I LOVE smoothies. I think it is the easiest way to get the kids to eat what I want them to eat. It helps them get their greens in without tasting greens. My daughter, McCartney, hates mushrooms and I even toss a mushroom into every smoothie I make for her!
As far as the blender goes, I have not purchased the Vitamix. I may in the future, but I am having a hard time choking down the $500 price tag. I am sure I will sometime, but for now I am using a Cuisanart blender I got at Kohls for right around a hundred dollars. I originally purchased a Ninja. It did not blend everything smooth enough for our tastes. Things were still a bit crunchy and leafy. It also did not pull items from the top of the container so it didn't really give a good consistent blend. I returned it after a few weeks of fighting with it.
Smoothies could not be easier to make!
I start out with a bit of soy milk or almond milk and a handful or two of spinach. (If you don't want to use either milk, you could just use water. ) I have also added a couple leaves of kale and I always throw in 1 or 2 mushrooms (which you cannot taste). I will also add an avacado half in our smoothies too, especially when I know they are going to go bad and I don't want to waste them.
I then add whatever frozen fruit I have on hand. We buy a strawberry, peach, pineapple blend. I toss in whatever fresh fruits I have as well. Sometimes I add a banana, sometimes cantaloupe, sometimes kiwi. I have added canned fruit before as well. I just drained and rinsed it. I have not had luck adding citrus fruits to my smoothies so we don't add those.
At this time your smoothy will be a lush green color. If you need to disguise this of the kiddos, make sure add some frozen blueberries or pomegranate juice.
I add chia to our smoothies. It is easier to disguise chia if it is soaked prior to use because it blends easier. Chia gives you tons of energy and lots of Omega 3s. I plan to talk about Chia Seeds later today.
Sometimes I find that it is way too thick and I just add some water to thin it down.
There ya go. I have no set recipe for our smoothies since I just chuck in whatever is near by. You will find out what you prefer and what you don't. For instance, I hate bananas in my smoothies, but my kids have a fit if they are not in there. Play around, you really can't go wrong.
