I’ve always been a fan of cold drinks.
Ice cold chocolate milk
Frozen lemonade
Frappuccinos (usually mocha flavored)
Milkshakes (chocolate malt? oh yes.)
Pretty much everything in that list is high in calories and fat. Except possibly the frozen lemonade…depending how you make it.
Well, one day smoothie were introduced into my life.
Stopthebus…a frozen drink that’s good for you and tastes amazing?
Oh yes, my friends.
Only problem – they get pretty pricey. Like $6 pricey. Especially if you want the good ones loaded with lots of yummy fruit.
My solution? Make my own.
Last year, I did a guest post over at Christina’s blog, Centsible Savings, about my smoothie skillz. But my smoothie making has much improved since then. As have my mad skillz. And so, today, I share with you my most recent recipe for smoothies.
Yes. It’s true. I put spinach in just about every smoothie I make. And now for some frequently asked questions:
“Ewwwww! Spinach in your smoothie?”
Yessirree.
“Are you weird?”
Affirmative.
“Can you taste it?”
That totally depends on how much you use. Last week I got overzealous and threw in a whole bunch of spinach. I tasted it after blending and it tasted grass-y. So I just added a few more strawberries. Simple as pie. But pie is not simple. So as my sister and I always say … simple as boxed brownies. Because they are truly simple. And delicious. And I have 3 boxes of Ghirardelli boxed brownies in my pantry. And my husband is out of town. They could be made, eaten, and cleaned up before aaaaaanyone knew. #tempting
Wow. How did we get off track? Oh yes. Simple.
Smoothies are really a cinch to make. Don’t be intimidated. Here’s what I’ve been doing recently:
I usually freeze my fruit before using it in a smoothie. That way it’s thick & icy cold without adding ice. But if I forget to freeze my fruit in advance, I just stick a few ice cubes in the blender. Here’s what’s goin’ on in this smoothie:
5 large frozen strawberries (wait. you only see 2? that’s because I added 3 extra after the initial blend.)
1 large handful of fresh spinach (probably about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen peaches (the ones I preserved last summer. yum!!)
3/4 cup greek yogurt
1 frozen banana
10-ish blueberries
Now start blending!
Mmmm…
Back to one of the FAQ’s, “Can you taste the spinach?”
Well, the first time I gave some to my daughter, she asked, “Ice cream?”
I was honest (yea for Mom) and told her it was a smoothie. Now every time I get the blender out, she asks, “Smoovie? Have some?”
And since it’s loaded with fruits and veggies, I am always happy to give her some! What a cutie patootie.
Now, on to the fabulous announcement I hinted at on Monday…
4 friends and I are going to be hanging out together in just 2 weeks to put on a progressive dinner for you! You know, the dinners where you’re so starved by the time you get to the actual destination? Yeah. Only this will be a bloggy progressive dinner. That means, you can eat at home in your pj’s while waiting for the next post of food.
Cool, huh? Anything that involves food & pj’s has my name written all over it.
Here are the awesome girls and line-up of food:
Beverage: Kristi from Living Unbound
Appetizer: Renee from Living, Laughing, & Loving
Main Dish: Yours Truly
Side & Bread: Laine from it’s just Laine
Dessert: Christina from The Frugal Homemaker
All these girls have awesome blogs, so feel free to show them some bloggy love right now before the party starts! Can’t wait for the good times to start!
In the meantime, go make yourself a smoothie. Temps are rising here in NC…perfect time for a little refreshment!
Sometimes I link up at these parties: Sarahndipities, A Pinch of Joy, Sew Much Ado, Clip with Purpose, Mad in Crafts, The Graphics Fairy, Apron Thrift Girl, Singing Three Little Birds, The House in the Roses, Keeping it Simple, Skip to My Lou, It’s So Very Cheri, We are THAT Family, Someday Crafts, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Much Ado, The Brambleberry Cottage
Ok, Christa. This sounds really yummy (not so much the spinach part, but the rest…). I will try this with the spinach though and let you know if it passes my picky daughter’s nose!
Don’t tell her what’s in it! If you start out with a little spinach at a time, she’ll never know. mwahahahahaha
I do these too! Just finished one, actually
Only, I don’t usually have yogurt on hand. I love the spinach (and so does my hubby 
b/c it makes it taste a little more robust & healthy and not just sugary sweet. I used milk in mine this morning, but often use orange juice. Not sure if you ever tried it, but I have also been throwing in about 3/4 cup (I never measure) of quick oats. Not quite as smoooooth, but makes it an extra hearty meal on the go. You may want to give it a try!:)
thanks! I may give that a try! I’ve been making my own yogurt recently. Pretty easy and not super time consuming. I need to share the recipe!
yes, please do share your yogurt recipe
Christina @ The Frugal Homemaker recently posted..$3.00 Spring Green wreath + a fun invitation
I would love to see your yogurt recipe!
okay…I’ll work on it.
Love this Christa! A smoothie with spinach (first time I have done it but I love spinach so was hoping it would work) was already on the list today
but this helps give me some more ideas 
I love OJ in mine too – with strawberries, milk or yogurt, bananas, blueberries. Loving that I know have quite a freezer stash – bananas, strawberries, and blueberries (no peaches, will have to watch for those to go on sale) for smoothie making
Christina @ The Frugal Homemaker recently posted..$3.00 Spring Green wreath + a fun invitation
yummy – hope you like the spinach add-in!
we did, well my nieces weren’t sure about “the green stuff” – ha! you couldn’t taste it so I just told them it was special stuff for smoothies
realized, I don’t have a blender
ours broke at the end of last summer. but I do have a Magic Bullet thing that I got for like $5 on super clearance. So I have to make individual sized smoothies but it works.
will have to look for another blender
Christina @ The Frugal Homemaker recently posted..$3.00 Spring Green wreath + a fun invitation
Thanks for the recipe. My daughter has gotten to the point she will absolutely refuse any kind of vegetables. But she likes smoothies. And now I have another way to give her some veggies without her knowing it. And I look forward to when you share your yogurt recipe. I like the greek yogurt but it is expensive.
This looks so yummy! If my kids weren’t already in bed, I would whip out my blender!
I am on weight watchers and this is a good, healthy treat I can have! Thanks!
Sarah Hefner recently posted..Ribbon Flower Tutorial–Just in Time for Spring!
haha! good for you – yes, I sometimes use it as a meal because it has protein, fruits & veggies! can’t beat it!
Your daughter is so cute! Love the spinach idea… one of these days I’m going to try that.
And yes, so funny that you were starving at your Progressive Dinner and I was stuffed! Maybe you were polite and didn’t scarf everything down!
Renee @ Living, Laughing, & Loving recently posted..Beautify your Blog… How to Save your Picnik Faves
lol…I think not! I did one that was a sub progressive dinner. So you get the bread at one place, veggies at one, meat at one, etc. So by we finally got to the second place, I had eaten most of the insides of my sub! bahaha…it was fun, though.
I juice . . . a lot. Spinach and Kale are high on nutritional value. I add it to every juice I make. YUMMMY.You are right you don’t taste it unless you put too much in. The smoothie sounds so delish! I’m going to give it a try this week!
Tiff@MakeLifeCreative recently posted..DIY Hemming Jeans
Ooohhh, good for you! This is one of the big ways I get my dark green veggies in – and it tastes so yummy at the same time.
We just made this smoothie… with almond milk and some pomegranate juice to thin it out a bit. I also threw in a little bit of flaxseed meal
My (very very picky) 3 year old just drank it down and asked for more “smoodie” every day!!! Wahooooo! It was really tasty! Thanks for this recipe. LOVE it!
Mmm, Krissy, that sounds sooo yummy! Glad your little one loved it!
[...] to Christa from Brown Sugar Toast who posted her recipe (and her little one enjoying SPINACH smoothies), I had to try them! Now I love fresh spinach [...]