Blend Better Green Smoothies

This post continues my series on improving favorite foods, like Baking Better Kale Chips and 10 Steps For Slow Cooker Perfection. Green smoothies have been a huge help to me with my latest EAT BETTER efforts. I’ll be the first person to admit that I don’t like munching on salads, so sometimes the only way I get roughage in my diet is through a straw. Whatever works, right?

Sipping green smoothies on the regular is just another way of making healthy eating more automatic. So, if you are new to this way of drinking -- take note. And if you’re a veteran, I’d love to hear some of your favorite ways to make a perfect blend.

// Follow 60/40

I’ve tried to make almost 100% vegetable green smoothies in the past. And if you can drink them this way, more power to you. For the rest of us, a 60 (fruit) / 40 (veggie) ratio works out best. This way, the fruit dominates the overall flavor, yet you’re still getting a hefty dose of the greens you need.

I save the all veggie stuff for when I juice. (And here’s more on juicing, if you’re into that. I’d say we do it once or twice a month. It’s more expensive than smoothies and -- as healthy as it is -- it’s also really important to get all the fiber from the fruits and veggies that blending in a smoothie provides versus juicing.)

// Try Different Liquids, Etc.

Over the years, I’ve tried a variety of liquid bases for my smoothies. I always try to stick with unsweetened versions of anything I pour into the blender. My favorite right now is unsweetened coconut milk. You can also do almond milk, hemp milk, soy milk, and even plain water if you’re strapped. In addition, I often toss in yogurt -- plain or Greek -- for some extra creamy + tart goodness. You can totally change the taste and texture (and nutrition) with the liquid you choose, so be sure to experiment!

// Add Protein

If you like to drink green smoothies after you work out (like I do), adding protein is key to replenish your muscles. There are a number of ways you can add protein to a green smoothie and take its healthy qualities to a new level. Try tossing in a tablespoon or two of nut butter, a serving of Greek yogurt, some spirulina powder, or a scoop of your favorite protein powder. If you want to use a green smoothie as a meal replacement, try and add a few hardboiled eggs on the side or something small to get a more complete mini-meal.

// Blend Well

As much as I hate to spend tons of money, it does pay to invest in a quality blender if you want to drink green smoothies regularly. That doesn’t mean you need to drop bank on a Vitamix or Blendtec. Those are incredibly nice machines, but a Ninja Blender is worth the extra over standard blenders because it blends those greens smooth. I’ve used standard blenders and they will work on maybe spinach -- but if you like kale and other heartier greens, consider saving up. A blender with more than 800-1000 watts should do the trick.

Regardless of what machine you use, it’s helpful to first blend the fruit and liquid, then add the greens and keep pulsing until smooth. If you find your greens are too chunky and not incorporating well, try adding a bit more liquid (a couple tablespoons at a time), and that should help.

// Freeze Ingredients

I might be alone in this, but if most of my ingredients in the smoothie are fresh, I don’t love the texture. So, I’ve started freezing cubes of yogurt and milk to act like ice cubes (after all, ice cubes don’t add nutrition beyond hydration). Furthermore, I always use frozen bananas for the best, thick texture.

BONUS: You can take this concept a step beyond by making your smoothie in big batches and freezing it into cubes so all you need to do is pop a few out and thaw in a glass for quick weekday drinking.

// Recipes

We have a ton of smoothie recipes -- green and “normal” -- on this site. You can browse through a lot of the recipes right here, and some of the latest and greatest ones can be found over here.

Now onto other fun stuff. 

What was your favorite Super Bowl snack? I made a delicious spinach + artichoke dip with hummus and pickles. It sounds really strange, but I can’t get enough of it, so I’ll be sure to share that recipe with you guys soon!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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Day 5 in the Life of My Stomach

Now, if that isn't the picture of health . . . I don't know what is! But it's Friday, and I always, always go easy on my dinner Friday nights. Especially after a long week at work -- and a nice sweat session on our spinning bike. I'm incredibly happy it's the weekend. I can't even express it in words right now. All I want to do is relax. And show you what I ate today, of course!

Here's the day in pictures . . . (and, no, I didn't eat an entire jar of Nutella!).


And here's the breakdown . . .

• BREAKFAST: Worst smoothie ever. Tried to make the mint chocolate one again, but forgot the recipe. Yuck. 140-ish calories.
• SNACK: Double chocolate granola-ish bar. 270-ish calories.
• LUNCH: Microwaved sweet potato with pepper-jack cheese and strawberries. 400-ish calories.
• DINNER: Three slices of cheese pizza and a beer. 865-ish calories.
• DESSERT: 2 (heaping) tablespoons Nutella. Straight from the spoon. 250-ish calories.

Talk about not my best day. I came in -- even with all that pizza -- at right around 2,000 calories yet again. UGH. Have I expressed how much I HATE counting calories? And it becomes this awful habit where I am now thinking about it before every meal. The good news is that my counting stint is over! Yes. No more counting for me. The next time you see one of these recaps (Monday), it'll be sans numbers. Also: There will be a summary of my weekend eats as well. But from now on, I'll monitor my consumption with my gut and not with a calculator in hand.

Reflections about today's dietary choices. Not my best work. Definitely bottom-loaded the day. I felt full all day, though. I just think I could have topped my pizza with some veggies (Stephen piled basically a large salad on his). I went with the most classic, I'm-a-5-year-old approach. Maybe had another serving of vegetables at work (forgot my carrots at home!). I think I just got lazy. I woke up sort of late and didn't leave enough time to eat a good breakfast (1st huge mistake) and pack a good lunch (2nd mistake). Noted.

That's all from me for tonight. Except this: Do you want to win a fantastic $50 shopping spree at iHerb.com? YES, YOU DO is the answer. Why? Well, you can buy all this cool stuff . . . or whatever your might like to snag yourself!


So, visit us on Tuesday for all the details about how you -- YES YOU! -- can win. And if you need to catch up on my week of healthy eating, check out day 1, day 2, and day 3, and day 4.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

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Day 4 in the Life of My Stomach

Day four. And I'm so right about staying at home being the optimal choice for healthy eating. It isn't that I didn't eat well today. I did. But, it's just so much more difficult without all my supplies and tools! My energy felt pretty stable today. I ran 4 miles in the AM, so my breakfast had to work extra hard to sustain me throughout the morning. It did a great job. In all, I consumed around 2,000 calories today. I'm surprised that number isn't more, though. I think it's all the veggies I'm eating. They're so filling, it's difficult to stuff more into my stomach!

You'll also notice that I didn't eat quite as much variety today. In fact, a large chunk of my intake was made up of those incredibly amazing double chocolate granola-ish bars. Not the healthiest way to spend my calories, but certainly not the worst way either.

Here's the day in pictures . . . (Yeah, I know I said I didn't like the collage thing, but it's easy!)


And here's the breakdown . . .

• BREAKFAST: Fabulous and creamy banana-peanut butter green smoothie that I found on Ashley's blog (Edible Perspective) this morning. Approximately 420 calories. I could hardly tell there were greens in it from the taste -- but it felt like a booster shot of health!
• SNACK: Double chocolate granola-ish bar. Approximately 270 calories.
• LUNCH: 1/2 Mediterranean veggie sandwich with 1 cup veggie black bean soup. Approximately 410 calories. Also, I got the photo above from MSN. Didn't want to pull out the DSLR at lunch.
• SNACK: Apple. Approximately 80 calories.
• DINNER: Sweet and sour stir fry with noodles (recipe soon!). Approximately 500 calories.
• DESSERT: Another double chocolate granola-ish bar. Approximately 270 calories.

Today's eating was especially challenged because I headed out to eat with a coworker for lunch. We went to Panera Bread because it's fast, but I have a problem not eating all the baked goods when I go. So, I planned ahead and checked out their menu online. They have fantastic nutrition information (check it out!) -- and I was able to craft a meal for under 500 calories that was both satisfying/filling and incredibly delicious.

I honestly don't have much else to say right now. One thing that I feel particularly proud of is that -- with the exception of going to Panera -- I haven't had any packaged foods lately. Well, some of them may have come in packages, but I think the majority of what I've been eating is made up of whole foods. It feels so good to look at these photos and know what each of the ingredients that went into them looks like. The calorie counting is still driving me mad, but it's helping my portion control. I think before I started this experiment, I was eating like double portions all the time.


Someone pointed out that, yeah, I'm an athlete. And I so agree. I need more fuel than non-athletes to get myself through the day. However, I know I've gained a solid five pounds since the marathon in November. It's because I got too used to stuffing myself silly after 20-mile long runs. I'm not doing that intensity now, so my diet needs to reflect that change in my energy expenditure. I'm getting there. Finally! And at no point have I been feeling hungry. When I "feel" like I want to eat more, it's usually some weird emptiness that really isn't hunger related. It's mostly boredom. And just love of my own kitchen creations.

Need to catch up? Check out the life of my stomach day 1, day 2, and day 3.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

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