Latest food fad - Smoothies

I didn't realize this about myself until my friend, "Beth" pointed it out to me.  We were talking about food (big surprise) and she asked me what my latest "fad" was.  I'm not sure fad was the exact word she used, but that works for what she meant, I do believe.  Hmm, I had never, ever thought of it that way, but she was exactly right.  I find something I like and get fixated on it...for a while anyway.

I know, most of you that know us well might be cracking up at this serious revelation.  The Wilhoit's get fixated on something and then move on?  WHAT?  I know, it's totally absurd correct.   (Re: goats, chickens, horses, race horses, pigs...)

I suppose that is one reason Jay and I tolerate each other so well, for the most part, ha.

Now, back to our story...

My latest fad in foods is the green smoothie for breakfast.  I was on Facebook (goodness, what did we do without it?) and saw where a couple friends, one who has battled cancer and just a lot of crud, started eating/drinking these smoothies for breakfast.  They talked about how healthy and filling they were, how delicious they tasted, blah, blah, blah.  I inquired of the ingredients and was beyond skeptical.

The gross stuff:  Spinach, kale, chia seeds, ground flax, honey, protein powder...

Do any of those ingredients alarm you?  They sure did me.  Spinach and kale...ugh.  That's like, healthy stuff...that only Jay would eat. Gross.  I'm supposed to drink that in a smoothie?  And it is good?  I do not even think it is possible.  Honey is semi-tolerable and I'm really trying to use it more instead of sugar (in fairness, maybe it should be on the other list), but I'm not a big fan.

And chia - do you remember Chia pets?  Surely, that is not the same little black seed?!  Going in my belly to 'fill' me up...eeew.  Cha-cha-cha-CHIA sounds a lot like a term we use around our house, "cha, cha, cha," when we are sick...if you get what I'm driving at.

And now the tolerable ingredients:  Frozen fruit, a splash of OJ, Almond milk or coconut water (have you tasted that stuff plain? Ugh).  These were the only parts of the smoothie that I could even consider ingesting.

After talking with my friends about how good these smoothies were, I figured what doesn't kill us makes us stronger (who even decided that was true?), and I forged ahead with the plan to introduce these healthy green smoothies into my diet.

I acquired the ingredients they had suggested and bought a cheap version of a Ninja (wish I had the Ninja now, but maybe some day...) and gave it a shot.

I was told that freezing the kale and spinach, as well as the fruit, helped drastically with the consistency of the smoothie.  (Anything to make it more pleasing to my pallet was worth a try.)  So I chopped and bagged up spinach, kale and fruit.  With the fruit, I first put the fruit pieces onto wax paper on top of a cookie sheet to freeze.  After they are firm, I put the pieces in freezer baggies.  It works out well and let me tell you, freezing the fruit and greens is essential.  I have tried the smoothie using fresh ingredients and it truly is not the same.

So the verdict:  I LOVE THE GREEN SMOOTHIE, even with the eeewy-gooey ingredients in it.  It is so delicious and you can't even tell there is spinach or kale in it.  The chia seeds get stuck in my teeth, but I figure if they will swell into a fluffy 'fro and cause me to eat less, I'll take it.

Why yes, we garnish our smoothie....not!
(Borrowed image)

The one thing I was worried about was whether the smoothie would hold me over until my 10:30 apple snack.  I was delighted to discover it does just as much as my oatmeal and blueberries did (which is now my latest lunch fad because I love it so).   I even got Jay hooked on them.

We mix it up every now and then depending on what fruit we have available.  I have found that a half a banana is essential (for me) in the flavoring.  And adding a fresh banana just does not do it justice.  Even nearly rotten bananas -frozen- are good for this.  My favorite blend is half a banana, half an apple and the other ingredients.  We also use a frozen fruit mix that Walmart sells containing pineapple, strawberries, mango and peaches with half a banana.  It is pretty good.  Oh, and blueberries are yummy too.

We still can't get the kiddos to try it.  And by try, I mean they won't even take a little sip.  "It's gross." Hey, I thought it was gross too, until I tried it.

Just in case you're curious, I'll put the so-called recipe in writing for you.  You have to kind of tweak the amount of liquids you use to get the consistency you want.

Almond milk, coconut water & orange juice.  You can use just almond milk or just coconut water but add either a splash of OJ or a pinch of Tang powder, (that's what I'm using because I couldn't keep orange juice around long enough).  We actually use half of each...half almond milk (unsweetened 30 calorie vanilla) with half coconut water (it's supposed to be very good for your skin, among other things, it is just terrible plain), a pinch of Tang, half a scoop of vanilla protein powder (Jay may use a whole scoop), a squirt of honey, a teaspoon of ground flax, teaspoon of chia seeds (I actually mix those up in a little container and just scoop out some), 1/2 banana, 1/2 apple (or handful of other fruit) and a handful of the frozen kale and spinach.  Blend well and enjoy.

There are all kinds of different variations out there of a 'green smoothie,' this just happens to be the one I've latched onto.  I'm sure there are some that are actually healthier, but maybe not as tasty.  I think I'll stick with this one for now...

Let me know if you decide to try it or have any questions.  I'm not an expert, but currently I'm all about this latest food fad :)