So I also frequent another fitness forum and this guy posted these videos he made for what smoothies with blended ingredients. He is in amazing looking shape. Wondering what you all think, is this something for men only? (unnecessary amounts of protein? ) Would like to try as I love smoothies, but concerned too much fruit will be too sugary...Any thoughts?

(video btw)
Kale Maca Super Smoothie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM-yKCIoWs0&feature=plcp

and this one looks good, might test it out on my son, getting him to eat spinach....heheh

"Almond Spinach Smoothie For Weight Loss and Nutrition"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfFSHv537q8&feature=plcp

The guy is definitely yummy!!!

I make a spinach smoothie every morning. I put in about 1 cup of spinach, 1/2-1 cup of any frozen fruit, 1/2 cup carrots, some sweetener and water. It is so good. I recommend trying it. If you like it it is an easy way to get some veggies in your diet.

I make a spinach smoothie every morning as well. 2 cups spinach, 1 cup frozen fruit, 1 cup non-fat yogurt and alittle water. I love them and they leave me full. I never ate spinach before starting this diet and honestly its so good I give it to my little ones, but for them I add alittle sugar

This is my recipe:
2 cups spinach,
1 cup frozen strawberries,
1/2 a large orange,
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder,
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp ground flax seed
some ice cubes

Sometimes I have to add a little water or it is too thick for my taste.

It's 330 cals, 9g fat (healthy fats from those flax seeds!), 39g carbs, 10.5g fiber, 30g protein. It's SO filling and a great breakfast or lunch!.

are yous sure the spinach taste doesn't over power the fruit? are you using baby spinach? can't help but think it will taste very greeny or have that iron taste spinach sometimes has.

and do you need the vitamix blender? are there any regular cheaper blenders that would work?

That sounds SOOO good...have you tried almond, coconut or soy milk?

I don't have a set recipe with cups and measurements. I just use vanilla yogurt, orange juice along with some spinach, sometimes shredded/grated carrots and frozen fruit (so you don't need ice) then blend it all until you get the consistency you like (add a bit water or juice to thin it out if too thick.)

If you find that you can taste the spinach (I don't see how you can but anyway), try half of a frozen banana (or even a 1/4 would help) and with this recipe, you don't even need sweetener or sugar.

As for blenders, I had a really cheap one for almost 2 years that worked really well with my smoothies provided that I put in enough water/juice, etc. I say had because the blender pitcher base broke yesterday due to my rough handling, lol!

I have used unsweetened almond milk in place of yogurt before, it works just fine. If you use the one that is sweetened, maybe reduce the amount of milk, fruit or something so it wouldn't be overly sweet, ya know???

I love my morning spinach smoothie! I am on Ideal Protein Phase 1, so no dairy for my coffee - I fill my blender with loose leaf spinach, 2 cups coffee - blend until spinach is liquefied ~2 minutes - then put my chocolate protein drink and some cinnamon & blend ~30 seconds. All I taste is cafe mocha, it's amazing how you can't taste any spinach and it makes the shake thick & rich. I can see having this every morning, even when I am in maintenance - my two loves, chocolate & coffee with some spinach goodness. And I do not taste the spinach (and I do not like spinach normally), and I use a regular blender, nothing fancy or $$$.

What a great thread! I was feeling so down that I couldn't afford the amount of greens necessary for juicing, but the amount that smoothies require are more affordable and I get the extra fiber. Great recipes here, thanks!

Duh to me! lol

so this has sparked my interest... I'm still doing a bunch of reading up on this (and blenders) and this week started having a green smoothie for breakfast. I read you shouldn't have the same greens all the time and you need to rotate your greens. Right now I'm using baby spinach which I like.. what other greens have a mild taste like baby spinach that will still leave the smoothie tasting more fruity instead of tasting like a green salad?

TMI warning!

I love the idea of a green smoothie, so one day I added a handful of baby spinach to my morning smoothie. Within half an hour I had the craziest runs. I know the spinach was fine because I had some the night before in a salad. Anyone else have this issue? Should I get over my fear and try again?

I too make a green smoothie every morning. I just use a regular blender.

Rachella- that has happened to me occasionally.

Here is my recipe I am digging right now

Kale- just fill the blender up about half way
1/4 fat free plain Greek yogurt
carrots- handful
mango- couple slices
1/2 banana- amazing how strong the flavor is
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk 1/4 cup water
2 TBS flax seed meal- yup makes its very gritty but I actually like it.

I change from kale to spinach and basically add whatever fruit combo I want. The best advice to keep calories low is to use a little fruit only to "brighten" the flavor and don't add fruit juices.

I make green smoothies all the time!

My favorite greens to use are Kale and Spinach. My kids LOVE them. Fruit totally overpowers any green taste there may be. You can throw all sorts of stuff in them.