Skinny Green Monster

Every day after school this week Parker and I have enjoyed a Skinny Green Monster smoothie! I found the recipe at Skinny Taste.  This smoothie has to be good for us, we are getting a cup of spinach per serving! Here is the very professional looking photo from Skinny Taste:

this image is from the Skinny Taste webpage

 Here is my photo:

I definitely need to take a photography class to learn about composition, lighting, and more!! I apparently thought getting eye level with the object was the way to go!  Only after I went back to look at the Skinny Taste picture did I realize how dreadful I am at photography! However, I believe I have learned a little about "staging" from these photos. Glass should be off center and needs friends and accessories!

Notice the top photo has a kitchen towel as a base and a banana as a happy side kick. Any hand towel that I have nearby is embellished with bleach spots and crumbs or embroidered with  turkeys or bunnies (holiday kitchen towels). And my bananas exist in their bowl in two conditions: unripe and green or overripe with excessive brown spots! How is it that one has on hand a perfectly ripened banana ready for it's cameo in the smoothie picture? And just forget about the pineapple, even if I had bought a fresh pineapple to make a smoothie I would never have thought to buy an extra (get it - like movie extra!) to appear in the photo! Despite being photographed in less than stellar conditions by an obvious amateur the smoothie was delicious!

Skinny Green Monster

1 small frozen ripe banana

2 cups baby spinach

1 Tablespoon Better than Peanut Butter (I used 2 Tbsp. reduced-fat Jiff)

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt

Mix ingredients plus 1 cup ice in a blender and blend! 

I looked for Better Than Peanut Butter at Sprouts (healthy nearby grocer) but could not find it. If you make the original recipe it serves two and has 253.4 calories, 5.5 g. fiber. If you use 2 Tbsp. reduced-fat Jiff as I did, I have no idea how many calories are in it!! This is the first green drink I have ever liked, I previously borrowed my friends juicer and tried several green drinks and disliked them all. Parker is suspicious of and avoids anything green or healthy, however, he liked the Skinny Green Monster!