Ninth Step

We are still in Chicago, so step 9 was an improvised green smoothie from what I could find here on hand. Charlie isn't into greens too much, so green smoothies are a great way to get some dark greens into him. I took frozen strawberries and blueberries and blended them with plain yogurt and some OJ (maybe 1/2 cup), then added a couple bananas and piled the rest high with spinach. Usually I'll try to use bananas that aren't brown but too ripe for happy consumption, and maybe an apple and/or an orange I'm trying to get rid of. But don't worry, my smoothies have a lot of lovin' in them even though they involve leftover fruits. I don't usually add ice but I did this time because it wasn't cold enough for me since I didn't use as much frozen fruit.

One of my favorite green smoothie combos is about 3/4 cup of plain yogurt, Aldi's fiesta frozen fruit mix, frozen cherries, maybe frozen blueberries, an orange, a banana or two, maybe an apple, a big squirt of lemon, a dash of salt, and spinach or SWISS CHARD. Sometimes swiss chard calls to me in the grocery store, but that is the only thing I've ever used it for. You can also use celery, romaine lettuce, kale, or any other leafy green for your greens. But beware of turnip or collard greens--my blender can't handle them very well b/c the leaves are so thick, and then the smoothie turns out, well, as Moto Moto would say "You's chunkin'..." If you have a vitamix, then I am coveting it. Waiting for my blender to blow up before we get one of those.