Over the past year I have been drinking some sort of smoothie just about every day for lunch or dinner. The smoothies have evolved from heavy fruit with orange juice and a lot of spinach to tons of vegetables and a variety of fruit. The evolution had a lot to do with the blenders I was using. I started off with a Ninja bullet which did the trick pretty well as long as you didn’t mind chewing your smoothie. My next blender was another Ninja Professional Series which I thought was going to prevent me from having to spend $400+ on a Vitamix. The blender was fine but did nothing better than it’s predecessor. This year I caved in and bought a Vitamix at the Cook’s Warehouse. People have been raving about them forever, literally they have been around for a really long time.
It’s really clear why everyone loves them, there is no comparison. Before I was limited to soft fruits and even then I was chewing seeds and skin. With the Vitamix there is none of that and the ingredient list is out of site!
Here was my smoothie before the Vitamix:
2 Cups of Frozen Strawberries
1 Cup of Frozen Blueberries
1 Banana
Two handfuls of Fresh Spinach
Orange Juice and Water
Or Watermelon for Juice
Here is my smoothie recipe today with the Vitamix:
1 Cup of Frozen Strawberries
1 Cup of Frozen Blueberries
1 Cup of Grapes
1 Banana
Two handfuls of Fresh Spinach OR Kale (previously not an option)
Orange Juice and Water
1/2 of a Beet and Foliage (previously not an option)
1 Carat (previously not an option)
1 Whole Apple (previously not an option)
1 Tablespoon of Chia Seeds (previously not an option)
This makes a 32 ounce smoothie with 381 calories and endless health benefits. Over the past year I lost 40 lbs and 4 pant sizes drinking this smoothie, exercising several times a week (running around Chastain Park 3 +/- miles) and eating relatively healthy meals at other times. The “eating relatively healthy meals” was not and has not been consistent, but the smoothie has been, and I have maintained the weight I am at for 6 months. I say this because often times I eat what my kids are eating, whether it’s at the concession stand or Chick-fil-a. So far I have found that if I am consistent with the smoothie and exercise, I can eat whatever for dinner and they offset each other.
So for those of you out there looking for a healthy smoothie recipe, this is the real deal and tastes great!
See you around,
Carson Matthews
