Chocolate Strawberry Superfood Shake

 Adding in Omega 3 fatty acids and almonds give this shake an exceptional nutritious value! The almonds and spinach add protein while the seeds aid in digestion and omega 3's. The cacao is a super food as well.
 This shake has been a new favorite for me since the sourness of normal berry smoothies do not sit well when I am nearing the end of another pregnancy and have SO much heartburn.
*This is great after-workout raw shake as well.

2 C Water
2 C Frozen Strawberries
2 Ripe Bananas
1/2-1 C Packed Spinach
2 T Cacao powder (super food)
1 T Flax Seeds
1 T Chia Seeds
2 T Raw Honey
1-2 C Ice (about 1 tray)

Blend on "Shake" or high until an even and smooth consistency is achieved. I like to put it in a big hospital mug and drink throughout the morning with a straw!

Makes about 6 Cups. Share, drink, or freeze into smoothie pops.

Banana-Orange Slushy

Refreshing and sweet. This smoothie is a great base for any fruit or green smoothie, or great by itself. I wasn't feeling well one morning and this came to mind. Settled my stomach and I felt so refreshed after drinking it.

2 C Cold Water
2 Ripe Bananas
2 Big juicy Oranges, peels off
2 C or 1 tray of ice.
Blend on smoothie or high until it resembles a slushy.
Enjoy!

Chocolate Strawberry Sundae Shakes

 This delicious creation came about when we added frozen strawberries to the amazing chocolate shake. We changed up a few more ingredients and voi-la. A new family fave. It's like having a salad, smoothie, shake, and sundae all in one, hence the name.
We actually did this in 2 batches since we made it for dinner and these were our total ingredients. So if you only want it for 2-3 people, halve the recipe and make it once.

In the Blender:
2 C Water
3 Frozen, chopped bananas
2 C Frozen Strawberries
10 Medjool Dates, pitted
1/4 C Cocoa
1/4 C Honey
1 C Raw Almonds
1 Tray of ice (about 10+ cubes)

Blend on smoothie or shake until smooth, but it's great if there are still small date and almond chunks. If it's too thick add some more water and blend.

Pour into big cups 3/4 of the way full and fill the rest of the cup with chopped almonds and pecans, chopped fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, then drizzle lightly with chocolate sauce.

21 Day Green Smoothie Challenge/Recipes

  Green Smoothies are awesome! You can pretty much throw any fruit and greens in the blender to make one and there are endless variations!
  At the beginning of January I felt a wave of motivation waiting to happen, so I went to one of The Green Smoothie Girls' lectures and that gave me the extra kick I needed to get going for the year. I love green smoothies and and I have been drinking them for years, but this winter has been so cold here in Utah, I have NOT wanted to drink more cold! However, I decided I would take a 21 Day Green Smoothie Challenge, and see if I could get myself to drink some of those veggies I had always been afraid of...like beets! It is said after 21 days you form a habit. So, after grocery shopping I told my family about the challenge and my 7 1/2  year old son said he'd do it with me. The others said they didn't want to, but ahh...when the kitchen smells like fresh fruit and smoothies, guess who came around? :) Yep, by the end of our 21 days, everyone (6 of us) was having at least 1-2 cups. That's a LOT of smoothie!
 My son made us a chart, and every day we wrote down the ingredients we put in our smoothies. I thought I would share some of them here so if you are looking for a pick-me-up, motivation, or just want to add a few fruits and veggies into your diet, try our 21 Day Green Smoothie Challenge.
  I have to admit we weren't too brave with our greens, we didn't go with any "wild edibles" we mostly stuck to spinach, kale, and collards, but even adding in those in every day helped us feel more energized!
~Most of our smoothies made at least 4 Cups, some more and some less depending on who walked in the kitchen when things were going in the blender and decided they wanted one.
*My tip: If it is too bitter or "green" smelling, add another banana or lemon to lighten!:)

Smoothies:
Day 1
2 C Water
1 Green Apple
2 Stalks of Celery
1 Orange
1 C Spinach
1/2 Lemon with peel (peel made it slightly bitter)

Day 2
1 C Red Grapes
1 Orange
1 Stalk of Kale, despined
Handful of Spinach
1/2 Lemon, juiced
1 Red Apple
Slice of Beet

Day 3
2 C Water
1 Small Beet
1 C Spinach
1/2 C Cashews
1/2 C Shredded Coconut
1 Banana
1/2 C Carrots
5 Medjool Dates

Day 4
2 C Water
2 C Frozen Mixed Berries
1 Banana
1/2 Lemon, juiced
3 Oranges
1 C Spinach
1 Kale

Day 5
2 C Water
2 C Frozen Cherries
Spinach
Kale
1 C Cantelope
1 Red Apple
1 Banana
1 Orange
1/2 Lemon, juiced

Day 6
2 C water
1 Sm. Beet, peel off
Kale
Spinach
1 Apple
1 1/2 Banana
2 Oranges
3 C Frozen Tropical Fruit
Squeeze of Lemon

Day 7
2 C water
2 Oranges
1 Beet
1 Banana
Kale
Spinach
3/4 Lemon
Handful of baby carrots
Big Apple
1T Flaxseeds

Day 8
2 C Water
3 C Spinach
2 Oranges
1 Banana
3 C Tropical Fruit
1/2 Lemon

Day 9
2 C Water
2 C Spinach
1 C Almonds
1/4 C Agave
1/4 C Org. Cocoa Powder
3 Frozen Banana's
2 C Spinach
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla
(Great one for kids, can't even see or taste the green:)

Day 10
1 C Water
1 Banana
1/4 of a whole fresh Pineapple
2 Oranges
2 C Spinach

Day 11
2 C Water
2 Oranges
1 Banana
2 C Frozen Strawberries
1 C Frozen Mixed Berries
1 C Spinach
1/2 C Raw Almonds
(Adding Almonds makes it taste more like a milk shake)

Day 12
2 C water
1/2 Lemon, juiced
2 Kale
1 Kiwi
2 C Tropical Fruit
1 Orange
1 Gala Apple

Day 13
2 C Water
3 C Mixed Tropical
2 Kale
1 Orange
1 Banana

Day 14
2 C Water
2 C Strawberries
2 C Tropical
2 C Spinach
1 Orange
1 Banana

Day 15
1 C Water
2 Oranges
1 Banana
2 C Spinach
1/2 Lemon
1 C Ice
(One of my personal faves, this is my quick drink)

Day 16
2-3 C Water
1 Kale
Big handful of chopped Collards
2 Kiwi
1 Orange
1 Banana
5 C Frozen Strawberries

Day 17
2 C Water
2 Oranges
3 C Tropical
Spinach
Collards

Day 18
Repeat of the Green Chocolate Shake

Day 19
2 1/2  C Water
4 C Frozen Blueberries
2 Bananas
Squeeze of Lemon
2 Oranges
3 C Spinach

Day 20
2 C Water
2 C Tropical
3 Oranges
1 C Medjool Dates
2 C Spinach
5 C Strawberries
Handful of Raw Almonds

Day 21
Repeat of Day 15

Well, that's it! Sometimes we ate it for dinner, if it was "loaded" like with dates and nuts, but most of the time it was breakfast for everyone, and yes, though the 21 days are over, our green smoothie days are not!
I hope you got some new ideas and have fun putting things in your blender in the future!
 I'm hungry....Green Smoothie anyone? :)

Raw "Bubblegum" Shake

I've been wanting to use my dried Gogi berries in a shake for a while and today we made a fresh and fruity shake with a crunchy-chewy spin and ended up with a Raw "Bubblegum-flavored" Shake. We all enjoyed the crunchy-chewiness of the Gogi berries, nuts, and dates. Made about 4-5 cups.

In the Blender:
1 C Water
1 Banana
1/2 C Raw Almonds
5 soft, pitted Medjool Dates
2 C Frozen Strawberries
1 Tbsp Cacao Nibs
1/4 C agave (opt.)
2 C Ice

Blend on Milkshake button, or until there are tiny chunks.
Add 1/2 C Dried Gogi Berries and blend for about 5 seconds or pulse until they are in tiny chunks. Pour into cups, add extra berries on top if desired, and eat immediately. :)

Raw Pina Colada

Nothing beats the freshness of a Raw Pina Colada on a hot summer day! The whole family will enjoy it with a straw and a smile. :) We have enjoyed many at our home the last few weeks with the making of so much  Raw coconut milk with honey. We often double this recipe to serve the 6 of us.

In the blender add:

1 C Fresh Coconut Milk
1 C Fresh or Frozen Pineapple
1 Ripe Banana
1-2 C Ice

Blend on milkshake button, or high for one minute. It should be milkshake-like.
Pour into a glass and enjoy. Yum!
*Another option we really like is to add 1/2 Mango to the mixture.

Blueberry, Strawberry, Banana Smoothie

This was so cool and refreshing after mowing the lawn!

1 Pt. Fresh Blueberries
1 C Frozen Strawberries
2 Bananas
1 Orange
1-2 C Ice (Less if you want more of a juice)
1/2-1 C Water

Blend until thick and all the strawberries and ice are blended in.
Makes 5 Cups.

Raw Strawberry Almond-Milkshake with Chocolate Pieces

The difference in a shake and a smoothie is the base. A smoothie base is usually orange or pineapple for me. A shake base is Almondmilk to give it a creamier texture.
This is a very simple, yet refreshing Strawberry Shake.

1 C Almond Milk
2 C Frozen Strawberries
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla (opt.)

Blend, pushing the ice cream button on the blender. Add in Chocolate pieces and pulse a few more times, or add fresh strawberries where desired.

Green Smoothie Pops

This has been one of the best ways for everyone in my family to eat fruits, vegetables, and greens. Just take leftover, or make a new batch of fruit smoothies or green smoothies and pour them into Popsicle holders. Everyone loves the frozen treat!

The bigger the Popsicle holder the better! 

Simple Green Smoothie

Simple Green Smoothie

2 Oranges, peeled
1-2 Bananas
1-2 C Greens (Spinach, Kale, etc.)
1/2 C Ice
Blend all in a blender until smooth. I like to drink this one with a big straw and just drink it down. The 2 oranges give it a very mild/sweet flavor.

Basic Green Smoothie

 Basic Green Smoothie

1 C Water
1 Banana
1 C + Spinach or other greens like Kale etc.
Ice

Put all in the blender and blend until smooth.

You can add any fruits to this that you want.

Green Smoothie with apple and lemon

Green Smoothie with Apple and Lemon

1+ Cup of Spinach
2 Apples (chopped)
1 Lemon (juiced)
1-3 C Cold water
Mix in the blender
Mine got pretty thick from the apple, so I added more water and kept stirring it as I drank it. The lemon really drowns out any spinach flavor.

Blueberry Shake

Simple Blueberry Shake

1 Cup blueberries
1-2 Frozen bananas
1+ C Almond Milk]
Swirl or 2 of Agave
Ice (opt.)
(could add vanilla but I was out)
Mix in the blender and Enjoy.

Zesty Juice

Zesty Juice
1 Grapefruit Juiced = about 6-7oz.
1 Orange juiced =abt. 4oz.
1 Lemon juiced = 2oz.
1 Lime juiced = 1 oz.
=about 13-14oz. straight juice.(Very sour)
Dilute with 12-14oz. water or to your likening.
I usually put mine in a 30oz. mug.

Strawberry Shake

Strawberry Shake
This has become a favorite lately. You can add spinach to make it a "green smoothie" but everyone loves it just the way it is. It tastes like a frozen yogurt.

1 C Frozen Strawberries
1 Frozen Banana
1/2 C Almond Milk
2 TBSP Pure Organic Grade B, Maple Syrup
1 tsp. Vanilla

Pulse in blender until smooth. Will be very thick. YUM!