Green Shake (that turned purple)

We were really blessed last year with a Vitamix mixer. One day, a huge and heavy box came in the mail. At first, we weren't even sure who had sent it to us. It was such a blessing. Made me cry. THIS is how good God has been to us! We use it all the time.

When I don't feel like chewing on vegetables (I know, sounds a bit lazy), we get the mixer out and throw in a bunch of vegetables and some fruit. A huge mound of vegetables turns into a drinkable concoction. So much easier... I also make a shake when I know that I am going to be a bad girl and eat something that I shouldn't. Or, after I have been a bad girl and eaten something that I shouldn't. Drinking green shakes make me feel a bit better. I might also add that green shakes do a great job of clearing your system...

I go to Whole Foods once a week, and I usually get a few staple "shake" ingredients: organic kale, carrots, pears, cabbage, and frozen blueberries. We also use rice milk, bananas, chia seeds, and the new discovery of coconut water. I throw these things into the mixer and have a great tasting shake. No added sugar.

You can add nuts to your shakes to add more flavor. I choose not to add nuts because A2 and A3 have nut allergies. We wash the mixer well, but I don't want to risk any emergency room visits.

I don't know if it's just me, but I don't need as many sweeteners as before. The more vegetables I eat, the less sweeteners I need. My goal is to become less dependent on sweeteners. Those of you that know me well know what a sugar addict I was. But ripe bananas and carrots do a great job of sweetening up a shake. Really!

There are so many "green shake" recipes out there. Quite honestly, there could be a million more. The reason is that you can use so many different ingredients and you can tweak it to match your tastes. Here is one version of a green shake that turned purplish. Use what you have.

Green Shake (that turned purple)

2 kale stalks
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup of blueberries
1/2 - 1 cup of rice milk
1/2 cup of coconut water
1 scoop of coconut ice cream (someone made this for me and I thought that it would taste good in the shake)

1. Wash kale. Tear off leaves from stem. Use only leaves.
2. Place all ingredients into a mixer and blend.
3. General rule for mixer: place soft items on bottom and harder items on top.
4. Drink.

Turned purple because I used extra blueberries because I didn't have any carrots.

My friend made this coconut milk ice cream especially for me with this very cute label.