Do you add veggies to your fruit smoothies?
 

Hi all,

I'm trying to find a good way to slip some veggies into my breakfast smoothie each morning. Right now I make my breakfast with 1 banana, 1 carton of trader joe's fat free organic pro-biotic yogurt, 1 + 1/3 cup of frozen berries and 3/4 to 1 cup of orange juice (makes roughly two servings at 18 oz each)

I'd like to find a way of adding veggies to work in more nutrients and less calories into breakfast. I really love the convenience of this breakfast (pour fruit into blender, dump in banana, yogurt and splash of OJ and walk away in about a minute!).

Do you have any suggestions of veggies to add, or recipes of your own to share?

Thank you :)

What a great thought!

It's hard enough for me to eat 1 veggie a day, maybe I will try your approach.

I've seen and heard that a lot of folks throw spinach into theirs, but I've not tried it...I haven't really jumped on the smoothie bandwagon yet.

I saw that too, but I don't really know how to do it. I don't usually keep fresh spinach around the house, and I think if I had to chip off a block of frozen spinach into the blender... well I don't know if id do it - it sounds more labor intensive than I was hoping for. Although maybe trader joe's has a bag of spinnich along with the bags of salad mix... hmmm!

I wonder about broccoli stems or cauliflower?

Most groceries have bagged spinach already washed near the prepared salads. Try just throwing a few leaves in. I would think that broccoli would taste stronger; don't know about its blending consistency, or that of cauliflower either. Try Googling spinach and smoothie and see what you get. Let us know!

I throw in spinach in mine, you can't even taste it. Just make sure you blend it well or you might get a little leaf in your throat..lol The way I make mine and you can't even taste it is chocolate protein powder, 1/2 banana, some blue berries, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 water and 2 tbsp flaxseed..Yumm I look forward to it everyday it's like a treat!!

So the power of the internets agrees that the fresh baby spinach is a good way to start, also maybe some kale, and chard. Another idea was cucumber i'm thinking of trying! My husband does not like cucumber, but i'm hoping that it's mild enough that the fruit might overpower it.

Do any of you have experience with protein powders? Any you would recommend?

I'll report back tomorrow morning and see how it goes!

I have never tried another other veggie. It's worth a try tho. That's what I did with the spinach, and it was good. Let me know if you try them.

I'm not an expert on powders. I just know I have plenty of bad experience with them. The 2 I use now is Revolutionary Technology Bionic Whey Chocolate it no chemicals or artificial sweeteners(my fav) I want to try their other flavors too. It was on back order so I tried Gold Standard Whey chocolate and I like it! But I will most likely go back to the Bionic whey when I run out of the Gold Standard, but it's a good back up one.

I add a small carton of Greek Plain Yogurt or small snack size Cottage Cheese plus some CO to mine. Yummy.:D

This morning I added a handful of spinach, just one piece of steamed cauliflower and one scoop of protein powder along with the Orange Juice, yogurt, banana and frozen berries.

Good news is, my husband still drank it! The protein powder made it a TON thicker than I expected (especially since I only put in half of a serving), and the cauliflower was definitely noticeable. I don't think either of us could taste the spinach though! (Well, my husband thinks he could, but I didn't tell him I put in cauliflower - sometimes I have to sneak in veggies before he will accept that he will like them. I know he isn't a child, but if he had his way, we would eat steak and potatoes and not eat anything green unless it was 14% alcohol by volume).

I think tomorrow I’ll cut out the cauliflower, keep the spinach and the protein powder.

Another related question - have any of you used carrots in a smoothie? I'm not sure if my blender could handle a raw baby carrot, or if maybe I should use shredded, or steam the baby carrots first?

Thoughts? Thank you everyone :)

Oh and I add about 5 to 6 ice cubes maybe that will help hide the cauliflower. I have used my blender on carrots for a sauce and it just took alittle to blend it, I diced them up before I put them in there. Your braver than me, I've never tried it in a smoothie!!

LOL, my dad is the same way, but he's primarily a meat and cheese man.

My hubby eats veggies without being tricked, thank goodness, but he HATES squash. I wonder if a little baked butternut or acorn squash would be noticeable?

My husband says he hates squash too. It took all my strength not to laugh when I made him a butternut squash / cheese ravioli and he talked about how he loved it! I like it baked though, it is a much more mild flavor and super tasty!

Tomorrow morning I’m going to attempt putting a carrot into the smoothie - assuming my blender doesn't blow up. And then Wednesday I’m going to attempt some cucumber. Keep your fingers crossed!

I don't know if I wil get in trouble for posting this. But this looks like a good way to use kale

Hey everyone here is a recipe for my HEALTHY green drink, which can be used as a meal replacement! It is a BIG drink and could be considered 2 servings. Women who are watching their calories can cut the supplements in half, which drops the total calories down to 289.
MY Green Drink (398 calories)

Add all ingredients (listed below) to a blender and blend until combined.
Supplements (218 calories)
1 TBSP*Ground Flax Seed (40 calories)
1 ½ TBSP*Hemp Seed *(80 calories)
1 TBSP*Dulse Flakes *(8 calories)
2 tsp*Maca Powder *(40 calories)
2 TBSP*Pea Protein (50 calories)
Fruits & Veggies (180 calories)
1 Cup Fresh Kale (30 calories)
1 Cup Frozen Spinach (30 calories)
1/2 Cup Blueberries (35 calories)
½ Small Banana (40 calories)
1/2 Cup Frozen Pineapple (45 calories)
20 oz. H20


Tags:drink, green drink, my recipe

Pea protein? I don't think i've ever heard of that one before! That does look like it would taste good though!

Well the smoothies this morning adding carrots was a little... odd. I forgot about adding the protein powder so it was just banana, carrot, yogurt, berries, spinach and OJ. I don't know if it is that my blender couldn't get the carrots any finer than this, but the texture of the smoothie is really off today. Maybe i'll try steaming carrots for dinner tonight and using the leftovers tomorrow in the smoothie and see if that makes it any better?

Aside from texture, the taste is fine! I'll try again steamed tomorrow - and then try some Cucumber instead of carrots on Thursday. There will be a magic mixture from my ingredients at home, i'm sure of it!

I don't know what pea protein is. I would just sub regular protein powder. I'm going to google it and see what it is.

I got an email today with 6 smooties, they look yummy. I'm going to try a few. I wish they told you how much sugar was in them tho!!


I'm not sure if I posted the link correct. But it's on Womens health or maybe you can copy and paste it

6 Naturally Yummy Smoothies | Women's Health Magazine


If it didn't post right, does any1 know how to post links?

My hubby doesn't eat veggies either, but he's drinking protein smoothies with me and I add carrots and cucumbers and some natural honey and it's delicious and he doesn't know he's eating healthy! I use a VitaMix and it purees everything, ice included, for 20 years now.

Does anyone know if there is a way to add the "time of day" when I eat?

Does anyone add raw porridge oats to their smoothies?

Also, if you're making a smoothie with a protein powder that is usually mixed with water, what liquid do you add?

celery, carrot, a small beet, mixed greens, spinach, sometimes a little cabbage, cucmbers
tomatoes and pumpkin puree (yea you could say these are fruits but we tend to eat them as veggies)

just not all at the same time... 1 carrot and 1 rib of celery are okay together

It beats the overpowering green powders...if you add dry oatmeal don't overdo the quantity or it turns into cement :)

Toss in a bunch of Collard greens

A handful of organic baby carrots or (1 full carrot diced up)

1 portion (about 5 or 1 cup) of fresh or frozen strawberries (you can use any fruit really)

1 banana

4 heaping tabelspoons of Organic PLAIN yogurt, or PREFERABLY Plain Kefir. Found by the milks, rice milks, & pre-made chocolate milks.

1/2 cup of any one of these juices, Guava/ Cashew/fresh OJ/ Pear/Mango (I used Guava)

1/2 cup of one of these Soy, Coconut, or rice milk. ( I used Silk Original Light only 60 cals per serving)

1 scoop of Vanilla whey Protein Powder

1 tbs ground flax seed

2 tablepoons Honey or agave to sweeten (I used Honey)

add ice if you used fresh fruit I use frozen so no ice is needed

Blend very well and enjoy.



If you find yourself really hungry shortly after the smoothie add 2 Tablespoons of organic all natural Peanutbutter to your next smoothie. This will add a little more calories but it will hold you over longer, so no candy bar consumption is made due to being hungry :)



If you do use this recipe please use it for non profit and own personal use. feel free to let me know if it has helped you

Please consult your doctor before going on any diet or exercise regiment, as not all regiments are not for everyone.
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If you get really into juicing, it may pay for you to invest in a juicer. Maybe try to get a used one on Craigslist. I got a used Acme user and it's wonderful and it makes juicing so much easier. Adding carrots to a juicer is easy. You can add a beet too to your veggie or fruit juices or anything you like: apple pears spinach cabbage. A clove of garlic to boost your immune system. Soemtimes you can add a nut butter like almond to your smoothies for taste and additional protein. There also a great smoothie made with orange juice raspberries papaya and mango, a great summer drink.

Good luck have fun and experiment!

Baby food
 

I've never tried it, but it seems like you could add pureed vegetables in the form of baby food to smoothies. Since its baby food they usually don't add extra salt or sugar. Carrots, squash, pumpkin or peas could be tried.

Re:
 

Hmm... I'll have to try Spinach sometime.... Also, I've done Carrots before too! I had like pineapple and orange juice and I added Carrot, and It actually turned out really really good! Carrots don't have that strong of a flavor, and it actually compliments the citrus pretty good. :)

I have a freezer full of pureed veggies. I buy fresh veggies, steam them, then puree in my blender. I bag them in 1 cup and/or 1/2 cup sizes in zip lock bags, label with a sharpie and freeze them. It only takes a minute to thaw the little baggie in the microwave and I can add them to just about anything.....just match the colors. Example, pureed carrots or sweet potatoes in pasta sauce. Pureed cauliflower in mashed potatoes, spinach in meatloaf, etc. It is a great way to sneak in extra veggies for my kids. I've even done pureed beets in pancake mix and called them Princess Pancakes because they are pink. The kids loved them!

Jessica Seinfeld has a great book out called "Desceptively Delicious" that explains the process.

I would think this would work the same for smoothies.

Green Smoothies
 

You might want to do a web search for Green Smoothies or the book Green for Life, which is basically a fruit and greens smoothie plan. I have been doing it since the day after Christmas. All that extra holiday junk food had me feeling deathly ill. But I feel great now, and a bonus is that the bloating that I have had a problem with for several years now is all but gone.

I am a believer.