Tropical Kiwi Smoothie

Hi Friends...

Are you ready to face a new week? I hope so. Today I want to share the recipe for my favorite green smoothie. I've been planning on doing a cleanse at the beginning of the year, but decided not to wait. I'll probably fill you in on all the details when its over. Part of what I am doing is drinking a green smoothie each day. That's probably nothing new. Many of you probably drink them all the time, but I KNOW there are a lot of you who haven't had the nerve to drink something made with large handfuls of kale and spinach. So, whether you drink them all the time or are a big baby chicken, I thought you might be interested in knowing what I put in my smoothies.

First, lets talk about the difference between juicing and smoothies. When you juice you use a 'juicer.' It is a counter top appliance that grinds and presses the vegetables and gets ALL the liquid out of it and leaves just the fiber, or the pulp, to be discarded. When you juice you use more fruit and/or vegetables. When you make a smoothie, you are putting fruits, vegetables, and some liquid in a blender and drink all of it. There is some debate about which is better and I believe both are valuable options. I'll leave it up to you to decide. We chose to go with a high speed blender and make smoothies, but I'd certainly be all over juicing too if I had a juicer. Don't worry if you don't have a fancy blender. ANY blender will make a smoothie. Well, any WORKING blender will make one.

Oh, and by the way, smoothies don't have to be green, but here's the deal. If you are a person who knows you should be eating more green vegetables but don't really like the taste or texture, smoothies are a great option. I can shove WAY more spinach in a blender and drink it than I could eat in a salad. Plus, by the time I add half a bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing on it, its not exactly good for me anymore.

You can start with adding a small amount of green stuff and gradually increasing it. That is what I have done with my kids. I started with one leaf and now we're up to five. Just kidding. We're only up to four. BABY STEPS! You can call it a Martian smoothie, or Incredible Hulk smoothie, or make up something fun. You can also put it in a solid colored cup with a lid and avoid the drama altogether. Maybe put it in a Sonic cup. I'm sure they would drink it then. If you need to start with all fruit and just a little spinach, do it. Just keep adding more greens and less fruit and eventually you will get there. You can still get too much sugar from an all fruit smoothie. If you're wary, start with spinach. The flavor is much milder than kale. Even now, I can only do about 50% kale if I want to enjoy my smoothie, which I DO!

So, are ya dying to know what I put in my smoothies? It varies, depending on what happens to be in the fridge that day, but if I am planning on it when I go to the store, THIS is what I do. (Printable recipe HERE)

1 1/2 cups of coconut water
2 kiwis, peeled
3 cups spinach
1 Tbsp of a green powdered smoothie mix (can use spirulina)
1 cup pineapple
1 banana
ice

I use a powdered drink mix  that has kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, wheat grass, barley grass, guava, cherries, goji berries, and some essential oils. You can mix it in a glass of water and drink it or put it in a smoothie, which is a million times better.

Another option is to use spirulina which you can buy HERE on Amazon.

There are so many great smoothie recipes online. After you've made a few you can start experimenting with different variations. Some of my ingredients for smoothies are: bananas, avocados, kiwi, pineapple, mango, raspberries, blueberries, yogurt, peaches, and coconut water.

You can also add flax seeds and chia seeds or just about ANY fruit or vegetable. My husband goes rogue sometimes and starts adding celery and peppers, raw eggs, milk kefir, and anything else he stumbles upon in the fridge. Needless to say, I don't drink HIS smoothies. I just stand nearby with 911 on speed dial.

Please share your favorite smoothie recipe below. As long as it doesn't have peppers and eggs in it, I'll try it. Or ham.

Kristy