Smoothies!

Here's my favorite:

1 can of V8 Fusion Blueberry Pomegranate energy drink (50 cals)
1/3c frozen blueberries
1/2 frozen banana
1/3c frozen raspberries
1c spinach
1-3 TB hemp seeds
.5c Fage greek yogurt

This exact recipe usually turns out to be about 400 calories. Sometimes I'd rather not have so many calories in a smoothie, so I'll get rid of the greek yogurt, and cut the hemp seeds down to 1TB, which brings the calorie count down to about 225, of course that cuts out practically all of the protein as well.

Smoothies are pretty hard to mess up.

For the perfect (and nutrient dense) smoothies, you'll need...
1. A liquid.
Water, tea, kefir/drinkable yogurt or juice [I use organic 100% juice - preferably one with fruits and veggies in it.)

2. Fresh/frozen fruit
This is where you really get to play around with flavors. I buy fresh seasonal fruit while they're cheap, chop it up and freeze them in individually gallon size bags. My frozen fruit staples are blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and bananas. I also have mango, pineapple, papaya and avocado, though sometimes those are harder to freeze.

3. Fresh vegetables - Optional.
This is how I get my extra greens in my diet. I usually go for fresh spinach and/or kale. Spinach is mild in flavor, so it won't be quite as noticeable as kale. I also use avocado, carrots, tomatoes, squash, etc. You really have to experiment with these as well, some veggies are very strong and can really overpower everything else. But still, great way to get extra veggies in, especially if you don't necessary like to 'eat' them... like me. lol

4. Protein
I use hemp seeds, which are very high in calories, but uber healthy.
I also use Fage greek yogurt... must be fage. I love fage. <3<3 lol Any greek yogurt would work though, obviously.
I've also used silken tofu, which is okay but not my favorite.
Of course, there's always the protein powder. I prefer to drink my protein powders solo though, but to each their own.
And if you're a hardcore body builder not afraid of possibly contracting salmonella or other nasties, there's always raw eggs lol Buuutttt I prefer my eggs over easy on toast.

5. Herbs/Spices/Seeds - Optional.
If you're into health, super-fruits, interior-healing herbs and all that good stuff, there's also a lot of spices and herbs you could add to your smoothies. Couple of my favorites in this category are cinnamon, ginger, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and walnuts. Not necessarily together lol Depending on the flavors I decide to go with. Mint is a good one. I've heard of people using basil and other odd sounding things, but whatever floats your boat.

Anyhow, do your research, there's all kinds of crazy fruit/veggie/spice combinations when it comes to smoothies. Possibilities are literally endless.

But please... whatever you do... don't juice. It's such a waste of the pulp, which is basically where all the nutrients are. While juicing is great, being able to eat the entire fruit, insides and out, while taking advantage of the health benefits that the fruit/veggie in its entirety has to offer, is much better.

Good luck!

Yikes shouldn't have asked this I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE smoothies. My absolute fav is the most simple one Banana.

1. Banana Smoothie - 1 Banana, 1tbsp of honey, cinnamon/nutmeg and Milk.
2. Banana & Strawberry - 1 Banana, 5 strawberries and milk.
3. Banana & Mango - 1 Banana, 1/2 mango, honey and milk.
4. Banana & papaya - 1 Banana, 1/2 papaya, honey and milk.
5. Banana & Blueberries - 1 Banana, a handful of blueberries, honey and milk.
6. Banana & Apple - 1 Banana & 1 apple, cinnamon and milk.

As you can see I love bananas and I love honey lol :laugh:

Yeah, every morning this week I've been having this smoothie:
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup vanilla almond milk
1 big leaf of kale
lots of cinnamon!

YUM!

Here is my favorite. I have it every morning after my workout. It is so yummy.

1 packet of stevia
1/2 C. Almond Milk - Original - Unsweetened
1 tbsp. ground flaxseed
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 banana mashed
1 scoop Vanilla protein powder (optional)

Kale definitely has a flavor ... I make a lunch smoothie that's:

1/2 cup coconut water
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup raspberries
2 cups loose kale
4 oz. Greek yogurt

Tasty, but the kale tends to be strong. Use baby kale if you can, otherwise prepare for a slightly bitter tone. Using a sweetener can help cut that but for me it adds too many calories and I don't use artificial sweeteners.

1 can of diet Sunkist soda
1 scoop of Vanilla protein powder
lots of ice

Put ice in blender, put in protein powder, pour entire can of soda over the ice and powder and blend until smooth. You can make it as thin or as thick as you like depending on how much ice you use. I like mine thick like a milkshake.

Tastes like a dreamsicle.

Love smoothies... here is my go to site...

http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenRegimen?feature=watch

This morning I made a smoothie of...
2 cups almond milk
1 banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 pear
1.5 cup spinach
2 raw eggs
2 tbsp peanut butter

I keep mine pretty basic, frozen fruit, cup of almond milk and a scoop and meal replacement shake. I made one this morning using orange juice instead of frozen fruit, and it was really good, almost like drinking an orange julius.

1 small banana, 3/4 cup frozen fruit, 1/2 cup different frozen fruit, 1/2 cup greek (or other) yogurt
I put this together in my blender cup at night and blend in the morning. If blending while fruit is still frozen, you will need a liquid

I started doing green smoothies recently:
3/4 cup frozen fruit, 1 cup baby spinach, 1/2 cup coconut water, 1 banana

try http://simplegreensmoothies.com/ for other ideas

my smoothie is frozen mixed berries, banana, yogurt, apple, carrot, sometimes cranberry and water

Check out Greensmoothiegirl.com
You'll thank me later.

P.S. If you're local and want to make one together, I would be happy to show you how I do it

Yikes shouldn't have asked this I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE smoothies. My absolute fav is the most simple one Banana.

1. Banana Smoothie - 1 Banana, 1tbsp of honey, cinnamon/nutmeg and Milk.
2. Banana & Strawberry - 1 Banana, 5 strawberries and milk.
3. Banana & Mango - 1 Banana, 1/2 mango, honey and milk.
4. Banana & papaya - 1 Banana, 1/2 papaya, honey and milk.
5. Banana & Blueberries - 1 Banana, a handful of blueberries, honey and milk.
6. Banana & Apple - 1 Banana & 1 apple, cinnamon and milk.

As you can see I love bananas and I love honey lol :laugh:

Does drinking these smoothies really help you loose weight. I have heard positive and negative things. So injuztvwas wondering...