Chocolate Cherry Smoothie

Chocolate and cherry is such a great combo that I gave it a whirl in a smoothie. It was delicious. These are rough estimates because I just eyeballed it so taste and adjust as necessary.

 

Chocolate Cherry Smoothie

 

2 T Chocolate flavored plant-based protein powder

2 T Siggi’s black cherry yogurt

2 T almond butter

½-1 cup frozen cherries 

½ cup almond milk

1 t chia seeds

1 t hemp seeds

3-5 ice cubes

½ cup water

Rainbow Smoothie

I'm back on a rainbow smoothie kick. I love this smoothie because it's packed with goodness and my kids beg for more.

Rainbow Smoothie

Frozen strawberries
Frozen raspberries
Frozen peaches
Lemon juice
Banana
Cucumber
Parsley
Kale
Spinach
Frozen blueberries
Almond butter 
Protein powder 
Coconut water (I use coconut aloe water)

Smoothies 101

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This one is for you J-Dub! :)
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Any halfway healthy home in America should have enough of these ingredients on hand to whip up a healthy smoothie. You can go healthier for breakfast and lunch or make a sweeter one for dessert. For the most part I don't buy ingredients for smoothies. If I'm in the mood I just open the fridge and grab what I have that day - a base, frozen fruit, fresh fruit, a veggie or two and maybe a little something else.

I know a lot of moms are worried about including green ingredients, arguing that their kids won't drink it if it's green. I advise that as long as you use frozen blueberries and something orange or red, you will usually end up with a purple smoothie. Throw in straw and what kid wouldn't drink that?!

If you're new to smoothies, check out the website for Thrive or Healeo for inspiration on what type of smoothie to create. They have tons of great concoctions.

Base

Coconut milk
Almond milk
Rice milk
Water
Coconut water
Apple juice
Orange juice

Fruit
Banana
Apple
Kiwi
Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Raspberries (fresh or frozen)
Strawberries (fresh or frozen)
Mangos (fresh or frozen)
Peach (fresh or frozen)
Pineapple (fresh or frozen)

Veggies
Carrot
Kale
Broccoli
Cucumber
Spinach (fresh or frozen)
Chard
Avocado

Herbs
Parsley
Cilantro
Mint

Extras
Ginger
Flax seed
Frozen acai
Pitted dates
Almond butter
Almonds
Cashews
Coconut flakes
Protein powders

Sweeteners
Agave nectar
Dates
Juice
Fruit
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The Ultimate Healthy Smoothie

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One of our babysitters made this smoothie. It was purple-ish in color so the kids weren't afraid of it. They both gobbled it up and I sucked down the leftovers. It had enough sweet to offset the veggies, and I loved the hint of ginger. The perfect way to get your daily dose of fruits and veggies, plus another great example of how you can hide veggies in smoothies!

The Hayley Smoothie

Ginger
Banana
Apple
Kiwi
Broccoli, leftover cooked
Carrot, raw
Kale, raw
Flax seed
Frozen mango
Frozen blueberries
Coconut milk

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Delicious Cold Beverage for A Sunny Seattle Afternoon

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The other day I made my way to Healeo to try the real coconut almond date smoothie. While my version was good, I had no idea what it was supposed to taste like so I died when I tried the real deal. It was maybe the best smoothie I've ever had. Healeo's version is like a milkshake disguised as a smoothie. I sucked down every last drop and made my way back there yesterday for round two. To justify the $6+ smoothie addiction I am about to embark on, we'll just call it "research" so I can figure out how to re-create it at home to the right consistency. First order of business - maybe try coconut milk (from the refrigerated section) instead of coconut water??? . Already bought it. Stay tuned.
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Healeo Smoothie

.lolkhlkjg

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I've been dying to try Healeo on Capitol Hill. I asked my friend Tara what she likes there and she raved about a smoothie that she now re-creates at home. It sounded delicious so even though I wasn't sure what the measurements should be, or even what the final consistency should be, I decided to give it a try. My husband and I both loved it. I made them last night for dessert and he woke up craving it. I will definitely be making these for hot afternoon treats this summer.

I got my new Vitamix 5200 from Costco and whipped this bad boy up in there. Wow, that is one serious blender. 


Healeo Smoothie

1 cup coconut water
small handful coconut flakes
1/4 c almonds, soaked in water
1 or 2 small kale leaves
1 T-ish agave nector
3 pitted dates
1 big handful of ice

Blend together and serve.
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Green Juice Smoothie

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Photo credit: Honest Fare

I was in a chatty mood at Whole Foods the other day and got to talking with the cashier and bagger. We ended up trading our favorite smoothie recipes and one of theirs had ginger and lemon in it. Veeeeeeeeery interesting. I've never put those ingredients in a smoothie before. I had to try it so I gave it a whirl this morning to go with our Eltana bagels. I loved it, my husband liked it and the kids wouldn't touch it (it is green after all). I'll definitely make it again for myself.
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I changed it a teense. His recipe was just kale but I had spinach, chard, and parsley in the fridge so I figured what the heck.

Ginger-Apple-Greens Juice Smoothie

1 cup water
1 cup apple juice
1 whole apple, cored and chopped into big chunks
1" ginger, peeled
juice of one lemon
small handful parsley
big handful of chopped spinach
big handful chopped chard
2 large leaves Lacinato kale

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The French Fry Kid

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While on vacation my son was battling a cold and in the midst of getting two more chompers. And the kid has some serious chompers (look past the messy face and straight at those pearly whites, then imagine two more piercing through the gums on the outer edges... pure torture for the little buddy). So while nursing his ailments he decided to give up on food and only consume milk and french fries. I'm not proud of the 11 day french fry throw-down but I was on vacation and it's all he would eat. Not a battle I was willing to fight. So our first day home I couldn't take it anymore. I needed him to eat, and I wasn't willing to give him crap just for calories. So how to get good calories in a feisty little guy when he's on a food strike? I figured I could muster up enough ingredients between our empty fridge and packed freezer to make a relatively healthy smoothie that would also taste good. It ended up tasting SO good that both kids chugged it. I made them again this morning to similar results - empty glasses and smoothie-staches. Hubby and I enjoyed them too. Delicious!

The French Fry Kid Smoothie

Milk (I used whole milk)

Vanilla yogurt (I love Grace Harbor Farms)

Frozen blueberries

Frozen strawberries

Frozen spinach

Ground flaxseed

Agave nectar

Almonds (I used slivered almonds)

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Today's Juice Smoothie

1 cup orange juice
1/2 apple
1/2 banana
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
2 cups fresh spinach, rinsed well
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
1 heaping teaspoon flaxseed

Combine in blender. Makes three small or two medium juice smoothies. Perfect afternoon snack.

Quick & Nutritious Juice Smoothie

This morning I made a great juice smoothie in my blender. It was sweet, tasty, and good for you! Plus it took less than 5 minutes to make! My daughter even sucked it down and then wanted "moe".

Recipe for 1 glass:

1/2 cup orange juice
2 T frozen blueberries
1 huge handful of spinach, rinsed and stems removed
2 T parsley leaves, rinsed

"A Glass of Fresh"

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I was at a boot camp workout this morning and we were talking about all these healthy drinks and smoothies. I was reminded of this one from Dr. Oz that he shared on an episode of Oprah a million years ago. Funny enough I had everything in the fridge to make it so I whipped it up and voila, my own "glass of fresh".

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Green Drink

Dr. Oz

2 cups spinach

2 cups cucumber

1 head of celery

1/2 inch or teaspoon ginger root

1 bunch parsley

2 apples

Juice of 1 lime

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Put cucumbers in blender to get some liquid, then slowly add the rest of the ingredients (all chopped into small chunks). After everything is combined in a blender, this recipe makes 28 to 30 ounces—about three to four servings.

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I thought it was okay, not particularly good, not unbearable. I had more than I could drink so I thought I would try to force it on my daughter. Well no forcing required. She LOVED it! She asked for "moe, peees" several times. I could not believe my eyes watching her gobble it up. What a great way to load your kid up with all those nutrients!

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Acai = The New Antioxidant

My friend was telling me what a great antioxidant Acai is so I did a little research of my own (it has more antioxidants than blueberries!) and ran out and bought some (you can buy Acai smoothie packs in the freezer section at the grocery store).

Use the Sambazon smoothie pack in place of ice. Here is what I used although as any smoothie connoisseur knows, you can use any mix of ingredients.

Acai Fruit Smoothie

half of one Pure Acai smoothie pack
half of a banana
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh strawberries, cut in half
1/2 cup orange juice

Read more about the health benefits of Acai here: http://www.sambazon.com/acai.html