Green Smoothies Made EASY!

       When you hear people talk about green smoothies, you might get a slightly disgusted look on your face. STOP. Don't make that face anymore. Just hear me out. I promise, they are DELICIOUS! You know what they say, don't hate it until you try it. I want each of you to make a promise that you will just try this and then if it doesn't work for you or you don't like it, I will accept that look on your face.

       It's been almost a year since Josh and I started making green smoothies a part of our daily routine, specifically for breakfast and I can't tell you enough how much it has done for us. Not only does is encourage us to eat breakfast everyday (the most important meal, I might add), but we found that we have more energy throughout the day, we are more focused on things that need to be done, exercising is more enjoyable and we straight up feel better all around! Okay, enough talking, let's get to the point. Here is how I do green smoothies made EASY:

What you'll need:

• Mason jars (unless you have time in the morning to drink it from a cup)
• Fruits (this will depend on the season and what is on sale, so just pick and choose as little or as many as you like)
• Bananas- these go in EVERY smoothie to help flavor and texture
• Strawberries
• Apples
• Oranges
• Mangoes
• Blueberries
• Pineapple
• Grapes
• Pears
• Peaches
• Veggies (to start out, you can just use spinach)
• Spinach
• Kale
• Carrots
• Cucumbers (we don't do this all the time, but it gives it a fun melon flavor)
• Avocado (we haven't tried this yet, but I hear it's awesome)
• Grains of some sort (Optional) 
• Flax Seeds
• Chia Seeds
• Raw Oats (these will keep you full longer)
• Greek yogurt (optional)
• Milk (optional)
• Blender
• Quart size freezer bags 
• A few hours for every few weeks worth of smoothies (it takes me around an hour and a half to do two weeks worth and about two hours when I do three weeks worth for two people)

This is what my counter looks like after I come home from shopping:

Then chop up those fruits and veggies and lay them in piles like such:

Grab a small handful of eat fruit and veggies you want (see favorite combinations below) and place in freezer bag. I don't add liquid or grains until I blend each one in the morning. If you put in yogurt I would save that for the morning too. Put bags in freezer.

Isn't that a pretty sight?

Pop one of these in the blender with the grains and water (enough to blend, but how much will depend on your liking) and pour into the mason jars and voila! You have breakfast on the go in less that 5 minutes.

E.A.S.Y.

You're welcome.

Some Favorite Combinations:

(I used to do this until I discovered putting some of each fruit in every smoothie was a good idea)

Peach, mango, banana, kale, spinach, carrot, oats, flax seed, water

Strawberry, banana, apple, spinach, kale, flax, oats, water

Orange, apple, banana, spinach, kale, flax, oats, water

A few side notes:

1. As far as portion sizes go, I fill the quart size bag to the top and that is enough for two people.
2. If buying that many types of fruits and veggies won't work, just get spinach and a few fruits. It does not have to be complicated. We originally started with just a few things until we got used to them and then I started experimenting and putting more in. It will take time. 
3. One of the reasons we did this was because produce goes bad fast and with freezing each smoothie there is not concern there!
4. You don't have to have a good blender to do this if you don't mind chunks. In fact, until we got our Blendtec from my parents this last Christmas, we drank what people would refer to as 'salsa verde'. We had a Ninja, which was fine, just not the best for green smoothies. However, it can still be done!

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