Smoothie Sunday - Colourful Challenge Week 1

We went to San Diego over the weekend, and it was absolutely delicious to run along the boardwalk in the cool morning.  There was a fitness convention going on at the same time, although I suspect that over half of my new running buddies were more regular visitors to the beach fronts.  

At the end of my run - it was probably only 65°.
Did you hear that "ahhhhh..."?
That was me. It was just lovely to run there.

It's going to be hard to take that first run back here in the Arizona heat.  Really, really hard.

The Colourful Smoothie Challenge that I'm participating in over at Colourful Palate proved to be more difficult than I thought it would be while we were gone.  Almost immediately upon our arrival, I checked with the concierge about any nearby smoothie locations. When I clarified that I wanted a place that was more of a juice bar than a place that passes off glorified ice cream as a smoothie, I pretty much knew I was going to be out of luck!

His response: "Unfortunately, there is nothing nearby."

By "nearby," he meant anywhere within at least a three-mile radius.

Which would have perhaps been more easily attainable had HRH not gotten sick the first night we were there.

And the second night.

Because NOTHING is more fun than having a puking preschooler in a hotel room.

I did what I could, but I'll be honest; nothing beats a homemade smoothie.  I know exactly what goes into my blends, I don't have to make special requests, and I can inhale them without any worry that someone might look at me as if I'll eat them next.

I can't find one photo, so I'm missing Day 7 (I'll have to ask TH tomorrow if it's on his phone or camera).  That being said, so far I'm pretty happy with the tasty concoctions that Cato and I have whipped up (and one whipped up by some blender whose name I never got - it was a smoothie one night stand).

Clockwise from left:
tropical-honeydew, cherry-chocolate-almond, cherry-cherry-cherry,
kitchen sink, cherry vanilla, orange-carrot-peach

Of course, since we were headed out of town, several of last week's offerings were kitchen sink-worthy - that big yellow one with the honeydew garnish up there had (I think) kale, honeydew, peach, mango, kiwi, and coconut milk, while the really awful pic of the blender contained cucumber, kale, cherries, and heaven knows what else (I literally cannot remember what else was in there, but I know there was something).

So - a few things I have learned this week:

• Oranges are not the best tasting thing ever in a smoothie; they can taste a bit a lot pithy.  To his credit, The Husband drank that pithy concoction like a champ.  He only complained after I said it was awful.
• Since cherries have been in season and readily available, I've been consuming them like a woman possessed, and they are amazing in smoothies.  I guess this is something that I really didn't learn.
• Cucumbers are pretty refreshing in smoothies, but I'm not a fan of cucumber melon all the time, so it's nice to put them in with less watery fruits to add liquid.
• Smoothies can make a crummy day a little bit better; before we left for San Diego, The Husband came across a teeny kitten on his walk with Zooey.  We tried to save it (TH named it Monte, since that was the name of the street where he found it; I named it Sammy, since one eye seemed to be gone), but when I got to the vet, I was told there was nothing that could be done - it was too far gone (I had tried to bring its blood sugar up with some agave and rehydrate it with a straw and some water; I even said a quick prayer to St. Francis).  Enter an absolute ton of tears; when I got back, the cherry vanilla smoothie and a pedicure made me feel better and remember that I at least gave Monte-Sammy some love in its short life and peace at the end.  RIP, bitty kitty; you were loved, even if only for a few hours of your too-short little life.
• I could probably OD on coconut milk if I let myself, so I need to be careful - lots of calories and fat in that stuff!  Maybe I should look into coconut water so I can get my fix in more often (without the regret)!

I'm not sure if I've lost any weight (although I'm pretty sure that if I did, I totally pissed that away with the pizza we ate our last night in San Diego), but I'm loving my smoothies regardless.

The good news is that we are home (well, I am - TH is in Chicago for a training class - lucky dog!), and I have Cato working hard for me.  Additionally, there are plenty of smoothie places and juice bars (that make real smoothies) close by, so I will be anything but bored.

I just have to get to the grocery store; I'm pretty sure an acorn squash smoothie will taste TERRIBLE.

What's your favorite smoothie ingredient?

What is a smoothie or juice combo that didn't work (read: was terrible)?

Veggie-fruit combo, or one at a time?