Green Smoothie Bandwagon

I'll be the first to admit, I was very hesitant about drinking a green smoothie.  I always thought there was no way a smoothie with spinach in it could be tasty. I knew I wanted to up my daily fruit and veggie intake, but I couldn't snack on carrots and apples all day long. I've learned snacking is not conducive with a infant.

So, I bit the billet, and back in December, I asked a former co-worker for a green smoothie recipe that she used to drink all the time at work. I took the recipe and tweaked it to fit my liking. Ben, Bennett, and I went to the store and shopped for the ingredients to make a green smoothie. 

What I have learned is that if you have 2 base ingredients (spinach and banana), you can really mix up other ingredients and you will end up with a tasty smoothie. As of January 7, I have had a green smoothie everyday for the past week! Pretty good if you ask me! Today, I am going to share with you the green smoothie I made last night to drink today. I just used the things I had at home. I'm running low on fruits, so a trip to the grocery store is due for this week. 

Here are the ingredients I used to make today's smoothie. 

Let's get started. 

I rinsed 3 handfuls of spinach and added them to the blender. I have learned that if I want a specific texture to my smoothie, I need to just blend the spinach first. 

I started blending, and my blender began making a weird noise. I soon realized that I forgot to add the water! Duh! Don't forgot add water, it's important. 

I just eyeballed it and poured it in. After you blend the spinach, it should look something like this:

Next, I added the frozen fruit. 

This is just what I have on hand at home. I've used a berry mix and a tropical mix of frozen fruit. All have tasted great in this smoothie. Just get something you like.  I added a couple of handfuls from each bag and blended it up. (I also added a little more water to it too.)

Finally, I put in the fresh fruit. Today, I used one apple and two bananas. I have used all types of fruit for this. Kiwi, pineapple, and/or strawberries all work great. I do always add at least 1 banana. I find that it helps cut the spinach taste. 

Once chopped, I added it to the blender. Yes, I leave the skins on the apple. It makes it easier and quicker! Finally, I needed to use the rest of the yogurt I had on hand. So I added about 3 spoonfuls of fat free plain yogurt. 

Then, I blended away. The final product will look something like this. It makes a lot, so thankfully Ben is willing to drink it with me. 

One tip my friend gave me was to drink it in a 24 hour period. She says it can start to not be as good once it has sat for longer than that. 

So there you have it, a green smoothie recipe. There are so many variations to this recipe. I'm hoping to get bold and adventurous soon and start adding other things to the smoothie. I know many people who add kale and flax seed. I haven't gotten up the nerve yet to try those. Maybe I will soon!

If you try a green smoothie, let me know!