Day Ninety Eight

Still tired and recovering from my swim yesterday. So why am I still up at nearly 11pm? Good question.

• 3 huge handfuls of spinach
• 2 bananas
• handful of frozen peaches
• 2 handfuls of frozen cherries

Ok, I have to be honest. As much as I love cherries, I am not a fan of the cherry/peach combo. I think I'll stick to blueberries or strawberries with my peaches :)

Day Ninety Four

I hope everyone had a fabulous day. Whether today is special to you or just another Sunday, I hope it was filled with love, laughter and SUNSHINE!! I'm lovin' my recent doses of Vitamin D!! I cleaned out the freezer yesterday so I'm using up some ingredients that I found buried down in the bottom! LOL

• 2 c water
• 2 c watermelon
• 3 c spinach
• 2 bananas
• handful of sliced frozen granny smith apples
• big handful of frozen sweet cherries.

Oh my green smoothie. This one was Fantastic! It was sweet, but not sickenly so like some other ones I've made. I am loving the addition of watermelon. I can't wait for this summer!!!

Day Fifty Three

Phew! Monday's are tough around here. We homeschool our oldest son, but one day a week he goes into "school" with other homeschooled children. He's there from 10-3 on Mondays. My younger son has preschool on Monday mornings as well, then its off to aikido from 4:30-5:30 and then chess club from 6:30-8:00. It makes for a looooonnng day. My smoothies help carry me through. Today's smoothie was:

• 2 c water
• 1 banana
• 1 whole lime ~ one complete half (rind & all) and the juice of the other half
• 2 10 oz bags of frozen cherries
• approx 2 Tblsp agave nectar
• 3 huge hanfuls of spinach

YUM! It was like a cherry limeade. Delish! I brought enough to share to chess club and my friend's son downed a whole one and then asked for seconds (and thrids) :)

Day Forty Two

Blogger is still not cooperating with me. It keeps erasing my posts. Yesterday's smoothie was:

• 1 apple
• 2 huge handfuls spinach
• 2 bananas
• 1 10 oz bag frozen cherries
• water

Day Forty

Let's see if blogger cooperates a little better today than it did last night. I actually made this smoothie last night, but there is enough left in the fridge to last me through most of today. I think, until the germs are out of our house, I'll be making my smoothies early. Just in case those germs get me, I'll have smoothie on hand to combat them and still keep my on track for my challenge. So, last night's smoothie was:

• 1 apple, cut into cubes (skin left on)
• 1 10oz bag of frozen sweet cherries
• gobs of spinach
• 2 c OJ

Its tart, but very very good. My husband hasn't tried it yet, I'm not sure if he'll like it or not. He's not a fan of cherries.

Day Twenty Eight

After drinking so much smoothie so late last night I acutally slept very well and woke up not very hungry. I had a handful of nuts in the morning and that held me over until around noon when I made my smoothie. I don't do "diets" and I refuse to let myself go hungry because I'm counting points, calories, fat, carbs or anything else. I just wasn't hungry this morning. Nor was I craving anything. But after I worked out I knew I'd need something soon so I decided to fire up the vita-mix.

• 2 c water
• 1 granny smith apple
• 1 10oz bag of frozen dark sweet cherries
• 1 banana
• squirt of agave
• 3 kale leaves
• spinach
• flax oil
• ICE

I love cherries. This smoothie is not too sweet, but not too bland either. I think it might be one of my favorites. I'll put it under my "faves" as Cherry Apple. Enjoy!

Day Sixteen

Today's smoothie was one of those "I have an idea in my head, the smoothie didn't even come close to what I thought so let's add some more random ingredients" kind of smoothies. And I have to say it ultimately did come close to what I had in mind. Whadda know?
I was going for a "Cherry Limeade" kind of thing, but I didn't have enough frozen cherries. So I substituted some frozen strawberries and I think it came out beautiful. Actually, it didn't because it came out kind of a murky muddy green, but the flavor is beautiful. Afterall, its not looks that matter, its what's in the inside right? Well that's what I tell myself. Please don't burst my bubble. Ok, into the vita-mix:

• some green grapes (its what was leftover from my son's snack. I'd say maybe 7 or 8 of them)
• handful of frozen cherries
• handful of frozen strawberries
• 2 keylimes, peeled + a small piece of peel for extra flavor with no added pulp.
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• squirt of flax
• 1 cup of rice milk
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 2 whole dates, pitted
• ICE

I love it. Again, my kids have given it a thumbs down. I think they've gotten into the habit of taking a taste and immediately telling me they don't like it. I don't get it. My older son used to say how much he loved smoothies, telling me he couldn't get enough of them, etc. I dont' know what changed. But I'm determined to find out.

Day Twelve

Today was a rummage around in the freezer, fruit medley kind of day. Boy, will I be glad when summer rolls around again and I can visit our local farmer's market. Is it wrong that I'm salivating, not over the fresh fruits & veggies that I can get, but over the leaves that are attached to said produce? I am lucky in that I've got a fantastic local grocery store that caters to produce snobs like myself. Today's smoothie recipe is as follows:

• handful of frozen mango chunks (whatever was left in the bag, about a cup)
• big handful of frozen tart cherries
• two big handfuls of frozen granny smith apple slices
• 3 fresh dates, pitted
• 1 cup organic OJ
• 3 cups water (I needed more liquid to move all of that frozen stuff through the blades)
• 4 big handfuls of spinach
• flax oil

Let 'er rip! I actually blended it all up before adding the spinach and gave some to my children that way. They told me it was too sweet and wanted me to add some greens. I can't win with those two.

Later today I plan to make myself some soup with my vita-mix. My goal is to keep the temperature under 118* so all of my yummy ingredients stay raw and packed full of healthy enzymes. Would you like me to share other recipes I try out in my vita-mix or are you here only for the smoothies?

Day Six

Oh how I wish I wish I had a camera to show you today's smoothie. Its neon pink. Truly. Like Wet 'n Wild lip gloss circa 1984. Honestly. Husband isn't too excited about the broken camera. I mean there are three of them sitting on the desk in front of me right now. They are all dead. I can't understand why he's upset. I'm doing my best to butter him up for a new one though. Preparing his favorite meals, offering "special favors". Oh sorry. TMI? (I'm KIDDING! Hi Mom!) :D

Ahem, ok on to the smoothie! We're nearing the end of the first week and you know what that means, right? It means we're nearing the end of my produce supply. The kids requested a "smoothie that isn't green" today. Oh, did I mention we're a homeschooling family? No? Ok, so we're a homeschooling family. And smoothies are a big part of our day. We took a month long break ~ from school AND from smoothies during the holidays and getting back into our routine this week has proven to me more challenging than I thought. So, in an effort to get them more on board with the smoothies (they are required to drink them, but honestly Mommy has a much better day when I don't have listen to the whining and negotiating (can I just drink two tomorrow?) and mumbling and the grumbling) I decided to honor their request. They just said it couldn't be green (or have leaves in it *snicker*), they didn't say it couldn't be choke full of healthy goodness! So I grabbed some stuff out of my freezer and off we went!

• The rest of the box of rice milk (approx a cup or so)
• one apple, chopped
• a handful of mixed frozen fruit (strawberries, pineapple, grapes & peaches ~ bag bought at walmart)
• a handful of frozen cherries
• a carrot
• a 1/4 of a beet (frozen)
• some OJ to keep it all movin' in the blender
• a squirt of agave

A beet???? Yes, a beet. I buy a bunch at a time, trim of the greens (keep those for green smoothies!) and cut the beets into quarters then put them in a ziploc and into the freezer they go! I don't use them all of the time, but they do show up in smoothies occasionally. They do have an earthy flavor and while I don't mind it, a little squirt of agave is enough to mask it for the kids. Enjoy!