Hi Reneea, I've cut & pasted a few recipes below- hope it's not too late. Goodluck with the visit. Nerry Beginner’s Luck Green Smoothie (use a 3:1 fruit to greens ratio) Serves 2 2 cups spinach, fresh (tightly packed) or kale 2 cups water 1 cup mango 1 cup pineapple or papaya or frozen grapes 2 bananas- can sub 1 banana for 1 peach TIP #1: Remember to get the smoothest smoothie and to avoid leafy chunks, blend your greens and liquid first, then add the remaining fruits. TIP #2: Use at least one frozen fruit to make the green smoothie cold. TIP #3: If you aren’t a big fan of bananas, feel free to substitute for another fruit. You can even freeze the bananas first to reduce the flavor and also add some extra chill to your smoothie. Jackie’s recipe:- Here is one of my typical green smoothie recipes: ��" 1 cup grapes ��" 1 orange, peeled and seeded ��" 1 banana, peeled ��" 1 pear, cored ��" 2 handfuls of greens (I often use mixed greens or four leaves of kale) ��" 8 ounces of filtered water My favorite is 2 bananas, 1 large apple, 2 kale leaves, 6-8 dandelion greens, 2 large handfuls fresh spinach, some wheatgrass juice, 2 cups water and 1 cup of ice. Blend and I have breakfast and my afternoon snack. This great stuff and I will not ever go back to eating the way I used to with fast and processed foods Beet-Apple Smoothie 1 medium banana, peeled 1 large apple, cored and peeled 4 ounces fresh beet juice Calories: 245 : Fat: 1g (grams) : Protein: 3g : Carbs: 63g : Calcium: 9% : Vitamin A: 31% : Vitamin C: 335% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kale is a highly nutritious leafy green to use in smoothies and is an excellent source of plant-based calcium. Pineapple-Kale • 1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped • 1 medium apple, cored • 2 cups kale, chopped • 8 ounces of filtered water Calories: 244 : Fat: 1g (grams) : Protein: 6g : Carbs: 60g : Calcium: 18% : Iron: 3.0 mg : Vitamin A: 693% : Vitamin C: 276% Orange-Peach-Kale • 1 orange, peeled • 2 medium peaches • 2 cups kale, chopped • 8 ounces of filtered water Calories: 253 : Fat: 2g (grams) : Protein: 8g : Carbs: 61g : Calcium: 22% : Iron: 3.2 mg : Vitamin A: 731% : Vitamin C: 293% Banana-Orange-Kale • 1 medium banana, peeled • 1 orange, peeled • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated • 2 cups kale, chopped • 8 ounces of filtered water Calories: 241 : Fat: 2g (grams) : Protein: 7g : Carbs: 58g : Calcium: 21% : Iron: 2.8 mg : Vitamin A: 701% : Vitamin C: 282% Orange-Kiwi-Kale • 1 orange, peeled • 2 kiwifruit • 1 small pear, cored • 2 cups kale, chopped • 8 ounces of filtered water Calories: 306 : Fat: 2g (grams) : Protein: 8g : Carbs: 74g : Calcium: 25% : Iron: 3.1 mg : Vitamin A: 703% : Vitamin C: 420% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Veteran green smoothie lovers will find this recipe delicious. However, if you are just starting out, I’d skip the cranberries, and I’d use a milder green like fresh baby spinach or romaine lettuce. This green smoothie recipe is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients. It has 45% of your daily recommended value of calcium, 7.8 milligrams of iron, and it has 23 grams of fiber. The nutrients in dandelion greens may help reduce the risk of cancer, multiple sclerosis, cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and stroke. Dandelion contains anti-inflammatory properties which may provide benefit to those with asthma and other inflammatory diseases. Apple-Dandelion Green Smoothie Recipe with Pear and Fresh Cranberries • 1 medium pear, cored • 1 medium apple, cored • 1 banana, peeled • 1/2 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen) • 4 cups of dandelion greens • 8 ounces of filtered water • Start by adding the liquid to your blender (I use a Vitamix), followed by the soft fruit. Add the greens to your blender last. Blend on high for 30 seconds or until the smoothie is creamy.

"I WISH I could like the green smoothies but I just don't! Maybe I need to add more fruit to give it a sweeter taste." You could add more fresh fruit and/or dried fruit. An alternative is to give your tastebuds more time to acclimate to the "green" taste. When I first started making smoothies, they had quite a lot of sweeter fruits in them, and a lot of carrot juice. These days, I've not only increased the proportion of vegetables substantially while decreasing the proportion of fruits and sugary vegetables, but I've also switched to lower-sugar fruits, like berries, including unsweetened cranberries. What's interesting is that now, I don't like sweeter smoothies as much. For example, I made one a few days ago with unsweetened pomegranate juice, and it seemed like a dessert to me. golddust, you said this: "I can't believe the difference in my skin. It feels softer and less puffy." The same here. But there's more. How many of you have face creams, eye creams, special creams for nighttime, body creams and lotions? Special ones for feet, for cuticles. For every single body part or so it seems? I realized the other day that I'm no longer using anything. After showering, I always needed the whole gamut of creams and lotions; the same after washing my face, which always felt unpleasantly tight. These days, my skin always feels soft, and no creams or lotions are needed. Of course, I can't scientifically ascribe the change to green smoothies, nor would I. I also can't say it's because of what I now eat, or because of what I no longer eat. It's probably due to a combo of all those factors. (It might well be due to something else entirely, of course.) But whatever, I don't want to estimate the cost of all those partially jars and bottles! Because I doubt I'll ever finish up any of them.

"I do worry about the high calorie count of smoothies, though, which is part of why we only buy them infrequently." The major advantage to making your own is you control the ingredients. Start with a non fat greek yogurt, add half a frozen banana and frozen strawberries for a great, low fat, healthy smoothie. I regret I didn't have my blentec when my girls were eating purees, but now that they are older (school age), I find the smoothies even more important because it ensures they eat wholesome, healthy foods. If you look at the Sneaky Chef or Seinfeld cookbooks, you can get alot of ideas for adding purees to food. Your Au Gratin sounds divine. If it will peel the spuds, I will go buy the cuisinart food processor today. LOL!

Check out the movie "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" about a guy goes on a juice fast for 60 days to gain control of his health. Very inspiring! Some of his green juice recipes are here: http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/recipes/ Also, check out www.simplegreensmoothies.com. They have an Instagram page, too, where they share recipes. They have a 30 day green smoothie challenge (for free), where they send you shopping lists, recipes and tips to make one smoothie a day for a whole months (quoted from their web site).