Peach Almond Green Smoothie (with Swiss Chard) & other Green Smoothie recipes

Back in October my sister came to visit. She was reading a book about Beauty Detox when she came and although we didn't agree with everything in the book, we both decided that we would incorporate green smoothies into our diet. I had had them before, but not consistently, because I always felt that I was getting enough greens in my normal diet. Swiss Chard is my all-time favorite food. We eat tons of kale, spinach, swiss chard, beet greens, turnip greens, collards, etc., and even had a very successful first summer/fall of growing swiss chard in the garden. (I still have some sprouting up out there!)

Taking all of this into account, my sister and I started having a green smoothie almost daily. She went back to Utah and we would email or text our different recipes and ideas. I experimented with some of my own concoctions, some were delicious, some not so good-(which I still got drank, somehow). I also tried a bunch of different recipes that used different greens besides spinach, which I am going to share. I haven't taken a picture of every single one of these recipes, but I have enjoyed each of them 5+ times in the past few months. My go-to, on hand, I-don't-want-to-think green smoothie is banana, frozen mixed berries, spinach and cold water. I don't like using yogurt/milk or juice because it adds unnecessary calories, in my opinion.

Now I have some sort of green smoothie 3-4 days a week. I find they are very refreshing as an after workout snack/meal, but also are great as a breakfast or snack anytime of day. I don't add any honey/agave/sweetener because I think the fruit makes them sweet enough. My kids drink them with me and really like them. I know many people try to eat healthier as the New Year rolls around and green smoothies are a great and easy way to up the number of veggies/fruits you consume.

I have made and enjoyed each of the following Green Smoothie recipes at least 5 or more times. My kids love them too.

Peach Almond Green Smoothie (pictured above)

1 cup frozen peaches

1 sliced banana

2 cups chopped (torn) swiss chard

1 T raw almond butter

2 cups water+ a few ice cubes

Optional: 1 T ground flax seed

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth

Blueberry Kale Smoothie

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 1/2 sliced bananas

2 handfuls (1 1/2 cups) chopped kale (I like to use red russian kale, it has a better raw taste)

2 cups water

handful of ice

Optional: 1 T ground flax seed

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth

Grape Fig Cleanser

3 cups grapes (purple or green)

3-4 black mission figs

2 cups chopped spinach

2 cups water

1 cup ice

Optional: 1 T ground flax seed

Oat Berry Green Smoothie

1/4 cup oats (ground up in blender before other ingredients are added)
1 sliced banana
1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen mango
1 cup frozen blackberries or blueberries (or mixed frozen berries)
2 cups spinach
2 cups ice cold water

Glowing Green Smoothie by Kimberly Snyder

1 1/2 cups water

1 head organic romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 of large bunch of organic spinach (or 3/4 of small bunch)

3-4 stalks organic celery

1 organic apple, cored and chopped

1 organic pear, cored and chopped

1 organic banana

Juice of 1/2 organic lemon

Optional: 1/3 bunch organic cilantro (stems okay), 1/3 bunch organic parsley (stems okay)

Directions:

1. Add the water and chopped head of romaine and spinach to the blender.

2. Starting the blender on a low speed, mix until smooth.

3. Gradually moving to higher speeds, add the celery, apple, and pear.

4. Add the cilantro and parsley if you choose. Fresh herbs, like cilantro and parsley, have cleansing properties that help extract heavy metals and other toxins from the body.

5. Add the banana and lemon juice last.

Here is a link for Green Smoothie Cups that I plan to try really soon since I located coconut water at Trader Joe's last week

Almond Butter Snickerdoodles

Have you tried freshly ground almond butter? It is soooo good.
A couple of months ago a friend asked me what kind of peanut butter I used. She told me she got her's from Earthfare, where it is freshly ground from peanuts. Just plain peanuts. No added oil, sugar, salt, etc. like you find in all the jars that are commercially packaged.

I went to check it out and was surprised by the price, which was so much lower than all the packaged peanut butters. Plus, the taste was unbelievable. Probably because it was really just peanuts. Funny how that works. You can even grind your own into a little plastic tub and watch the peanuts being turned into peanut butter.
Point of story- It is the only peanut butter I use. I eat a little bit of it daily. It is so good.
So, they also have freshly ground almond butter, which is a little bit more expensive, but oh so divine.
I saw this recipe in Cooking Light for Almond Butter Snickerdoodles and decided it was a great way to use a little of the almond butter.

These cookies are superb. Not the traditional flavor of a snickerdoodle, but so much more complex and I think, so much better. There is lemon zest, whole wheat flour, and cinnamon- which all combine for a perfectly chewy cookie. The almond butter adds a delicious layer of flavor.

My entire family loved these cookies. Even my husband- He couldn't tell they were "healthier".
Can't wait to make them again.


Recipe for Almond Butter Snickerdoodles
* the recipe said to use "smooth" almond butter, but I used the freshly ground kind which has a slightly chunky texture and they turned out great