green smoothie challenge

For the past five days, I've been trying out green smoothies. Not only are they surprisingly delicious, they're really fun to drink in front of 14 and 16 year-old kids who totally freak out when they see what you're ingesting. "Ew! What is that!" One kids told me that my smoothie "looked like Satan." Nice.

You know you need to eat your greens. Spinach has lots of dietary fiber and is a good source of Niacin, Zinc, and Vitamins A, C, E, K, and so forth. You really can't taste the spinach if you make your smoothie right, not to mention the benefits from all of the other healthy fruits that are added. They're easy, quick, and a great spring breakfast.

Here are the recipes from my first 5 days.

day 1: "surprisingly yum"
2 handfuls of spinach
1 1/2 cups of frozen strawberries
1/2 of a banana
a few pomegranate seeds

Refreshing and light, I could really taste the banana more than anything. Not very sweet, yet oddly sweet enough. I drank a small glass (about 6 oz) for a bedtime snack and then for my breakfast, I added:

aprox. 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk
the other 1/2 of the banana
1 tsp. of ground flax

This is my first purchase of almond milk, along with my first endeavor into green smoothies, and yum. Great breakfast.

day 2: "that can't be healthy"
2 1/2 cups of blueberries
1 banana
4 handfuls of spinach
1 1/2 cups almond milk
2 tsp. flax
around a dozen pomegranate seeds

Yum, delicious when fresh. Not quite as good when not fresh. Drink this one right away.

day 3: "Whoa, that's green!"
1 generous cup of pineapple chunks
2 bananas
2 generous handfuls of leafy green lettuce
2 cups of water

At first this one smelled like lettuce water. It tasted good, but I wanted more richness to it. So I put in another banana. After all, I'm making two servings. If you like bananas and pineapple, you'll love this recipe!

day 4: "almond milk makes all the difference"
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 1/2 cup almond milk (vanilla, unsweetened)
1/2 cup water
1 banana
2 handfuls of spinach

Really, I love these way better with some almond milk. They're delicious, they're creamier, they seem a bit sweeter, and they have calcium and vitamin D. This one might be my favorite of the week.

day 5: "the best even better"
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 ripe banana
2 cups almond milk
2 handfuls of spinach

This made yesterday's green smoothie even creamier, richer, and more delicious. If you want something refreshing and light, use lots of frozen fruits with water for almost an icy-like effect. But for a smoothie, go with almond milk. Plus, it's more filling that way