Going Healthy with Smoothies

My posts of smoothies on my Instagram account and Facebook page have been attracting questions from my friends lately.  Most are curious about the taste, how do I come up with the mix and how do I make it.  So I'll just sum it all up in this blog post.

Main reason for my smoothie craze is that "My Pet" is not fond of fruits and does not eat any veggie at all. And it's general knowledge that it is a must to have daily intakes of fruits and veggies. Considering that we are on a path (we are TTC) that requires us to be healthy, we really need to do something about his abhorrence to greens. Luckily for us, there's technology to help us. 

I first learned of this super power food processor that pulverize fruits, veggies and nuts on some TV shopping channel. There were two brands that I saw - NutriBullet and WonderMax. They seemed to have the same features and specifications. Both of them claim to be more powerful and much better than a regular blender or juicer as they leave no pulp or fiber that still contain vitamins and nutrients. Nothing is wasted since the whole fruit or vegetable is turned into liquid and as such, much easier absorbed by the body. Needless to say, I was convinced that we need this kitchen tool. 

However, it wasn't until we found this other brand - Nutriblitzer - at the mall when we ultimately decided to get one. 

We chose this brand over the first two brands we saw on TV mainly because we encountered it personally and it was right there for the taking. Also, the salesperson argued that it's better to buy from them because after sales service like repairs or part replacements would be much easier as it can be done in any of their branches. So at that, we were sold!

Now, how do I come up with the mixes?  Although the product came with a nice recipe book, I haven't followed a single recipe to the letter. Why? Well, because not all the ingredients are commonly found in the supermarket and it's not everyday that you find all the ingredients you need in one shopping. So I just make do with whatever is available and mix and match as I deem fit. I have always believed that cooking and any food preparation is all about making do with whatever is at hand.

Anyway, here's a photo of the recipe book. It's really great. It has recipes not just for healthy smoothies but also for healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. It also features helpful information on diet plans and nutrient facts about each fruit, veggie and nut that are commonly used in smoothies.

And now the question of taste. Of course, my own mixes can't be expected to be as yummy as those in the recipe book... but I do get to come up with some yummy mixes sometimes.  I've learned that mango and banana are a great natural sweetener so they make the veggie smoothies taste better. But as what I always tell people who ask me, taste is irrelevant for us as long as we have healthy intake of fruits and veggies everyday. My Pet has no choice but to drink it bottoms up, no matter how awful it tastes, since he really can't bring himself to take one bite of any green. It's easier to take it in one big gulp than to chew and swallow, right?

Here are a few of the "tolerable to yummy" smoothies that I've made so far:

Beery Juicy Love Smoothie

Ingredients:  Beets and Strawberries

Grapplery Smoothie

Ingredients:  Grapes, Apple and Celery

Wapplemon Smoothie

Ingredients: Watermelon, Apple, Lettuce, and Lemon