This green machine is one of my all time favorite smoothie recipes

Getting started ...

After I teach NUFit I like to race home and get my smoothie on! There is nothing like the taste of a cold-nutrient, dense smoothie after an hour of hard work. Since it's tangerine season, I love adding this citrus fruit into my drink. I mix up my smoothie contents depending on what's "in" season. So, have fun and experiment with all different types of fruits and vegetables.

The kitchen should be a creative/free-thinking space to invent whatever you want! You don't have to be a chef to kill it in the kitchen.

Simple steps to follow

Ingredients: 1 chard leaf 2 or 3 lacinato kale leaves 1 cup spinach 1 cup frozen raspberries 1/2 banana (I like to freeze my bananas too! It makes the smoothie creamy!) 2 celery stalks 4 cut kaffir limes! These are my favorite limes so I love to squeeze as many as I can into my smoothie.

Directions: First things first ... make sure to wash your vegetables before you eat them! They are loaded with bacteria and need to get a good scrubbing. After you are done cleaning and cutting up your smoothie ingredients, you are all set to go! To make a smoothie you need a high-speed blender. I am an avid user (and lover) of the vitamin blender, but if you don't have this exact blender there are many other high-quality, high-speed blenders on the market. I like to fill my blender up with about 2 cups of water, and then add a little bit of ice. Once that is in, you can dump all your goodies into the blender. Start blending slowly and as the smoothie starts to breakdown you can crank up the speed. Blend for about 2 minutes (or until you see fit) and then you are all done!

I hope you enjoy my smoothie and again don't be afraid to add or subtract your favorite ingredients!

Photographer Credit: Dustin Roderick