Smoothies :)

Green Smoothie:
handful of spinach
1 apple
1 orange
1 carrot
1 leaf kale
handful blueberries
few splashes orange juice or water
few sprinkles cinnamon
*tastes just liked cinnamon applesauce! So good! Once you add the blueberries, its not green at all. Also, I live in Alaska, so I'm able to pick tons of wild blueberries and cranberries. Sometimes I'll switch the blueberries for cranberries and its still super yum!

I love making green smoothies with spinach because spinach doesn't have a strong flavor and is loaded with goodies. I usually make a smoothie with one banana, a bit of water, a handful or two of spinach, some lemon juice and zest and some ground flax seeds to help it go down a little slower and to add nutrients and fibre. You can add some frozen peaches or whatever fruit too.

Mango and lime is an awesome combination by the way, with or without yogurt. Some people put ground oats in their smoothie to thicken it up and add grain carbs to their meal. I'll add protein-rich stuff such as high-protein almond milk or whey if it's a post workout meal.

Seriously though, the world of smoothies is huuuge! Just play around, you'll eventually figure out what you like best and what responds best to your body.

I don't use milk, but I use Arctic Zero Ice cream which is practically dairy free aside from the whey protein. It helps add a sense of "Creamy" to my shakes. I've seen recipes online to make your own dairy free ice cream by mixing strawberries, and coconut milk with a few other ingredients. This could be a good way to incorporate fruit and add a sense of "creamy" without the dairy if you can't use dairy at all.

Typically one of my shakes looks like this:
1c - 1.5c fruit
3-4 ice cubes
1 scoop protein powder (I use GNC's lean shake, because it tastes really good)
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar (You don't taste it when it's mixed in with everything & it has many benefits, but I would look into it more if you're interested because certain health conditions might require you discuss it with your doctor first)
3/4 cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk or Coconut Milk
1/4 -3/4 cup water
1/4 c Arctic Zero

I vary the fruit and the flavor of Arctic Zero, but haven't made a bad mix yet.

I vary mine but my absolute favourite is really pretty simple.....frozen raspberries and almond milk. If I have chocolate almond milk, I'll use that. If I don't have chocolate, I'll use vanilla almond milk and add some cocoa. It has that "I could possibly be a DQ Blizzard" taste about it, if you close your eyes.....and REALLY use your imagination. LOL

I don't use milk, but I do occasionally use cottage cheese and I always put in whey isolate. Either way, here's a link to 6 spinach protein smoothies I've made recently: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/910985-strawberry-coconut-protein-smoothie-with-spinach

My Go-To smoothie, which I've only just recently veered from is:

70 grams baby spinach
31 grams decadent chocolate flavoured whey isolate
1 Tbsp/5 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp/15 grams natural PB (or 2 Tbsp PB2 for less calories)
140g frozen strawberries, unsweetened
70g frozen blueberries
8oz unsweetened almond milk

Blend until smooth and serve in a giant (I mean huge) GNC or other plastic smoothie cup. It yields about 24oz, I think....
With natural PB it's 349 calories, 11g fat, 35g protein, and 10g fiber. Great for a post-workout re-fuel, or for a decadent breakfast :blushing:

My favorite smoothie to make has frozen strawberries, lime sherbet, and lemonade. It is SO delicious!

best green smootie ever: 8oz water, 1/2 frozen cucumber, spinach, brocoli, cactus, celery, carrot, kale, ginger,parsley,1tbsflaxseeds, 1/2 apple, 1lemon, and 2 bags of stevia (no juice, too much sugar)
best protein smootie ever: 1/2 banana not 1whole (too much sugar) 4 strawberries,1 scoop of vanilla whey protein, 3tbls of oikos non fat yogurt, 1tbs flaxseed, 8oz of ice and water, soso yummmi make the green smootie before breakfast and lunch it feels u up and cuts ur cravings to zero good luck!!!

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