My Love of Smoothies!

Last year I purchased a Magic Bullet, by NutriBullet, and I have to say it has been one of the best investments I've made! Making smoothies has never been easier, and with their recipe book, I would never have dreamed of combining spinach with my fruit to increase my nutrient balance! While I have not experimented too far into the realm of vegetable drinks, I am more than happy to have a nice, cold, refreshing, fruit smoothie for breakfast when I am strapped for time. Not only are they easy to make, every smoothie can be different simply by changing the quantity of the fruit you add.

Today, I feel like sharing this morning's recipe:

Start with half a cup of spinach,

Add cubed pineapple (fresh is best but when in a bind, use canned or frozen),

Frozen blueberries,

and frozen raspberries to the top of the cup.

The Magic Bullet has a 'Max' line printed on the cups to help you determine the proper amount of liquid to add. For this morning's smoothie, I added 2% milk halfway to the 'Max' line, then finished with water. I then added a scoop of Giant Eagle's Market District Vanilla Whey Protein Powder. I swear the longest part of making this is gathering the food to go in the cup...After a quick buzz with the blades, the smoothie is nice and thick and ready to drink!

A few tips:

Use frozen fruit. I love fresh fruit! But I have found that it is just not feasible to buy throughout the year because it typically only lasts a day or two before it rots. I AM a huge fan of frozen fruits! Picked right at the time they have ripened, frozen fruits (and even canned) hold in all the nutritional value they can muster, and will not rot in your refrigerator! When adding them to smoothies, it also eliminates the need to add ice cubes to get a thicker consistency.
I would also caution against using ALL frozen fruit because it leads to the smoothie being too thick and the blades are not able to keep up and get to the spinach...A happy medium is always best!
When adding protein powder, do this last, right before you screw on the blade. I've tried it at different stages and have found this is when it mixes best and doesn't get stuck to the sides of the cup.

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