help me make a good smoothie

[Hey Mama!]

I have apples, pears, kiwis, blueberries, baby spinach, oj, cantaloupe, watermelon, frozen shredded zuchini. I want to start drinking green smoothies for breakfast but don't know what combos work the best. Any advice appreciated!

[sosurreal09]

i make a smoothie containing the following: 1 avacado 1 banana 1 cup blueberries a bunch of ice 1 cup coconut milk (or so delicious coconut milk which doesnt taste like coconut)
the avacado makes it creamy without adding dairy and the coconut milk too. you could definately add any fruits or veggies in there without an issue.

[SollysMom]

Here are proportions that I've found work well to make my smoothies the right consistency:

~2 cups fresh greens
1/2 cup liquid (milk or OJ)
1/2 cup yogurt (if I'm out of yogurt I just up the liquid to 3/4 - 1 cup)
1 banana (not frozen)
1 cup frozen fruit of any kind
Any desired "extras" like coconut oil, flax seed meal, etc.

That said, with what you listed, you could do a lot of yummy combinations! I would probably freeze the blueberries and/or cantaloupe chunks and/or watermelon chunks. Do you have bananas? I find the banana is key to get the right creamy texture. Otherwise I've seen some use avocados or nut butters or soaked nuts.

With only the ingredients you listed, I'd probably blend ~2 cups spinach in 3/4-1 cup OJ, then add 1 cup frozen blueberries and maybe a (peeled) kiwi. That seems like it could be yummy. Or maybe cantaloupe/zucchini? You can also always use water as your liquid if there's enough sweetness from the fruit you're using.

[Cascadian]

I think I started a smoothie thread a long while ago

There are OODLES of blogs on green smoothies - type that into google, and away you go!

There is a subtle --> heavy taste gradient for greens, that you want to counter with fruit with stronger flavours (berries, citrus). (I focus on my kids so this is important to me).

Also if you do greens, have something acidic in there (eg. citrus) to help release the vits.

I bought a bunch of stuff to randomly throw into my smoothies - all healthy 'additionals' - eg. nuts, spirulina, protein powder, etc. Never the same thing every time.

Opaque cups and straws work well at first if you can't handle the color.

Finally...it always tastes better than it looks

[Hey Mama!]

I've blended up a half a watermelon and froze it into 1/2 cup servings. I have read that baby spinach isn't so bitter so I'm going to start with that. I've read about putting oats, nuts, etc in it as well but I'm a smoothie noob so I'm going to start with the basics. I do have wheat germ and walnuts but don't know if either of those would be a good addition. I'm planning on getting some bananas this evening because I've read that's how to get a creamy texture.

[Hey Mama!]

Ok today I made one with the following ingredients; 2 c baby spinach, 1 c frozen blueberries, 1/2 c oj, 1/2 c slightly thawed watermelon puree,and banana. It was really good! I was very pleasantly surprised that it was so palatable. Definitely going to continue experimenting.

[jimblejamble]

Mine are ever-changing but some delicious recent ones have been...

3 c spinach
2 peaches or fuji apples
2 bananas
Strawberries or blueberries
Flax seeds
Wheat germ
Hemp seeds
Water

This makes a HUGE amount

[nolansmummy]

Here's my recent recipe:

1c. spinach
1c. vanilla almond milk
Frozen fruit:
mango
banana
strawberry
raspberry

Simple but yummy.

[Hey Mama!]

Originally Posted by JessicaRenee

Mine are ever-changing but some delicious recent ones have been...

3 c spinach
2 peaches or fuji apples
2 bananas
Strawberries or blueberries
Flax seeds
Wheat germ
Hemp seeds
Water

This makes a HUGE amount

So do you drink all this at once? I froze two 1/2 c servings because I want my daughters to eat some of it and they are more willing if it's completely frozen. That left me with a lot to drink myself. Oh, and something surprising, is that I am craving more smoothies! Is there a limit on how much you should drink in a day?