Lightweight Eats

Our roommate has a Vitamix blender. It took us a week or two to use it, but we've since jumped onto the smoothie bandwagon. Since the beginning of December, I've probably made 2-3 smoothies a week--and it's winter!

Here are some of my favorite things to do with a smoothie:
1. Add fresh ginger. I often find that smoothies get a bit too thick and sweet; ginger helps brighten them back up a bit. Eating more ginger is also part of my new year's resolution list--this one is practically already checked off just from smoothies! Adding lime juice, apple cider vinegar or other acidic foods/liquids also works.

2. Use up veggies. All those veggies we chop on Sundays for the week? They mostly get eaten, but eventually, they start to look a little bit sad. When they are getting too squishy or dry to gobble up on a fresh salad, I throw them into my smoothie. Last spring, I also threw pea pods into a smoothie--this is probably best reserved for high powered blenders, though.

3. Round it out with fat. I try to throw in one source of fat into each smoothie. My go-to sources include: chia seeds, flaxseed meal, nuts/seeds and nut/seed butters, and avocado. These, and olives, are the main sources of fat in my diet, and I have trouble getting enough. (Too little fat can increase risk of injury.)

4. Make it a protein smoothie. I hate protein shakes--who doesn't? So I throw my protein powder into smoothies, and the sweet fruit masks the flavor and, more importantly, the texture of the powder. Perfect! It also gives the smoothie a bit more staying power.

5. Add oats. Speaking of staying power, I find that a handful of baby oats helps me stay full for longer. This may be a placebo affect, but I'll take it.

Some combinations I'd like to try:
- banana + cocoa powder + instant espresso (or real espresso)
- kiwi + raspberry/strawberry
- vanilla + ginger + pear
- pumpkin + spices