Green Smoothies

Recently, A Beautiful Mess did a week of green smoothie recipes. I was intrigued because I wasn’t sure what exactly green smoothies were. After a little research, I discovered that they were just regular smoothies with some green stuff added in, like spinach or kale. Ohhhh, right. My sister has been raving about those for forever. So I thought I’d give them a try for a few days.

I’ll be up front. I don’t super love smoothies. They’re ok, but I don’t want to drink my calories. A big reason why I gave up soda a few months ago. And I really love whole fruit. Why mess it up by liquifying it?

But the more  looked into it, the more interesting green smoothies looked. So I decided to try it, using ingredients I already had in the house. Like those frozen mangoes that I don’t remember buying.

Here are a few that I tried last week. Everything is measured as 1 cup, unless otherwise noted.

Spinach + Frozen mixed fruit (strawberries, peaches, grapes, pineapple) + 1 banana + milk

Spinach + frozen mango + strawberries + banana + milk

Spinach + Mixed frozen fruit + banana + 1 orange, juiced + ice + splash of water

Spinach + whole peeled orange + strawberries + frozen mixed fruit + splash water

Spinach + apple (cored, peel on) + banana + celery stalk + ice + water

Some thoughts.

I actually liked them all! Some better than others.

I was running low on milk towards the end of the week so I switched to water. Both worked out fine and I couldn’t taste much of a difference.

Towards the end of the week I stopped really measuring, just throwing in a handful of spinach or fruit.

The only one I didn’t really love was the mango, and I’m going to try adding lime and mint next time I use it. I still have a ton of mint from the garden so I can use that.

I really like adding oranges into my smoothies. I juiced it the first time, but the second one I just peeled and plopped the sections in. Yum! I love lots of pulp, but if you don’t, you can juice your oranges and it’s still great.

I found that if I use bananas, I can’t taste the spinach at all. But if I don’t it has a slight grassy taste. I don’t mind it, but something to keep in mind. For me, bananas seem to disguise the spinach taste the most.

I really like the idea of adding more veggies into my smoothies, but Jason is not on board with the celery idea. I liked it. Made me want to make a bloody Mary. I’d like to try carrots sometime.

My favorite time to make a smoothie was before or after working out. Maybe it’s mental, but it makes me feel healthier. I’d drink mine, then give Jason the other half when he got home from work.

The best way to store a smoothie without having it separate is to store it in the fridge in an insulated cup or thermos. If you put it in a glass, it will separate and you’ll have to stir it. It’s still good, but smoothies in layers turn me off for some reason.

Smoothies will never ever be a meal replacement for me. I don’t like yogurt or protein powder in my smoothies, so they just don’t fill me up. Great for snacks though.

You can clean your blender between making smoothies my squirting a little dishwashing liquid in and filling it up about halfway with warm water. Be sure to cover your blender well. Then pulse it a couple of times and rinse.

So I think I like smoothies after all. Who knew? I don’t want them every day, but they’re a nice addition.