I have a Sears Countercraft blender, probably circa late 1970’s, color Harvest Gold.  I hadn’t seen it for a while though, as it got lost in the bottom cabinet that contains the large rotating lazy susan that is overstuffed with items, wobbles and doesn’t go around very well.  Since the shelf doesn’t freely turn, you rarely see what’s on the back side of it unless you make an effort to dig something out, and I rarely do that.  So the blender was somewhere behind the 1980’s food processor, a giant box of kosher salt, an array of liquor bottles and some extra cereal and juice that I stocked up on during the last marathon trip to Trader Joe’s.  With all good intentions,  I finally unearthed it, where it then sat on the counter next to the juicer, circa 1990’s.  For some reason, I had temporarily lost my juicing and blending mojo, which resulted in the two machines taking up valuable countertop real estate while not really earning their keep.  This went on for an undetermined amount of time.

But then I started again, and I am thrilled to report that despite the sorry appearance of my blender and the Significant Other’s mocking (“You’re still using that dinosaur?“), the blender still works just fine.  My favorite morning drink has been a base of either soy or almond milk (both unsweetened), with a banana and whatever other fruit might be available at the moment.  Cantaloupe, mango, strawberries, blueberries, apple, pear – really doesn’t matter. It’s been delicious, low-calorie and (as I have just discovered this week) only one point on the Weight Watcher’s system. 

But here is my discovery thrill of the month. While discussing a variety of random, somewhat mundane  topics with my friend K one morning (as we often do), she clued me in about adding  a handful of fresh spinach in with her smoothie.  She said you can’t taste it at all and it gives you a nice vitamin boost.  So I started throwing spinach into the morning drink.  It turns out whatever you are making turns either green or a weird brown, depending on the ingredients, but she’s right – you can’t taste it at all.  It’s totally yummy, light and refreshing, and I have to say I am getting some mental satisfaction out of thinking I am doing something healthy. 

 The SO has been watching me drink my new, improved, green smoothie every morning for the last couple of weeks, while making a variety of jokes and skeptical comments, which I do not bother to grace with the effort of a response….. until this morning.  I finally said “Why don’t you just taste it?”  He did, and he couldn’t believe how good it was.  As a matter of fact, once he tasted it, he had to have his own glass.   I put the leftover smoothie in the refrigerator, but now that he’s enlightened, I am wondering if it will still be there when I reach for it again.