Spinach smoothie

JeffseekingV

Was at Nordstroms and they have a juice bar. Was looking at their recipes for various blended drinks to get ideas. When reviewing the nutritional values, some of them had near 600 calories and not that much protein. And that was for their protein drinks. The rest of them weren't that impressive or was something I could do at home pretty easy

life2dotoh

Simple Spinach Blueberry Smoothie I have several times per week... really yummy...

Ingredients into the Vitamix in this order....

1 cup of unsweetened soy or almond milk (vanilla flavored is good but use unsweetened)
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
½ tsp vanilla extract (more or less if you like but use alcohol free/sugar free, if you got it)
6 oz raw spinach
2 cup frozen blueberries
⅓ cup frozen black cherries or frozen mango
½ to ¾ cup cold water (more or less to get the desired consistency you like)

Nutrition info as follows (Almond Milk/black cherry version): will vary based on exact ingredients and amounts you use of course


Calories 325

Total Fat 8 g
- Saturated Fat 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
- Trans Fat 0 g

Cholesterol 0 mg

Sodium 363 mg
Potassium 276 mg

Total Carbohydrate 63
- Dietary Fiber 18 g
- Sugars 38 g

Protein 12 g

Vitamin A 374 %
Vitamin C 78 %
Calcium 94 %
Iron 46 %

fat2strongbeth

My go to breakfast is:
- almond milk
- spinach and/or kale
- banana
- spirulina
- hemp, chia or flax seeds
- cinnamon
- vanilla

Blend the greens with the almond milk before adding the other ingredients.

JeffseekingV

Can a regular blender handle the flax seeds?

life2dotoh

a spice mill can grind them just fine or just buy them already ground...

JoRocka

The order in which you blend makes a huge difference in consistency- I want to say blending leafy things followed by heavier things (berries/nuts etc) then adding the bulk of the liquid/powders is the trick.

I think- i'd have to go look it up.

damnit- now i"m looking it up.

ah yes- here it is. Makes a big difference honestly
http://simplegreensmoothies.com/green-smoothie-101


now- if someone could figure out how to make them so they lasted longer in the fridge that would be amazing- I always make way to much- and they just are NOT that good a day later.

mygnsac

My favorite add-ins (not all at once of course) are spinach, kale, carrots, cucumber, brussel sprouts, asparagus, avocado, apple, banana, pineapple, cherries, peaches, nuts (usually almond or pecan), VitaCoco coconut water w/pineapple. My smoothies tend to be 2 of those veggies, 2 of those fruits, and nuts blended in coconut water.

Kristina2k

I just recently got back into smoothies in the morning and I love experimenting with herbs. Mint is great with fruit like pineapples or citrus. For something more savory, I like cilantro or basil with tomatoes, celery, greens, peppers.

As far as keeping your smoothies or juice longer, Food Saver makes vaccuum sealed containers that you can remove the air so your product lasts. I've also used mason jars to keep leftovers somewhat fresh but Food Saver really helps:

http://www.foodsaver.com/accessories/T02-0052-01P.html#start=6

sheepotato

JeffseekingV wrote: »

Can a regular blender handle the flax seeds?

I use a coffee grinder.

JeffseekingV

Today was spinach, Gold std choco whey, chopped apple and ice. Too chunky so I added some water. ended up really fluffy. Had to use two water containers to hold it. I did use two handfuls of spinach but still. I think the whey makes it really fluffy. I think I have to add the powder at the very end and mix it slow

Laurend224

I usually do spinach, bananas, almond milk, spirulina, chia, and either frozen blueberries or strawberries. My favorite breakfast.

Petzwv

Spices - Tumeric, 1 tsp 8 cal
Raw Brocolli - Raw Brocolli, 2 oz 20 cal
Cauliflower - Raw, 2 floweret 7 cal
Newstar - Spinach Plus Power Greens, 2 cups (85 g) 13 cal
Carrots - Baby, raw, 3 large 16 cal
Cranberries - Raw, 0.25 cup, chopped 13 cal 
Generic - Chia Seeds 2 Tablespoons= 1 Scoop (Per Mychiaseeds.com), 1 Scoop136 Wyman's - Fresh Frozen Wild Blueberries, 1/4 Cup 15 cal

Total: 228 cals for 32 oz

I always use water :-) and a nutribullet so always smooth
some days I add 2 tbls quaker oats.
That's breakfast :-)

JeffseekingV

I'm not very adventurous.


today was a cut up orange, spinach, ice, water and choco protein powder. But I added the powder at the very end. Much better tasting and not nearly as foamy

234 calories.

JeffseekingV

I mixed in some romaine with the spinach thinking it wouldn't affect the taste but there it gave it a salad after taste. Yuck. I'll have to choke down today's smoothie

Laurend224

I use romaine all the time. Pair it with a sweeter fruit like pineapple, throw some frozen bananas in. It's pretty refreshing. A nice change up from kale/spinach. Good on you for drinking it though!

JeffseekingV

Today was spinach, some large grapes I had around, ice and water. That tasted pretty good!

shattrdillusion

I like water, 2 cups of spinach spinach, 1/2 cup pineapple, half a small apple, lemon juice, 1/8 cup of pomegranate seeds, and ground flaxseed. I find that putting it all in the blender in that order seems to yield the best texture.

adding a little cinnamon also adds a lot to the flavor, completely changes it. also, I've found freezing the fruit you use first and skipping the ice seems to help a lot with texture as well.

JeffseekingV

Tried spinach with some frozen fruit in my normal blender. Problem is the blender didn't get at the blackberry seeds so I'm spitting those out after every drink. Hopefully the Vitamix will take care of the seeds too

JeffseekingV

Today was grapes, spinach, canned peaches and ice. Not bad. about 250 calories

Hollywoodm55

I've been drinking kale, frozen strawberries, frozen guanabana pulp, and banana mixed with a little water. Tastes great!

JeffseekingV

Just got my vitamix so I'm excited to try stuff

JeffseekingV

For those that don't like certain healthy foods like spinach, this is a great way to eat a lot of it and hide the taste.