Daily Eats readers know that I love my smoothies! And so does Scott! He actually requests them and I think at this point in time he might be the only food blogger husband who does.

I was intrigued when I saw Angela of Oh She Glows start making her green monsters. Kale in a smoothie? Um, what?

Now I love me some kale, but it can be a bit bitter so I was a little concerned. But she loved them and I decided to give it a try, and you know what? You can’t taste the kale at all. Amazing! My smoothies are different than the typical green monsters because I want fruit and veggies in my smoothies.

That means that my smoothies typically aren’t green.  And I prefer to use juices and water as a base instead of almond or soymilk.  The milks tend to make the smoothies thicker which isn’t something I’m looking for because I don’t use smoothies as a meal or as a meal replacement.  They are an accompaniment to my lunches.   I also add in lots of frozen fruit because why not? Frozen fruit also helps keep the smoothies cool and give it a sort of frozen drink texture.

A typical smoothie for me usually has:

• Unsweetened cranberry juice
• Sometimes OJ or POM juice
• Water
• Kale or sometimes spinach
• Carrot

And a possible combo of fruit usually from this list:

• Frozen pineapple
• Frozen peaches
• Frozen mango
• Frozen blueberries

All those ingredients go in a blender and I blend away.  I make enough smoothie for both Scott and I to have a big glass with some remaining so Scott can have more because he loves them so much.

The goal for my smoothies is to help me get in more fruits and veggies during the day in a different and tasty way.  I love greens and feel they are important in our diets (help provide fiber, vitamins and minerals, and iron) and smoothies help me get a daily dose of greens.

At first I was concerned with the smoothie calorie content. Now I don’t count calories but smoothies were an addition to my lunch and I was concerned that it would put me over what my body needed.  But I loved them and felt great for drinking them! So I kept making them. They are the perfect addition to lunch. I’m getting fresh whole foods that help fill me up and keep me full for the rest of the day.

I realized that these did not affect my diet or calorie intake in a negative way at all.  In fact, I think smoothies improved my diet and the way my body feels.

I now feel sort of off balance when I don’t get a smoothie and my body doesn’t feel like it is running it’s best.  Remember those old V8 commercials with the people walking around leaning to one side because they didn’t get their V8 that day? That’s exactly how I feel if I don’t get a smoothie.  A day without a smoothie, while I don’t like it, I can manage. More than that and I get cranky and my body doesn’t respond well.

When I don’t get in enough fruits and veggies (my body demands a lot of fresh produce) I get bloated and feel yucky. When I get plenty of fruits and veggies, my body runs much smoother and there is no bloat to be found! My skin also looks and feels a ton better. My hair is even more shiny!

My point is that smoothies work for me and I’m so glad that I stumbled on the concept behind them. If you haven’t tried a smoothie, give it a go! I promise that you can’t taste the veggies if that is holding you back.  And smoothies are a blank canvas, you can build whatever kind you like!

The times when I needed an extra boost out of my smoothies, I’ve added Greek yogurt, soymilk, and even raw oats! Yup! And it worked out and tasted great.