My Fuel

October!! Where did September go?! I have been super duper crazy ridiculous busy lately and barely have time to shower much less blog. I have about a million things I want to blog about but my world is spinning too fast. In the mean time or until I get a chance to blog about the rest of my life, I am throwing on a quick post about smoothies.

The first time I became a smoothie lover was when I was nursing my 10 1/2 lb newborn Spencer. I needed all the nutrients I could get because I had to make more milk than a cow! I used Dr. Sears recipe:

3 cups milk, soy, or rice milk	1 banana
1½ cups yogurt (plain nonfat yogurt recommended)	1 cup frozen blueberries
½ cup each of your favorite fruit, frozen e.g., strawberries, papaya, mango, pineapple)
4 oz. tofu	honey, cinnamon, to taste
2 tbsp. peanut butter	½ avocado
1-2 servings Juice Plus Complete (Choc or Vanilla) or similar multi-nutrient supplement	2 tbsp. flax oil (or ½ cup flax seed meal)

Minus the Juice Plus Complete stuff. Sounds great but it is too expensive for me. I just used a liquid vitamin that was packed with good stuff instead.

My sister reminded me of the power of smoothies this summer. This is her recipe:

Approximately:
3 Cups Frozen Tropical Fruit slightly defrosted
3 cups Orange Juice (just pour it in until it hits the top of the fruit)
1/2 cup Vanilla Yogurt (as natural as you want it to be)
1-2 Bananas
2-3 cups Spinach(or a mixture of different greens- spinach seems mild enough for most people)
1 Tablespoon Flax seeds (sometimes)

I decided to figure out what I wanted in my own smoothie and came up with my own recipe. I have decided to post it because my mother-in-law mentioned needing a quick breakfast solution, and my mom asked for my recipe.

2 c. vanilla yogurt (least sugar possible, check the labels)
2 c. blueberries
1 serving tofu (personal preference but soy milk or soy protein powder works too)
1 c. orange juice
2 T. ground flax seed
2 T. untoasted wheat germ
1 t. fish oil
2 T. peanut butter
at least 1 handful fresh spinach
banana(s) to taste (optional; amount depends on which berries you use, if you add other fruit, and how tart you like it)

We drink this almost every morning. My kids love it. They will even turn down those super tempting and totally non-nutritious kid cereals if they hear my blender running. They hover behind me anxiously waiting to get their fair share of the deal. They don't care that it has weird stuff in it because you can't taste the weird stuff.

I change up the recipe often because it is not good to eat the same thing every single day. My family likes to taste and guess what I put in the smoothie that day...

I use different kinds of berries like raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, or cranberries. I also sometimes use purple grapes or black cherries in addition to berries or instead of berries. I use fresh berries when they are on sale but frozen works great because it makes the smoothie nice and brain freeze cold... the way my family likes it!

I use different kinds of juice (apple, purple grape, cranberry, etc.) but if I do, then I add fresh oranges or canned mandarin oranges.

If we have fresh fruit (like peaches) that is still good but too ripe to eat straight, I add it to a smoothie. I also add applesauce sometimes too.

Sometimes I add a tablespoon or more of honey, especially if I use plain yogurt. Local honey is supposed to help with hay fever.

After taking another look at the above recipes, I might add tropical fruits (mango, papaya, pineapple, passion fruit, pomegranate, kiwi, avacado) more often too.

I know that some of this might sound strange or gross to you but try it before you knock it! This is a fantastic way to: start your day with energy, improve your overall health, prevent numerous major health problems, and prevent or relieve minor illnesses (like a cold). You can seriously tell a difference (feel good) in less than an hour or so after you drink it. I can totally tell a difference in my energy level on days that I did not drink a smoothie that morning. When one of my kiddos is sick or has a game that day, I let them hog the blender and drink as much as they can possibly stuff in their belly.

I try to keep all of the above ingredients on hand and then while sticking to my basic recipe I can still change it up a bit and just throw in whatever I feel like each morning. I try to not fill the blender to the rim so I can taste it when I am done blending and decide if I want to add something else.

I need this fuel so I can run a hundred miles per hour every day all day and still live to blog about it!