A cup of immunity boosting, body cleansing, nutrient packed deliciousness.
Green smoothies have become a daily ritual for us, usually right after the boy’s naps when they are good and thirsty. For a while I wanted to go back to juicing, although I really hated wasting the pulp and peels of fruits, so we started making fruit smoothies in our blender (I wish it was a Vitamix, but oh well, my simple little blender will do for now.)
They can be as thick or as “juice like” as you desire by adding more or less liquid. Sometimes I even make a frozen fruit sorbet using my food processor and the tiniest bit of liquid. Either way, my kids LOVE their smoothies!
Smoothies are such a yummy sweet treat. and you can‘t even taste the vegetables, sneaky, sneaky! Oh and of course its raw, so you are getting the most nutrients possible out of your produce.
Green smoothies have become a daily ritual for us, usually right after the boy’s naps when they are good and thirsty. For a while I wanted to go back to juicing, although I really hated wasting the pulp and peels of fruits, so we started making fruit smoothies in our blender (I wish it was a Vitamix, but oh well, my simple little blender will do for now.)
They can be as thick or as “juice like” as you desire by adding more or less liquid. Sometimes I even make a frozen fruit sorbet using my food processor and the tiniest bit of liquid. Either way, my kids LOVE their smoothies!
Smoothies are such a yummy sweet treat. and you can‘t even taste the vegetables, sneaky, sneaky! Oh and of course its raw, so you are getting the most nutrients possible out of your produce.
Our Favorite Smoothie Vegetables:
I have found the best vegetables to use are the leafy greens because for some reason you cannot taste them! They also blend well and do not leave any thick pulp. DO NOT use things like broccoli, green beans, or carrots unless you want to gag! (trust me, we tried them) Leave these types of vegetables for juicing, not smoothies.
Frozen spinach is our vegetable of choice. Trader Joes sells a large bag of pesticide free spinach for around $2. We also love to use fresh Kale.
UPDATE:
1. Raw spinach contains a substance called oxalic acid, which can actually block iron and calcium absorption, aggravate the thyroid, and contribute to kidney stones . It is perfectly fine to drink an occasional raw spinach or kale smoothie, but since we drink this quite often, we now gently steam our spinach/kale before using.
2. Our pediatrician mentioned that when you take iron, or eat iron-rich foods (like spinach) it is best to take them with an acid medium (like fruit or juice) NOT with a calcium-rich medium (like milk or almond milk) for this will block iron absorption. So skip the added yogurt and milk.
So what we do now is gently steam a large batch of spinach or kale (to reduce the oxalic acid), and freeze in ice cube trays. So when we make our smoothie we just drop in 1-2 frozen "ice cubes".
Our Favorite Smoothie Fruits:
Our favorite fruits to use are strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, bananas, mango, oranges, and pineapple. Once again Trader Joes has a great frozen selection of organic berries and fruits at a good price.
Liquids:
We use water or coconut milk depending on which smoothie we are making
Optional:
You can always add some flax, ice cubes, chia seeds, peanut butter, cocoa, etc.
Recipes:
There are 4 main smoothies we make:
1. Our favorite "standard" smoothie consists of water, frozen blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, and a handful of spinach or kale.
2. Our favorite spinach based smoothie is the Green Monster Spinach Smoothie here
3. Our favorite coconut milk smoothie is the Mango Orange Smoothie here
4. Our favorite chocolate smoothie is the Super Thick Chocolate Milkshake here
I have found the best vegetables to use are the leafy greens because for some reason you cannot taste them! They also blend well and do not leave any thick pulp. DO NOT use things like broccoli, green beans, or carrots unless you want to gag! (trust me, we tried them) Leave these types of vegetables for juicing, not smoothies.
Frozen spinach is our vegetable of choice. Trader Joes sells a large bag of pesticide free spinach for around $2. We also love to use fresh Kale.
UPDATE:
1. Raw spinach contains a substance called oxalic acid, which can actually block iron and calcium absorption, aggravate the thyroid, and contribute to kidney stones . It is perfectly fine to drink an occasional raw spinach or kale smoothie, but since we drink this quite often, we now gently steam our spinach/kale before using.
2. Our pediatrician mentioned that when you take iron, or eat iron-rich foods (like spinach) it is best to take them with an acid medium (like fruit or juice) NOT with a calcium-rich medium (like milk or almond milk) for this will block iron absorption. So skip the added yogurt and milk.
So what we do now is gently steam a large batch of spinach or kale (to reduce the oxalic acid), and freeze in ice cube trays. So when we make our smoothie we just drop in 1-2 frozen "ice cubes".
Our Favorite Smoothie Fruits:
Our favorite fruits to use are strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, bananas, mango, oranges, and pineapple. Once again Trader Joes has a great frozen selection of organic berries and fruits at a good price.
Liquids:
We use water or coconut milk depending on which smoothie we are making
Optional:
You can always add some flax, ice cubes, chia seeds, peanut butter, cocoa, etc.
Recipes:
There are 4 main smoothies we make:
1. Our favorite "standard" smoothie consists of water, frozen blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, and a handful of spinach or kale.
2. Our favorite spinach based smoothie is the Green Monster Spinach Smoothie here
3. Our favorite coconut milk smoothie is the Mango Orange Smoothie here
4. Our favorite chocolate smoothie is the Super Thick Chocolate Milkshake here
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