Green Tea Blueberry Smoothie

I had no intention of sharing this smoothie. I mean, it's hideous. 

And, this is my first one experimenting with Matcha Powder.  

I planned on making a couple more with it before I shared one. 

But, then I tasted it. This thing is amazing! I mean A-MAZE-ING! 

May favorite Starbucks Frappuccino is the Green Tea Smoothie with a tiny bit of peppermint syrup in it.

 My new goal is to figure out a way to make a healthy version of it. 

But until then...

This may be my new favorite smoothie. 

GREEN TEA BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE:
makes approximately 4 cups

1 1/2 cups blueberries (frozen or fresh)
1 cup spinach
1 frozen banana
1 1/2 - 2 cups coconut milk (or almond)
2 teaspoons matcha powder
1-2 tablespoons honey (or whatever sweetener you prefer)

Combine everything in a blender and blend until all produce is broken up and has a milkshake like consistency. Drink immediately or chill until ready. 

Spinach Mango Flax Seed Smoothie aka Mommy's Magic Super Power Boosting Milk Shake Smoothie

   I finally gave up and re-shot the smoothie pictures that I complained about Tuesday. So here is my post I wrote on Monday for Tuesday but had to postpone until Wednesday but then forgot so now I'm posting on Thursday. Make sense? No? Yeah, I don't understand either. Just pretend you're reading this on Monday or Tuesday and it will all make sense.  

   This weekend I ignored my Doctor's recommendation to only eat small meals and stay away from raw fruits and veggies, hard to digest proteins, anything that is highly processed or has a lot of preservatives, basically anything other than carbs and liquids. (I know that a high carb diet does not sound like a healthy thing but it is what I have to do until we can figure out why my stomach no longer wants to digest anything these days) Fast food, lemon curd, cupcakes, rice krispie treats, bacon, brownies, olives, cheese, carrots, strawberries, chocolate cake, a chicken burger, a meatball sub, are just some of the things I devoured. To say that I was/am sick is an understatement! Since I refused to act like a responsible adult this weekend, and chose to eat like a crazed lunatic, I am on a liquid diet today. Therefore it's SMOOTHIE TIME!!!!!

   This smoothie is also the one way I can get more than a couple of bites of anything green into C. He swears aliens use green veggies to control minds. Yes, my 4 year old believes that if he eats broccoli an alien with take control of him. He makes life interesting, to say the least. This is my answer to it. He will also drink it with strawberry instead of mango. He believes that it will give his super powers a boost. He will tell me his Hulk strength is stronger, his Iron Man Blasters go boom better and he's as fast as the Flash almost immediately after drinking it! Don't judge me for lying to my kid! I'm desperate. He has gone multiple days skipping one or more meals because I implemented the, “You eat what I give you or you don't eat” rule, thinking that he was just being a kid who wanted to be picky, I now believe he honestly has a hard time with certain tastes and textures. I never let him go to the point it would be harmful, but this kids has will power like nothing I've seen before. Now, he will try three bites of anything I give him, often it is still a battle but he does try new things now, but he is simply not a fan of certain textures. I'm the same way when it comes to certain foods. I cannot even look at beans without feeling nauseated. I'll eat peas or chickpeas but they have to be pureed. I cannot bite into a whole, raw blueberry or a grape without gagging. So, I know he is trying and he really does want to like vegetables but right now it is a slow process. So I make him a glass of this smoothie a couple of times a week now. He thinks it takes like a milk shake and frankly so do I.

Serves 1-2 people

1 large handful of spinach

1 handful of frozen mango*

6 oz greek yogurt *optional*

2-3 tablespoons flax seeds

approximately 1/3 cup coconut water

approximately 1/3 cup orange juice

approximately 1/3 cup almond milk

Combine everything in a blender and blend until all produce is broken up, seeds are no longer visible and has a milkshake like consistency. Drink immediately.

*Just about any fruit would be good in this smoothie so feel free to swap things out. And, if you want to use fresh but still want the texture of the frozen fruit pre-freeze bananas and add one to each smoothie.

The smoothie pictured above does not have yogurt but I always add it when my son is going to be drinking it. The texture seems more “milkshakey” with the yogurt and he is more likely to drink anything if he thinks I added ice cream.

Yet Another Green Juice

Can you tell I'm infatuated with green juice? I can't help myself. I love to juice spinach. This particular juice is very clear and light colored because I was very careful to skim the pulp off the top when pouring it into my glass then I poured it through a very fine mesh strainer. I froze the pulp for a later use in a smoothie, can't  waste all those vitamins. I find that if I take too long drinking one of the pulpier juices that it gets a bit icky towards the end and I simply was not in the mood for that today. I really wish I had fresh mint or basil on hand for this juice, it would have been amazing. Maybe next time. This juice is very light refreshing and a bit tart at the same time.

Yet Another Green Juice:
4-5 Granny Smith Apple
2 Kiwi
1 cup Spinach and Arugula Mix
4 celery stalks
a large knob of Ginger

Juice your produce. Strain the mixture with a fine mesh strainer. Refrigerate and Drink.

Tropical Green Juice

I have created, okay, well I picked the stuff but the hubs actually made, the BEST JUICE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!  True story y'all! I could drink this everyday. Not too tart, not too sweet with a hint of peppery spice in the background. I  LOVE IT! I want to drink this everyday, forever! It totally rocked my socks off, well not technically since I wasn't wearing socks when I drank it, but it totally would have. For reals! It is a bit tart, of course the tartness/sweetness can vary depending on the ripeness of your fruit. I prefer it tart, but if it is too tart for you, add more kiwi or cut back on the pineapple. You could also stir in some agave nectar if you prefer.

This recipe should serve two people one 12 oz juice each or one person two portions as meal replacement. If you are juicing along with eating healthy then 4 portions are easy what I would expect to get out of this recipe. It was my breakfast and lunch today. Of course there is no way to predict the exact amount of juice you will get from your fruit but this make quite a lot.

Juice
1/2 of a pineapple
1 mango
2 kiwi
2-3 cups of spinach arugula mix
2 stalks of celery
1/2 inch knob of ginger
Refrigerate and enjoy. :-)

Green Goodness Juice

I cheated. I skipped juicing for two days and boy was it a mistake. Juicing is work, it is not easy and I missed chewing so I skipped a couple of days. Because I stopped I felt like poo. I felt like I had a plague. So I'm back to juicing and being healthy. I have chicken thawing for a nice mostly healthy dinner and I'm enjoying this lovely beverage while I get to cracking on cleaning and rearranging the living room.

Green Goodness Juice

2 apples

2 pears

2 cups of fresh (not frozen) spinach

2 plums

a hunk of fresh ginger

Juice and enjoy!

You really really need the ginger, otherwise the juice is way too sweet. This is my favorite juice I have made so far this time around.

My Personal Revolution!

While I was away from the blog last year the hubby decided it was time for a major change in our lives. He bought a juicer and start juicing everything, we once joked about juicing a ham! Lee was pumped and loved every minute of it. He even drank some of the worlds worst combinations ever imagined. He lost 40 pounds by replacing two meals with juice or smoothies and eating healthy for dinner. I know that sounds crazy, extreme but it is was needed to break the junk food addiction that most of us have. I did not replace meals with juice because I was pregnant and didn't think that was the best idea. He was doing amazing but we stopped juicing when pregnancy complications started to arise. It was probably the best time to be juicing but it was just too much. We continued to eat fairly healthy through out the pregnancy especially since I tried to control my blood pressure issues with diet and vitamins. We still try to eat healthy more often than not. I know that is not completely obvious by my blog posts! 

This is not and never will be a permanent solution for my life. I am trying to do the same as Lee by juicing my first two meals and cooking a nice healthy dinner for 30 days. After one month I will revisit the way I eat and continue to juice when I need a little extra hit of veg or when I'll be on the run and won't have time for a proper lunch, if for no other reason to keep me away from the drive through window. I'm also trying to get Caleb drinking this typ of juice as opposed to store bought "100%" juice. He helped me make this recipe, which is why I have so much. He added an apple and an extra pear to the juicer while I was retrieving spinach from the fridge. He also had a glass of apple and pear with a bit of spinach in his robot cup with lunch. He only drank half but it was apparently "dewiscious" with his pb&j for lunch. Do not think I would ever put my child on a juice cleanse! I just want him to learn what real unprocessed fruit and veg tastes like. 

I plan on sharing some of my favorite creations but I will still be posting food and baking posts because treating yourself now and then is just fine. I need to strike a balance between eating what I want and eating what I need!

I call this one Funky Juice because it is U G L Y, it ain't got no alibi! It's ugly, yeah, yeah it's ugly!

But it is sooooooo good! I'm not a huge fan of vegetable or tomato juice, I'm hoping to change that, but for the time being there will be mostly fruit in my juice! Also you should know we have a Breville Juice Fountain Plus. If you have a different juicer follow the instructions for your machine. If you like yours cold, either refrigerate your produce the night before or you can refrigerate afterwards just remember to stir before you drink it because it will separate! 

Funky Juice

makes 1 to 2 portions

3 pears

1 apple

2 plums 

5 strawberries

a heaping handful of spinach (think side salad amount)

Wash your veggies! Remove the stems. Cut plums in half and remove the stone. Remove the tops from the strawberries and juice. Now if you don't have a juicer. Remove seeds and cores. Process in food processor or blender and strain through a fine mesh strainer.