I tried my first Green Monster back in March, and although it was tasty, I wasn’t ready to make them everyday. But I still liked the idea of adding more greens to my diet. I eat salads all the time, add spinach to pasta, wraps, eggs, and sammies, but still wanted to add more! I’ve read so many healthy living blogs that rave about how greens are good for the skin and help with the glow, plus they give you energy.

My smoothie staple is frozen strawberries, a ripe banana, and freshly squeezed orange juice. From experience, I know that spinach doesn’t add that much flavor (it basically has no taste in a smoothie concoction) so I thought, why not add it to my regular smoothie??

Verdict: SUCCESS! It’s ugly, but IT IS SO GOOD. All I can taste are the sweet strawberries, oranges, and banana. I will be making this again. Very soon. I highly recommend it! I’m excited to add some different protein powders next time and experiment!

Green Monster Remix
2 c fresh spinach
1 T flax (optional)
1 frozen ripe banana
1 c frozen strawberries
6-8 small navel oranges, freshly squeezed, pulp and all
(enough juice to almost cover the fruit and spinach)

Blend until smooth.

I received a honeydew melon in my CSA box last week and it worked great in this monster! This is naturally sweet and super healthy. Perfect for breakfast on a sunny summer morning! I’ll give you the basic recipe and then some options for “kicking it up a notch”. Enjoy!

Green melon smoothie
Serves about 2
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup ice
1 cup honeydew (or cantaloupe) chunks
1/2 an orange, peeled and chopped
2 pitted dates
1-2 cups raw spinach

Optional add-ins:
1 serving protein powder (I use Vega Smoothie Infusion or Shake & Go Smoothie)
2 tsp hemp seed oil or EFA oil blend (for omega 3s)
1 tsp chlorella powder (for post-exercise muscle recovery)
1 tsp maca powder (for stamina and hormone balance)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth

I was very hesitant to try the Green Monsters (especially when I made my first one)….lol! The look of it was something I had never attempted before, but it smelled delish! After one taste, I was and am HOOKED! I must now have one every single day.  One of my favs is this:

2.5 c fresh organic spinach
2 c frozen fruit (strawberries, bananas, mango, pineapple)
1 tb ground flaxseed
1/4 c oats
1.5 c almond milk
3/4 c water

Best Breakfast Ever……lol!!!!!!!!

Sadly/ Unexpectedly – I Converted

So I know I am way way wayyyy behind but I have been reading a lot about “The Green Monster” on the other blogs that I follow. I open to trying a lot of different foods (hence my odd creations) but this was one I thought I would NEVER try. Since I can’t sleep in on weekend (stupid work-life body cycle) I was up early at 5:30am and was craving a cold smoothie. It seemed like a perfect morning to try it because one – no one is home so I can use my magic bullet and will not wake anyone AND two – no one will see me throw it away if I don’t like it lol.

I must say I am now addicted.

How I made it

– 1 cup Spinach
– Splash of Water
– Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Milk
– 1 Spoonful Fage Yogurt
– 2 Tbsp PB
– 1/2 Banana
– 2 Sliced Strawberries
– 1 Tbsp Vanilla flavored Jell-o Pudding Mix
– Ice to thicken

I promise when it is blend you can not taste the spinach! Mine was a mix of a pb, banana and strawberry smoothie and it was oh so good.

Recently I have made for my friend who si trying to get healthier. Here is the URL for that experience – http://chocolatetoosierollpops.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-turned-jill-green.html

Haven’t made one in a long time.  did a spinach, protein powder, yogurt, ice, apple, and blackberries (which made it purple) version. healthy but a little too interesting.

Still fun to drink.

Rob Barrett
CFDs

I read about the GM on Jenna’s webpage and decided to try one of my own (plus make some for my roommates). I threw 6 cups of spinach, 2 frozen bananas, a cup of blueberries, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 cup of soymilk and a handful of ice into a blender. After trying to jam it down with a spoon I realized it’s probably better to add the spinach ONE CUP AT A TIME to prevent blender burnout. After a wary glance and a tentative sniff, all three of us chugged these down and were thrilled!

Now I have a gigantic glass of this every single morning, as do my roommates. I have more energy and I just feel happier! It’s always nice to start the day with 2 veggie servings in me before 8am 🙂

After seeing these smoothies make appearance on numerous blogs I follow, I had to give it a try. I am now on the GM bandwagon! I added small amount of Matcha to my GM. This ground up green tea is packed with nutrients.
My roommate caught me making a Green Monster and I haven’t heard the end of it. She was sitting in the kitchen while I was putting the ingredients in the blender. We were in the middle of a conversation when I grabbed a handful of spinach and she stopped what she was saying. “You are NOT putting that in there!” She couldn’t understand why I would do such a thing. I tried to explain- it’s good for you- remember Popeye?
I actually got her to try it and she admitted that she couldn’t taste the spinach, but the fact that it was green still freaks her out.

Ingredients:
1 Banana
1 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1 Big handful of Spinach
1/2 Teaspoon Matcha Powder

Best served in a “Camp Rock” cup 🙂

After several months of drinking my favorite green monster (the virgin), I decided to experiment. I brought my obsession with dried figs into the picture, and voila! I discovered my go-to recipe.  The cucumber makes this smoothie especially smooth and creamy, and the figs add a fantastic sweetness!

Hope you enjoy!
Becky’s Fig Dream

Ingredients:
2-3 cups of spinach
1 small cucumber (or 1/2 medium or large)
2 dried figs, chopped and stems removed
1 1/4 cups of unsweetened almond milk
1 tbsp chia or flaxseeds
4-6 ice cubes

Directions:
Blend all ingredients together except ice.  After the mixture begins to look smooth, add your ice in.  This makes a lot, so grab someone you love to share!