Nothing is as refreshing as a cold smoothie on a hot day. There are various ways to make a a smoothie, each one of them offering a slightly different texture and flavour!
When I first started making smoothies, I used the traditional recipe of:
- milk
- protein powder
- frozen fruit
- a dollop of yoghurt
However, as I became more interested in going dairy-free, I came across a smoothie known as the "Green Monster", which was created by Angela from Oh She Glows. The trick to this smoothie was substituting the milk for Almond Milk (found beside soy milk in most grocery stores, either in the Tetra packs or in the refrigerated section), and adding.... spinach! Yup, spinach. It blends well and is virtually tasteless.
While I don't add spinach to my smoothies anymore, I have adopted the Vega brand Whole Food Optimizer in its place. It is expensive, but comes packed with tons of phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, fiber, amino acids, and other whole foods. I am not big on vegetables, so adding this to my smoothie every morning helps keep me in tip top shape. Experimenting with the frozen fruit that I add is so much fun too! Right now I have been adding a combination of strawberries, wild blueberries, and mango.
What is your favourite smoothie combination?
Have you done coconut milk? I like it 10x better than almond milk in my smoothies...and the health benefits of coconut milk trump those of almond milk ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm a Green Monster fan of two years. Going Paleo I had to rid my use of Rice milk which was very tough for me to do. Since I am allergic to almonds, I have resorted to coconut milk.
ReplyDeleteSarah - which brand of coconut milk are you using? I've been a little skeptical of coconut milk because a lot of them are loaded with other ingredients, like cane sugar.
Love coconut milk. Rachel, your best bet is to use canned coconut milk (not the carton and/or refrigerated versions) and always check your labels. I use Trader Joe's light coconut milk (paleo folks everywhere are all about the full-fat but TJ's doesn't carry it and as a recent paleo convert, I don't see a problem using the light version).
DeleteIn general, I don't drink smoothies often (like 1-2x/year) and when I do, they're made of fruit (usually organic strawberries, other berries, etc). I know there's sugar, but I prefer the occasional fruit smoothie to veggie smoothies (they aren't as palatable to me and I can get the nutrients other ways).
Yay for health! :)