This is the finale of all of the new smoothies I’ve tried. {You can read about the others here and here.} As much as I love smoothies, it can get a little old. I think that my tried and true smoothie still comes out on top for me.

But here we go!

11) Green Monster Smoothie from Iowa Girl Eats

Made: I don’t remember if I did a whole or half recipe. My guess is half.

Varriation: None

Thoughts: That felt like soooo much spinach, so I didn’t quite add that much. But it truly could have used more. Sweetness from the banana and the vanillacounteract it. This one is very close to mine, but Greek yogurt is added for extra protein. When I have Greek yogurt on hand, I’ll make this again. I usually buy plain, though, so I may have to add a drop of vanilla extract to balance.

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12) Runner’s World Blueberry Oatmeal Smoothie from Itz Linz

Made: Full recipe

Variation: I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, vanilla Greek yogurt and no flax because I didn’t have any on hand.

Thoughts: Looking at my breakfast stats now, I may not have added enough milk! However, the smoothie already did come out pretty runny. You may want to pulse the oats first before adding anything else, unless you like that oaty, grainy texture. I did not.

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13) Dana’s Mango Smoothie from $5 Dinners

Made: 1/2 recipe

Variation: I did not add the optional oats because I didn’t like that texture in my last smoothie.  I also used almost a full 5.3 oz container of  vanilla yogurt for a half recipe. (The full recipe calls for a 6 to 8 oz container.)

Thoughts: Remember how I said that I don’t put juices in my smoothies? I don’t keep juice in the house. I’d rather eat my fruit. But this recipe called for it. So I checked the labels to make sure I wasn’t getting one with any added sugar or any other gunk. This one is just orange juice. No other ingredients. The others I looked at had about four or five!

It was a big-assed bottle! But a smaller sized one was the same price. So what did I do with all of the leftover juice? I put it in ice cube trays!

How could I possibly use orange juice ice cubes? I am not 100% sure, but I’m sure there are some recipes that call for orange juice for which I can use them. I’m soliciting suggestions!  Or I can use them if I decide to make this smoothie again. In fact, even after I filled two ice cube trays and made this smoothie a second time, I still had this much OJ left:

That’s right, I made this smoothie a second time! It was sooo delightful! {Even with my slightly freezer-burned, really-needed-to-be-used mango.} It reminds me of an Orange Julius! That is, if I can remember what one tastes like. The last one I had was probably when I was roaming the mall in 7th grade. Okay, so let’s say that it reminds me of what I’d imagine an Orange Julius to taste like. Oh yeah. Yum.

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14) Coffee Smoothie from Snack Girl

Made: full recipe

Variation: None

Thoughts: This was pretty darn good! It was easy to pour, not too think and a great way to use leftover coffee. I like the added texture of the chia seeds, but some people might not be okay with a seedy-drink. This smoothie is low-cal, is very easy to whip up and has the added bonus of caffeine!

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15) Strawberry Shortcake Smoothie from Green Lite Bites

Made: full recipe

Variation: I don’t have lemon extract and didn’t intend on buying any. But I found a great substitute! 2 parts lemon zest = 1 part lemon extract. Therefore, I used 1/2 tsp lemon zest. It worked perfectly!

Thoughts: This was a little grainy, but otherwise tasted just like Strawberry Shortcake!

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And there you have it! Those are the 15 new smoothies I’ve tried over the past few weeks. Since these posts feel like they are so long, I’ll recap my faves that I’d make again next week along with a couple of websites I found that offer tips for making smoothies.

Do you ever freeze leftover juices (orange, lemon, lime, etc.)?

If so, how do you use it?

Cheers~
Carrie