Healthy Green Shake

Marcia and I knew that one of the creative aspects of our blog would be recipes and baking. We have a friend who makes beautiful cakes and cupcakes. We wanted her to do our first recipe post, and we envisioned that you would drool over her lavish, decadent desserts. But somebody actually asked me to share a recipe, and I think that I'm proud that our first recipe post will be for something incredibly healthy--my morning green shake. You might not drool over it, but it will start your day off right.

You can add just about anything to a healthy shake, but some things definitely taste better than others.
I start with about 10 ounces of almond milk. I use the 30 calorie milk. If you have a sweet tooth, you could use the 90 calorie vanilla-flavored almond milk. I think it tastes like melted vanilla ice cream. I also have multiple cups and make several shakes at a  time.

I add something green first. I like cut kale when I can find it (and it's plentiful at the farmer's market right now). Spinach also works.

You want to add a big handful of your greens.

Now you can layer ingredients. I do a handful of carrots followed by a handful of spinach if I haven't used it already. You'll have to push your layers down so everything will fit in your cup.

Next I add a heaping spoonful of ground flaxseed. I buy Bob's Red Mill brand at Target or Trader Joe's.

Then I add 1/4 cup of pumpkin if I have it, followed by as many frozen blueberries as I can fit in my mixing cup.

I place lids on all of the cups and store them in the fridge until I'm ready to mix one up--saves me time when mornings are busy. Once these ingredients are mixed together, I add half a banana (for sweetness) and mix again. This shake gives me one serving of "dairy" with the almond milk, three half to full servings of vegetables (kale, spinach, and carrots), and three half to full servings of fruit (pumpkin, banana, and blueberries). I enjoy one every morning. Give it a try!
--Melissa