42. Sexy Smoothies

The woman shall periodically experiment with the vegetable, fruit, and herbal blends that delight her smoothie palette.

For years, I've blended frozen fruit and orange juice every morning.  I love that it usually takes 2 minutes, due in part to my colorfully and nutritionally well-stocked refrigerator.  I've since experimented with new blends, and it's a fantastic way to get a good portion of nutritional value under my belt for the day. 

Also, I'm not huge on cooking full meals daily (it's tough for a single working gal!), but my smoothies ensure that I get my leafy green treats every day.

Here are a few ideas on smoothie prep - if you have any, send 'em my way!

1.  Switch up the juice base - I used to use orange juice, and then I saw how much sugar I was consuming!  I switched to using V8 blends (usually the Light version).  That always offers some variety in taste, and I feel less guilty.
2.  Adjust the color - Usually my smoothies are a pretty orange, but I 've decided to totally vegetize my smoothies lately.  I'm making blends of spinach, kale, pineapple, and mint (thanks to Jamie from Winnipeg!), which results in a dark green concoction.
3.  Freeze smoothie ingredients immediately - Fresh vegetables are always arranged for family-size consumption, and while I guess I could go through an entire bundle of kale in two days, chances are I won't.  So, as soon as I buy fresh greens, I wash, cut, and freeze half of the portion.  That way, they'll be smoothie-ready!  I also use fresh pineapple and papaya, and I do the exact same thing.  Sidebar - to prevent the chunks from sticking together in the freezer (like cement sometimes!!!!), I re-use freezer bags and pack the fruit so that the bags are very flat.  That makes the fruit much easier to separate when you're ready to make your smoothie.
4.  Don't go nuts on spending - I've got a $150 juicer sitting in the box; I'll use it someday - I promise!  I found that it was simply too complicated to use and clean daily. I use the $10 individual smoothie maker that I bought at a neighborhood drugstore.  It's perfect because it makes just what I need for my single smoothie, and I can remove it from its base and take it with me to enjoy during the morning commute.


Hope these are helpful!