This is my new favorite smoothie, especially as I try to move away from so much sugar in the mornings. Not that I add any refined sugar to my smoothies, but pineapple and the other fruits in my favorite kale smoothie have a lot of naturally occurring sugar.

This gets is Kapow! flavor from a burst of fresh ginger instead of sugar so it also wakes me up in the morning and helps keep me away from caffeine. I see ginger in juicing recipes because of its anti-inflammatory properties and that fact that it has essentially no calories. I’m all for shortcuts, but this is one where I used fresh ginger. I bought a large piece because I’ve been making this so often so I don’t worry about it going bad before I use it all. I just peel a little bit of it like a carrot and cut off a piece about 3/4 of an inch long.

I also have been mixing up the type of greens that I use. I know they’re all so jam-packed with goodness that they’re each like taking a multi-vitamin, but it’s a simple way to get some variety. The greens that I rotate are curly kale, lacinato kale, swiss chard and spinach.

I realize the photo doesn’t look like much and this is for two reasons:

1. One, it really isn’t a very sexy looking smoothie because it’s kind of a drab color, but it will make you sexy when you drink it, so that’s what matters, right? I’ve been eating a ton of carrots lately and using carrot juice as my liquid in my smoothies and my skin has been glowing even more than usual. So drink the unsexy smoothies to make yourself sexy!
2. Two, I moved into a new place (hence the hiatus from blogging) and I’m getting used to a new camera. I’ll find the perfect lighting in here soon!

Super Healthy Carrot Ginger Smoothie

I have a Vitamix (my beloved Vitamix!) so this all comes together with a smooth consistency. If you don’t have a Vitamix, you might want to use applesauce instead of an apple with the skin.

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 of an apple, cored but not skinned (or applesauce)
• 3/4 inch of a piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 leaves of swiss chard or other green, stalk removed
• Juice of one small lemon
• Carrot juice – enough to get the right consistency
• Optional Additions (I used all of these): 1 tsp ground flax seeds, a drop of liquid Vitamin D, 1 tsp maca powder, 1 tsp Green Superfood (which I hate to admit normally makes my smoothies not-too-tasty but I think with all the ginger, I didn’t even know it was there)

How to:

1. Place the ingredients into your blender
2. Blend for about 15 seconds on high in the Vitamix or about a minute in a regular blender.
3. Sit and enjoy or take it in a to go mug on your drive in to work!