Hey All! You like smoothies? If not, you should! I have never been a big smoothie person, until I tried these! The team did a smoothie project here at the studio and KAREN is going to tell you about it…

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With the hot, humid summer days encroaching, here at the Char Studio, we thought it’d be the perfect time to start our summer experimenting with some smoothies. Just so you know, we have some avid smoothie drinkers on our team. Grace often strolls into the studio with some sort of dark-slushy-healthy-looking mix in her drinking jar, Karen and her husband completed a 30-Day Green Smoothie for Breakfast Challenge, and Kathleen used some down time during her latest trip to Oregon to create some of these green concoctions. However, some of us on the Char team, tried these smoothies for the first time at the studio. Regardless of your smoothie background, we have some recipes for you to try: Peanut Butter Banana, Strawberry Mint, Green Detox, and Strawberry Cucumber. Here is a little overview of each.

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As for the Green Detox, don’t let the name deter you. Would you believe this was the number 1 staff pick? Absolutely amazing and the pineapple makes the drink naturally sweet; no additional sweetener is needed. The coconut water also gives it a tropical flair. Can you imagine that if we have this as a breakfast drink our bodies will have had three servings of vegetables before noon with the spinach, cucumber, and celery. Talk about lots of energy to start the day!

The Strawberry Mint smoothie refreshes. And, it’s the perfect time of year since we can get fresh, local berries. The mint and lime juice add a kick to the smoothie. For this one, you may want to add a bit of honey if you prefer a sweeter drink, but what better way to start a June morning or celebrate a warm afternoon?! This was our second favorite.

Peanut Butter Banana is not overly sweet, but Char’s homemade granola that we put on top of the drink tasted delicious. It takes a little bit of time to get used to the mix of crunchy and smooth textures, but overall this was our third favorite. For the peanut butter lovers, you may want to add a little extra to give it a stronger peanut butter flavor.

Lastly, the strawberry cucumber was, well, our least favorite. It’s one of those smoothies you can  drink just because it’s good for you. There is definitely a distinct cucumber taste. Adding a bit of honey might have helped make this one less bland, or even adding a juiced lemon could do the trick.

 So what about you? What is your green smoothie experience? Also, let us know if you try any of our staff picks and which ones you like. Feel free to add in the comment section links to any recipes you enjoy. Wishing you a healthy summer from the Char Team!