The First Green Smoothie That Didn't Make Me Gag

I know it's not the most attractive title, but it's true. Not only did it NOT send me running for the kitchen sink, I actually enjoyed it. I consider myself a fairly healthy person. I eat at least 4 fruits and vegetables daily, I drink almost a gallon of water, about 80% of my grains are whole, and we rarely eat processed food. I make my own bread twice a week, jam, ice cream, almond milk, and chocolate sauce, among other things.

We have a juicer, but throwing away all the fiber killed me. So we got a NutriBullet. Oh my gosh, I love this thing. Toss in fruits and veggies whole and it completely liquifies everything. Perfect! Now, I'll admit that I dumped a bunch of different green smoothies down the drain before finally conceding and just making all fruit ones. But I was determined to turn it all around and I recently accepted Desiree's 30-Day Love Your Greens Challenge from Unconventional Kitchen.

Make Your Own Oat Milk

In case you're new here, I eat a LOT of oatmeal. And I'm not shy with the liquids when I make it either. Most people like a little milk with their oatmeal; I like a little oatmeal with my milk. Hot or cold, quick or old-fashioned, I thoroughly drown the poor stuff. I tend to make it with less liquid so it's really thick, then I cover it with milk, just like regular cereal, and break the bigger chunks up. It really is odd.

Then, one day while I was making my sixth batch of almond milk in 5 days, I started wondering what else I could make milk out of. Then it hit me - I could make oat milk. It would be like oatmeal on top of my oatmeal! What more could an addict like me want??

Make Your Own Soy Milk

If you or someone in your family is lactose intolerant or otherwise allergic to regular milk, you know how expensive the alternatives can be. I'm not too crazy about all the weird additives they throw in there either. I figured there had to be a better way, and there is. Did you know you can make it yourself? It takes just a few simple (real) ingredients and it tastes way better than anything you can get in the store. Come on, I'll show you how.

Make Your Own Almond Milk (and Almond Meal)

I don't know where you live, but around here, almond milk is $4 for a HALF gallon ($3 if you catch it on sale). That's insane. They must be charging for all of the additives, because I can turn a 2-pound $8 bag of almonds into 6 quarts and it only takes 2 ingredients. Even if you don't do it on a regular basis, I think everyone should try it at least once. Bonus - you get a bunch of almond meal as a by-product of the process. That stuff is $8 per bag here. I couldn't love this anymore right now!

Peaches and Cream Smoothie

I have been loving my Banana Berry Smoothies, but today I wanted something different. A quick search in the freezer turned up a bag of peaches hiding behind the berry blend, so I whipped this up.

Banana Berry Smoothie

I seem to have a new food obsession every few days. I eat something every day (or a couple times a day) until I find something new to drool over. Last week it was mini Triscuits and Garlic and Herb Boursin cheese. This week's fave? Banana Berry Smoothies. I can't get enough! The funny thing is I hate bananas, but the berries make it so worth it.