Drink your greens, my friends ð Â Seriously, if you haven’t jumped on the green smoothie bandwagon you should give it a try! Â Some of you may have to get past the color and the thought process of drinking vegetables, but after that it is smooth sailing – trust me on this one ð
If you are new to green smoothies, I recommend starting with baby spinach, it is the most mild in flavor yet still packs a nutritional punch and is full of vitamins and minerals including iron, B6 and even protein!  You will be blown away by how your body reacts to receiving such dense nutrition in a delicious 100% natural whole food drink!
Necessities:
1 cup fresh greens (I recommend organic baby spinach)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 mandarin orange peeled (alternatively could use 1 cutie or 1/2 of a navel orange)
1/2 cup frozen mango (alternatively could use peach)
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1/3 of a medium banana (*optional) I recommend adding this in if green smoothies are new to you, it adds a touch of sweetness and creamy texture
Side note: I happen to have a Vitamix blender. Â It is hands down my favorite thing in my entire kitchen, yes in my ENTIRE KITCHEN! Â Words cannot describe how amazing it truly is. Â Like the link above, mine is a factory refurbished model, which makes it somewhat more affordable for the average person. Â Still, any blender over $300 is a tough pill to swallow, I totally get that. Â My husband was not a big fan of me “investing” in a Vitamix at first, but he knew how much I wanted one, so he begrudgingly obliged to a refurbished model. Â Well, 3 years later and not a day has gone by that we haven’t used it and who drinks a green smoothie every morning on his drive into work? Â That’s right, my husband! Â It has truly been a wonderful addition to our kitchen ð Â Okay, I will stop swooning over my blender….You can still make green smoothies in a regular blender, you just need to blend them a little longer ð
Method:
In the base of your blender, add in 1 cup water, the greens, the peeled orange pieces, banana (if using) and the chia seeds and blend on high until you no longer see chunks of spinach – you don’t want to have to chew your smoothie; chewing a smoothie is not good eats ð This may take up to a minute.
Turn off the blender and add in your frozen fruit and blend until smooth and well incorporated. Â Sometimes I will also add in a few ice cubes if I want mine to be extra cold, but it just depends on the day – you pick your perfect temperature. Â And just like that your smoothie is ready to pour; it should be galactically green and totally awesome! Â Drink up and feel energized. Cheers!
