Peace, Love and Smoothies

Who doesn’t love a good smoothie? 

Blueberry, Pineapple- Banana smoothie

With their ease to make and the amount of nutrition you can pack into one glass, they are a bona fide staple around these parts!

The ingredient list and combinations are endless, but I do have a few rules for smoothie-makin’

1. You must never add refined sugars, known around these parts as ‘white poison.’  Sugar defeats the purpose, as smoothies are for good health.  There is a time and a place for those types of sugars, and it’s in a milkshake 🙂
2. Always add a frozen and a non-frozen, and we’re not talking about ice.
3. Always add a “creamy,” like a banana, avocado, yogurt, or all.  Texture is huge in a smoothie.

The method is simple; it’s basically “look, huck, and chug.”  Look around for what ingredients you have, chuck it in a blender/food processor, and chug it down.

Have you heard of the “hidden vegetable?”  It’s where crafty mamas and papas;  (grannies, grampies and singletons not excluded), hide vegetables from themselves or others in things like sauces, casseroles, baked goods and smoothies.  Not that I need to hide veggies from myself, because I told DH the other day that if I didn’t marry him I’d have married someone from the Brassica family, but I do apply the veggie-hiding practice in most smoothies I make.  Namely kale and spinach.  I hope my daughter will appreciate vegetables as much as her father and I do, but if she doesn’t, it’s no big deal, because I’m fully prepared to hide them from her.

Bwaa ha ha ha ha ha.  (That’s my evil-mom laugh.  I’m perfecting it)  🙂

I thought I’d share one of my favorite smoothies with you.  (I’ve modified my recipe to include more lactogens, so nursing mamas, I’ve got you covered!  And, If you’re not lactating, I’ve still got you covered because this recipe is loaded with protein, calcium, healthy fats, vitamin and minerals!)  This recipe makes 4 smoothies.  **I always make extra and store each serving in a mason jar in the freezer.  I pull it out of the freezer right before bed and place it in the fridge, and it’s perfect at breakfast time.  This saves me an unbelievable amount of time, as I have smoothies for the work-week and I’m not making them everyday.**  I don’t use the standard mason jar lid in the freezer, I cover the top of the glass with a plastic bag.

Blueberry Pineapple-Banana Smoothies

Pile o’ pineapple

Combine in order in a food processor or blender the following:

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/4 C coconut milk (or nut, rice, hemp, flax milk)
• 3 C frozen blueberries
• 1/2 C greek yogurt (or soy, coconut, or other yogurt)
• 1/4 C milled flax seed
• 1/4 c brewer’s yeast
• 2 scoops of vanilla protein powder
• 1 1/2 C fresh pineapple
• 1 ripe avocado

I blend after every ingredient and alternate frozen, non-frozen and dry ingredients.  I find that in using that method you  get a consistently delicious smoothie, and you can add ingredients on the fly and not have to follow a recipe.  I didn’t hide a veggie in this one because I was fresh out this morning, but I would have used kale or spinach and inserted it by the heap at any point in the recipe.  (I would have just made sure to blend the bejeezus out of it)!  DH is intimidated by smoothie making; kinda like me with baking.  But as long as you follow the most important rule, (which I failed to mention above), you’ll do alright…

“Lick the spoon as you go!”

Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe?  Share it below!

**This post was shared with: Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Sunny Simple Sundays, Make Your Own! Monday, Fat Tuesday