Groovy Green Smoothie

This is my FAVORITE smoothie to make. It's simple, but packed with fiber, iron, potassium, calcium, antioxidants and vitamins A, C and K! I have a noticeable increase in energy after I drink one of these, it's crazy how good it makes my body feel. Plus the color is an outrageously bright green, so... that's fun too.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 green apple

1 orange

1/2 lemon

1-2 stalks of kale

OJ

STEPS:

(1) Wash your fruits and veggies, then cut them up into large chunks. I generally peel and quarter my orange and I don't peel my apple (the skin is good for you) then quarter it and cut each quarter into half again. Rip your kale into medium sized chunks as well.

(2) Add your ingredients to your blender so that the softest things will get blended first. This makes it easier on your machine and the whole smoothie will turn out more evenly blended. My blender cup gets inverted onto the blade, so I put the apple in the bottom of the cup, then softer things on top. If you are using a regular blender, do the opposite: add the orange and kale first, then the apple.

(3) Pour enough OJ to cover about 1/4 - 1/3 of your ingredients (this is usually between 1/2 to 1 cup for me) and squeeze the juice of half a lemon in there. 

I'm a big fan of tart drinks, plus the lemon complements the kale well and is great for you in the morning {See every article on lemon water, ever}. I'm not a fan of ginger (shoot me), but if you are, this is a great time to add a bit of ginger to this bad boy too.

Pulse a few times in the blender, then blend on high. Stop the blender to check your consistancy. If your machine is having trouble blending the drink, it's probably too thick. This happens to me every time. At this stage, I add some more OJ, or even water, if you like a more mild smoothie, then throw in about 3 ice cubes. A cold smoothie = a tastier smoothie. Blend again and voilà! Groovy green smoothie goodness awaits you.