Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Wheel of Life - Green Smoothies

I've been trying to get more fruit into my diet, but I'm a bit of a picky fruit eater.  I like gorgeous, perfectly ripe, juicy, sweet fruit.  I do not like strawberries in January or peaches in December.  So, how to eat more fruit then?  In a smoothie!!  

I love smoothies.  Though I don't usually have any difficulty getting enough vegetables into my diet, I figure that adding herbs and greens can't hurt so I've started drinking green smoothies.  

Here is my most recent:

PINEAPPLE

STRAWBERRIES

1/2 BANANA

SPINACH
I also grated a little bit of fresh ginger and threw in a tablespoon of chia seeds and about 1/2 cup almond milk (you can find this with the soy and rice milks), and then whirled it up. 



If the fruit isn't sweet enough, I usually add some local honey.  I read once that local honey is supposed to gradually help you get over your allergies.  I don't know if it's true, but I'm willing to experiment with that kind of yumminess, lol.

Here is the nutritional information in my version:

255 calories
6.59g fat
44.45g carbs
5.6g protein
9.3g fibre

Obviously, you can change this up however you want to fit any sort of dietary goals that you have set for yourself.  If you are watching your carbs, maybe get rid of that banana.  Super low fat? Ditch the chia seeds.  

If I'm having this as a snack, I tend to go lighter on the fat and protein.  If this is intended to be a meal, however, I will definitely be throwing in those seeds and the banana, maybe even some yogurt.  :)

Are you a smoothie fan?  What's your favourite combo?

14 comments:

Pam @Threading My Way said...

I'm not a big fan of smoothies. I do like my fruit, though, but prefer to eat it whole, or cut it into small pieces and eat with natural, non sweetened yoghurt. I'm the opposite to you, in that I love tart fruit. My mother could never understand when I used to eat unripe peaches off our tree when I was growing up. You'll get a pain in the stomach, she'd say, but I never did. Love my vegies, too. I have never tried chia seeds.

Tina Bradley said...

Love them and drink them almost daily! My fave is pretty simple: banana, soy or skim milk and spinach or kale. I'll add other fruits from time to time, though. T.

Adrianne Surian said...

I have to give this a try... I will admit I am skeptical, but I'm all for adventure (bonus if it's healthy!)

I am doing Mom's Crazy Cooking challenge again, and June's theme is smoothies. You have to find a blog post about smoothies, make their recipe, and link back. I'd like to try yours for it, so this is a really timely share since I only had a week left to find something. Thanks, Terry!

Carol-Anne said...

Love the idea of smoothies, but never remember to make them....except on hot summer days when I mix them with RUM! (not for breakfast, of course!) Perhaps this defeats the health benefits?!

Danni@SiloHillFarm said...

Looks good to me....although I've never tried a smoothie with spinach. (Or chia seeds!) I'm a blueberry lover, so blueberries, bananas, milk and ice is my favorite. I'm willing to try adding some spinach next time.

Unknown said...

My fav. smoothie is one my sister makes. She is a total health nut! Her smoothie has 1/2 a frozen banana, 1tbs of peanut-butter, chocolate protein powder, and skim milk. It is surprisingly delish. I'm going to send her the link to this one I bet she would love it!
I like smoothies, however I find they don't really fill me up. There's something about being able to bite into something. :)

Maureen Wyatt said...

I'm going to have to train myself to drink smoothies. I also mean to but... ~ Maureen

Anonymous said...

Looks good!! I love green drinks. And I throw spinach in everything!! Ps. I think I fell of the WOL. I enjoying the series though!!

Macey said...

Yum!
I heard that about honey too!

Kara at Petals to Picots said...

Looks yummy!

Terri @ A Creative Princess said...

Okay, you had me totally sold on that smoothie, up until the spinach. Really? Can you taste it, Popeye? Lol! I've got to tell you though, you've got me curious now and I've got try it. We're huge smoothie fans around here.

I Gotta Try That said...

Yum. Looks so good! Would love for you to share it on my linky party!
http://www.igottatrythat.com/p/blog-hop-linky-colde.html
Thanks, Marcie
www.IGottaTryThat.com

Gloria said...

That smoothie sounds delish, have been reluctant to try as I need to substitute for the milk. This is a good one!

Kei said...

Totally love smoothies! Especially like it when they turn out bright green! (Me? Child at heart? Noooooo!)

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