Simple Green Smoothie

I’m back with some more smoothie goodness! This time we have a new color coming up to Maple Alps - green! Yes, I’m here with a green smoothie.

The first time I had a green smoothie, I was in high school. When they became more popular, I counted it as old news. ;-)

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Some tips for green smoothies:

1. Blend the greens in the milk before adding in the rest of your ingredients. This will help avoid bits of leafy greens you’ll end up chewing in your smoothie.

2. If you don’t use your greens fast enough, you can freeze them so they don’t go bad! I actually like to make packets with all the smoothie ingredients for quick mornings some seasons.

3. Spinach and kale are both great to use - kale has a stronger taste though, so you decide what you prefer!

This recipe will make enough to share with your favorite friend - or you could just enjoy it on your own, I suppose. I’ve been know to add flax/or chia seeds (chia seeds pictured below) to my smoothies for some fiber too. I know someone who even puts spinach in this smoothie! It’s optional for you, however. Just know that you can’t actually taste it if you choose to add it (chia seeds you will be able to feel the texture).

By the way, we do not add any ice to our smoothies, because we find that it takes away from the creaminess of them (that, and we never have ice on hand!). Instead, we use frozen fruit to achieve a similar effect. Feel free to use a few blocks of ice if you prefer, however.

Simple Vegan Green Smoothie

what you need:

• 2 cups non-dairy beverage (I use soy milk)

• 1 large banana (use a frozen banana for a thicker smoothie)

• 1 cup fresh spinach or kale

• 1/2 cup cubed mango (use frozen for a thicker smoothie)

• 1/2 cup cubed peach (use frozen for a thicker smoothie)

• 1 tsp ground flax seed (optional)

• 1 tsp chia seeds (optional)

• 1/2 inch fresh ginger (optional)

what to do:

1) Add all ingredients to a blender and process until everything is well mixed.

2) Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Do you enjoy a good smoothie? What is your go-to? Let me know in the comments!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Delight Smoothie (vegan)

Have you ever just craved something sweet but didn’t want all of the calories? Well, I have a treat for you today! Seriously!

You didn’t think I was going to start sharing smoothies and skip out on my favorite dessert ingredient, did you?

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We love having popcorn and smoothies and Saturday nights, and this is our usual go-to for it. It’s sweet, creamy, tasty, and hits all the right spots. Plus, it isn’t one we usually have in the mornings, so it feels like an extra special treat.

This recipe will make enough to share with your favorite friend - or you could just enjoy it on your own. I’ve been know to add flax/or chia seeds to my smoothies for some fiber too. I know someone who even puts spinach in this smoothie! It’s optional for you, however. Just know that you can’t actually taste it if you choose to add it (chia seeds you will be able to feel the texture).

By the way, we never add any ice to our smoothies, because we find that it takes away from the creaminess of them (that, and we never used to have ice on hand!). Instead, we use frozen fruit to achieve a thicker smoothie. Feel free to use a few blocks of ice if you prefer, however.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Delight Smoothie

what you need:

• 2 cups non-dairy beverage (I use soy milk)

• 1 large banana (use a frozen banana for a thicker smoothie)

• 1 TBSP cocoa powder

• 1 TBSP peanut butter

• 2 tsp ground flax seed (optional)

what to do:

1) Add all ingredients to a blender and process until everything is well mixed.

2) Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Do you enjoy a good smoothie? What is your go-to? Let me know in the comments!

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Classic Strawberry Banana Smoothie (vegan)

Did I tell you about the time my husband won a year’s worth of free smoothies? The first 50 customers at an opening smoothie shop was offering free smoothies (one a week for a year). He went out at 5am as kind of a joke to see if it would even work out, and ended up being #48 or something like that. Crazy, right? The sad ending of this story was that he was greatly disappointed in the quality of the smoothies and we ended up moving away anyway.

Why did I share this story? I don’t know. But…

One thing that is sure in our home is that the blender will be whipping up a smoothie every day. It’s part of the reason we had to upgrade our blender early on (that, and I kinda of made our old one die…). We love experimenting with different combinations of flavors and textures, but there are smoothies involved. Smoothies are a great way to get some nutrients in and even stay somewhat hydrated. They are also easy to customize to your own specific needs. ALSO, they taste way better than any of the ones we’ve bought from stores and they don’t cost $6/smoothie. Yikes.

This summer, I’ll be sharing some of our favorite smoothie recipes with you, starting with a classic.

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Strawberry banana was probably one of the first smoothies I ever made on my own way back when. It has remained an easy favorite.

It was kind of weird to measure out exactly what we put into this smoothie, but I think it was worth it to be able to share it with you. Honestly, eyeball the heck out of this smoothie, because it will still taste great! This is a great smoothie to start out your day with or to end it - I won’t judge.

This recipe will make enough to share with your favorite friend - or you could just enjoy it on your own, I suppose. I love adding flax/or chia seeds to my smoothies for some fiber too. It’s optional for you, however. Just know that you can’t actually taste it if you choose to add it.

By the way, we never add any ice to our smoothies, because we find that it takes away from the creaminess of them (that, and we never have ice on hand!). Instead, we use frozen fruit to achieve a similar effect. Feel free to use a few blocks of ice if you prefer, however.

Strawberry Cream Smoothie

what you need:

• 2 cups non-dairy milk (I use soy)

• 1 large banana (use a frozen banana for a thicker smoothie)

• 1 cup strawberries (use frozen strawberries for a thicker smoothie)

• 1 tsp ground flax seed (optional)

what to do:

1) Add all ingredients to a blender and process until everything is well mixed.

2) Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Do you enjoy a good smoothie? What is your go-to? Let me know in the comments!

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Fresh Homemade Lemonade

Whenever I envision the perfect summer break in my mind’s eye, whether I picture myself sitting somewhere peaceful like a nice deck or on the beach enjoying the sunshine, I also see myself sipping on some lemonade. It’s almost as if I can’t have summer without lemonade! Or some cold iced tea. But mostly lemonade!

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I’ve done all different types of lemonade over the years. I remember one summer I was obsessed with putting ENTIRE (yes, whole) lemons into the blender with ice and agave. I mean, it was tasty, but I think my system couldn’t handle all of the rind by the end of it. Huh, just telling you about this is making me want to retry this episode of my life story! I also used to mix some other fruit into lemonade - usually blueberries, because I loooooove blueberries!

But this recipe is super easy. All you need is some lemons (duh), water, ice, and simple syrup (find the recipe here)! The simple syrup bit, you may have to plan ahead since it requires some cooling down, but it’s worth the wait, truly!

The best part about this lemonade is that it’s quick and easy to make. That, and there are no instant lemonade granules in the bottle of your glass or jar. Seriously a pet peeve of mine! I like my lemonade natural and freshly squeezed from a lemon.

Use still water or swap it out for sparkling if you’re feeling fancy! Sip it out of your reusable straws (these are the ones that are picture that we use from Amazon!) and feel really good about what’s in your glass!

Fresh Homemade Lemonade

what you need:

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1/4 cup simple syrup

• 1 cup water (OR sparkling water)

• Ice

what to do:

1) Add all ingredients to a small pitcher

2) Stir well, until mixed

3) Serve immediately with ice and enjoy!

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Are you a lemonade fan or an iced tea fan? If you liked this recipe, share it with a friend or on Pinterest! Did you try it? Snap a quick photo and tag us on Instagram @maplealps!

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Untraditional Simple Syrup

Summer for me means a lot of fresh lemonade and iced tea. I remember the days of powdered mixes in a can that you mixed with water and at the end of the drink there would be little granules at the bottom - and it would get sweeter as you got to the bottom. I know I’m not the only one who was annoyed with that.

Besides canned and powdered mixes being full of chemicals and dyes and sugars that are not the best options during the summer, it is incredibly easy to make your own drinks that contain less ingredients and taste just as great - if not better!

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A couple of things makes my simple syrup untraditional, the first being that instead of white refined sugar, I use raw organic cane sugar. The reason I use raw organic cane sugar is not necessarily for health reasons (gasp!). First off, I find white sugar a little bland. It’s just sweet and there is no depth of flavor. Maybe it’s just a personal preference, so feel free to use white if that is what you so wish. Organic cane sugar just means that the sugar cane used for the sugar was grown organically and is produced without any synthetic pesticides and herbicides. Which is nice to know. Not only does this decrease the amount of pesticides you are potentially intaking, but it is a step towards lowering the pesticide load on the environment.

In conclusion, there really isn’t a difference nutritionally between the two sugars, and you should be careful to not intake too much of a good thing anyway ;-)

The other thing that makes my simple syrup untraditional is the ratio of water and sugar that I use. Usually, there is a 1:1 ratio. I, however, use 2 parts water to 1 part sugar. It’s a small difference, but still a difference nonetheless. I’ve been curbing my sweet tooth, I guess. Don’t worry. It is definitely still sweet enough!

This simple syrup is perfect for lemonade and sweet tea and anything else you may want sweetened - without the granules in the bottom of your glass!

The best part? It’s quick and easy to whip up! And even easier to store in the fridge for up to 4 weeks!

Simple Syrup

what you need:

• 2 cups water

• 1 cup raw cane sugar

what to do:

1) Add all ingredients to a pot and bring to boil

2) Simmer for about 3 minutes, until syrup is clear

3) Allow to cool down before using in the drink of your choice

4) Store in an airtight container (a mason jar works well) in the refrigerator for about 3-4 weeks (if it lasts that long!)

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What are your go-to summer drinks? Have you ever made a simple syrup before?

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