Matt is out of town on business until Friday afternoon, so it’s Smoothie Week in my house! Not just regular ol’ smoothies, either, but green smoothies! You know, imbued with spinach, kale, ginger… the usual, right? Absolutely delicious green smoothies.
Of course, Matt would call me weird. Plus, he hates bananas and other such awesome fruits. And, um… kale. That’s why I do this shit when he’s not home.
I got interested in smoothies when trying to decide how I was going to easily add more fruits and veggies to my diet without, you know, eating vast amounts of fruits and veggies. After watching some infomercials over the weekend (what? That’s all on the tube from 10-3!) and seeing how easy it was to make your own smoothies, I vowed to give it a shot while Matt was out of town. This whole week is a great way for me to boost my immune system, provide me with lots of great vitamins and minerals, and most importantly, keep me on a vegan track for at least this week.
Thanks to the uncharacteristically warm weather we’ve had in Maryland, pollen has been out with a VENGEANCE. As a result, Matt and I are both sniffling, sneezing, itching, wheezing, and overall just feeling miserable. I’ve noticed that, during my vegan challenge and when I cut out dairy for a semester in college (long before I started blogging here!), my allergies were alleviated almost instantly. Considering how bad they’ve been recently, I’m hoping this helps!
Back to the smoothie. The use of the cara cara orange is a specific one: Nicknamed the “Power Orange”, this orange packs a huge punch in a little package. Orange on the outside but delightfully pinkish red on the inside, this orange is juicy, low in acid, and seedless, packed with vitamins C and A, fiber, folate, potassium, and Lycopene… all great for powering a healthy immune system.
Since I’m just starting with this green smoothie thing, I decided to take it a bit easy: Lots of fruits, only one (safe!) vegetable. And thus, the Tooty Frooty Spinach Smoothy was born!
(As with all other recipes this week, feel free to swap out any fruits you’d like. Seriously, though, try with the veggies… you may be surprised. 
)
Yields: 2 servings
Ingredients
* about five (5) large strawberries, tops removed and quartered
* one (1) banana, a bit green around the edges, cut into pieces
* one (1) cara cara orange, juice and all! just leave out the rinds
* two (2) heaping handfuls of spinach
* some ice, if desired
Method
1. Using a blender or (in my case) a Magic Bullet, throw in the strawberries and banana slices and blend until smooth.
2. Add the cara cara oranges, being sure to squeeze ‘em a little into the mix to bring out some of the juice. Again, blend until smooth.
3. Now the fun part: Go from a pretty pink smoothie to a GREEN one with all that spinach! Add that and the ice (if desired) to the blender and mix all up until smooth, about one to one-and-one-half minutes.
4. Pour into a glass, garnish with a fresh strawberry, and enjoy! I promise you won’t even taste the spinach.
Okay, I’ve been considering doing this for like, two weeks and procrastinating. You just gave me a buttkick because the smoothie actually looks so GOOD!!
OMG, do it, seriously! It’s fantastic.
I have the second serving in front of me, with a tablespoon or so of peanut butter added for some protein. YUMMM.
I’m snatching this recipe to put on my recipe page. Don’t know when I’ll try it, but I tend to drink a lot of smoothies in the Summer so want the recipe on hand.
Awesome, Tori! I know you’ll love it.
And you’ll like the one I plan to make tonight, with pineapple and cilantro! (Good god, I hope it works… LOL)
Do share…
You know, I never did get around to posting it. Will have to do that after insanity week! That, and a new one with kale, too… nom nom nom.