Green Smoothies!

I have a new morning ritual.

I love it!

So does my baby.

I think if I let him, we would drink that whole glass!

We love GREEN SMOOTHIES!

At first, I tried making up my own recipes, and I was having to choke them down, they tasted very earthy. Then a good friend, suggested adding some orange juice. It was life changing.

Then in December I saw a post on facebook, about the site Simple Green Smoothies and their 30 day challenge they were doing in January. It was free, they would send you recipes, and shopping lists! I signed up and I LOVED IT!

There were a few that I didn't enjoy, I am not a fan of avocados, or pineapple. But there were a few that were so delicious that they are now a staple in my freezer.

Green smoothies are great quick breakfasts or even a quick pick me up. There are about as many ways to make a green smoothie as there are "ratios" of greens to fruit.

If you are wanting to start doing green smoothies here are a couple tips that I have learned and have really helped me.

1. Start small. Don't jump right in with a bunch of greens to a little fruit. You won't enjoy it. Start with your fruit and then slowly add greens. I started with one cup greens to 3 cups fruit. Then after a couple of weeks, add an extra cup of greens and take away a cup of fruit, (or add and 1/2 and take away a 1/2 cup of fruit). I pack my greens down, but you can start by not packing, and then packing.

2. Prep. To make a big change in your life, prep work can help you stay on track. I like to prep all my smoothies for the week, for a quick, no thought breakfast. I use ziplocs, and store everything in the freezer. I keep prepped fruit one ziploc with anything that needs to added, ie liquid base. I also store greens in the freezer. I buy a couple of containers of greens, we rotate kale, spinach, and romaine lettuce. I measure my 2 cups packed greens and then label and into the freezer they go. No need to thaw before had, just dump and blend.

3. Blend your greens first. Starting with your liquid base, and your greens, blend them separately until completely smooth. This will help break them down, and keep you from having a lefty smoothie.

4. Have fun! Try new things and different combinations. I never thought of putting cacaco powder in a smoothie but it is now one of my favorite additives!

5. Follow this simple formula:

image from: Simple Green Smoothies