Green Smoothies - mmmm

Right after Christmas I decided that I would start every day with a green smoothie.  I did this for a couple reasons - 1 is I want to loose more weight and this is a good way to do that, and 2 I'm not a breakfast eater so this was a good compromise for me.  So why a green smoothie?  Well why not!!! They are yummy, they are nutritious and shhhhh you can hide things in there and get your kids to drink them.  

Here is my simple recipe for a delish smoothie every day.

1 handful of Kale
1 handful of spinach
1/2 cup of fruit - fresh or frozen
2 cups almond milk*
1/2 cup kefir or yogurt**
1 fresh banana OR 1/2 frozen banana***
1 whole avocado
1 scoop Juice Plus Complete powder

Add your milk and yogurt - blend.  Add your other ingredients one at a time and blend in between.

*You can use another kind of milk if you like but I wouldn't recommend real milk.  If you want to add juice then do 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1/2 cup of juice.

**I recommend Greek yogurt if you are going in that direction.

***I have found that when you freeze a banana the flavor gets stronger.

Some might ask about the price on this.  Well let me explain how I do this.  I look for sales on things.  I get Kale in huge amounts when it gets to be about 99 cents or less a bunch.  Same thing with the spinach - stock up when it's cheap.  For fruit - Aldi's!!!  I get my pineapple for $1.49 for 1 and chop it up myself.  Strawberries are 99 cents.  Banana's I get as low as 33 cents a pound.  Almond milk and kefir I get a dollar or more cheaper at Aldi's. 

Now next question - what do you do with all that fruit and veggies when you get it home and can't use it up in a few days.  I freeze it.  I clean it all when I get home.

I strip the kale off it's stem.  I then bag it in baggies, squeeze the air out and then freeze it.

This preserves my kale and spinach and extends the life.  I also do this with all my fruit except the bananas and avocados.  You don't have to do anything special to it except freeze it.  This makes it so easy to buy in bulk and use it later.  It's also nice because in the morning I grab a bag of kale, spinach and fruit and toss them in the blender.  Since everything is done before hand it makes it fast and easy. 

Now I do use a lot of baggies to do this, but instead of throwing them away after each use, I get a gallon bag and put the baggies inside and stick them back into the freezer.  This way I can reuse them the next time and I don't have to worry about washing them out.  This saves money and time.

This recipe does make a lot, enough for 2 nice sized glasses.  So what do you do if you are the only one eating it - well what I do is make them into Popsicles.  Healthy yummy Popsicles.  Such an awesome healthy treat for a hot summer.

So there you go - a delish easy way to have a yummy green smoothie every morning.

Healthy hugs,
Cheryl