Spinach Smoothie: Morning Glory

If you like Orange Julius, chances are you'll LOVE this!  I know, I know -- it's GREEN.  Get over it.  It doesn't TASTE or SMELL green.  And I'm pretty particular about things that smell funny or if I can taste veggies in my drink.  But, once I tried a spinach smoothie (done right), I was hooked.  Also, I have to stay away from dairy or I end up coughing all day - so this is a great dairy-free smoothie, although if you wanted add a little yogurt, it would taste great too!

1-2 C fresh Spinach, uncooked
2 medium bananas*
2 clementines, peeled & divided
4 oz Orange Juice
2 oz Pomegranate Juice (or grape or blueberry juice)
handful of ice, if desired

Place in blender and blend until desired consistency.  This makes one GIANT smoothie, or 2 - 12 oz smoothies. I drank the first half for breakfast, and then went and gulped the rest of it down right away.  The entire thing is only 3 Weight Watchers points.

*I like to peel bananas, cut them in half and place them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer the night before.  I usually have about a weeks worth of bananas for smoothies in there.  They make the drink so much creamier that way.

Homemade Root Beer (for a crowd)

Ok, there are all sorts of root beer extracts out there. I've tried a few. And while one was sort of bitter tasting (wal-mart store brand), the others were all pretty good. My favorite bottle of extract is Big H. There is a local drive-in chain here in the SLC metro area called "Hires". Hires is known for their "Big H" just like McDonald's is known for their "Golden Arches", if that makes sense. Anywho... At Hire's they serve their own draft-style "Big H" Root Beer. Sooooo good! I realize they might not have this extract in other states, so I guess what I am saying is you get what you pay for :)

4 - 4 1/2 gal water

5 lbs sugar
1 bottle root beer extract

5 lbs dry ice

In a 5 gal cooler mix together the water and sugar till the sugar is somewhat dissolved. Add the bottle of extract and mix well. Using tongs, carefully place dry ice in cooler. Mix and let the dry ice do it's magic. Stir every once in a while to keep ice from sinking to the bottom and blocking the spigot.

*since it's hard to get exactly 5 lbs of dry ice, I usually tell them it's better to be a little over 5 lbs than under. No one like flat root beer... =D