Green Smoothie

This smoothie is healthy, nutritious and delicious.  It has greens that are high in vitamins.  What is amazing, you can’t even taste them!!!!

INGREDIENTS
1  cup apple juice
1 cup OJ
1  frozen banana
1/2  cup frozen blueberries
1  cup  frozen strawberries
1/ 2 cup frozen watermelon–or any other fruit
2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds
2  cups total of chopped Kale  and Red Swiss Chard
1/2  cup Kefir

Blend all fruit and juice  and flax seed in blender for about a minute–add Greens a cup at a time.  Smoothies will be thick because the fruit is frozen so it will take a while to get mixing.  Watermelon has a lot of water in it so it is usually not necessary to add water.  But you may find you may need a little if you are using some other fruit.
You get Vit C from the OJ, antioxidants from the berries, Omega 3’s from the flax-seed,  active cultures from the Kefir (Kefir has higher amounts of active cultures than yogurt) and the greens are high in cancer fighting properties.   Kale absolutely rich and abundant in calcium, lutein, iron, and Vitamins A, C, and K. Kale has seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli and ten times more lutein. Kale is rich in Vitamin C not to mention the much needed fiber so lacking in the daily diet of processed food eating Americans.

So this is a totally wonderfully delicious, yet extremely healthy smoothie.  Dont let the color or ingredients dissuade you…. Give it a try–I promise you wont be disappointed!!!
*Christine*

Blueberry Bliss Smoothie

Blissfully, Antioxidant Packed, Blueberry Smoothie.

Ingredients:
12 ounces water
2 scoops protein powder
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 Tbsp raw almond butter or 1 Tbsp flax seed oil

Directions:

1. Mix in blender for 30 seconds.

I got this Blueberry Bliss Smoothie recipe on the back of my Vanilla Jay Robb Whey Protein Powder. This is a great tasting smoothie and is loaded with antioxidants from the blueberries and lots of protein from the 2 scoops of protein powder. We like to add almond butter to our smoothies around our house, it adds a nice nutty flavor…that statement totally reminded me of the Austin Power’s movie where Mike Myers drinks Fat Bastard’s poo and said “MMMM, NUTTY”! After totally being grossed out now let’s get back to Bliss, Try the Blueberry Bliss Smoothie today…thanks for the recipe Jay Robb=}

*Camala*

Peaches & Cream Smoothie

Creamy and peachy–like a peach milkshake.    This smoothie is a blend of peaches and bananas and yogurt—if you like peaches this will quench your thirst. 
INGREDIENTS
2  cups frozen diced peaches
1 cup OJ
1 cup Adam & Eve Peach Mango Juice
1 large sliced frozen banana
1  container peach yogurt
Blend until creamy.  Makes 2 glasses.
*Christine*

Strawberry Mango Smoothie

Two wonderfully paired fruits, Strawberries and Mangoes, layered for a FUN Smoothie!

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
2 tsp honey
1/2 cup water
1 cup fresh or frozen mango, chopped
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. In a blender or food processor process the strawberries with 1/2 cup of water and 2 teaspoons of honey, process until smooth.Transfer strawberry mixture to a small bowl and rinse out the blender or food processor bowl.
2. Place the mango in the cleaned blender or food processor along with 1/2 cup of milk and 1 Tablespoon of honey, process until smooth.
3. Get your glasses ready and spoon a layer of mango puree into each glass, followed by the strawberry puree. Add the remaining mango puree to the glasses and then finish with the remaining strawberry puree. If desired you can lightly swirl the two mixtures together.

This is such a fun smoothie to drink and look at, the bright colors of the fruit layered in the glass give instant appeal to anyone, especially kids. My kids love when I make this smoothie and it has such a wonderful refreshing taste. The smooth mango paired with the strawberries is a wonderful combination. You could even serve this smoothie as a dessert after dinner, it makes for a wonderful ice cream alternative. Enjoy!

*Camala*

Tropical Fruit Smoothie

I love pineapple thats fresh and sweet and now is the season for that.  I like to cut up my fruit a head of time and freeze it—makes for a really thick and icey smoothie.  A good tip with fruit:  when it comes in season and it gets cheaper to buy I always buy a lot and freeze what I dont get around to eating.  Never throw fruit away.  Freeze, freeze, freeze.  When blueberries are cheaper in the summer I always buy 4 to 5 pints and what I dont eat I wash and freeze in a ziplock bag.  You can always use them in any baked goods and especially smoothies.  That way you never have to add ice.  Same with bananas.  I peel them first and slice them in chuncks and pop them into baggie and freeze.  Just pull out what I need when Im ready.  I have frozen peaches, cantalope, honeydue, and even papaya and watermelon. 

For this smoothie I used:
1   1/2 cups chopped pineapple
1   banana  chopped
2  kiwis chopped
3/4   cup OJ
1/2  cup  Dole Pineapple Mango Juice
1/2  cup  Knudsen Pineapple Coconut Juice
Add to blender and makes 2 full glasses…

Enjoy   * Chrisitne*

Berry Medley Smoothie

A Simple, Sweet and Smooth Berry Medley Smoothie.

Ingredients:
4 ounces frozen berry medley fruits (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries)
1/2 – 1 Tbsp honey
3/4 cup orange juice (preferably fresh squeezed)
1 Tbsp light cream or whole milk (optional)

Directions:

1. Put the frozen fruit, orange juice and honey into a blender. Blend until smooth, adding a little more orange juice if the mixture is too thick.
2. Pour the smoothie into a tall glass and add the cream, if desired, swirl with spoon. Optional: Top with partially thawed fruit. (1 tall glass serving).

This smoothie is simple and quick to make, the swirl of cream just adds a pretty touch. I get a little bit of cream on top of my milk so I just scoop that off and swirl it into this smoothie. This smoothie has a delicious fruity taste and being a wonderful summer smoothie, with summer fruits, it is just perfect to cool you down from a hot day!

*Camala*

Tropical Avocado Smoothie

Tropical Avocado Smoothie, Super creamy, full of fiber, and loaded with so many health benefits!

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 large ripe avocado
2 tsp agave nectar
1 cup frozen tropical fruit (I used a combo of pineapple and mango)
1 scoop of Protein Powder (optional)
shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour 2 cups of milk into a blender.
2. Remove avocado from skin and remove the pit. Cut the avocado into large chunks and add to blender.
3. Add agave nectar, desired frozen fruit and scoop of protein powder; if desired. Blend for 20 seconds.
4. Pour into glasses and top with shredded coconut; if desired.

This smoothie is like an avocado milkshake…it has a wonderful smooth and creamy texture. I personally use Jay Robb protein powders, I use either the egg white or whey protein. I don’t like protein powders loaded down with junk you can’t even read and I like that the Jay Robb powders use natural ingredients and use stevia to sweeten their protein powders. I have tried other healthy protein powders as well but the Jay Robb brand tastes the best to me thus far. In this smoothie I used the Jay Robb Pina Colada Whey Protein Powder to add an extra tropical flavor but feel free to use whatever flavor you want. This smoothie would also be equally delicious with out the added protein powder if you don’t want to use protein powder.

Hopefully the avocado in this smoothie doesn’t weird you out, It really does taste good and the avocado does not dominate the smoothie, it really has a more tropical fruit taste with the added creaminess of the avocado.

*Camala*

Smoothie Week

This week we have dedicated to smoothies, 7 days of wonderful smoothie recipes, created or tested and tried by us!

Smoothies are typically a blended, chilled, sometimes sweetened beverage made from fresh fruit or vegetables. In addition to the fruit or vegetables, many smoothies include ice, frozen fruit, honey, yogurt, milk, soy milk, kefir, protein powder, herbal or nutritional supplement mixes, coconut oil, ground nuts, ground flax seed and more, the add-ins for smoothies is an endless possibility. Smoothies contain your desired ingredients and is blended until smooth. Smoothies have a milkshake-like consistency however, unlike milkshakes they usually don’t contain ice cream, but can contain milk. Whether you are trying to eat healthier or are trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet or want to boost up your intake of nutritional supplements and antioxidants, making Smoothies is a great way to do so.

Smoothies are a delicious, nutritious, and fun way to maximize your health in a creative way that is limited only by your imagination. Smoothies are a great chance to experiment with your personal taste and creativity. You can start with fresh or frozen fruits, just be creative and avoid ingredients that you do not care for.

Smoothie’s can be a great way to get your day started. Smoothies are super-fast, convenient, energizing and sometimes can be used as a meal replacement. If you choose your ingredients carefully, your smoothie can relieve fatigue and constipation, balance your blood sugar, establish proper PH levels in your colon, and improve mental sharpness. Some ideas when you are trying to think up combination’s on your own is to try to balance tart and sweet fruit, pair mangoes and pineapple with watery fruit like strawberries, kiwi fruit and oranges. Add yogurt for creaminess and calcium, add ice cubes for extra chill, fresh root ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg or vanilla extract to add flavor, again have fun and experiment. Smoothies are also a great pre-workout energy booster. I find that drinking a smoothie before a workout provides just enough energy without the feeling of being too full.

So now that we know a bit about smoothies and know that smoothies are absolutely delicious, nutritious and versatile, and make for an  ideal breakfast, lunch or snack any time of day, Let’s get BLENDING! The only equipment you will need is a blender and you will have a glassful of goodness in just seconds. We hope our smoothie week inspires you and you can try seven wonderful smoothies throughout your week! It is time to get blending=}

Featured Recipes:
Tropical Avocado Smoothie
Berry Medley Smoothie
Tropical Fruit Smoothie
Strawberry Mango Smoothie
Peaches & Cream Smoothie
Blueberry Bliss Smoothie
Green Smoothie

C and C Dish
Camala and Christine