I’ve become a big fan of green smoothies. Not only because they are delicious and nutritious, but how great I feel after drinking them. It’s a quick way to get a lot of fruits and greens into your diet and quite refreshing on a hot day. However, they can pack the calorie punch, so I think of these as a meal rather than a side or a drink. I’ve also been upping the greens to fruit ratio to make them healthier and less caloric.

I do have a Vitamix blender, but I’m not sure you need one. That being said, it is one my favorite appliances. It’s a workhorse that gets used daily. I was able to find the compact version (5200c) at Costco late last year. The main difference was that it had a smaller carafe (48 oz. vs. 64 oz.). I believe the base is exactly the same. Since we’re a 2 person household, the compact version seemed like the better option and we saved a few hundred dollars. Costco often has demonstration days and the in-store price is much more reasonable.

Here’s the recipe for the green smoothie I usually make. This will make two 16 oz smoothies. I do vary it somewhat depending on what I have in the house. I often use spinach as the greens. Spinach is really mild and you don’t taste it much. I also like chard and kale. One word of caution, red fruit will make your green smoothie brown. It will still taste great, but the color will lose it’s green vibrancy. I like using wild organic blueberries, which helps create a lovely dark purple smoothie. Trader Joe’s has a great selection of frozen fruit.