Drinking a green smoothie every morning has been apart of our daily regimen for almost a decade now. Of course, we skip some days--duh--but, drinking green smoothies has become a welcomed habit in our home. Even the toddler loves her green smoothies! They are super easy to make/clean up and the green goodness is loaded with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Regularity, glowing skin, magnificent shiny hair, and increased energy are just a few other benefits. Did I mention that it's quick and easy?
I like to try different smoothies, but I usually stick to the same basic ingredients. Wanna know what's usually in my smoothie? Well, here you go:
1. Vitamix. Of course it's not actually in the smoothie, but I purchased one of these bad boys in 2010. It has been worth every single penny. I use it everyday, sometimes multiple times throughout the day. For travel, I also have a Nutribullet. I was using one of those regular kitchen blenders before the Vitamix and I seriously felt like I was chewing chunks of veggies instead of drinking them. A quality blender is invaluable if you drink smoothies on the regular.
2. The base: water and occasional nut milk. Water is FREE, so it's standard, but if I have nut milk that's about to expire I'll use it. If I'm really feeling fancy, I use coconut water.
3. Three full cups of vegetables. I rotate between kale, spinach, celery, collard greens, broccoli, squash, or beets. The greener, the better.
4. One cup of a sweetie (apple, banana, carrot, pineapple, or berries). After chopping the fruits, I like to freeze them because it gives the smoothies a milk-shaky texture. Always follow a 3:1 ratio with the fruit. If using too much fruit, you're defeating the whole purpose of drinking a green smoothie.
5. Extras: cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil.
6. To get a smooth finish, I throw in an avocado.
For unique smoothie recipes, my go-to is Simple Green Smoothies. They have a great mission, hard-copy recipe book, and lots of fun smoothie challenges.
So, what's in your smoothie? Drop your favorite recipe or link to your favorite smoothie gurus in the comment box.