tropical green smoothie

We've come quite a long way from our first green smoothies.

Long before we moved here,

I'd read about 'green smoothies' and how good they were for you.

At the time, the only way we ate spinach was in spinach dip.

Which you could make with frozen spinach,

so that was the kind we had.

The magazine articles didn't bother to mention

 that the greens added to smoothies

ought to be fresh.

Things change

and fresh spinach is actually a staple at our house now.

And kale.

and various other green things, too.

We eat smoothies for lunch fairly often these days,

but we don't even call them 'green smoothies';

They are simply 'smoothies',

and green is the only color smoothie the younger kids know.

How green varies....

We had smoothies when the grandbabies were here Wednesday,

(they loved it!)

and I saved a tiny bit for Lana to try.

The smoothie was a hit with her, too.

Finally!

(The frozen spinach smoothies of her youth had pretty much ruined 'green smoothies' for her) 

As you might guess,

I don't make them exactly the same every time.

But they are consistently good.

(except the time I tried to add turnip greens; we are not fans!)

Here's what I do: 

I use the Vitamix, but any blender that can handle frozen stuff should work.

Into the blender container goes:

a cup (ish) of ice

2 -3 kale leaves (I discard the thickest part of the stem)

a huge handful of baby spinach

(at this point, the blender looks full)

if we have bananas that aren't too ripe, I'll squish in 1 or 2

a cup or so milk - I leave the jug out in case I need more

1/2 - 1 c. coconut milk

1/2 box coconut water (If I don't have any, I add another 1/2 ish cup of milk)

ground flax - anywhere from 1/4 - 3/4 c

If it won't be nap / bed time soon, I add a few TBS chia seeds

If we have yogurt - I add some. But we don't usually have yogurt.

Oh.

1/4 ish c. coconut oil, too. Almost forgot...

I put the blender on the base and give it a whir,

adding milk if it's too thick.

Then I have room to add the rest....

 1/4 - 3/4 c. coconut

a cup or so frozen strawberries

about a cup of frozen mixed fruit

If we need protein, I'll add a scoop and a half of protein powder too.

A scoop of frozen orange juice concentrate is a scrumptious addition,

and totally takes things up a notch,

but I rarely add it, since we don't need the extra sugars.....

Then I give it another whir.

Sometimes I have to add a touch more milk.

We like our smoothies pretty thick, so I don't add any more than I have to

to keep the smoothie 'moving' in the blender.

Some of us like to add another TBS or so coconut once smoothies are served up.

If there are any leftovers, we put 'em in the freezer.

Frozen smoothies are even yummier than fresh,

but I never think to make them ahead...

If you are used to a super sweet smoothie,

you may want to try more fruit and fewer greens,

until you've developed a taste for  a greener version.

Whatever you do, though, don't use frozen spinach!