orange juice
3-4 cups spinach
3 strawberries
1 ripe banana
1 cup mixed berries

Blend and enjoy.

More Green Smoothie Goodness click HERE.

detox - day 6

picture credit - www.thedailygreen.com

Day 6 of the detox.
Up until today, I have been pretty much okay with everything (except for celery - I allowed myself to absolutely refuse one item) in the menu plan.
This morning, however, DANDELION GREENS just didn't sound that appealing.
I really hate dandelions.
If you want to know why, come take a look at my backyard.

I bought a bunch earlier in the week (thinking, I shouldn't have sprayed the ones growing in my backyard.  They would have been free!), so I figured I better eat them before they went bad and into the blender they went with some fruit.

The first sip, not so bad.

The second, not so bad.

The third, I was done.

I kept drinking and I finished it.

Blech!!

I had to brush my teeth right after.

Lunch was really appetizing too.

Have you ever had a smoothie with a whole head of Boston lettuce (the big live head, not the itty bitty head) in it?

I have, but only because I made this smoothie last week.

Somehow it wasn't as bad last week.

Might have something to do with NOT having dandelion greens in my smoothie for breakfast before drinking the lettuce smoothie last week.

Hmm.

I don't know.

Let's just say I was glad I "had" to go to dinner tonight to celebrate my brother-in-law's graduation.

Gave me a reason to eat something delicious.

Before you think I completely fell off the detox wagon, lemme tell you I was really good, and I could have fallen way, way, way off the wagon.

I ate a really yummy blood orange salad.

I ate Mr. Blue's asparagus off his plate.

I tasted the desserts.

There you have it.

Only 15 more days to go.

Gross smoothies and all, I really do feel great.

No, but for real I do.

Why are green smoothies good for you?  Click here.

detox

Back in January my sister and I decided to do a detox.  Um, that lasted about a day.

Fast forward to the end of February.  My pants started to get tighter.

Fast forward to the end of March.  My pants were even tighter.

Fast forward to April.  My pants were seriously getting tight, but I refused to go and buy more.  Number one, I don't have the cashola to run out and buy new pants.  Number two, I have pants in my closet waiting to be worn (and shorts too when the weather decides to warm up!)  I was starting to muffin top
over my pants.  It was uncomfortable to wear my pants at all.  I would wear them about 8 times before washing them and then when I did wash them I would hang them up to dry.  When I put them on I would spritz them with water, then hop/squat around the bathroom to try and get the buggers to loosen up already!

I decided it was time to try the detox again.

I did a prep week last week.  It went pretty well, up until the weekend when I indulged in my kids Easter candy, ate popcorn at the movie, and had an ice cream cone with Mr. Blue.  (I won't mention all the other "cheaters" I ate throughout the week.)

So here I am, 4 days into my green smoothie detox and I feel great.  I'm supposed to drink 1-3 green smoothies day.  I thought I would die, but I am loving it.  The recipes have been fantastic and they have tasted so fresh.  Okay, I admit, a few of them have been a bit like drinking the sludge off the bottom of a lake, but those are the exception, not the rule.  Also, I REFUSE to put celery in anything.  Just not going to do it.  I am getting totally off track right now.  Back to the point.  I am loving this detox.  I haven't been hungry and I really haven't craved anything.  (Although I did really want to sneak a Wheat Thin this evening.  I didn't.)  I have had tons of energy.  I've been running for the past few weeks and I keep shaving seconds off my times.  It's exciting.  I feel great in the morning.  And the best part is, I can button up my pants again.

I won't pass on any of the recipes that are in the actual detox, but I'll pass on some of the ones I've made up soon.

Hot Pink Smoothie

I am soooo love with this smoothie.  My kids like it too.  In fact, last week Mr. Blue had to work late almost every night.  I had planned out our menu, but sometimes it's hard to try new things when it's you and two kids who "hate everything".  One night we were trying to figure out what to eat and I was ready to try the third meal of the week that I would eat by myself with two sulky kids at the table because I won't let them eat anything that is not on the table, and Mr. Orange said, "I just want a smoothie for dinner".  I was floored.  My jaw hit the floor.  I scooped it back up, smiled, and said, "What kind of smoothie do you want?"  Mr. Orange, "One of the pink ones.  I love them.  They are so good they taste like a chocolate smoothie."  (Of course they don't really taste like chocolate, but he does love chocolate smoothies.)  We had pink smoothies and toast for dinner.  It was perfect.  Both kids slurped theirs down and asked for seconds.

So what is this great smoothie that I am telling you about?  Well, it's basically the tastiest treat you can eat for breakfast.  I'll share it with you, but you must go to the links that I am providing you with.  Robyn Openshaw, www.greensmoothiegirl.com, has this recipe, along with many, many, many other delicious recipes in her 12 Steps to Whole Foods program.  The recipe is also included in this recipe book too.  I have the program, and the recipe book, and have tried many of her recipes.  So far, I have only made one recipe that I would never make again and that is only because I can't stand curry.  Mr. Blue loved that dinner.

For her original recipe go here.   To watch a video of Robyn making the Hot Pink Smoothie, go here.

Have you looked at the other links yet?  Good.  Now you can have the recipe.  Mine is a bit different, but not really.

Hot Pink Smoothie
(by Robyn Openshaw)

6 ounces coconut water (can be purchased at Costco)
6 ounces water
1 big handful of carrots, plus a couple more (carrots, not handfuls) for good measure
1/4-1/2 medium raw beet, peeled (I buy a bunch at the store, peel and quarter them, then throw them in the freezer)
1/4 cup raw cashews (can be found at the health food store in the bulk section.  I found cashew pieces at Good Earth today that were cheaper than the whole cashews.)
1/4 cup chopped dates (also found in the bulk section at the health food store.  get the pieces, they're cheaper)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons fresh kefir, or yogurt
1 tablespoon flaxseed oil
6-7 fresh strawberries
1 cup frozen mixed berries from Costco

In a blender, blend everything except the strawberries and mixed berries.  (In my Blendtec I usually run it for a smoothie cycle.)  Then add the berries and blend again.  (I will blend it the second time on the xl smoothie cycle.)

I love this smoothie.  It gives me a ton of energy each morning.  It's so yummy that I crave it.  I was even tempted to make it for my book club ladies, but chickened out and made chocolate zucchini cake instead.  Maybe next time.  :)

Make this smoothie.  I promise you will love it.  It makes about a quart, so if that's too much for you, put half of it in the fridge for later and enjoy it the next day.

GreenSmoothieGirl.com

strawberry smoothie

 Miss Pink requested a smoothie for lunch.  She gulped her green smoothie down at breakfast so I decided to make her a strawberry smoothie.  Of course she didn't touch the smoothie, but I enjoyed it.  I think I'll have to make it again for an afternoon pick-me-up.

Strawberry Smoothie

4 ounces water

1 orange, peeled

1 cup fresh strawberries, with stems

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Put everything in blender, blend and enjoy.

To make it "green" you could always throw in a handful of spinach or chard.

more please!

My kids have to drink a green smoothie every morning.

Somedays it is a battle (think a world war).

So imagine my surprise when the kids slurped theirs down this morning and asked for MORE!

The first recipe is the one they had this morning.

The second is a chocolatey favorite.

(Note:  The smoothies I drink are much greener than this.  I drink the second one as a healthy snack.  Both of these recipes are kid-friendly.)

Miss Pink really enjoyed her green smoothie popsicle.

The Yummiest Green Smoothie EVER!  (as named by my kids)

1/2 cup water (add more if too thick)

1 large handful spinach

1 clementine

1 ripe banana

7-8 strawberries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 "squirt" flax oil

Place all ingredients in blender.  Blend until smooth.

So did Mr. Orange.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Green Smoothie

1 cup chocolate almond milk*

1 large handful of spinach

1 heaping tablespoon all-natural peanut butter (or almond butter)

1-2 ripe bananas**

4-5 ice cubes

*if using regular almond milk add 1/2 tablespoon cocoa and 1/2 tablespoon honey.

**can use frozen bananas, just omit ice cubes.

Place almond milk and spinach in blender and blend until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and blend to desired consistency.

What is a Green Smoothie??