Champagne Breakfast

For a long time my smoothies have fallen into a carrot-oriented rut. It was nice to discover that carrots were a tasty component for green smoothies made in the Blendtec, and it helped me up my raw vegetable intake without having to add loads of fruit to counterbalance bitter greens.

There are a few drawbacks, though. If you get overzealous with the carrots in a smoothie, the consistency can end up somewhat like baby food. And if you try to add water to the smoothie at the beginning, before you blend, it seems to affect how smoothly the carrot blends--that is, having lots of water in the jar I think makes the carrot more likely to separate into little shreds as oppose to puree.

My smoothies were getting bigger and bigger. While great for nutrients, it takes a long time to drink an entire, thick jar of green/carrot smoothie, and now that I am biking longer distances to work, something lighter appealed. So I'm abandoning the carrot temporarily in favor of this (named for its beautiful color).

Add to Blendtec jar:

2 Valencia oranges, peeled and sectioned (the ones from the farmer's market here are incredibly sweet)
7-10 romaine lettuce leaves, torn into large pieces
1 oz walnut halves, soaked in salted water overnight (releases nutrients)
1/4-1/2 cup cold water

Blend on Whole Juice Cycle once.

I also tried this this morning with an overripe peach that needed to get eaten, in addition to the oranges. Delicious!