Green Smoothies!

What do you eat for breakfast? I am not a breakfast person. I will eat pancakes or waffles, but honestly those are such a "meal" to me that I would rather have them for dinner. I don't even like cereal, and I find it hard to finish a bowl of oatmeal. Basically I have always struggled to find something to get me started in the morning.

I try to stick to mostly whole foods, and we try to stay away from anything processed. I cook from scratch. Just ask my poor new neighbor who was turned away when she came over asking to borrow a can of soup. It's okay, I was able to give her some sugar and eggs!!

Well, I have this awesome friend who eats way healthier than I do. And now she is on a raw diet and has been for a couple of months. I am not lying when I tell you that my friend GLOWS. Every time I see her I am amazed at how healthy she looks, and there is no other way to describe it...she GLOWS. I am not about to go raw. I love brownies. I love chicken soup. I love spaghetti sauce. But in researching a raw diet to see what I might be able to incorporate into my own, I found these wonderful, amazing little boosts of energy...Green Smoothies! I FOUND MY BREAKFAST!
I'm so excited about them, because now I look forward to eating breakfast each morning. They are yummy AND filled with antioxidents and nutrients. I am getting my greens, and I honestly feel so much better throughout my day. I was dragging about noon, but after having one every morning for a few weeks now, I am hooked.

Okay, here's how it goes. They are about 60% fruit and 40% greens. You add water, and if you need a sweetener, I add a bit of agave nectar, but it doesn't really need a lot.

Want to try them?

Fruits you can use:
kiwis, bananas, pears, mangoes, strawberries, raspberries, pineapple, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, apples, lemons, limes, melon, grapes...whatever you like!!

Greens you can use:
spinach, mixed spring greens, romaine, parsley, kale, celery, mint, chard...whatever you like!!
(I have found spinach to be the least bitter - trust me, you can't taste it in there!)

Optional things to add: agave (sweetener), honey, ginger root, peanut butter, almond butter, oatmeal, flax seed, vanilla, yogurt

I usually make up about 16 oz, and that seems to fill me up very well until lunchtime. You don't have to add this, but I always put about 1/4-1/2 cup of oatmeal (not cooked) in there, and that helps fills me up. When I am playing tennis that morning, I usually will add the peanut or almond butter for that energy boost. I love the nutty flavor in there, but my kids prefer the green smoothies without the nuts.
I always put at least 1 banana in all my smoothies, because it makes for a nice, smooth textured smoothie. Add a couple dashes of salt too, that always enhances the taste of the fruit. Blend for a good minute so you can get it all blended and smooooth.
Oh and you can freeze all this fruit and have it ready to put in your blender in the morning! I just buy a box of baby organic spinach at Costco, and that lasts me a while.

A sample for you:
Peanut butter banana smoothie
1/2 c. oatmeal
3 dashes salt
tsp. ground flax seed
2 bananas (frozen if want)
2 tsp. peanut or almond butter
2 tbsp. plain yogurt
a squeeze of agave
2 handfuls of spinach
water
ice if needed
vanilla (opt)
I have also added a fresh peach to this
Blend for one minute and drink up

Nectarine Smoothie
1/4-1/2 c. oatmeal
2 dashes salt
2 fresh juicy nectarines (can us froz.)
1 c. berries (I like rasp, blue & straw)
1 banana
fresh ginger
2 handfuls spinach
squeeze of agave
water
ice if needed
vanilla

The more you make these, the more you will see how you can experiment and see what you like. My friend loves a pineapple, strawberry, mint, lime, spinach blend. Doesn't that sound good?
Experiment! Have fun! And go make a green smoothie! Right now!
Oh, and don't forget to let your hubby and kids try it!

Oh yea, and for more info, just type in green smoothie and do a search on it. You will find all kinds of recipes on the internet. Yum Yum.