Delicious Green Smoothie Tips

Lately I've been obsessed with green smoothies. 
I'm always looking to put more green veggies into my life 
without having to eat bowls of broccoli with each meal :) 

Enter the green smoothie!

So I thought I'd share a few tips and tricks that I've learned over
the past few months that have made me love
these crazy looking monster smoothies
that make my kids go,
"Eww! I can't believe you're drinking that!"

I had JT fooled for a little while,
until he saw me shoving handfuls of spinach into the blender :)
Isabella was always wise to my plot,
but she prefers to eat her spinach steamed with
salt and butter, so at least she'll eat it green stuff.

What's in my typical smoothie:
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup ice
3-4 handfuls of spinach
1 banana
1-2 handfuls of fresh berries
1 swirly squirt of honey or agave
2 tablespoons milled flaxseed

This recipe usually makes 2 servings, 
so I fill up another cup and freeze it for the next day
so I'm only having to make a smoothie every two days.

I'm blending in my KitchenAid.
I'd love to have a VitaMix or a Blendtec,
but for now they remain on my Wishlist :) 



What I've learned:
  • No cow milk or yogurt. From what I've read the yogurt and milk don't jive with the fruit juices and greens so they are best left out.
  • Use ground or milled flaxseed to get the most of out of your flaxseed. Whole flaxseed will just pass right through you.
  • Don't sweeten. I know, I know, I add honey :) But I'm trying to wean myself off of the extra sugar and just embrace the fruit flavors.
  • Blend and blend some more. I don't want any chunky chunks in my smoothie, so I blend that sucker to death.
  • Don't use overripe bananas. Well, unless you like the flavor. But I don't and I don't like my entire smoothie to taste like a REALLY ripe banana. And nothing I've ever added has masked the flavor of a banana that's too ripe.
I think that's it.
Do you love green smoothies?
What's in yours?