Healthy Smoothies

I've been drinking smoothies for years, mostly because I like the combination of healthy and milkshake.  I started out drinking fruit and milk mixed with my immersion blender.  It is still a treat for me to drink a real fruit smoothie, like the ones I remember from my teen years at "Orange Julius."

Then one day I watched an ad for Nutribullet and saw them mix vegetables with fruit into a smoothie that didn't look bad. The thing that sealed the deal was how easily the blade and cup can be cleaned up.  It takes less than 30 seconds to rinse them and leave them ready for the next morning!

I've been using my Nutribullet now for almost a year.  I like the idea of drinking vegetables and fruit for breakfast. I sip my smoothie throughout the morning and have found that it's very satisfying.  My "go-to" recipe includes blueberries, kale, apple, carrots, cucumber, and spinach.  Occasionally I add strawberries, mango, banana, zucchini, or sweet potato. In the summer I add herbs from my garden like mint and basil.  They recommend adding some healthy seeds, so I have a jar of flax, chia, and sunflower seeds that I add to the mix. Why not, right?

  Here's what my breakfast looks like:

Yes, it's dark green when I mix it up!  I was encouraged to carry it to work with me when I saw several other teachers with dark green smoothies in the hallway.  

Sometimes when my schedule gets hectic I prepare "baggies" with all the smoothie ingredients ready to go, then freeze them.  It streamlines my busy mornings and makes it easier to drink healthy fruit/vegetable smoothies for breakfast.  Here's  a sample bag:

My daughter-in-law uses her Ninja blender all the time and accomplishes the same thing, sneaking vegetables into her diet and my son's!  She makes sure he's getting good nutrition.  It makes me smile:)

If you've been thinking about trying this, I highly recommend healthy smoothies.  It's part of my routine now.  With garden season upon us, why not try to get more fresh veggies into your family this way?