Author: Debbie

Kellee Mayfield: Green Smoothies {Foodie Friday}

Celebrate the Flavors of Spring

Green Smoothies are the Healthy Fast Food

Healthy fast food is an oxymoron, but making healthy food convenient from nutrient-dense, whole foods from home takes on a whole new meaning. My choice of healthy fast food happens to be in the form of a Green Smoothie. It’s easy to make, store and grab on the go. 

Drinking a green smoothie is a quick way to consume optimal nutrition in a single serving.  Everything you need is at your local farmers market, the produce section of your grocery store or your back yard.

The best part of making green smoothies is there are no rules. No real measuring. If there is an ingredient you prefer over another, simply adjust. You can see one of my basic recipes in the video below. I saved it from a story I had made for my Snapchat friends.


 

So how do we make a Green Smoothie? Use any blender. The key is blending in stages. 

I add fresh ingredients from what I have on hand. My process of selecting ingredients is more like a simple mental checklist.
Below are the categories I check off in my mind when I create a smoothie.

Select one or more greens from the ingredient categories and blend them together with your liquid. Feel free to use more than one type of greens. Once blended, add one or more choices of fruit as well as vegetables. Blend again. Add an ingredient from the fourth category to enhance the texture. To boost the nutritional profile of my smoothie, I add items from the Add-In list. Fresh ginger is very common in my green smoothie. 

Liquid: Coconut Water, Water or Almond Milk

Greens: Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Collard Greens, Romaine Lettuce

Fruits: Pears, Green or Red Apples, Melon, Grapes, Peaches, Cantaloupe, Pineapple, Mango or strawberries

Veggies: Cucumber, Parsley, Carrot or Celery

Texture: Banana, Avocado, Frozen Fruit (Smoothie Blend is available) (There are many frozen fruit options blueberries are nutritious)

Add-ins: Ground Flaxseed, Chia Seeds, Spirulina or Fresh Ginger

Green Smoothie Healthy Fast Food-2.jpg

Depending on which ingredients you have blended, the color of your smoothie will vary. If it appears not as green as you had anticipated, be reassured it will still taste good. Think of it as mixing colors on a palette. 

If you are new to drinking smoothies, I recommend serving one to yourself in the fanciest glass you have. There’s something to treating your body and mind. 

In this world, where our busy lives seem to be in a state of entropy…you know that feeling of chaos and utter disorganization? Am I the only one who experiences this? What helps me is my choice for nutrition by treating my body to a green smoothie. Will you be giving it a try? What is your choice for a nutritious meal?

Please let me know in your comments.

kellee mayfieldIn 2007, Arkansas Women Blogger member Kellee Mayfield and her family moved to Lake Village. Kellee was quickly given the nicknamed “Kelly Jo” and the name stuck. As an Oklahoma native, Kelly Jo writes about living in very southeast Arkansas and the Mississippi Delta which has been penned the most Southern place on earth. She also shares her art as well as the art of resourcefulness as being the key to really small  town living. Kellee is a mother, wife and is in sales representative and clinical specialist for a medical device company. And she has a Southern drawl. Catch up with Kellee Jo at Delta Moxie, Instagram, Twitter, Periscope and Snapchat.

Jeanetta Darley: First Fruits From the Garden {Greens}

Celebrating First fruits from the garden: Greens

Rainbow Swiss Chard

The weather is just starting to warm up.  We are free of the frosts and freezes.  Well, we hope we are! Fingers crossed.  But we are ready for our gardens and to start enjoying those fresh homegrown or farmers market vegetables.

Mustard Greens

The first fruits from the garden that we can get our hands on are greens.  Mustards, Collards, Kale, Chard.  I love a mess of greens.  But truth be told I did not grow up eating them.  I didn’t learn to cook greens until after I was married.  I looked questionably at the dark green leaves boiling with chunks of salt pork looking very much like a swamp witch’s brew.

Collard Greens

I plant my greens early in the year under hoop houses.  This helps keep them a bit warmer and protect delicate leaves from any heavy snow.  When I cook my greens, I don’t boil them.  And there is always bacon involved.

mixed greens jeanetta darley

 

Celebrating #FirstFruits of the #Garden w @jeanettadarley 4 #FoodieFriday.

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Jeanetta Darley: First Fruits From the Garden {Greens}

Ingredients

  • 2 gallon bags of greens (mustards, collards, kale, and or chard)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 8 slices of bacon
  • Minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Wash and dry greens. Remove the tough vein and stem of all but the chard. The stem is very tender when cooked and adds texture and a bright accent color to the dish. Chop or tear greens into 2 inch strips or pieces.
  2. Slice the onion.
  3. Cut the bacon into half inch pieces.
  4. In a large stock po,t cook the bacon and onion over medium high heat until everything starts the brown.
  5. Add the greens. You may have to do this in stages as the greens cook down.
  6. Add garlic, salt and pepper.
  7. Stir and cook for 20 minutes until greens are tender
https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/jeanetta-darley-first-fruits-from-the-garden-greens/

 

Jeanetta Darley sidebar photo

Jeanetta is an artist, blogger, and sometimes homesteader.  She’s addicted to coffee, her garden, and chickens. You can see her art and read more stories at JeanettaDarley.com.  Or follow her on social media @jeanettadarley.