Sommmme…wherrrrrrrre…ooooover the rainnnnbowww……

This.amazingly-delicious-rainbow-chard-smoothie-dream that you dared to dream….really will come truuuuuuue……..

Ha, ok being from Kansas, I probably should not willingly offer up a “Wizard of Oz” reference.  (For all of you folks from other states who proudly pull a “you’re not in Kansas anymore” line out of your pocket when we’re traveling…trust me.  We’ve heard it.  A thousand times.)

But I actually love Judy Garland.  And (real) rainbows.  And now…rainbow chard smoothies!

I couldn’t resist those gorgeous colorful bunches at our farmer’s market this weekend.  So decided to turn them into a simple, delicious green smoothie with my rockin’ new Blendtec.  I had some ripe bananas and orange juice on hand, so that was my combination of the week.  But for all of you who love green smoothies, would totally encourage you to mix it up and throw some chard into the mix next time!  It’s a little more potent than spinach, but great in smoothies and so good for you!

What are some of your favorite green smoothie combinations lately?

Rainbow Chard Pineapple Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups loosely-packed rainbow chard leaves (stems removed)
• 2 bananas, frozen
• 1/2 cup orange or pineapple juice
• 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed
• 1 cup ice

Method:

Pulse all ingredients together in a blender until blended.  Serve immediately or freeze.

Ali’s Tip:

You can also blend the stems into this smoothie, but they will add some bitterness.

Happy Cinco De Mayo, amigos!

My birthday happened to fall a few days ago, on the not-quite-as-famous Dos de Mayo.  But with my fond affection for Mexican food, I usually end up celebrating both occasions at some point with a margarita in my hand and an attractive sombrero on my head.  (Thus, the picture below from my 29th bday dinner last night — the kickoff to the final year of my roaring twenties!)

Still, as fun as margaritas are when we’re out, I also love making them homemade when my friends are all hanging out at mi casa.  This year, these blackberry lime margaritas are my new favorite.  Made with crushed fresh blackberries, this simple, fresh combination is absolutely irresistible.  And way better than any mix you could ever buy.  I love mine frozen (especially in the summer!), but serve them on the rocks or however you love best.

Cheers to a great summer to come!

Blackberry Lime Margaritas Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh blackberry juice (**see instructions below**)
• 1 cup 100% agave blanco tequila
• 2/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup Grand Mariner or Cointreau
• 3 Tbsp. simple syrup (optional)
• ice cubes and lime slices

Method:

To make fresh blackberry juice, heat approximately 12 oz. fresh blackberries and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over medium high-heat.  Once heated, use a spoon or fork to mash the blueberries together.  Then use a fine-mesh strainer or a cheesecloth to strain out the juice.  Reserve 1 cup of juice for the margaritas.

Combine all ingredients for the margaritas in a blender until thoroughly mixed.  If serving frozen, mix in an additional 2 cups of ice until well blended.  If serving on the rocks, pour the mixture over ice.

Garnish with lime slices.

Ali’s Tip:

This recipe would also work with cherries, blueberries, or strawberries in place of blackberries!

Nutella + Milk.

I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before.  But it is quite possibly the most heavenly hot chocolate I have ever made, and will be making again soon.

You should too.  :)

Nutella Hot Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. Nutella
• 1 cup your favorite kind of milk
• optional toppings: whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate syrup, chocolate shavings

Method:

Warm milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until steaming, stirring occasionally.  Add in the Nutella, and whisk until dissolved.  Serve immediately, either plain or with your desired toppings.

Ali’s Tip:

Add in a pinch of espresso powder for an extra coffee-ish taste!

Many of you longtime followers know that I’m not a big believe in “recipes” when it comes to smoothies.  My method of choice is always “a little of this, a little of that”, usually based on whatever fresh produce happens to be hanging around my house.

But a smoothie I made this week happened to be exceptionally tasty.  So I decided to snap a quick pic and share it with you all.

It’s basically a simple pineapple smoothie, featuring some healthy Greek yogurt, banana, and my favorite smoothie ingredient — fresh ginger!  All in all a delicious, light, and wonderfully fresh tasting citrus smoothie.  Feel free to substitute in your favorite citrus fruits, but I happen to be partial to my beloved piña.  So pineapple it is for me!  Enjoy!!

Pineapple Ginger Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups diced fresh pineapple
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt (I used vanilla, but you can choose your favorite flavor)
• 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice or water

Method:

Blend all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.  Serve immediately.

Ali’s Tip:

For a different twist, try adding in a pinch of ground cinnamon to this smoothie!

Ok, I have to admit that I saved the best for last.  Behold, the color for “Smoothie Week” – GREEN!

This smoothie happens to be modeled after one of my favorite fresh juices called “clean green” from a neighborhood coffee shop.  When I first saw it being served there, I realized they weren’t kidding with the name.  My camera was having a bit of trouble with the tone-on-tone, but have no doubt, this smoothie is GREEN!  :)

But have no fear — this smoothie is fantastic.  The simple fruit combination is fresh, sweet and delicious.  And — hard as it may be to believe — you honestly can’t taste the spinach.  Kind of crazy.  Without a doubt, though, the best part of this smoothie that you cannot leave out is the extra ginger.  The kick it gives at the end is no less than perfect.

I make this specific smoothie at least once a week.  It truly is a favorite.  Enjoy!!  :)

Green Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh baby spinach, rinsed
• 1 Granny Smith green apple, cored
• 1 banana, peeled
• 1 orange, peeled
• 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp. ground ginger)

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth and well-combined.

Ali’s Tip:

I usually double the recipe when I make it to store half in the freezer for another day.  It actually makes great leftovers!  :)

Ok, this one may technically be closer to “cream” or “taupe”.  But the 5th color in “Smoothie Week” is the WHITE smoothie!

The inspiration for this one comes from one of my all-time favorite snacks — apples dipped in peanut butter!  What was once an after-school snack, and is occasionally now breakfast or lunch, has been transformed into the world of smoothies!  Also added in some bananas (another favorite fruit with peanut butter) to give it some extra thickness.

A great, naturally-sweet smoothie that everyone will enjoy!  :)

White Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 apples, cored
• 2 bananas, peeled and frozen
• 1 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 1/2 cup milk or coconut milk
• 1/2 cup ice (if needed)

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth and well-combined.

Ali’s Tip:

Another fun twist on this one is to use grilled (or roasted) apples and bananas.  TOTALLY kicks it up a great notch!  :)

Yellow is the fourth, delicious color in “Smoothie Week”.  And I’m pleased to say this smoothie is all about pineapple!

Any of my friends will tell you I go a little nuts when fresh pineapple goes on sale at the store (texts sent out to everyone, pineapples as gifts, inviting everyone over for pineapple something or other).  It kind of makes me ridiculously happy.

So for the yellow color in “Smoothie Week”, I decided to make one of my favorite smoothies — a pineapple-banana-coconut combination.  I ended up using some coconut milk I had onhand, which also gave this a touch of creamy-ness.  But if you enjoy coconut, you’re welcome to add in some extra grated coconut.  (Or if you don’t like coconut, you can also substitute in some juice instead.)

Always a winner of a smoothie in my house.  Enjoy!!

Yellow Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh pineapple, cut into large pieces
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (I used “light” coconut milk)
• 1/2 cup ice

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth and well-combined.

Ali’s Tip:

For a more concentrated smoothie, feel free to omit the ice and freeze the (pre-cut) pineapple and (pre-peeled) banana ahead of time.

Indeed.  ORANGE is the third color in the rainbow for “Smoothie Week” this week at Gimme Some Oven.

I’ve actually already posted two of my favorite orange smoothie recipes on the blog over the past year — my beloved pineapple orange banana smoothie and a fresh orange smoothie (a la Orange Julius).  But today I wanted to present another favorite.

Basically, this is a pure orange smoothie — lots of oranges (you can use pretty much whatever kinds you love), no dairy (milk, yogurt, etc.), and a special extra kick of ginger!  Oh my goodness.  If you don’t usually put ginger in your smoothies, you must give it a try.  Definitely one of my favorite little additions, and it’s healthy too!

So cheers to orange smoothies of all kinds!

Orange Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 oranges, peeled
• 2 mandarin oranges, peeled (or 1 small can of mandarin oranges, drained)
• 1/2 cup orange juice (or any juice)
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth and well-combined.

Ali’s Tip:

To make this creamier, feel free to sub in milk or yogurt for the orange juice.

The next color of the day for “Smoothie Week” here at Gimme Some Oven is RED!  Although this second batch I made, pictured above, turned out a little more “magenta” than in this first post.  Either way – YUM!

As you may have guessed, this recipe calls for lots of strawberries.  But the best ingredient hidden in there happens to be my absolute favorite fruit — a mango!  Ha, I realized while enjoying this that it’s basically the smoothie (non-alcoholic) version of my strawberry mango margaritas.  :)

Definitely a simple smoothie, but packed with color, nutrients, and a deliciously sweet flavor.  Enjoy!

Red Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen strawberries
• 1 mango, peeled and cored
• 1/2 cup cranberry juice (or other juice)
• 1/2 cup ice (if needed)

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth and well-combined.

Ali’s Tip:

Another fun twist would be to add some fresh lime to this.  Yum!

It’s “Smoothie Week” here at Gimme Some Oven!  So to kick off our week of literally eating the rainbow, we’ll be featuring the berry-licious color – PURPLE!

I’m sure many of you have noticed before that whenever you tend to add in some blueberries or blackberries to a smoothie, the purple color of the berries often wins over the other ingredients.  But this recipe is purple through-and-through, featuring a combination of your favorite berries (such as blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or even cherries), and then accented with some rich pomegranate juice and a little banana (for texture and sweetness).  It’s packed with antioxidents, delicious flavor, and of course…that fabulous purple color.  :)

I also love this one because it’s not overly-sweet.  The berries provide a fresh, slightly-tart kick.  But if you’d like to sweeten your smoothie even more, feel free to just add in an extra banana, an apple, or some vanilla yogurt.  Enjoy!

Purple Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups frozen berries (I used 1 cup each of blueberries, blackberries and strawberries)**
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 1/2 cup ice
• half a banana

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth and well-combined.  Serve or freeze immediately.

Ali’s Tip:

**I prefer to use frozen berries in smoothies — either fresh berries that I have frozen, or berries I’ve purchased already frozen at the store — to avoid adding in too much extra ice.  But fresh berries totally work as well.  Just add in extra ice until it’s the temperature you’d like.  :)