Sunday, January 8, 2012

Recipe File: Green Smoothie



I’m super excited to share my green smoothie recipe. After weeks of baking, cooking and generally indulging in sweets and other high calorie treats over the holidays, I was feeling sluggish and tired. I’m not generally one for New Year’s Resolutions, but this year I decided to try green smoothies as a way to “reset”. 


To start, I decided to drink the smoothies for breakfast and lunch for 7 days. I really thought it would be harder than it was! I found the smoothies super-tasty, and as a result wasn’t craving sugar as much. For those 7 days, I didn’t drink a regular soda, and I didn’t really miss it that much. 


If you have five minutes in the morning, these smoothies are a great way to start your day while getting your vitamins from fruits and veggies. There are so many ways to make the smoothies-you can pretty much customize them to your taste. Some people like to add yogurt, flax seeds, chia or a variety of other ingredients to increase health benefits. My recipe is pretty basic, and you can expand on it as you like.


The 7 days are over now, but I’ll keep drinking the smoothies for breakfast. I’m feeling revitalized, happy, and have dropped five pounds in the process. Here’s to a healthier 2012!


PS-I’m still eating dinner as usual, so stay tuned for new recipes!


Green Smoothie (8 cups raw, 6 cups blended)


Ingredients:


2 cups spinach


1 carrot


1 banana


1 apple


pineapple chunks, handful of blueberries, strawberries or any other fruit you have on hand


1/4 cup (more or less) 100% orange or cranberry juice


2 cups (more or less) ice


Directions:


Add all ingredients to blender. Blend until well incorporated. Enjoy!

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