I love food. Well, I love to eat it. Sometimes I love to make it too, but only if I then get to eat it. Most of the time, however, I don’t have time/energy/inspiration or even the food in stock to make something that I know is healthy.
I don’t normally post about food, but seeing how it’s almost the New Year I thought I might share some recipes that may help you with your resolutions to lose weight.
This is a problem I’m hoping to resolve. For me breakfast is pretty simple: I can make eggs & bacon, omelettes, yogurt with fruit and nuts, flaxseed muffins in a cup, etc. So lots of options. And since I’m a self-employed piano and voice teacher, none of my busy time comes until noon or later. So lunch and dinner are often problematic for me.
Especially lunch. I mean, what do you have? I don’t want to make an entire meal, and if I reheat leftovers from dinner the previous night then the extra I made for dinner to be used as dinner some other night gets eaten up. And sometimes by noon, I’m already on the road or teaching.
Enter smoothies!
I had bought this great greensmix which has anything you could possibly need: fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs, spices, and no filler. So for a few weeks I was happily mixing this with water or almond milk and going forth on my merry little way.
But then boredom set in.
It actually tastes really good and not at all like you’re eating a lawn, but having the same thing most days of the week gets really tiresome for me.
And this means I stopped drinking that and resorting to eating toast or nothing at all.
Definitely not the healthiest choices I've made.
That’s when I decided that I needed to come up with a different plan.
Below I have a few recipes and ideas to help you get started in making smoothies
Prep Work
I hate prepping the ingredients. I don’t actually hate the act of it, but it is very time consuming and I’ve learned over the years to be careful when doing things quickly with sharp objects. So it’s pretty slow work.
As a result, I’ve decided to make smoothie “kits” to be frozen ahead of time on the weekends, and then during the week I can simply take out a baggie from the freezer and dump that into a blender with some liquid and whatever other additives I want in there.
Another idea is that when you go to make a smoothie for yourself, you make one to drink right away, and assemble the same ingredients you already have out into a baggie to be frozen for later.
Either way, you’re preparing when you’ve decided you have the time, not when you’re in panic mode to get out the door!
Step 1: Gather Your Stuff in a Pile
Get everything you’re going to need handy so you’re not having to stop after each item to go get something else. Here are some things you’ll need:
- Fruits (fresh or frozen, preferably organic): strawberries, blueberries, bananas, pineapples, mangos, oranges, avocados, peaches, and whatever else looks good to you
- Veggies (fresh or frozen, preferably organic): Kale, spinach, celery, cucumber, and whatever else you like - I find leafy vegetables work best
- Equipment: blender (if mixing today), cutting board, knife, zester, freezer bags, sharpie
- Other Stuff: (Generally these items are added right before mixing): water or almond milk, yogurt, greens mix, cinnamon or other spices, chia seeds, flaxseeds.
Step 2: Make Your Big Pile into Smaller Piles
Now that you’ve made a big mess, start assembling your smoothie mixes. I recommend not putting avocado in the bags and just adding them when you’re ready to mix, but they can be frozen ahead of time - just squirt lemon or lime juice on them to prevent them from turning brown.
For quantities, I’d just eyeball it. I made enough to make 2 drinks per mix because if I don’t feed hubby @negativer, he resorts to eating cardboard and peanut butter. I use about ½ cup for each ingredient.
Note: The greensmix I use is naturally sweet, so I don’t have a need to make the smoothies any sweeter. If you want more sweetness, add honey or pineapple to your mixes.
Berry Smoothie
- Banana
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
When ready to make into a smoothie, add yogurt (omit if you are avoiding dairy), almond milk or water, and greens mix
Kalenberry
- Kale
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
When ready to make into a smoothie, add avocado, almond milk or water, and greens mix
Peachy Keen
- Peaches
- Banana
- Strawberries
When ready to make into a smoothie, add almond milk or water, vanilla extract (optional), and greens mix
Green Monster
- Kale
- Celery (not too much or it will be a fibrous texture)
- Cucumber
- Spinach
When ready to make into a smoothie, add avocado, lemon or lime juice, almond milk or water, yogurt, greens mix, vanilla extract (optional), and cinnamon (optional).
Tropical Dreams
- Pineapple
- Banana
- Mangos
- Orange (if fresh, add some zest too)
When ready to make into a smoothie, add almond milk or water, vanilla extract (optional), and greens mix
Feel free to experiment with different spices (i.e., cardamom, nutmeg, turmeric), herbs (i.e., cilantro, dill, parsley, thyme), essential oils, seeds, nut butters (not peanut butter), and cocoa and protein powders.
Today, I made the Tropical Dreams recipe because I dream of someday being warm again (it’s been in negative temps since we got to the frozen tundra that is Wisconsin).
So my plan going forward is to do smoothie mix making binges on the weekend and see if that makes my life a bit healthier and still fairly easy to do.
Have any good smoothie recipes or ideas? Please share!
Here’s to a healthier life in 2018!
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