Deal of the Day - Greens Smoothie Kit

My latest Deal of the Day provided breakfast and lunch. Frozen fruit and greens, sweet and earthy flavors, were blended with soy milk, providing a nutritious start to my day. This frozen deli case packaged Greens Smoothie Kit from Applause Food is a deliciously cheap$kate find - you just need to add fruit juice, milk, or a substitute like almond or soy milk.

I'm a late arrival for veggies in smoothies, even after living in health food conscious Los Angeles for decades now. I sometimes make fruit smoothies for breakfast - but next time I'll add a few sprigs of fresh spinach.

As the package name indicates, the ingredients lean towards the greens scale, mainly kale, spinach and celery, with a few chunks of pineapple and sliced apple. It's more liquefied salad or cold soup than fruit drink. After blended with soy milk, the first taste was jolting, but I quickly got into the veggie/fruit mix of flavors.

The greens taste like they were steamed tender, so there is a slight mushy bite to veggie stems pieces. Keep on blending to completely break it down into a smooth gazpacho.

 It is an earthy taste with all the leafy greens. By the time I got to the bottom of the drinking glass, I was a fan of this frozen Greens Smoothie Kit. You can read all about the makers, Applause Foods, by clicking here.

  Click on any photo to see larger.

Applause Foods carry other smoothie kits that feature fruit, and immune, protein, plus super food blends. I suspect this veggie blend was the slowest to move, so it ended up at my local 99c only Store and I'm happy it did.

Greens Smoothie ingredients with soy milk.

The ingredients list is all natural fruit and veggies. And you can get 2 to 3 servings from this 8 ounce package, depending how much liquid you add - so you definitely get your money worth, as long as you have a 99c only Store nearby that stocks it. Hey, I would even put in another dollar or so for this Deal of the Day if I found it in any regular grocery store frozen deli case.

As I this package mentions "What you see is what you get", this frozen smoothie mix is very green.

Feel free to sweeten it up with any fresh fruit you have on hand, like grapes, banana, blueberries or strawberries. I would add some yogurt next time too. This package had large slices of mild flavored apple, with very little tart and sweet pineapple. I would have reversed it, adding more pineapple, as it might have contrasted deliciously with green leafy flavors.

But for a midday veggie smoothie or pick-me-up drink, just blend it with veggie or fruit juice, soy or almond milk.

So how does the latest Deal of the Day find, Greens Smoothie Kit from Applause Food, rate on my Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best? Well it ranks high with a healthy 7 ! 

I could learn to start my day with a veggie smoothie, as long as these kits are kept stocked at my local dollar stores.

Bolthouse Farms Daily Greens, Fruit & Vegetable Juice - Deal of the Day

A cross between a glass of juiced vegetables and a couple shots of fruit smoothie, Bolthouse Farms Daily Greens is a delicious and nutritious combination. My Deal of the Day is the real thing and uses 32 ounces of 100% fruit and veggie juice. This is not a chemically addled faux health drink concoction you would expect to find in the dollar store shelves. Of course, I am no longer surprised at the great product stocked at my favorite 99c only Stores.

It's a deep green thick liquid with the bouquet of fresh sliced cucumber and celery leaves. The first taste is a combination of pear and cucumber. Unusual, but it quickly grows on you. And once you finish a small cup, the intense flavor becomes pleasing. (Those used to drinking raw vegetable juice will have no problem adapting to this Deal of the Day.)

While the ingredient list is a long one, 90% of the content is recognizable fruits and veggies, including: pear, cucumber, kale, bell pepper and celery juice; kiwi, banana and spinach puree; plus green tea and lemon juice. The blending of fruit and veggies makes the juice mild and slightly sweet.

I found this juice in the refrigerated deli case. And it taste best chilled. Since this is a 32 ounce bottle you can easily get 2 to 3 servings.

So my Deal of the Day rating of 1 to 9, 9 being best, it's a forgone conclusion: Bolthouse Farms Daily Greens drink gets a perfect 9. If you are lucky enough to find some before it's sold out, get several bottles, it's that good.

Strawberry Smoothie

File under 99 Cent Deal of the Day. The Chef picked up one pound packaged fresh strawberries at this 99c only Store yesterday. Let's make a 99 cent smoothie.







They always carry three of the main ingredients the Chef likes to use: soy milk, bananas and yogurt. The Chef usually buys several packages of strawberries to ziplock freeze for the future; just remove green stems and slice in half. They are also selling seedless red grapes which freeze well and add nicely to any smoothie (it's the Chef's sister's secret smoothie ingredient -- thanks, Denise.)



Ingredients
1 cup of strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 small 6 - 8 oz. yogurt (any flavor, except chocolate!)
1 banana
1 cup soy milk (vanilla or plain)
1/2 cup of grapes (optional)
3 - 6 cubes of ice (optional - if you are using frozen fruit, okay to omit)




Directions
Oh come on, you don't need to read this part --
just throw it all in and blend until smooth. Duh!

Deal of the Day - Orange Juice & Pepper Jack

I picked up a few one quart cartons of 100% pure pasteurized orange juice and a couple of 12 slice packages of Pepper Jack cheese yesterday at this 99c only Store. A pretty damn good deal. The orange juice is great in a breakfast smoothie -- just blender a banana, a cup each of orange juice, soy milk, yogurt, a few cubes of ice and a small carton of strawberries ( all the above are 99c only Store items.)
Also, the Chef has been known to knock back a tumbler of 99 cent airline bottled gin and juice (orange) during grueling midnight blog sessions.



As for the Pepper Jack, the Chef likes his quesadillas -- add two slices of pepper jack folded into a flour tortilla (a 99c only Store staple) and sautee until the cheese melts. This Pepper Jack uses jalapeno peppers and gives a hot kick; it also melts divinely. Both Deals of the Day have been available off and on, the last couple of months. Look for them at your local 99 Cent Store.