Eating Well

So, does this ^ look good to you?  Does it remind you of a peppermint shake or smoothie?  Well, it has no mint in it whatsoever.  It is an example of a 'green smoothie.'  Green smoothies seem to be the big thing these days.  There are green smoothie diet plans and other diets that use them as a big part of the daily menu.  What exactly is a green smoothie?  Green smoothies are vegetable based, for the most part, and a lot of them are made with spinach.  Here is a common recipe:

1 1/2 cups fruit juice
1 frozen banana, cut into chunks
1/4 cup yogurt
2 cups fresh spinach 

Directions:
1 (Peel the banana BEFORE you freeze it!).
2 Pour juice into a blender jar.
3 Add chunked banana, yogurt, and spinach.
4 Blend thoroughly on High.
5 Enjoy! This recipe obviously can be tweaked to your heart's content -- add other fruit, use flavored yogurt, or even add ice cream or sherbet. It's an especially good way to use fruit that's slightly past its prime.

It seems as if most of these recipes have 60% fruit and 40% vegetables in them.  This is a good way to get veggies into your body, especially if you aren't a very big veggie lover.  I don't particularly like vegetables, so I am always happy to find a way to get more into my diet.  The surprising thing is, you DON'T taste the veggies in these smoothies!  Of course, depending on what you put in them will determine how they taste.  And the recipes are VERY forgiving--you just add whatever you have on hand and blend.

Today I made my smoothie with a banana, a container of vanilla yogurt, a bit of orange juice, some frozen strawberries, and two handfuls of spinach--and the darn thing was very good.  I used my immersion blender instead of a regular blender and it worked very well.  I do believe these will be on my menu for quite a while.  And I can pretend I'm doing something to eat better.  :D