Orange Creamie Greenie

Orange Creamie Greenie

6 oz orange juice
2 oz. fresh orange (peel removed) or about half an orange
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. Chia seed or ground Chia seed
2 Tbsp. unsweetened fine-shred coconut (Bob's Red Mill or Let's do Organic) found in baking section
4 oz. baby organic spinach
3-6 ice cubes or more as desired

1. Place all the ingredients except the spinach and ice in your blender in the order listed.  Add half the spinach.
2. Blend briefly until the spinach is incorporated into the liquids.  Add the rest of the spinach and the ice.
3. Blend until everything is very smooth.  On a Blendtec I run the smoothie setting twice.  With a normal blender I run the blender for about 3 minutes.  How you do it will depend on your blender, but everything should be very smooth when you are done.  If it isn't cold enough, add more ice and blend again.
4. Drink within an hour of blending.

Makes 15-16 ounces.

Tips:
Baby organic spinach has a milder flavor than other baby spinach, that's why I recommend using it here.  Fresher spinach also has a milder flavor.  If you open your spinach and it has a strong spinach-y smell, you may want to try a newer package for your smoothie.

Coconut helps cancel the flavor of the spinach.  If your smoothie tastes like spinach instead of like vanilla and orange, add a little more coconut (but make sure it gets blended well.)

The chia seeds make the smoothie more creamy.  If they aren't getting blended to smooth in your blender, try using ground chia or pre-grinding your chia seed in a grain mill.

If you don't have a kitchen scale to weigh your spinach, try buying a 5-oz package and then using 4/5ths of the package.

Souce: Michelle Nielson- Eat, drink, and be green.