Green Monster Smoothie

After all those holiday treats, I bet you are looking for something light, refreshing and green! At least I know I am. I have a goal this year to not gain any weight over the holidays (even trying to lose!) and this smoothie has been a lifesaver. It's simple to make and you can whip it up in minutes. All you need is a banana, a bit of peanut butter, ground flax seed, agave nectar (or honey), ice and spinach. That's it. Whip it up in a blender and you have a smoothie that is loaded with vitamins and is super healthy.

I promise you that you can't really taste the spinach. I know that's what you are totally thinking about. Spinach in a smoothie? Gross. No, don't think that. It's really good. You do get a small hint of spinach, but if you didn't know better, you'd never know it was in there. The banana and peanut butter really shine through. If you really want to up the bonus factor, add in a scoop or two of your favorite protein powder. I use soy vanilla protein powder from Trader Joes. You've probably seen the huge container of it in most of my ingredients photos. I really don't have a good place for it so it kind of just sits on my counter or wherever I have room for it that day. I need a bigger kitchen. I keep telling Ryan I need a bigger kitchen, but he keeps telling me I have to buy him an airplane first. Fair trade? Hmmm.

yummy ingredients

pre-blend

swirling spinach

delicious and healthy shake!

Green Monster Smoothie (recommended by my friend Lauren, also from ohsheglows.com)

1 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened vanilla) almond milk
1 ripe banana, chopped
2 handfuls  spinach
1 teaspoon ground flax seed (you can always leave this out if you can't find it, but use it if you can!)
1 tbsp nut butter (here I used organic peanut butter)
3 ice cubes

Starting with the liquid, add in 1 cup of milk of your choice. Now add in the chia or flax and nut butter. Next, add in the spinach followed by the banana on top. Blend until smooth. Add in your ice cubes and blend some more. Serves 1- about 2 cups.

I know I still probably haven't convinced you to try this, but I am sure you have most of these ingredients in your fridge. Can you at least promise me that you will think about making this? I have yet to try it with other fruit, but I can promise you that I will be trying other fruit combination's to see how well I can hide that spinach!