Cafe Smoothie Central

Easy Green Power Smoothie

YOU WILL NEED
BASIC RECIPE
1 medium banana, peeled

1/2 medium orange, peeled and quartered

1/4 to 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup milk, unsweetened almond milk, or unsweetened coconut milk

2 cups fresh spinach

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup mixed frozen berries

1 tablespoon flaxseed meal or shelled h**p hearts

1 tablespoon natural peanut or almond butter, try our homemade peanut butter

1 to 2 teaspoons pure honey

DIRECTIONS
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy, adding more milk or fruit to thin or thicken the smoothie. Serve immediately or freeze to enjoy later.

ADAM AND JOANNE'S TIPS
Using a frozen banana makes this really refreshing and thick.
This smoothie taste best fresh, but it can be frozen for later. To save the smoothie for later, add to a food-safe resealable plastic bag or container and freeze. Then 45 to 60 minutes before needing the smoothie, take out from freezer.

Spinach Smoothie

INGREDIENTS:
1 Banana, medium size, sliced
2 cups Baby Spinach or chopped Romaine Lettuce
1 cup Milk (dairy or non-dairy)
OPTIONAL:
10 Almonds, soaked overnight
1 tablespoon Flax seed oil
1 cup Any other fresh or frozen fruit like berries, mangoes, peaches etc
Crushed Ice As needed

PROCEDURE:
Blend together the sliced bananas, spinach and about 1/2 cup of milk to make it a smooth puree. There should not be any lumps. Now add the remaining milk and blend it once again. You can adjust the quantity of milk to get the desired consistency. Serve it immediately.

TASTE:
I was as skeptical as you are now while reading this, or even more because when it comes to food I do not take any risks. I’m the kind of person who cannot eat or drink something just because it is healthy. It has to taste good. I might even compromise on the looks (for a little bit maybe) but definitely not the taste. So I prepared it in a very small quantity and gave it one big gulp as if trying to swallow some bitter medicine. I shouldn’t have worried that much after all because it was YUM! I was even more surprised that my son loved it too. I’m not kidding guys! My then 5-year-old son loved this green smoothie the very first time I made it and still loves it even after a year, which is so unusual of him because his favorites keep changing.
I shared this recipe with my mother and she too tried it in India using the big palak (Spinach) leaves they get there and she too loved it and she passed on the recipe to her friends and they were super excited too after trying it. You have my word on this. So do try it as soon as possible and I assure you that you will not be disappointed at all and will be doing the happy dance!
MY NOTES:
I first tried this recipe with lettuce and then with spinach. Both taste quite the same and the difference is only in the color. If you want a bright green smoothie use spinach otherwise use lettuce. I always use organic baby spinach from Costco. Organic produce is comparatively cheap to buy in Costco. I have even tried this green smoothie with the organic spring mix which is used for salads and baby romaine lettuce. Since I’m able to get fresh organic baby spinach regularly, I haven’t tried this recipe with the big mature leaves.
I have also used quite a variety of milk in this smoothie recipe. I have used rice milk, almond milk, and dairy milk. Sometimes I just soak about 10-15 almonds overnight. The following morning, before preparing the smoothie, I remove the skin and blend it together with the banana, spinach and plain water. This variation tastes good too but not as sweet as the one with the milk. Actually, I prefer this milk-less version.

ginger & greens smoothie

INGREDIENTS
1 inch peeled ginger
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1/2 ripe banana
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ice
1 cup baby spinach
1 cup baby kale

INSTRUCTIONS
Place all ingredients in a blender and process on low speed for about 30 seconds and increase to high speed to process until blended and smooth.