If at first you don’t succeed – try, try again.

(I promise I won’t keep posting about smoothies every day!)

This morning was attempt #3 at a Green Monster.  I took pictures of the entire process – mainly because I’d like to start adding more photos to my blog but I’m always forgetting to actually take any – and what do you know? This smoothie is the best one yet. Not that I’m attributing it all to the photos, but I have a sneaking suspicion that helped in some way.

Laying everything else - ready to start

I started by getting everything out and onto the countertop. I was toying with the idea of adding frozen peas. I’m not sure why. They aren’t “leafy greens” – but they are veggies. And they’re cold. I nixed them for frozen berries, though.

Spinach & bok choy

Taking Cammy‘s advice, I tossed the spinach (and baby bok choy – fancy!) into my food processor with a splash or water and started blending away, occasionally scraping down the sides. I left this running as I ran around the apartment getting ready for the day.

Mmmm - healthy!

After a few minutes – and a little foam – I was content that there were no more little spinach bits left. Blending all the greens with a little water before adding anything else is definitely the key. It was silky smooth and completely green-bit-free. Yes!

The last step.

When I was happy with the consistency of the greens, I tossed in the rest of my smoothie ingredients: frozen banana, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and some ice cubes. I added a little more water to thin it out a bit, as well. And since the greens were already set, I only had to blend this enough to break up the fruits – minimizing any potential extra foam.

Ta da! All done.

(You can still see a little bit of the leftover greens on the side).

I can say this is definitely far and away the best of the 3 smoothies. No little green bits. Minimal foam. And very, very yummy. I think the ice cubes are important, too. They keep the smoothie colder for longer AND if there were any little bits of greens or fruits, they blended in with the bits of ice and I wasn’t bothered by them.

So, there you have it. My “best yet” smoothie – with photos!

And while those of you back up in the northern hemisphere are chatting about the cooler weather, shortening days and coming of fall, here in the southern hemisphere we’re anxiously awaiting the arrival of summer. The clocks spring forward this weekend and even with the crazy storm, you can tell summer is on its way. And I can’t wait!

For those of you who have just been through summer – do you have any advice? Is there something that you wish you would’ve done this summer? Or something you wish you would’ve known when summer first started? In-season fruits and veggies you should’ve taken advantage of? Workouts that take advantage of the nice weather? Recipes that helped you make it through the hottest months without consuming tubs and tubs of ice cream?

If you could do summer again – what would you do?