Fifty Shades of Green Smoothies

50 shades

Oh, that sophomore slump.   Broken blenders, emergency kale runs in the middle of the night, and smoothie challenge participants suffering from lost momentum.   We are at day 15, exactly that middle point of the Amanda Brooks Run to the Finish Green Smoothie Challenge, and as much as I love my green smoothies, have woken up to a green smoothie every morning for a period of time that spans beyond this challenge,  I've had a few moments where it wasn't easy being green. 

It has not been easy for my blender, either, which took its last breath on Thursday morning, from what I can only describe as green smoothie overexposure.   

My blender has been replaced.  Is this one tough enough to hack it?  Only time will tell.  

The good news is that my merry band of green smoothie drinkers has ballooned to 18 participants!  We roll call every morning on my personal Facebook page (because my Blog page would not let me tag the participants by name.  Oh, Facebook…why do you have to complicate things so…).  Anyone is welcome to join in our daily forum.  I'm serious!  Hop on over to my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ilene.k.evans

The smoothie roll call is always a public post. 

The buzz talk among my smoothie drinking friends is prep and cleanup time, which has been a bit of a de-motivating factor for some.  When she posted this on Facebook, my other smoothie drinking friends jumped into the discussion quickly to offer suggestions.  People advised she save time, by prepping or chopping fruits and veggies in advance,  and placing pre-measured ingredients in baggies to help her prepare a day or two in advance. They advised she mix up the ingredients a little bit, using fruits, yogurt, and natural sweeteners, to turn the smoothie into more of a "treat." A few hours later, my friend reported  in that she was back on the smoothie bandwagon.  Hurray for team work!   

I love the community that this smoothie challenge has built.  It is a testament to the fact that we can do anything when we have support.  From drinking an odd looking concoction made from two cups of raw kale or spinach, to running a marathon, sometimes all we need to hear is "you can do it," to make it to the finish line. 

Over the past two weeks, my friends have thrown out may great ideas for smoothie add-in's.  Don't hesitate to experiment with different ingredients.  All of the smoothie recipes I use began with trial and error. Take your spinach or kale, and a liquid, either water, juice, milk, etc. add a few of the 50 items listed below.  There is no wrong way to do it! 

Namaste, Divas!

© 2012 Ilene Evans

Fruit

1. Lime

2. Lemon

3. Pineapple

4.  Mango

5. Strawberries

6. Banana

7. Apple

8. Blueberry

9. Avocado

10. Raspberry

11. Kiwi

12. Clementine

13. Pomegranate

 

Veggies

14. Red pepper

15. Carrots

16. Broccoli

17. Cucumber

18. Celery

 

Liquids

19. Almond Milk

20. Coconut Milk

21. Soy Milk

22. Rice Milk

23. Coconut Water

24. Orange Juice

25. Sparkling Water

 

Protein

26. Greek Yogurt

27. Almond butter

28. Silken Tofu

29. Soy yogurt

30. Almonds/Almond Butter

31. Rice Protein Powder

32. Soy Protein Powder

33. Whey Protein Powder

 

Sweeteners

34. Rice Syrup

35. Pureed Dates

36. Honey

37. Maple Syrup

38. Agave nectar

39. Stevia

 

Seeds

40. Ground Flax Seeds

41. Chia Seeds

42. Sunflower seeds

43. Pumpkin Seeds

 

Random Good Stuff

44. Cacao nibs

45.Wheat Grass

46. Spirulina

47. Goji berries

48.  Coconut flour – as a thickener

49. 1 tablespoon of coconut oil

50. Ginger root

 

 

Comments

Fifty Shades of Green Smoothies — 10 Comments

  1. I have to agree, I love my Vitamix. Don’t think that I would be still doing this challenge if I didn’t have it. Love your list of ingredients. So super helpful. And I love that you are totally the green smoothie queen and getting folks to join in!!

  2. Between you and Amanda, I’m pretty much sold on the Vitamix. I owe the ingredient list to my smoothie cohorts! They have been very loyal in sharing their special ingredients in the Facebook posts – things I never would have thought of!
    I have had a blast getting people to jump on board with me – and seeing their positive reactions. What a gift! THIS is EXACTLY why I wanted to start blogging!
    Oh, and the photo – 🙂

  3. you’re now making me curious about the green smoothies. i’ve never thought of mixing spinach for a smoothie before but i suppose with the right combinations, i might end up with something that can be a favourite for a long time.

  4. The smoothies are the best!
    2 cups of any green, spinach, kale, etc., a cup of water or other liquid, about 6 ice cubes and pick whatever else you fancy! I love apples, bananas, avocado, almond butter. Today I did a tbsp of unsweetened cocoa with some honey in mine and a quarter of an avocado. It was delish!
    If you try one, let me know how it goes!

  5. Juicing is great. A nice way to get the nutrients from the fruit and vegetables. But if you were to juice alone you wouldn’t get the fiber. Suppliment with vitamins.

  6. This is pretty cool! I also have group of friends on Facebook who discuss things about different ways to make super green smoothies. Each one shares their own stories, recipes and opinion about it. I learned so many things from them, especially the different recipes on making super green smoothies. I also learned the different health benefits that it can give to our body.