Green Smoothie

Directions

1. 1
   First of all, the ingredients are approximate. I eyeball it when I make it. It's a basic recipe to start with, but you can take in a different direction depending on what type of fruit you have on hand.
2. 2
   To begin, gather your fruits. Cut them up and place them in Ziploc baggies to go into the freezer. This makes preparation a snap from here on out.
3. 3
   Get your blender pitcher ready, and start putting the ingredients in. Start with your cut up apple, skin and all. (I add ground flax at this point, but that's optional.)
4. 4
   Next, put in a handful of frozen peaches, about 6 to 7 slices. You can use nectarines, papayas, mangoes, pineapples or any combination of those. I also add a few blueberries if i have them on hand.
5. 5
   Add approximately 8 frozen strawberries, three 1-inch slices of frozen banana, followed by the orange juice.
6. 6
   Then I add 2 big handfuls of spinach and either a large leaf of kale or two of the skinny, flat variety of kale (organic is best).
7. 7
   Turn on the blender and let it do its magic.
8. 8
   I have a Vita-Mix blender, but any heavy-duty mixer will work. My blender works great for smoothies as well as other kitchen projects. The Vitamix has a plunger, so you can poke the ingredients down to make sure they get mixed up properly.
9. 9
   The frozen fruits make this a slushy treat, and the spinach and kale make it very rich in calcium.