A Smoothie A Day...part 1

This part 1 of a 7 part series...7 smoothie recipes in the next 7 days.  I love smoothies and recently I have been on a huge smoothie kick, sometimes having two a day.  I always have one after my workout and sometimes I will have one as a late evening snack to ward off my sweet tooth that I tend to get after dinner.

Mean, Green, Fighting Machine Smoothie
this recipe makes 2 servings

1 frozen banana
1 kiwi
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
6 frozen black berries
1 1/2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1 serving of protein powder (mine was vanilla whey protein today)
water if needed for your preferred consistency

blend all ingredients in a blender.  Note:  I have a Vita-Mix blender which will blend anything...its a monster of a blender!  If you don't have a Vita-Mix or other powerful blender make sure you cut your banana and kiwi up so that they will break down easier.



My favorite smoothie trick?  I buy tons of bananas (usually a bunch every time I go to the store, which is usually 3 times a week)  Once the bananas start to get a little brown I peel them and put them into individual ziploc baggies and pop them in the freezer.  Perfect for making that smoothie (or milk shake if you are my 13 year old son) smooth and thick.  Then you don't have to add any ice, at least I don't ever have to.  And yes, my 3 year old loves these smoothies, even packed full of spinach!  He always asks for his own cup full.

The protein powder I used is shown in the picture.  I went to my local health food store and they have several different types of protein powder in one serving packages.  I bought several so I could find a type of protein that I like.  I'm trying to find a brand that I can't really taste because sometimes I think the powder changes the flavor of my smoothies too much.  I didn't really like this powder.  It gave my smoothie an artificial low-cal sugar substitute after taste.  The other day I did have this same brand of egg protein powder which I could hardly taste in my smoothie.  But I still have about 5 more to try before I make my decision.  Also, I only put protein powder in my smoothies if I am drinking it after my workout.  If I was to make this smoothie just as a late day snack or for breakfast I would replace the powder with about 1/2 cup of low-fat greek yogurt, flavor of your choice.