Green Smoothies: A Beginner's Take

So, I've been drinking green smoothies (very) sporadically for a couple of months now. But I got the great idea to start marking on the calendar in my kitchen every day I have a green smoothie. And today, I've had a green smoothie for seven days in a row. My goal is to get to thirty in a row, so I make it a true part of my daily 'routine'. Here are some of my random thoughts about the green smoothie process:

1. For my personal taste, I find the combination of the creaminess of the banana and the citrus of the orange really appetizing. Unripe bananas don't give that same creaminess and mouth-feel, and not enough citrus to 'brighten' the greens is likewise not very appealing. I haven't used anything BUT banana and orange for the fruit part, since I'm a poor college student, but if I do branch out on the fruit, I'll look for that creamy/tart/sweet combination. (Also, if you buy the pre-bagged, small, cheap-o oranges, buy a quart of orange juice, too. The smaller oranges aren't as flavorful or juicy, but if you replace 1/2 c. of the water with orange juice, you'll never notice.)

2. Kale is awesome, but you need to add more liquid to your overall concoction to get a full quart. If I just use green leaf or romaine, adding slightly less than two cups' water is sufficient, but the kale requires 2+ cups.

3. Kale is also pretty. It makes your blender work kind of hard, though.

4. I haven't gotten the hang of spinach yet. The one and only time I tried it, I used bulk spinach (not the pre-bagged, already washed and prettified stuff) and my smoothie tasted alarmingly of dirt. I added, like, 1/4 c. lemon juice to try and salvage it; no dice. Chelsea assures me that very thorough washing of the spinach will remove the dirt taste, so I may go wild and give it another shot one of these days.

5. For the past 5 or 6 days, I think, I've been making and drinking my smoothie at night. I liked drinking it in the morning, since it did seem to give me a (very small) 'kick', but I paid for that kick with a too-full, yucky tummy. Much as Eugene is a laid-back place, I don't think my neighbors would appreciate me vomiting into their gardens on my walk to the bus. I wake up about 45 minutes before I have to leave, so I think trying to get all that smoothie into my body while it's just waking up is too much. I tried only drinking half, but that's still too much. So, I make my smoothie around 7 PM, let it sit in the freezer for about 45 minutes, and then drink the whole thing. No too-full, yucky tummy, and still plenty of time to digest those greens before bed. Plus, knowing I have my smoothie still to drink has effectively eliminated my night-time sweet cravings.

6. "Things" are a little -er- irregular, but I think that's part of the adjustment period. Also, I felt really crappy yesterday, almost like I had a fever (but I didn't). I'm wondering if that wasn't also a side effect of the adjustment. Or, maybe it's midterms. Who knows.

So. I am not a hardcore healthy eater, nor do I think I ever will be, but I can honestly say that fitting a daily green smoothie into my life has been surprisingly easy, and tasty!