Nutrient packed smoothie

Sometimes I can be a little stubborn in my ways; so when the craze surrounding juicing and smoothies began, I quickly turned a cold shoulder. I continued to happily take my daily handful of vitamins and quickly scrolled over the smoothie and juice recipes on Pinterest. My interest slowly started to peak after I received a facial before my wedding. My aesthetician informed me that she too had taken up juicing and had never felt better mentally and physically. After hearing more about the benefits and easy way to amp the amount of fruits and veggies in my diet, my curiosity was definitely peaked. It also occurred to me that I could cut back on (pricey) vitamins and receive a lot of my nutrients naturally through this process; win/win!

On an impulse I strolled through the grocery store grabbing stalks of celery, bunches of kale, and bags of fruit. Unfortunately once I got home I realized the juicer I already owned was not equipped to extract the juice from veggies; so I went another route by using my food processor. I must say, the process took me a while to perfect as I would find myself munching like a cow on the sustained stems of kale (not very pleasing if you ask me). I call the below recipe a smoothie while others may consider it more as a juice; either way it is one of my favorites with a combination of sweet and tart flavors. This recipe will make about 8 8 oz servings and keep in the fridge for 4-5 days (stirring before each use).

Recipe:

3 organic gala apples cut into small chunks

6 oz raw cranberries

1 1/2 container strawberries with stems removed and halved

3 cups spinach

3-4 cups water (depending on your thickness preference)

1. Combine water and spinach in food processor and mix until evenly combined and resembles mostly homogenous liquid consistency (I found it best to over mix or you could have chunks in your smoothie)

2. Add cut apples; repeat step 1

3. Add cranberries and strawberries; repeat step 1

4. Once the ingredients are evenly combined you can adjust water as desired.