Badass Smoothies

I have a confession.  You know those drawers for produce in the fridge?  Up until a little while ago, mine were filled with chocolate candy.  It started when we had leftover Halloween candy that kept melting and sticking together.  I threw the snack sizes in the fridge and forgot about them until my husband stocked up on Cadburys during our last visit to England.  Then came treats from Christmas and I’m sure a chocolate bunny will be added in April.

I’ve managed to condense all that chocolate into one drawer and now my other drawer is filled with fresh greens, bright fruit, and other things that look like the flora and fauna of an alien planet.  

That drawer, along with the increase of frozen fruit in my freezer, makes it official; I’m a smoothie junkie.  On the weekends I’m making them for breakfast and on the weekdays I make them for dessert.  Berry smoothies with a bit of dark chocolate really hits the spot after a savory meal – but it’s not just the taste that appeals to me, it’s the chance to get a lot of nutrients in one glass.  I consume fruits and vegetables that aren’t exactly easy to include with a packed lunch – giving me a chance to load up on iron, magnesium, folate, potassium, antioxidants and numerous vitamins.   

When I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease my nutritionist gave me some advice that at the time I thought was a bit weird.  She said to chew my food carefully.  Yeah, my second grade lunch lady told us the same thing because she didn’t want us choking on our food.  But it turns out my nutritionist wasn’t worried about choking. She was trying to give my digestive track some help.  The smaller and more broken up your food is, the easier it is to digest, especially for a person whose digestive system has taken a hit.  So doesn’t sticking everything in a blender until it’s a soupy mix seem like a good idea? 

Perhaps the best thing about adding vegetable and fruit smoothies to my diet is that they are so easy to make, and really hard to mess up.  Add kefir, yogurt, avocado, bananas, ice or frozen fruit to make it thicker.  A little fruit juice (100% juice and not the syrup stuff) or a dollop of local honey will make it sweeter.  Throw a cucumber in for a refreshing taste and don’t forget a piece of fresh ginger and a spoonful of flax seeds to give your stomach some aid.  

There's just so much you can do and the preparation takes only a few minutes.  The most time-consuming thing is deciding what to add.  I'm not good with ingredient lists and recipes as I like to feel my way through, but there are countless sites online and books (especially in the bargain priced section of Barnes and Noble - yes I do practically live there) that can give you ideas, as well as the nutritional values.  I picked up a few books and have skimmed some of the sites, garnering inspiration here and there.  If I find a favorite book or site I will let you know.  

In the meantime, I'm also looking for a badass blender so I can make more than a single serving at a time.  I do realize that shopping for a blender instead of some cute shoes means I'm showing my,  shall we say, maturity.  But after consuming a healthy drink like the ones I've been putting together, I have more swagger to my step than I ever have with a pair of death defying stilettos.