Smoothies with a Surprise!

The girls discovered some frozen fruit in the deep freeze and ask if we could have smoothies for breakfast. Little did they know that smoothies has been on my mind as well. However, not the kind of smoothies the girls were used to.

I have been doing a lot of research surrounding our diet lately. For no reason we seem to be getting sicker more often, food doesn't seem to taste they way it should, Doug is concerned about staying in shape for his job, I'd like to loose the rest of the weight I gained with Rebekah, and we have growing children to feed.

These are just a few of the reasons I began to take a closer look at what is being put into my family's bodies. And of course there is the cost factor. Everything at the food store costs more! I figured there had to be a better way.

Sorry for getting off topic a little. I will keep you updated on more of my findings and how we are changing our diet and shopping. For now back to smoothies.

Lindsey at Passionate Homemaking had a wonderful post on green smoothies. Now don't turn your nose up yet my smoothie doesn't look green does it? Check out her entry and you will see all the wonderful benefits of green smoothies. And if you have picky children, who don't like their veggies, this may be the answer you are looking for.

Here are the ingredient for the first batch of smoothies we made today. Missing are the blueberries and a touch of water. And yes your eyes aren't playing trick on you there is spinach in that lovely, heavenly tasting pink smoothie. We also used kefir instead of milk for a nutritional boost. The brewers yeast was my own addition. It is a great source of protein, iron and essential amino acids.

Here is the recipe that we used for our first batch of smoothies:

1 handful of spinach

3 Tbsp orange juice concentrate

1 cup kefir

1/4 cup water

1 banana

1 cup strawberries

1 cup blueberries

1 Tbsp brewers yeast

I put the spinach and orange juice concentrate in the blender and let it whirl. This helps make sure that the spinach is completely pureed. Next add the kefir, fruit, and water is necessary. Lastly add the brewers yeast.

The girls liked it so much we had to make a second batch. This time we added a Tbsp of coconut oil for added benefits and a smidgen of agave nectar for sweetness.

As you can see Rebekah really enjoy her smoothie. We plan to make these a part of our weekly breakfast menu. All of us were surprised at how filling they were.