Let’s be clear. I’m not one of those wonderful folks who lives their life around smoothies. I don’t own a special blender or juicer {although sometimes I dream of having one}. I don’t have a pile of fresh ingredients set aside in the fridge to blend & consume every day. And I don’t have a list of powders/proteins/seeds/stuff that I add. I DO however enjoy smoothies. Simple fruit smoothies, with a dash of veg here & there, and lately a drop of oil.
My smoothie adventures began when Sam was about one year old. At first, it was just another way for him to eat fruit. But then it became a way to keep my sanity after he stopped nursing (he would wake up between 5-5:30am every day, and a small smoothie was a nice way to fill his tummy until breakfast at 7:30am). The daily smoothie slowly tapered off as he got older (slept slightly longer) and didn’t need food so often.
Now, smoothies are something we enjoy together as a breakfast or lunch option a couple times a week. Sam’s smoothies are mostly fruit & greek yogurt, with a dash of juice to get the consistency he enjoys. I used to sneak kale or homemade broccoli greens powder in, but not anymore. My smoothies are often a mix of fruit & veg, with greek yogurt. I like ’em thick, so sometimes skip the juice. On occasion, I use coconut cream instead of yogurt or for a special treat a bit of peanut butter {depending on the fruit/veg mix}.
We use our Magic Bullet , which we originally picked up to make homemade baby food. The cup sizes are perfect for making smaller smoothies, and since we each like different things, I just make one for each of us. Plus, if he doesn’t finish his smoothie, I just pop on a lid and stick it in the fridge for later. I’ve thought about buying something else, but honestly, this does the trick for us, so it’s hard to justify much more. Use what you have, or upgrade to something fancy. Whatever works for you.
We use whatever ingredients we have on hand. That usually means a mix of fresh & frozen. Fresh ingredients might include, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, cucumbers, carrots, kale, apples, etc. Frozen ingredients include any number of berries or fruit or kale {from our garden}. I usually aim for 2-3 fruits for Sam, 2 fruits & a veg for me.
When I got into the whole essential oils “thing”, I quickly learned that the some Young Living oils were safe to ingest. My team leader suggested trying some in smoothies, which caught my interest. So I ordered up some of the citrus oils to have on hand and try. Our three favourite are Orange, Grapefruit and Lime.
For Sam’s smoothies, I mostly stick with Orange Essential Oil. A single drop does the trick. It gives a nice, sweet citrus flavour. I’ve found that it has turned blueberry smoothies {which our picky eater son would normally turn away}, into a very tasty & appealing smoothie.
Grapefruit Essential Oil is also a tasty citrus flavour addition. This is the one I often add to my own smoothies. It goes great with any fruit {haven’t found a combo that I didn’t like yet}. Plus, the smell it adds to your smoothie, is a wonderful “wake up” in the morning. In fact, for morning smoothies, this is my go-to oil.
For tasty lunch time smoothies, I really enjoy adding cucumber or avocado to whatever fruit we have on hand. Lime Essential Oil is a perfect flavour addition to that! I’ve found myself craving it a bit on the warm days we’ve been having. I’m thinking it will be super refreshing during the summer. Oh, strawberry & cucumber & lime smoothies! Yum!
I’m always curious to hear what people’s favourite smoothie recipes are. There’s just tons out there {hello, Pinterest}! Some simple, some more complicated. Some more natural, others not so much. So lay it on me, what’s your fave? Or what’s your fave ingredients to use?
*Oil safety* – Oil ingestion & direct use is a bit of hot topic. Do your own research, decide for yourself. I am NOT a health care practitioner or specialist in essential oils or a nutritionist. Nor is this post sponsored in any part by Young Living. I’m simply sharing what we do at home, as part of our weekly routine, as a mama & curious essential oil user.