An Apple A Day

Me and my friend Angela like to share ideas. Even though we have different ways of eating, we both share in the love of a good smoothie.

She was recently interested in what I put in my smoothies so, because I consider my smoothie an important part of my day, I figured I would just share it here.

Let me start off by saying I don't make my smoothies to taste good, although I've been making them so long I can make one taste pretty palatable. I make them as a way to get in all the super foods I can into one day. I like to call my daily smoothie, my daily medication. I also have an aversion to the medical industry which fuels my personal health responsibility.

I would like to note that it must work, because me nor Toby have been sick with any colds or viruses since the beginning of our smoothie days, which was around 5 years ago....knock on wood.

I see so many people my age with aches, ailments, chronic sickness or disease, obesity and just plain decrepit. I know as I age I look older, but I certainly don't want to feel old. I attribute my good health and energy to my daily smoothie, and of course, a healthy eating lifestyle and daily exercise.

Anyway, on with the smoothie.

First, I keep most of my ingredients frozen. I will only freeze my greens if they're starting to limp in the fridge. I don't complicate freezing greens. I wash and drain them, then grab a handful and stuff them into a baggie and into the freezer.

Things I keep frozen for my smoothies include: All and any fruits, veggies (broccoli, celery, cucumber, etc.), turmeric, avocado, ginger, and lemon slices. I'm never opposed to adding anything out of the ordinary to it either, I've been known to throw in some cabbage and zucchini.

I buy my turmeric and ginger fresh, usually from Whole Foods because that's the only place I can find it fresh in my area.

When I get them home I wash and chop into small pieces...about 1/4 of an inch. I don't know why, but I peel the ginger, but not the turmeric. Be careful with the ginger though, a little ginger will go a long way and ginger can taste really overpowering if you put too much in there.

I also cut my lemon up into slivered halves, skin on. Be careful of too much skin though, as it will make your smoothie bitter.

I quarter my avocados and freeze them. I cut up my celery into 3 to 4 inch stalks and freeze. Broccoli is just washed and thrown into a baggie. I've also been known to buy frozen broccoli in a pinch. I also save and freeze the chunky stalks of the broccoli for smoothies. Cucumbers are just sliced up and frozen.

One hint, if you don't want your cucumbers, lemon slices, ginger or turmeric to be all stuck together I'd recommend flash freezing it first.

Also, if you're including oranges in your smoothie, I found that if you don't drink it right away, it has a really bitter flavor to it, most likely from the pith. Toby doesn't seem to notice, but it's disgusting to me.

Okay, on to the preparation of the smoothie itself. I make my smoothies for two. I really don't have any actual recipe, I just eyeball it.

First, a handful of greens. Today it was collards. A lemon slice, a piece of turmeric, a hunk of broccoli stalk ( I also use the floweret, just not in this one), and celery....

Then a half slice of banana, and a quarter piece of avocado...

Then a whole kiwi, a handful of pineapple, and a few grapes....

 

Then about a tablespoon of unsweetened coconut flakes (mine are organic from Walmart) 3 or 4 Brazilian nuts, and a tablespoon or two of a combo of chia and flax seeds....

Then I add about 5 cubes of ice ( I like my smoothie very cold) and about 2 cups of water and whiz it up....

Ta da...ready to drink. I like to drink mine immediately so I can get the most out of it's nutrients, but Toby saves his for an "afternoon snack" at work...

As you can see, because I eyeball everything, some days I get more than what I need and others I'm off a bit.

Fruits I use the most are pears, strawberries, pineapples, kiwis, grapes, and blueberries. I will buy others if they're in season, and I do use more oranges during the winter months for vitamin C.

Oh!, and I will sometimes use parsley or cilantro if I have it on hand. If you're not a fan of cilantro I would definitely use it sparingly, and even though I like cilantro I have to pair it with certain fruits....usually apples, to mask it's strong flavor.

I hope you found this post helpful.