Leftover Smoothie

With a family of 5, I rarely have enough leftovers to make a complete meal. Last night we had haystacks for supper, that meant a bit of cucumber, a bit of avocado and a bit of everything else left over. The cucumber and avocado made it into the smoothie this morning. I also had a bit of mango left over in the freezer. 
My other recent find for my smoothie is a salad mixture that has baby spinach, baby chard and baby kale in it. It is also organic, a plus! 

 

1/2 banana

maybe 1/4 cup mango

1/2 cup raspberries

1/2 c kefir

1/2 c Greek honey yogurt

large handful of the salad blend

1/4 c chopped cucumber

1/4 of an avocado

almond milk to blend

My husband would probably say this one tastes too green. Plus he doesn't like avocado, if he knew it was in there, he would dislike the smoothie.  I like that the avocado adds a creaminess to the smoothie that you don't get without it.  For some reason I didn't add any grains today. Not sure why. Anyway, to my taste buds, this is a good one. It should give me the boost for my workout today!

Citrus Smoothies

Again, I have a smoothie most mornings, just haven't been posting. Lately, my FB have commented or asked about my SOTD post...time to blog.
We have a lot of fresh citrus fruit at our house. My sons school sells citrus by the case as a fundraiser.  Good fruit, don't want it to go to waste, good vitamin C, gonna put it in a smoothies.
I have found, I don't like the whole citrus in the blender, even with my vita mix. On a side note, did you know that the pith of citrus fruit (the white "skin") has many health benefits. Maybe, I need to suck it up (no pun intended)!  Anyway, so far I have been juicing my oranges.  I would probably continue to juice the grapefruits, the pith on them is very bitter.

Citrus Smoothie

1/2 banana

juice of 1 tangelo

juice of 1/2 grapefruit

1/4 c frozen blueberries

1/4 cup silken tofu

large handful of spinach

 1 T wheat germ

1 T ground flax seed

1 T Raw Honey

1 T chia seeds

I also love that my 18month old will come over to me and suck down a bunch of my smoothie! Good nutrition for her.

Yesterday's smoothie was another citrus smoothie.

1/2 banana

juice of 1 tangelo

juice of 1 grapefruit

skinned kiwi (did you know you CAN eat the skin of a kiwi? Not for me, but you can!)

handful of kale

1 T wheat germ

1 T ground flax seed

2T hemp seed

1 T bee pollen

2 oz aloe vera juice, not aloe vera gel!

 

 

Okay, aloe vera juice. Something new to try in my smoothie. I bought a bottle, will use the bottle, will not replace the bottle! I can smell it in the drink, even though I can't really taste it. The smell alone is enough to put me off. Besides that, the research I have done doesn't prove any health benefits. CAREFUL: it can be a laxative. Just so you know I DON'T speak from experience. 

Blueberry Citrus and Tropical Carrot Ginger Smoothies

A brief update on my double smoothie diet. So far so good! I have had 2 smoothies everyday, except last Saturday, for a week now! Doing fairly well with not getting hungry too! I have to admit I snack some, but I am really trying to keep them healthy ie. Kale Chips.  I haven't made it to the gym yet, but I will excuse that with the fact that it is still Christmas vacation from school, therefore I have 3 kids at home PLUS hubs is still working OT.  Hopefully gym time will start soon!

Today's smoothies: Blueberry Citrus and Tropical Carrot Ginger

Blueberry Citrus

1 Banana

1 Fresh grapefruit juice

1 Fresh Orange juice

1/4 -1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1 T honey

1 T wheat germ

2 T hemp seed

1 T ground flax seed

1/2 T barley grass powder

3 T uncooked oatmeal

water to make 4 cups

The grapefruit lends a little bit of a bitter taste to this smoothie, the honey corrects that some. Add more honey for a sweeter smoothie.

For lunch:

Tropical Carrot Ginger

1 large raw carrot, peeled and cut into large chunks

1/4 C frozen pineapple

1/2 C frozen mango

1 ginger ice cube

1 T honey

2 stalks of fresh kale (take the leaves off the stalk and discard the stalk)

1 c water

This made a bit over 2 cups of smoothie.

In addition, I have been curious about the calorie count to some of my smoothies.  I found a site that lets you add food and track your calorie count for the day. Of course, I  don't know the accuracy of this site, but it gives an estimate. I am finding that most of my smoothies are about 500 calories. Not sure if that is good or bad. However, I think the ingredients in my smoothies are all HEALTHY calories. Things like honey and the greek yogurt tend to up the calorie count too, but I still don't feel bad about them. I use raw honey in my smoothies, there is a lot of health benefits that come with that. Same goes for the greek yogurt. PLUS I am useing these smoothies as a meal replacement.   In comparison: an everything bagel with 2 T cream cheese, coffee with cream and sugar is about 450 calories. There, I justified what I do, right?

Strawberry Peach Kale Smoothie

Recently I made Kale chips for the first time. So simple and delicious. I wanted my oldest to try them and I told him they were Dino Chips.  Saying anything is dino related usually peaks his interest. He ate them and LIKED them and has asked for me to make more! I love when kids surprise me!
Today I added Kale to my smoothie.  Kale is a thicker leaf than spinach and took more blending. Even then, next time I will steam it really quick to help soften it first.  Kale also has a stronger flavor than spinach.

Strawberry Peach Kale Smoothie

1 banana

1 stem of kale, remove the leaf from the steam

7 whole strawberries, frozen thawed

1/2 large peach

enough almond milk to make 4 cups

Blend the banana and kale together until kale is fine puree. Add other ingredients and blend.

I didn't add all the grains today, but certainly you could.