05 September 2011

Meg's Rainbow Smoothie

Remember a few days ago when I said I try to eat a rainbow? Well, this is the rainbow smoothie for your drinking pleasure. Sure, it looks brown here, but wait... It has 6 colors inside!
RED: 1 small apple
ORANGE: 1 carrot
YELLOW: 1/2 Peach, 1/2 banana
GREEN: a huge handful of baby spinach
 BLUE: 1/4 cup blueberries
BROWN: 1 TB ground flax, 3 TB almond milk

Just blend it all together (with a few pieces of ice) until silky smooth in your blender. If it's too thick, add some water or more almond milk. If you have a high-power blender, you probably won't need to add the extra liquid. Whomever invented the Vita-Mix deserves many, many high-fives! I bought mine last November as a less expensive refurb model from their website and I couldn't be happier. I use it a minimum of 5 times a week. Anywhoooo...

How's that for eating a rainbow for breakfast? I know, I'm missing purple, but I think I did darn good even without it. If I'd had some raspberries, I'd have been spot-on. But, I just want to show you how easy it is to eat a wide array of colors. Even if the rest of your day is monochromatic, at least you got a nice mix for breakfast. It's not always easy to get your full spectrum of colors, especially when they aren't in season. So, I'm taking full advantage now and stocking up my freezer for the months ahead. Off-season produce can be prohibitively expensive at the grocery store, so if you have the space, start stocking up and freezing what you can. Frozen fruit, in particular, makes excellent smoothies, pies, even muffins and pancakes.

Even if you're not a Veg*an, you can still get almost a full day's servings of fruit and veg with a big homemade smoothie. The (mostly worthless, corporate-interest-run) USDA says that women need 4 cups of produce/day, while men need 5. This smoothie easily makes 2 cups. So, you're at least off to a good start. Make the smoothie already. It's damn tasty, easy to make, has a LOT of fiber and your body will say thank you. Do I really have to keep working to convince you? Sheesh. Cut a chickpea some slack, dude.

**And if you are looking for awesome smoothie straws like I use, look no further than Strawesome. They make the BEST eco-friendly, reusable glass straws. They come in all different sizes, some specifically for smoothies. I bought mine a few months ago and use them pretty much every single day. They're made of the same glass as pyrex, so they are safe and sturdy. I've dropped mine on the kitchen floor more than once, and have yet to break any. To top it off, they're dishwasher safe and made in the USA in my home state of Michigan. You can also find them on twitter under username @BeStrawesome

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