Saturday, January 14, 2012

{simple} smoothie

do you have a blender??  PERFECT!!

do you like fruit??   PERFECT!!

have you ever bought frozen fruit??  ...well... you should.

WHY?  ...because smoothies are so good, better when they are made with frozen fruit and some orange juice or almond milk anyways, AND AND AND they are cheaper than fresh fruit! ...usually...  in the winter for sure, but you can get some good deals on fresh fruit in the summertime, so i suggest getting frozen fruit only if you don't have time to watch for sales at the grocery store, and only out of season.  (check out the Target brand frozen blueberries... RIDICULOUSLY cheap compared to even in season blueberries!!)

anyways, smoothies are my favorite right now with the whole detox thing.  they are pretty tasty, simple, and super healthy!!  getting lots of good vitamins to start the day really makes me feel good.

here are my pointers for a good smoothie:

1. lots of liquid: make sure you have enough liquid or your stuff will get stuck and the blender won't be blending anything.  i usually use orange juice because it's naturally sweet (and cheap) and it won't make the smoothie tart, but mango nectar would be good too, or pineapple juice.

2. add a green.   like spinach!  it will make even the berry-est smoothy look like baby poop, but spinach basically has NO flavor in the smoothie, but it's packed full of vitamins, so just do it!

3. make a big batch:   fill up the blender when  you make it.  the leftovers will last, and you won't have to wake up your neighbors EVERY morning blitzing through those frozen strawberries.

4. banananananananaasss.   never ever throw away your brown bananas.  they are perfect for smoothies!  just toss them in the freezer when you think you won't eat them fresh, peel and all.  nuke them in the microwave when  you want to use them so you can get the peel off, and toss it in the blender.

5. fiber. if you can stand your smoothie being not SOOO smooth, add in some Wheat Germ or flax seeds for some extra fiber.  most of us don't get enough in the day, so why not throw some in where you probably won't taste it?  it's better than adding that super processed powder to your water to get those "pipes" flowing properly...  what's IN that stuff anyways??

this was part of my week 1 breakfast:


(would be a pretty pink if it wasn't for the spinach)
  • strawberries
  • peaches
  • banananananananass
  • orange juice
  • orange
  • tangerine
  • cantelope
  • fresh ginger
  • spinach
  • flax seeds
  • unsweetened coconut flakes (not shown)
i think the ginger was a little over-bearing, so i don't think i will add it again, and the coconut flakes AND the flax seeds added a bit too much texture, so maybe i will cut back next time or just add one or the other.

today i made a smoothie with just orange juice, strawberries, and a banana, and it was much simpler, and still just as delicious!

what is your favorite smoothie combo?

toodles.
j&h

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