All you need to do is put all ingredients in the largest bullet mixer cup and blend! Might take a few shakes to get it all mixed up.

You could even drink it right from that cup if you just can’t wait but I like to put my smoothies in my Starbucks cups. Paid for them, might as well make use of them.

So here you go, some tasty and healthy breakfast, lunch or after workout smoothie options!

Homemade Fruit Smoothies

The Black and Blue Smoothie

1/2 c. Blackberries (fresh)

1 c. Blueberries (frozen)

2 tbsp. Plain Chobani Greek yogurt (generous amount)

2 handfuls Spinach

1/2-1 scoop Protein powder

Water as needed

Strawberry Blackberry Spinach Smoothie

10 Strawberries (frozen)

10 Blackberries (fresh)

2 tbsp. Plain Chobani Greek yogurt (generous amount)

2 handfuls Spinach

1/2-1 scoop Protein powder

Water as needed

As you can tell, I’m not creative when it comes to naming them!  Hope you enjoy these thick and delicious homemade fruit smoothies.

Do you have a favorite smoothie?

P.S. And please tell my mom and dad that spinach in smoothies IS good.  Hi mom and dad *wink*

 

I was sent The Green Smoothie Bible with 300 delicious recipes to review.  This book is full of yummy yummy goodness.  For those of you who don’t like to eat fruits (like me) or veggies, you can drink them. This book has so many great recipes and also explains the many health benefits of smoothies.

In the book you’ll find out what the big deal is about greens, the protein myth, how green smoothies can help with weight loss and much more.  I’m still reading the book but my favorite part of the book was the tips they gave on the best way to blend green smoothies.  Blend greens and liquid first?  I should have known that trick to make it easier to blend altogether.  Good stuff.

Here is the section of the book that they gave me permission to share with you.

Recipes to Optimize Cardiovascular Health

3 bananas
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1½ cups Brazil nut milk
bok choy

½ cup blueberries
¼ cup goji berries, soaked
flesh and water of 1 young Thai coconut
beet greens with stems
sweetener, as needed

2 peaches
1 banana
2 teaspoons spirulina or AFA algae
2 tablespoons organic sunflower oil
2 cups water
kale

4 cups watermelon
4 tablespoons chia seeds
mint
greens

1 apple
¼ cup diced beets
½ small avocado
1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
1 cup ice cubes
1 cup apple juice
beet greens and stems

1 banana
2 pears
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups sunflower seed milk
greens

2 bananas
4 dried figs, soaked in water overnight
2 tablespoons soy lecithin or organic sunflower oil
1½ cups water
Greens

1 cup grapes (any variety)
2 oranges, peeled
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons walnut oil
1 cup water
greens

2 bananas
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 cups water or nut milk
greens

2 peaches
1 cup berries
1½ cups water
¼ avocado
greens

Do you have any favorite healthy smoothie recipes?

 

Blueberry Green Smoothie

1 c frozen blueberries
2 handfuls of spinach
1 scoop protein powder
1 c water (cold)
2 tbsp Chia seeds
Ice

This is probably one of my favorite healthy smoothie recipes yet. I forgot to add ice so I had to let it sit in fridge for a bit and while in there it thickened because of the addition of Chia seeds (they expand in liquid). So what does one do when it’s too thick to drink?  Pour it in a bowl and eat it up with a spoon.  Adding a bit of granola on top makes a nice touch. Yum!

Last week, I made up a mixed berry green smoothie. It was delicious but not as good as today’s blueberry green smoothie in a bowl.  I’ll share the recipe below.

But on another topic, I really need a new medium size smoothie maker/blender.  I have the Magic Bullet which is my all time favorite BUT it’s small and real hard to put all the green smoothie ingredients in it.  My mom gave me her full size Magic Bullet, the Bullet Express so I’ll try that next. My current smoothie maker is on it’s last leg. Might go out with the trash tomorrow.

So here are the ingredients for the mixed berry green smoothie from last week.

Mixed Berry Green Smoothie

1 c Berry Medley
1 c Naked Mango Coconut Water
2 handfuls spinach
1 banana
Splash of vanilla
A little squirt of agave nectar

I did not add protein powder to this one.

The smoothie was tasty but not pretty ha ha

Enjoy!

 

Five Superfood Smoothies That Boost Your Health

What is a “superfood”?

Legally, there is no definition. But the generally accepted definition of a superfood is a food with a high phytonutrient content that contains healthy ingredients in higher than normal quantities. Most are high in antioxidants, vitamins, dietary fiber, and anthocyanins.

Superfood Smoothie #1: Blueberry

Blueberries are high in antioxidants, phytoflavinoids, potassium and vitamin C. They help fight heart disease and cancer, and are an anti-inflammatory. Blueberries are one of the most commonly used fruits in smoothie recipes.

My Blue Heaven Smoothie

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
7 oz vanilla yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup ice

Place everything except ice into a blender and pulse a few times until blended. Add ice, cover, and blend on high until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Superfood Smoothie #2: Broccoli

Broccoli supplies healthy portions of calcium, fiber, potassium and vitamin C. Broccoli has many cancer-fighting properties, and is especially beneficial in helping to prevent bowel cancers. The strong taste of broccoli can be sweetened with the addition of fresh fruits.

Broccoberry Fruit Smoothie

1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 cup steamed broccoli
1 cup 100% cranberry juice
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
4 ice cubes

Place everything but ice cubes into a blender and blend until well mixed. Add ice cubes and blend on high until smooth. You can add honey or any other sweetener if desired.

Superfood Smoothie #3: Oranges

Moroccan Orange & Dried Apricot Smoothie

Oranges are rich in vitamin C, folate, thiamine and potassium. By keeping the pulp in, you’ll add important fiber. The apricots in this smoothie add plenty of vitamin A.

3 cup orange juice with pulp
8 oz dried apricots
3 Tbsp sugar

Soften the dried apricots by soaking them in the orange juice for 2 hours, or by soaking them in boiled (not boiling) water for 5-10 minutes. If you used the boiled water method, drain them and allow them to cool.

Place all the ingredients into a blender with some ice, and blend until smooth.

Superfood Smoothie #4: Green Tea

Green tea is one of the finest superfoods on the market. It is simple to prepare, tasty to drink, and full of healthy components. The antioxidant in green tea, called catechins, tie up free radicals that can contribute to bloods clots, cancers and atherosclerosis.

The way that green tea is made allows for a high concentration of these catechins, especially ECGC, to be provided in the drink. Although human studies haven’t yet proven it, lab studies have shown that ECGC has proven successful in shrinking prostate cancer tumors in mice.

Green Tea Smoothie

1 banana, in 1-inch chunks, frozen
1/2 honeydew melon, cubed
2 green tea bags
1/4 cup soy milk

Prepare the green tea by steeping the tea bags in 6 ounces of water for 10 minutes. Let the tea cool, then chill in the refrigerator. To finish, blend all the ingredients in a blender, adding honey or the sweetener of your choice.

Superfood Smoothie #5: Spinach

Spinach is jammed full of healthy goodies, such as vitamins A, C, E and K. In addition to antioxidants, spinach provides plenty of iron and calcium.

Banana Blueberry Spinach Smoothie

2 cup Baby spinach
2 Ripe bananas, frozen
1/2 c. Blueberries
1/4 c. water

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Robert White is a guest blogger who operates SmoothieRecipe.TV, a website dedicated to making and enjoying smoothies.

Thank you Bob for sharing some of your favorite superfood smoothie recipes. The Broccoberry one sounds intriguing.

Question to you all:  Which one will you try first?

 

This blueberry smoothie was so delicious, thick and creamy!  The perfect lunch.

Angie’s Thick and Creamy Blueberry Smoothie Recipe

• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 banana
• 1 scoop protein powder
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp Chia seeds
• ice

Blend and enjoy!

 

I made a yummy and refreshing smoothie last week so I had to share with you all how to make a strawberry banana smoothie.  It didn’t have too many ingredients and it was quick and easy to make.  I used the Magic Bullet blender/mixer which made clean up a breeze.  This is probably one of my all time favorite products!  This is my 2nd one (thanks mom and dad) and I had the 1st one for a VERY long time.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe

• 4-6 strawberries (sliced)
• 1 banana (sliced into small pieces)
• 1 scoop protein powder
• 1/2 cup Almond milk (not pictured)
• 6 ice cubes (not pictured)
• 1+ tbsp Greek Yogurt

Mix all ingredients in the blender.  I usually mix it up, then take it off the bullet to shake it up and mix again.  I sometimes do this process a few times so all the ice cubes are crushed and I have a nice smooth drink.  So good.

Enjoy!

 

This morning I had a homemade fruit smoothie that was pretty tasty!  It was more of a green smoothie though.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 2 packed cups spinach
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp peanut/almond butter
• 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
• ice
• small squirt of Agave sweetener

Throw it all together and blend well!  The end color of this smoothie was not the prettiest (mine never are ha ha) but it turned out nicely.

If I had to do this smoothie over, I would grind up the Chia seeds or leave them out.  They do tend to get stuck in your teeth!

Do you have a favorite homemade fruit smoothie?

 

Raise your green smoothie.  Cheers!

I had a green smoothie (green monster smoothie) this morning and it was so much better than any of the ones I have made in the past and it was a pretty green color too not like my first one (you can read about my 1st green smoothie).  Looked nice next to my freshly painted green nails ha ha

In today’s smoothie went 1/2 cup of original almond milk, 1/2 cup of vanilla almond milk (I planned to use 1 cup of original but I ran out), 1/2 banana, 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder, 2 cups of spinach and about 5 ice cubes (my smoothies have to be EXTRA cold). It was so tasty, I can’t wait to have another.

Everyone makes their green smoothies differently so here are a few that you might be interested in reading about.

Angela’s green smoothies

Raw Family’s green smoothie recipes

And today I just came across The Green Smoothie Queen site and blog. I’m excited to go read more.

Also, my friend Lain has used the book Green Smoothie Revolution and wrote about her experience with green smoothies over on her blog 30 Minute Martha.  Cute name for a blog huh?

So there you have it for green smoothie recipes and tips.  Enjoy!

Been so busy today that lunch came late so I whipped up an egg with spinach and had an egg sandwich with hot sauce and Laughing Cow cheese. It was definitely a winner!

Hubby and I have no special plans for dinner but we do have a date at the gym for spin class!

Do you have any plans for St. Patrick’s Day? Have you had a green smoothie today?

P.S. Just in case you are looking, Eating Well has some healthy St. Patrick’s Day recipes.

 

Workout stats for the week of June 22-28, 2009

Monday-

*Elliptical
Time: 17 min.
Calories burned: 179

*Personal training
Time: 20 min.
Calories burned: 200+

Tuesday-

*Walk outside
Time: 15 min.

Wednesday-

*Walk Away the Pounds Walk Slim
Time: 35 min.
Miles: 2
Calories burned: 320

*Walk outside
Time: 15 min.

Thursday-

*Walk outside
Time: 15 min.

Friday-

*Walk outside
Time: 20 min.

Saturday-

*Mow lawn
Time: 47 min.
Calories burned: 557

Sunday-

Day off

How did you do this week? Feel free to share your workout accomplishments here or on your blog if you have one and give us a link.

Had my 3rd green monster smoothie yesterday and it was quite tasty.  Kev took a video with my camera but I have no idea how to edit it so until then you’ll have to just imagine me drinking it LOL!

This green monster smoothie consisted of 1/3 cup blueberries, 2 handfuls of spinach, 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1 tbsp flax, 1 banana, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 8 ice cubes (not sure why it took that many this time) and 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder.  Tasty!

Make it a great week!

 

I made today’s green smoothie in a Back to Basics smoothie maker.  This smoothie was very tasty but the kale didn’t grind up as well in the actual smoothie maker as the spinach did in the Magic Bullet® Blender/Mixer
(love, love, love the Magic Bullet).  Plus it took longer to prepare in the smoothie maker BUT since the smoothie maker is larger than the Magic Bullet, it was much easier to throw the ingredients together and much less messy.

Green smoothie #2 ingredients:

1 kale leaf, 1 c. unsweetened almond milk, 1 tbsp flax, 1 ripe banana, 1/4 c. frozen blueberries, 1 tbsp peanut butter (almond butter is recommended), 4-6 ice cubes and 1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (not pictured).

I decided at the last minute to add the ice and protein powder.

Sorry for the messy glass, I dumped it back in the smoothie maker when I decided to add ice and protein powder ha ha.  OK, the picture did not turn out too well either bummer.

It’s been fun trying out these two green smoothies.  I’ll share more as soon as I make them and will probably put the recipes together on my main website so you can find them all in one place.  These smoothies seem to hold me over fine until lunch time which is great.

I would love to own one of those Vita Mix blenders that I hear so many great things about.  Imagine what you could make with one of those!  Have you seen the Vita Mix blender?  Own one?

Happy Thursday!  Make it a great day.

PS.  Read about my very first green smoothie experience.