A Grey Smoothie

I like to start my day with a smoothie. Actually like to start my day with a slice of chocolate cake but I no longer give in to that particular addiction. About six months ago I decided to once again try the smoothie for breakfast health thing. I had run across an interesting concoction on the net and gave it a try one morning, it didn't sit well with my delicate constitution - too much citrus. I tried a variation a few days later, same result. I pondered for a few days and then came up with the brilliant notion of only putting in the blender things I liked to eat unpulverized. I had a basic banana and strawberry smoothie. Liked it but well not quite, it just wasn't quite there.

Shortly thereafter I was surfing late night television and saw an infomercial for a single serving blender that basically would crush rocks. Off I went the next day for my first visit to the mall in nearly a decade. Even the stores that were advertised as having the super little blade crushing device did not. So I wandered into the Macy's seeking a kitchen department. Now you must understand me in a mall is like a cat in a swimming pool. However, the gods of consumerism were kind this day, a very understanding and knowledgeable lady pounced on helped me, she even got some points when the secret store detective swooped in and asked me a couple of questions about her helpfulness. When did retail get secret police? But I digress.

What she told me was I could buy their version of the one serving super blender with the equivalent of a ferrari engine or I could spend a bit more and get a full size blender with six blades the engine of a Boeing 767 and two single serving attachments. My mind was at this point numb from the permutations of simply buying a blender but I got the message and came home with the big one.

The next morning I had a marvelous smoothie with nary a stray strawberry seed. This contraption did indeed pulverize anything I put in it. Later that day I shopped for all natural juices, fresh berries, bananas and to my enlightenment a host of frozen fruits. Experimentation over the last four or five months has discovered several palate preferences. First a small braeburn apple is an excellent base for any morning drink. Frozen berries come in a mix pack at a very reasonable price. Frozen peaches are divine.

So what's with the 'grey smoothie'?

Well one morning I was deep in thought over a particular chapter I was working on and not paying attention as I threw together my morning drink. In retrospect I tossed in a banana, a handful of blueberries and some frozen blackberries. Back at the keyboard  I tipped up the single serving vessel/tumbler and noted the grey nature of my creation. Would this have been Jamba Juice or Smoothie King I might have sent it back but being that I am the proprietor of this establishment I drank what was, of course, a delightful and refreshing medley of nature's bounty.

Which led me to the next step and the very next day, I added . . . kale to a lunch beverage, one serving of vegetable hidden behind a wall of peaches and pears. Since then I have discovered that my little blender could disguise nearly all leafy greens as well as broccoli and flaxseed. You just gotta get by the color sometimes.