This time of year it is easy to feel a bit jaded and tired. There are lots of colds and flu’s moving around and quite a few rainy days. We felt it was time for a vitamin injection into our daily lives. About a week ago we went out and bought a high power smoothie mixer and we are so glad we did. Since then we have had so much fun, making up recipes for tasty and energy packed juices and smoothies. It has made all of us feel more energetic and happy. This type of mixer is different from a juicer in that it makes a drink from all the parts of the fruit or vegetable you put in. It crushes seeds, nuts, berries and peels into a smooth drink. We have been experimenting with adding things like; almonds, kale, avocado, hemp seeds, goji berries, cacao nibs, frozen berries from the garden, apricot kernels, dried mulberries and sunflower seeds. The list of possible ingredients is endless. If you add seeds, berries and nuts that are dried it is good to soak then for a while before mixing for an even smoother drink.
Today we would like to share a couple of our creations here with you. If you feel in need of some proper nutrition and like a very green spring tasting drink we can recommend; the greener dream. This makes enough for two people to leap and bounce for the rest of the day.
Add the harder components first to the 1 litre mixing jug.
1 stalk of celery
A few chunks of peeled ginger root
1 green apple, cored
Handful of baby spinach leaves
Juice of two limes
1/8 fresh pineapple, core and skin removed
1 tsp spirulina powder
1 tsp maca powder, also called Peruvian ginseng
Melon chunks and water to fill up to the max fill level of your jug.
Attach your blade and mix away for about 20 seconds. The adults in our family love this energy giving boost. The four younger family members are slightly more reluctant and one of them even went as far as to name this beautiful creation after a special type of goblin excrement.
The Greener Dream
To please the younger generation and slowly ease them into the wonderful world of green drinks we have created a different one, named Teenage Kicks, after the Undertones song from the 70s.
This makes enough for four;
½ fresh pineapple core and skin removed
1 pink grapefruit, peeled but with the white bits left on
½ melon without seeds
Put all ingredients in the mixing jug, attach lid and mix for about 20 seconds, divide between four glasses and top up with cold pink lemonade or the like. Stir. Even our sceptical quartet likes this.
Teenage Kicks
The mixer is also great for making dips, nut butters, nut milks and other cold drinks. The best bit about making smoothies is that practically any vegetable or fruit can be mixed into it, along with a whole range of seeds and nuts. Because it is mixed up so finely all the nutrition is readily available for the body. We are looking forward to making some purple carrot and beetroot smoothies in the summer from our envisioned harvest. We can highly recommend getting a smoothie maker. Ours was only the price of the six of us going to a juice and smoothie bar twice for a drink. We earned that back in two days and now we are getting very tasty and nutritious drinks every day.
thegreenerdream 
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