Mean Blue-Green Almond Supreme

Unveiling tonight a brand new smoothie recipe for your delicious and healthy enjoyment: the Mean Blue-Green Almond Supreme. See aerial view above. The ingredients I combined tonight were for the first time although I’ve used some of these ingredients together in other versions of the smoothies that I make. This smoothie will have you seeing and singing the blues and swinging with the greens. And there is blue-green balance.

So what’s in it? First, I always add the greens. The greens for this smoothie are a baby kale blend of chard, baby kale, and spinach. This blend of greens blends easily and is responsible for the greenish healthy glow to this delectable treat. I added 5 ounces of greens. Sometimes I just use kale or just spinach but I really like the powerful combo of these three “mean greens”.

Next I add a critical component: 32 ounces of unsweetened almond milk with no sugar added. (You can sub half coconut milk if you prefer.) Don’t worry, there is a coconut ingredient in this bluish green mysterious drink. You can add coconut water too. If I have that, sometimes I add a 16 oz can.

The next ingredient is greek yogurt (nonfat). I add about 3 large serving spoons of this (not tablespoons, the large serving spoons used at the table).

Fruit is a necessity in a healthy smoothie for me so I add a full banana next, splitting it at least in half so it blends easier.

Blueberries come next, I use about a cup’s worth of frozen blueberries (can use fresh but frozen makes the smoothie colder). Blueberries are very healthy fruit and good for brainpower among other things.

Three healthy spices and a healthy companion spice are next: cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and black pepper. The turmeric is anti-inflammatory and its absorption increases by 1,000% when we add black pepper to it. We runners have to think about inflammation issues and how to deal with it in healthy holistic ways like just adding turmeric with black pepper.

By this point, I smash the smoothie ingredients down in the blender a bit to make blending easier.

The protein powder I use for my smoothies is now the Juice Plus+ Complete, 1 scoop (I prefer the Dutch chocolate Complete powder but tonight’s was made with French Vanilla, my wife’s favorite flavor). So no, I’m not using the Sunwarrior protein powder anymore that I referenced in my Irish blue kale smoothies of yesteryear on the blog (now use Juice Plus+ powder for all our smoothies including that one). I’ve gotten better results from the JP+ Complete powder so I switched. Usually I use the Dutch chocolate flavor (chocolate always wins?) and leave the vanilla for my wife.

The healthy combo takes a tropical turn with the addition of organic coconut oil (1/2 to 1 tablespoon) and almond butter (2 tablespoons). Especially if I haven’t had a bagel yet by dinnertime, the almond butter is inserted here. So there is almond butter and almond milk in this for a nutty flavor blend.

Finally we reach the important seeds and grains: chia seed (1 tablesppon), the ancient Aztec superfood, vegan source of Omega-3, Vitamins, and trace minerals; Quinoa (1/2 tablespoon-1 tablespoon), the super grain of the Andes (good protein source), flax seed (1/2 to 1 tablespoon).

Staying true to the roots of my Irish blue kale smoothie, the blue-green smoothie has 1/2 cup of McCann’s Irish oatmeal. You don’t need to cook it, just toss it in: it’s awesome! If you add the oatmeal on top, you have the added funny humorous moment of realizing this looks like oatmeal cookie dough. Some of you will recall the cholesterol controlling properties of oats and oatmeal that I wrote about earlier with the Irish blue kale smoothie recipe.

Smash the ingredients down in the blender and you’re ready to blend. I stop the blender at least once to scrape the ingredients lower in the blender and make sure nothing amazing is lost. Then blend a few more times. And voila! The Mean Blue Green Almond Supreme!

The experiment is complete. This is an amazing recovery smoothie and great for an entire meal (breakfast, lunch, or dinner, take your pick). For me, it’s usually dinner as I have more time flexibility to be creative then.

It’s an official new smoothie recipe, the second official one on the blog. There will be more recipes because there are so many combinations, even with varying just the fruit, greens, and liquids. Try it you’ll love it. Now enjoy the photos to help guide you in the construction process. Be creative and CHEERS my friends!