A couple of our readers asked us to post some smoothie recipes beyond the typical OJ/strawberry/banana routine. Today my kitchen became a smoothie testing lab, and I'm sharing the best results. For most of my smoothies, I start with a base of orange juice, plain kefir, ground flax seeds, and greens. The kefir adds a nice tart kick, and is full of healthy probiotics. Plain yogurt works well, too. If your kids are used to sweeter smoothies from sweetened yogurt (which is full of sugar), you could try adding some agave nectar. And about those greens: I promise, your kids will be none the wiser. Start with a pinch, and increase every day. If the color is an issue, hide the smoothie in a straw-top sports cup.
Tropical Green Machine (Jafta's favorite)
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen pinapple
1/2 cup OJ
1/2 cup kefir
1 cup rainbow chard
1 tbsp flax seed
agave to taste
Berry Blast with Spinach (India's favorite)
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup OJ
1 cup spinach
1 tbsp flax seed
agave to taste
1 cup spinach
1 tbsp flax seed
agave to taste
Orange Dream (my favorite)
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup OJ
1/2 cup kefir
1 tbsp flax seed
agave to taste
1 cup OJ
1/2 cup kefir
1 tbsp flax seed
agave to taste
All of the smoothies were a hit with my son. My daughter didn't care for the carrot. But both of them drank a 6-ounce cup of their favorite and got a full serving of veggies, antioxidants, DHA, and protein. My kids aren't always the best eaters, so it's nice to know that they are at least starting the day off with some good stuff. It makes me relax when lunch is not so great!
What are your favorite smoothie blends? Share your own recipes with us!
YES!
ReplyDeleteLOVE it!
i look forward to trying these out. surely it will break up my boring smoothie routine of ...
banana
frozen strawberries
frozen blueberries
frozen cranberries
soy chocolate milk
thanks!
:)Jamie
Ooh! Thanks for these! I love mixing it up. I have an organic momma morning mocha smoothie with approx. measurements since I usually eyeball it:
ReplyDelete1/2 c. whole milk yogurt or kefir
1 tbsp. flax seed
1 tsp. (or more)ground coffee (I use decaf)
1 tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened I believe...)
1 tsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. raw honey (or agave)
1 banana (or sub fav. fruit)
pure vanilla to taste
Around here we are all about french vanilla yogurt, frozen strawberries and mangos, and overripe bananas. Yum!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely going to try one or two of these!
you are going to kill me for all my questions ...
ReplyDeletewhat is agave?
whta is kefir?
what is rainbow chard?
thanks.
i'm learning!!!
:)Jamie
I'm glad you asked - I should have explained in the post.
ReplyDeleteKefir is basically a yogurt drink, but some believe that it has even more live active cultures than yogurt. You can get it plain or flavored, but the benefit of the plain is that you can sweeten it just a bit.
Agave is a natural sugar subsitute that actually tastes good! It is made of nectar from the agave plant (form of cactus). It has less calories than sugar, and it is lower on the glycemic index so it doesn't spike the blood sugar. It looks like honey but it's easier to dissolve. They have it at Whole Foods, Henry's, Trader Joe's, etc.
Chard is a green, but it has a nice light taste for mixing with fruit. They sell it bagged like salad, but really, any salad green would do.
I love making smoothies with acai berries. Sambazon has a great frozen acai berry product that is pure and harvested through fair trade in the amazon. Acai tastes like blueberries, but are super high in atioxidants.
ReplyDeleteSo, here is my recipe...
banana
acai berries
oj or apple juice or mango juice (whatever I have in the fridge at the time)
ground flax seeds
and, if it is for me, I throw in some vanilla protein powder to give myself a little extra protein. If it is for the kids, I mostly omit the protein powder. They do not like the consistency.
Thanks for those great recipes...perfect for summer and such a great way to sneak in nutrition!
i'm thirsty!
ReplyDeleteOkay, the strawberry, cranberry, chocolate combo is sounding really good right now!
ReplyDeleteAnd I would never have thought of adding coffee. Maybe I need to make a combo of all of these . . . a chocolate cranberry mocha???
Keep 'em coming!
I've got a few tubs full of frozen strawberries and blueberries. I had never thought of using leafy greens in there, but we've got an abundance of those from our CSA and even more growing in our garden. I am SO sneaking my surplus in my kids drinks!!
ReplyDeleteOne question... Do you use ground flax seed in the drinks. Leaving them whole seems like it would make the drink a bit crunchy and that doesn't sound too yummy to me.
the inner most box -
ReplyDeleteI always use ground flax in my smoothies. There are some blenders that are heavy duty enough to grind the whole flax seeds, but mine isn't. And, to get the good stuff out of flax, you have to grind it.
I actually add ground flax seeds to so many things... pancake mix, cookie batter, banana bread batter, salad dressings, oatmeal, etc.
I just joined a CSA! Don't you love the surprise of what will be in your box each week?! Love it!
Ali
I totally love my CSA - supporting local business, eating healthy, saving the earth, you know all good stuff. ;) I love it all, EXCEPT, right now I am DROWNING in lettuce. I like salad, but not at every meal. I just don't know what to do with it all. Seriously there are like 8 heads of different varieties of lettuce sitting in my vegetable crisper. You think I could cram a bunch of romaine into my smoothies?
ReplyDeleteYes, I totally think you could cram romaine in the smoothies! If you try it, let us know how it works.
ReplyDeletemade some smoothies this morning AND put in some lettuce AND it was yummy AND - best part - my kids loved them! Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDelete