Terry’s Smoothie

While Betsy and I were in Wyoming over the holidays my step-dad hollered out one morning if we wanted a smoothie for breakfast.

Typically, Betsy and I only do the smoothie thing in the summer. After all, it was -10 degrees outside so the thought of a cold glass of something wasn’t super-appealing.

But it’s generally known that my step-dad, Terry, makes a killer smoothie. Every time we go he has a slightly different concoction and they are always fantastic.

So not only did I accept, but I took notes. This Rainbow Smoothie is his current blend and it’s a great way to start your day (and new year). It’ll keep you full and energized until lunch.

Rainbow Smoothie

Good Ingredients

This smoothie has a somewhat extensive list of ingredients, but I find that they all add something to the mix. You might question the carrots and spinach, but you can’t really taste them and they add some great nutrition to the mix. I also have this strange idea that the more colorful something is the healthier it is and those two ingredients bring a lot of color to this smoothie!

Try to use good ingredients for this smoothie. Especially when it comes to the juice and the apple sauce, check the ingredients to make sure there isn’t any added sugar or high fructose corn syrup. That’s just not a great way to start the day.

I was really surprised how many apple sauce varieties had added sugar and high fructose stuff. Try to find one with just apples and water. It’ll still be plenty sweet.

On this particular day I used cranberry juice, but my absolute favorite is pomegranate juice. I highly recommend that over cranberry juice even though I photographed this version with cranberry juice.

Besides the fruits and vegetables, you can go crazy with add-ins.

Betsy and I almost always add flax seed and chia seed to smoothies. Terry likes to add some protein powder as well. He uses pea protein which is kind of hard to find. I just used normal whey protein.

Blend It Up

To make the blending easier, it’s a good idea to build the ingredients so the softest stuff is on the bottom. This will get a good base going before you get to the hard-to-blend stuff (carrots and frozen fruit).

I like to blend the smoothie well and then add in the seeds and protein powder.

Serve this up right away!

Betsy and I have started having these again even though it breaks our no smoothies in winter rule!  They are very filling and really tasty!

If you’re looking for a good, healthy way to start the day, give this Rainbow Smoothie a shot. I think you’ll be surprised by how delicious it is and how full you feel throughout the morning.