I'm going green!

I have officially jumped on the green smoothie bandwagon.

I was a skeptic at first. When wheat grass first came out, all I could think was eew, that looks gross. But as I was seeing more and more people putting green things in their smoothies, I got curious. Matt has been saying for ages that we needed a new blender so we could start doing smoothies more often, if for no other reason than to get more fruit and veg into our diets, which is never a bad thing.

Then, last week I came across a green smoothie recipe on skinnytaste.com (which, by the way, is an AWESOME blog full of healthier versions of foods that normally aren't, complete with weight watchers information).  That particular recipe didn't appeal to me because it included a few ingredients that I don't like, but she linked to a different recipe that I immediately wanted to try. So Saturday morning I headed out to Bed Bath and Beyond, armed with the requisite 20% off coupon, and bought a Ninja blender. Then I hit up Giant for the couple of things that I didn't have, and headed home to try out this awesome recipe.

(Of course, it wasn't that easy, because my life never is. I got everything loaded into the blender, and blended for a few seconds. I stopped it to scrape the sides, and the damn thing never turned back on. Go figure, right? So out came the old food processor to finish that one up, and back to Bed Bath and Beyond I went. Luckily, their service is awesome, and it was a fluke, because the new one works perfectly.)

Today was day 3 of the green smoothies, and I'm officially hooked. I haven't made it the same way twice, but they've all been good. The great thing about them is you can't taste the greens! I'm almost through a bag of spinach, and I think I might try kale next.  I also really liked the one with the scoop of peanut butter in it - a little extra protein, and some savor if you don't want it all the way sweet.

And I also have to put in a plug for the Ninja. The model I bought comes with 2 single-serve cups and a single-serve blender blade, so you can make just the right amount and switch the blade out for a drinking lid. Best idea ever, although I did have to add the greens in increments since they take up a whole lot more room before you blend them than after!

Does anyone else do green smoothies? What's your favorite thing to put in them?

I got a new toy

My mom got one of those single serve coffee pots for Christmas. Its super fancy, holds a ton of water, perfect for her. Ever since I saw it, I wanted one. I hate having to wait for coffee to brew, and wasting coffee, and having to clean the pot and the bits... basically, I hate regular coffee pots. This one, though, is easy - no mess, just the occasional cleaning out. All the mess stays in the little cups.

I couldn't bring myself to get the same big fancy one she got, but I did get myself a mini version of it today. (Hooray for Bed Bath and Beyond coupons never expiring!)  The biggest difference, other than the obvious size, is that while hers holds a reservoir of water, mine has to be filled every time you use it. I also got a neat little drawer that it can sit on and can hold 36 cups - a plus, since counter space is at a premium in my kitchen.

I bought a box of Twinings Earl Grey tea (one of my absolute faves) and it came with a 12 cup sampler, which included just one decaf. Can't wait to try it out after dinner!!