Thinking Out Loud- On Smoothie Creations

It's no surprise to you when I say I love smoothies.

(Almost as much as it is no surprise when I say I love nut butter. Almost.)

But I'm not going to lie; They are mainly of the same sort of fruit/sweet/extremely thick variety. Because that's the way I like them.

However being the creative food lover I am, I thought it was about time that I explored new tastes in the blended drink collection. (Especially now that I have my hands on one of the most powerful blenders in the market!! ;))

I've seen recipes with a whole bunch of random foods thrown into smoothies ranging from whole carrots, apples, pears, beetroots, cucumber, celery to even cooked and cooled veg, nobs of fresh ginger and even beans!

So, as part of my experimental segment of the week, I decided to concoct different types of smoothies with at least one ingredient I've never chucked in a smoothie before!

Here is hoe it played out:

My first experiment was Sunday morning, after a 10k run, on no fuel (anything over 10k and I usually have a snack)

So I was hangry.

Any who, I stuck to my goals and went about making a smoothie I didn't know if I'd like or not. It was pretty exciting!

Into the supreme blender went 1 stick of rhubarb, chopped, 1 medium banana chopped (I didn't have any frozen but I think it would have tasted better with a frozen one if you do so decide to recreate this), 1 extra large handful of spinach, 1/2 cup chopped frozen strawberries,  3/4 cup greek yoghurt, 1/2 cup water- placed in a blender and whazzed until super smooth!

 Et voila!
The rhubarb added to the smoothie was not bad at all!

Eaten alongside some peanut butter oat balls.

 The rhubarb added a nice tang to the smoothie and I couldn't even taste the cucumber or spinach= major plus for extra veg!!
 I will admit I didn't really love the texture the rhubarb gave it- a little gritty, but I think if I used a frozen banana and maybe some ice it would have been a heck of a lot better.

 But quite tasty, really hydrating and I just felt good after drinking it (I could tell my body was happy :)
The next one featured a surprise ingredient that I adore.

If you read my weekly WIAW, you may have noticed them popping up on numerous occasions every. single. time.

Yes, I am talking about my beloved peas.

Well, my beloved frozen peas to be exact!

 Instead of just eating them straight how they come... I decided to whaz them up into big green smoothie form!

 And it was mighty good!

 To create this extremely thick, creamy, mouth-watering green smoothie, I chucked into my Vitamix 1 chopped, frozen banana + 1/2 chopped, frozen avocado, 1 handful frozen, chopped zucchini, 1 massive handful of spinach, 1 scoop cashew butter, 3 big spoons of greek yoghurt, some oats that had been soaked in almond milk with chia seeds for around 10 minutes, a scoop of vegan vanilla protein powder and 1/2 cup of water

 Whaz, whaz, whaz until smoothy-smooth and enjoy!

(You'll need quite a large straw/ spoon for this one!)

Another couple of serves of veg in your morning smoothie for the win- spinach, zucchini and PEAS!

Lastly, a cool and refreshing addition to a smoothie that also becomes invisible in taste but adds volume and hydration;

 CUCUMBER! Specifically baby cucumber for me at the moment because that's what I happened to pick up at the store. :)

Like zucchini, cucumber has no taste when blitzed up into a smoothie, so was the perfect addition to my Strawberry Dreams smoothie bowl this morning!

Into the mix went 1 chopped, frozen banana, 1 massive handful of spinach, 1 handful frozen, chopped strawberries, 1 baby zucchini- cut in half, 3 spoons of greek yoghurt, 1/2 cup water- whazzed up until smooth:
Being in the freezer for 20 mins:

Stirring to combine the slightly hardened top:

On top I had a mix of cashew butter and peanut butter granola:

 And you know it ended up looking like this:

 So, those have been my recent smoothie adventures, adding in all sorts of different veg to my typical green loves. I must admit, this has sparked a bit of a smoothie bug in me and has started a mad buzzing of ideas in my brain as to what other crazy foods I can whaz up and make delicious!

Tell me:
What is your favourite go-to smoothie?
What is the weirdest thing you have ever seen/ have ever put in your own smoothies? Mine would probably be tofu. And it wasn't bad either!
Smoothie with a straw or spoon? I like the thickness needed for a spoon, but the effort required to slurp it up through a straw ;) Yep, I'm strange like that. :)

I hope you all have a fabulous rest of your week, take some inspo from me and whip up something a little out there and always to remember to smile, because life is so much better when you do! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D