Smoothie Sensation.

I've never been one to get enthusiastic about "drinking" a meal. Now, I'm not talking about alcoholic beverages - that I can do. I'm talking about healthy shakes, smoothies and what not. I know this isn't a new concept and maybe I've gotten a little soft since the recent death of Jack LaLanne, but I have finally embraced the wonderfulness of fruit and veggie smoothies. And I'm not promoting retail-created smoothies, I'm talking home-whipped delicious ones; the ones you know exactly what's in them.

My husband is ever-the- rockstar-smoothie-maker and, for years, has been trying to get me to embrace the concept. As most know, I'm an egg eater. I want to eat eggs every morning, not drink my breakfast thankyouverymuch. But, something came over me recently. I'm hooked and now I want to shout it out to the world. Yes, I get it, it's what everyone else has been doing for years . Maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake, but, several years ago, we received a juicer (yes, Jack LaLanne's official juicer) as a wedding gift. Of course, my husband was immediately gung ho about it and shot out of the cannon "juicing." I could've cared less, although I appeased him and tried all his creations which included beet and carrot juice. I admit, they were pretty good - if not a little thick - and I think I would've gotten into it if the juicer didn't waste a ton of fruit and vegetables or if it didn't take a fricken week to clean the darn machine. So, after a couple weeks, like everything else, it eventually wore out its welcome.

Fast forward five years. We decided we needed to incorporate more variety into our diets and add more raw ingredients, but sometimes you just get sick of how boring it is to eat raw vegetables. (Unless you have a bowl of ranch next to it.) My husband decided to take matters into his own hands. He busts out the standard blender and goes gang-busters on making one-of-a-kind smoothies. I took baby steps and realized when my 3-year-old was digging them, that I should be digging them, too. It, also, started leading me away from the starches and carbs I imbibe while eating my eggs, so it really was a noticeably win-win.

Now, we have them every morning and I am addicted. Bring on the crazy ingredients because nothing is off limits. I'm not kidding. The best thing about it is all the additional vitamins we're getting. Plus, it uses up extra fruit and vegetables that otherwise end up in the chicken coop or the compost.

In honor of my creative husband, here's a few of his specialties (Serves about 2.5 pint glasses):

2 bananas
1 handful of raw spinach
3 raw carrots
1 cup frozen or fresh berries (we just used up huckleberries we froze from last year's farmer's market and now use blueberries and strawberries.)
1 cup pineapple (or more...this always gives it a really cool, sweet flavor.)
2 spoonfuls plain/Greek yogurt
1 cup milk (or less)
1 cup ice

2 bananas
2 raw beets
2-3 raw carrots
1 cup frozen berries
1 cup pineapple
2 spoonfuls plain yogurt
1 cup milk (or less)
1 cup ice

1-2 bananas
1 cup cooked, raw or frozen broccoli
3 raw carrots
2 cups pineapple
2 spoonfuls plain yogurt
1 cup milk (or less)
1 cup ice

2-3 leaves Kale
2 cups strawberries
1-2 cups pineapple
2 spoonfuls plain yogurt
1 cup milk (or less)
1 cup ice