Stephanie's Daily Smoothie

Ever since I got a Vitamix a few years back, I have been making green (or purple) smoothies for Kevin, Charlotte, and I every morning.  Trust me, this blender is well worth the cost!  It is amazing.  Kevin and I agree that drinking one of these each morning has made a difference in how we feel.  It gets our day off to a great start and it is a ritual we can't do without now.  It isn't a breakfast replacement for us, but more of a pre-breakfast.  I also think sometimes it is the only way we get any vegetable into Charlotte's system at all.  She is getting better at eating them, but she is still very limited.  She LOVES her morning smoothie.  Here is my general smoothie recipe.  I have noted where you can swap in/out ingredients depending on what is in season or what you have on hand.  I do a lot of prep as soon as I get home from the farmers market or grocery store so it doesn't take me more than 3-5 minutes to throw the smoothie together in the morning.

Serves 2-3 (2 small adult servings and 1 child, or probably 2 adults) If you are going to use this as a meal replacement I would double the recipe.

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond milk (or coconut milk, or coconut water)
1/2 cup water
3 big handfuls baby spinach (or kale, chard, or super greens)
1 medium banana
1 small handful of chopped parsley (I wash and chop a bundle and keep in container in the refrigerator)
1/2 lemon (remove seeds and peel)
1 heaping cup of frozen fruit either: blueberries, mixed berries, cherries, OR mango, pineapple, peaches, or a mix of these

Optional items if you have any of these on hand and depending on what is in season (I might do 1 or 2 of these):

6 grapes
1/2 cup of cubed melon (anything from cucumber to watermelon)
1/2 cup chopped apple or pear
handful of shredded or chopped carrots
handful of broccoli slaw (I buy this prepared already at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods)
1/4 an avocado,
2 tbsp. flax or chia seeds
1 tbsp. dried coconut (not with the berry smoothies)
1 scoop of Amazing Greens Amazing Meal

Blend thoroughly and enjoy!  I would love to hear what you put into your smoothies and your feedback on my recipe.  Feel free to leave me a comment below or reach out to me directly. I am always trying to perfect the recipes.

Green Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

This smoothie might be green, but it tastes like pumpkin pie, I promise!  Not only is it super yummy, it is very healthy as well - packed with vitamin K, A, C and iron and with no added sugar!  It will satisfy your pumpkin craving this time of year and will get your day started off right.  It is also Charlotte approved!

Serves 2-3

Ingredients (I put the ingredients in this order in the blender):
1 Cup unsweetened almond milk
2-3 Big handfuls of baby spinach
1 Cup of canned pumpkin
1-2 Tablespoons ground flax or chia seeds
1/2 Teaspoon pumpkin pie spice OR 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
4 ice cubes
1/2 of a ripe pear or apple
1 Large ripe banana (or 1 1/2 small to medium bananas), quartered

Blend until smooth and enjoy!!  If the smoothie ends up too thick, add a few more ice cubes and blend again.

Berry good smoothie

With Thanksgiving and lots of heavy (but yummy!) food on the way, I thought I would share one of my "on the lighter side" recipes.  After experimenting with creating a good tasting (and healthy!) dairy free smoothie and getting some advice from expert smoothie makers (thanks Lauren!), this version was my landing point.  A lot of times I use what I have on hand and substitutions are often made.  For example, I might throw in chard or kale instead of spinach or chia seeds instead of flax.  You could also use a different dairy free beverage instead of almond.  I just happen to prefer almond to the others.  I like making these this time of year because I love berries.  Since the fresh ones are not local and very expensive, I buy them frozen which works better for smoothies anyway.

Serves 1

Ingredients:
1/2 medium banana
1 heaping scoop hemp protein powder (or protein powder of choice)
1 heaping tablespoon ground flax seed
1 1/2  cups frozen berries
1 cup fresh spinach or kale (or other greens)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon honey (optional)

Mix everything together in a blender until smooth.