Monday, March 09, 2009

Green Smoothie

Several weeks ago I bought a VitaMix blender. Wow! Talk about commercial grade. That baby is built. And very powerful.

I bought the blender because I KNOW I don't eat like I should. And...I came across a lot of information on Twitter and the Web about Green Smoothies. They are full of vitamins and minerals and they are super quick to make, and they taste good too!

So....I pulled out my credit card, dialed VitaMix's toll-free number and bought one. The customer service rep was great. Within two days, it was on my doorstep. Like magic.




Here's my recipe for a great-tasting Green Smoothie.

6 whole strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 - 1/2 cup of fresh pineapple
1/4 cup frozen mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, etc.)
1 banana (cut in 3-4 chunks)
1 cup spinach leaves (or kale)*
1 cup ice cubes

Add to VitaMix blender in order listed above.

Have blender set on variable speed. Turn on blender and quickly increase from 0 - 9, then switch from variable to high for about 1 minute. You may need to use the plastic push-stick to make sure all the ingredients get down into the blades so they are pulverized and blended to a nice smooth consistency.

Turn the machine off and pour yourself a fantastic, healthy smoothie.

*I've made smoothies with kale and spinach. I prefer the spinach. Kale has a stronger taste that you have to hide with all the fruits. But hey, you be the judge.

VitaMix has tons of recipes on their website, and there are lots of other sources for smoothies on the web. Just search for "smoothie" or "green smoothie" and see what I mean.

Enjoy!



P.S. The VitaMix makes the BEST chocolate milk shakes, too. Just ask my boys.



Photo: © Liv Friis-larsen - Fotolia.com

3 comments:

jnet blogs said...

I have a vitamix blender and I am going to try your recipe. Thanks for posting!

Mike said...

@jnet blogs: Good deal! The possibilities are endless. You'll have to experiment to see what tastes best to you.

jnet blogs said...

We made this yesterday and it was delicious. However, it wasn't very pretty. I can live with that though. I think I may have had too many dark colored berries. I could not taste the spinach at all, mostly banana and pineapple. Thanks again!