My Newest Obsession: Smoothies!

By Ariel

Hello! Did everyone have a good holiday? Eat too much? Ready to hop on the resolution train? I'm getting there, and happened to recieve this beauty for Christmas:

Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender. It comes with a chopper and a whisk attachment and has become my new favorite kitchen toy. It also has a sort of splatter guard so whatever you're blending doesn't go flying everywhere. This blender is also very quiet. I was shocked when I tried it for the first time at how quiet it was. If you're thinking about purchasing a hand blender in the near future I am very pleased with this model.

Anyway, I've been using it to make smoothies for my breakfast. Saying I'm not a morning person would be a gross understatement. Everything about mornings clashes with me, including food. I'm one of those people that can't eat straight away after waking up, so while I'm getting ready I drink my breakfast smoothie and coffee before moving on to something a bit more substantial.  

I've been experimenting with various combinations and so far my favorite is plain old strawberry and banana with plain fat free yogurt.  I mix in some Benefiber for the added nutrient and think this would also be a great way to sneak in some other suppliments (like calcium, as I can't stand drinking milk). Real Simple suggests ten different combinations, some I never would have thought of (apple and kale? Am I that brave?) and livewithnature.com suggests seven smoothie combinations to help detox your body and get an extra kick of nutriants.  

I think I'm alone in this, but I'm not really a huge fruit lover. I think I lack a proper sweet tooth and I find that I have an easier time drinking my daily fruit rather than eating it.  

Now that I'm a hand blender pro I might venture off into the scary world of green smothies. Any thoughts or tried and true combination suggestions as to adding vegitables into the smothie mix? I'm told spinach is a great add-in, but I'm a tad skeptical. What are your favorite blends?

Comments

[SoupAddict]

I adore green smoothies. As long as you don't use super-bitter greens, you won't taste them at all. Spinach is awesome. Kale is, too (just remove the thick, fibrous stems first, especially when using the stick blender). My favorite green smoothie has strawberries, red grapes, supremed blood orange slices, carrots, spinach, carrot greens, flaxseed, a little yogurt, pomegranate juice and some ice (although I use a regular blender - just skip the ice for the stick blender). Delicious. Try the green smoothies. I promise, it'll be okay. :)

[foot massager]

"No, you are not, Master Jack, but a long way from it; Knightley saw you were intending to cross him also, and by waiting his time, caught you cleverly on the hop.

[moncler jacken]

That's how it happened, and he served you quite right—tit for tat, my boy, that's all. So now I will trouble you to inclose a ten-pound note to Will Lane, regretting the accident, and hoping he is in a fair way of recovery.

[jennielynn]

Go for the kale! You'll be surprised at how delicious it is with apples and citrus! I use it in my juicer all the time.