Detox January 2014: dairy-free green smoothie

Dairy-free green fruit smoothie recipe that gives 3 to 4 servings of fruits and veggies in one glass -- and tastes great!

It's here! It's here!

Welcome to Detox January.

For new readers, let me explain so you stop freaking out. This is The Ninj's version of "detox", so you know it's not some scary-ass juice cleanse or eat-only-two-crackers-per-day diet plan.

(Please: I like to eat way too much for that crap.)

Mr. Ninj and I do Detox January every year as a way of starting the new year off right, after all the excesses of the ho-ho-holidays. And, frankly, because I'd rather eat a muffin top than have one around my waist.

Detox January is not some overly ambitious resolution that you know you won't be able to keep (new gym membership, anyone?) Instead, it's more of a short-term, mini resolution that you know you can achieve.

The rules are simple. For the entire month of January,

• Abstain from all alcohol (but if a recipe calls for a little bit, that's OK) -- we'll be drinking things like virgin marys and Cuban Buls rather than gimlets for cocktail hour
• Eat a bit healthier every day (I don't expect you to get crazy here -- we just try to eat more veggies than cookies and keep our recipes more Cooking Light than Julia Child) 
• Exercise more than you did in December 

And that's it. Simple, right?

You can do this -- and you'll be impressed at how quickly you will drop the holiday poundage and how much more inspired you'll be to eat better in 2014.

This year, I'm starting you off in Detox January with a nice healthy smoothie -- mainly because I personally am starting Detox January with oral surgery that will require me to drink my meals for a couple of days. (Yeah, lucky me.)

But I don't mind because I've got this awesome green smoothie -- even though it's dairy-free and made up entirely of fruits and veggies, you won't believe how YUMMY it is. (Remember: ninjas do not lie.) Not to mention that you can get three to four servings of fruits and veggies just by drinking one of these bad boys for breakfast! And I can guarantee that it will appeal to even a fussy eater: Mr. Ninj hates pretty much all green vegetables yet he loves this smoothie.

Why? Because you barely taste the spinach! Seriously. All you taste is the fruit.

The key to this green smoothie is frozen fruit, which eliminates the need to add any ice (I find ice in smoothies makes them too chunky and a bit too cold for my taste). Over the summer, I stockpile my freezer with sliced frozen peaches, strawberries, blueberries, grapes -- whatever is juicy and delicious in season -- so that I can whip up a smoothie whenever the urge strikes. But you can also buy bagged frozen fruit at the grocery store, or start freezing your own right now (frozen orange slices work really well).

A couple of notes so you can learn from my experience:

1. If you use darker-colored fruit, your smoothie will be a darker green color (I used peaches and grapes in the bright-green smoothie shown here). So don't be alarmed if your smoothie is more olive-green than grass-green when you throw blueberries in it. It will still be wicked awesome.
2. Use baby spinach rather than regular spinach. Regular spinach has a much stronger spinach flavor and is more difficult to fully liquefy. Trust me -- you don't want a chunky smoothie that tastes like a big bunch of spinach.
3. Add as much or as little honey as you like for sweetness.

By the way, don't forget to follow my special Detox January board on Pinterest. You'll find lots of my recipes from previous Januarys plus some from my favorite healthy food bloggers, too.

Have you joined us in Detox January before? Will you try it with me this year, starting with this easy-peasy smoothie? Leave a comment: The Ninj wants to know.

Dairy-free Green Fruit Smoothie

(adapted from Mom Colored Glasses)
This recipe makes 2 smoothies.


Ingredients:
2 cups frozen fruit (sliced or diced if large)
1 banana, cut into chunks
1-2 tablespoons honey
4 PACKED cups of baby spinach (add a little more, too, if you like)
3/4 cup water

Directions:
Add all the ingredients IN THE ORDER SHOWN to a blender and whirl it all up until it liquefies. You may need to add a bit more water and/or scrape down the sides of the blender during the process. Serves 2.

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