Monday, October 14, 2013

My Special Smoothies

Today I'm going to share my special smoothie with you.  I drink one of these every night after I get off the treadmill.  Louie's been drinking one as well and I'll tell you, it's really cut down on our junk food snacking at night.


I make a blender full of smoothie and I have enough for a full glass each for Louie and I, as well as a Tervis drink cup that I stick in the refrigerator and Louie drinks the next morning for breakfast.  This is how much one blender full makes....


Let me first say that I am not endorsing any of the products I'm using.  I generally buy most of my ingredients in bulk at Costco and frankly, I usually buy whatever is cheapest. 

I start with 2 - 6 oz. containers of yogurt.  I favor banana, strawberry or vanilla but you can use whatever you want....


2 tablespoons of Flaxseed.  Flaxseed is really good for you and if you're not familiar with it, go read this.


I'm not much of one for measuring anything and I  just sort of eyeball it.  So I toss in 2 handfuls of oatmeal.  This is regular Quaker Oats oatmeal, not the instant oatmeal....


Do you eat kale?  I'll be honest, before now I never did.  But Tony was telling me how good it is for me and then my mom said she's been using it in her smoothies for a long time and she sent me this really interesting link.  Please take the time to go read it.  You will be amazed at all of the health benefits of kale.

I go to the store and buy 2 huge bunches of fresh kale.  I wash it really good, leaves and stems, and then just stuff it all in a plastic bag and stick it in the freezer.  When I need it for my smoothies I just grab 2 handfuls of frozen kale (remember, its not cooked) and toss it into the blender...



I also buy a giant container of fresh spinach and do the same thing - wash it good, stuff it into a bag and throw it in the freezer.  Grab 2 handfuls of the frozen spinach and add that to the blender also.  Stick with me, I promise you this is yummy.



Ok, now for the fruit.  You can use whatever you want.  We just happened to have bought a bag of frozen peaches and a bag of frozen blueberries.  But sometimes I use strawberries instead which I buy fresh when they're on sale and then wash and freeze.  Or bananas - as soon as they are ripe I break them into 3 or 4 chunks and freeze them too.  The other day I had some fresh mango and I tossed some of that into the smoothie instead of the peaches.  Use whatever you want.

But here I'm using 2 handfuls of blueberries.....



And 2 handfuls of peaches.....



Then I fill the blender with some fat free milk and blend it all real good...


And this is what you end up with!  Isn't that pretty?  The color will change a little depending on how much spinach and kale you use.  Sometimes it's more green. 


Now don't be turning up your nose at the spinach and kale.  I swear you won't even taste it and it's so good for you.  These smoothies are filling.  It takes me about 20 minutes to drink mine.  I don't gulp it down.  And Louie doesn't always eat breakfast, so he takes his Tervis cup with him when he leaves for work and drinks it in the truck. 

The point is - these are delicious.  They are filling.  They keep me from eating crap I shouldn't be eating.  And most importantly, I am eating a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables that I normally wouldn't be including in my diet.  You really might want to give these a try.

Hooking up with Sunny Simple Life and Obsessive and Creative.

17 comments:

  1. Hi Kim!
    my kids in denver start their day with Smoothies..
    almost the same recipe as yours.. Brax LOVES them!
    maybe i'll try them myself..
    very interesting!
    so your daughter just returned from Denver?
    wold love seeing her pics..
    Jamie says the colors were just beautiful this year!
    thanks again for stopping by!
    hugs and smiles..
    Loui♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chablis said the colors in Vail were stunning. Thanks for coming by Loui! xo

      Delete
  2. I make smoothies with yogurt and frozen fruit, but have never tried spinach or kale. I've heard kale is really good for you, so I'll have to toss some in next time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Try kale, spinach or swiss chard. All very healthy and you really don't taste them in the smoothie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Kim. I juice every morning with dandelion greens and have a smoothie for lunch. I'm going to pin this so I can try yours. xo Laura

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never had dandelion greens. Do you pick them fresh?

      Delete
  5. This would be great to make for traveling. We get hungry between meals and we usually pack a picnic lunch. I need to get with it! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They keep really well in a Tervis and travel well in a cooler.

      Delete
  6. I love kale, it might just be my favorite veggie, but I've never tried it in a smoothie. You know I trust you, so I'll be making one of these this week. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Kim. Well, I like smoothies but I can't imagine the spinach and kale, but I believe you! :) It does look good. Thanks for popping in to see me.
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. so similar to ours....but we use vanilla almond milk and lots of pineapple and always a fresh banana. so here's to us drinking healthy smoothies. {ps....a 2.5 lb bag of frozen spinach at costco is like 4 dollars}

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll have to try the vanilla almond milk - that sounds good. And yes, you are right about the spinach at Costco. That's always good spinach too and the stuff at the other stores by us doesn't even compare. Cheers!

      Delete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is the great thing about smoothies; you can toss in any fruit, veggies, and/or other sweeteners that you like and it would still taste superb. Well, with a little blending of flavors, that is. But the main point is, you're ingesting something that's definitely good for you without having to suffer the bitterness of some vegetables. With the help of fruits, milk, or honey, the bitterness is masked out and your are left with a great tasting, filling, and healthy drink.
    Chad @ Fresh & Healthy Brands

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Please leave a message because I love to hear from you!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...