The Secret to Yummy Smoothies and Juices

Since my embarkment on a life-of-less-processed-foods, I have found several food blogs that

a) totally make me look bad,
b) but I don't mind because they're amazing, and
c) have I ever experienced such delicious, easy-to-make food?

This is one: http://www.choosingraw.com/
This is another: http://www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com/
Here are instructions on making smoothies: http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/how-to-make-smoothies.html

You might notice that they all are based on raw, vegan food. Raw foodists do not cook their food (hence the name "raw"), although I believe there is some allowance to how much they choose to warm it. Vegan food basically means that there are no animal products. So for example, vegans choose not to eat meat or dairy. These are really basic definitions, but I thought I should clear that up for people who are confused by the many food-identities there are. :)

Well, I am not vegan, nor am I a raw foodist, but I do approve of making as much of your diet fresh produce, nuts, seeds, or what is called a plant-based diet. Remember learning how energy flows in an ecosystem? Plants convert sunlight into energy. This is the first level. The sun (how awesome is the sun? pretty darn awesome) drives the entire food chain. My not-so-secret wish is to be able to photosynthesize, but that's another story.

I started experimenting with smoothies and juices a few weeks ago. There was one major, catastrophic smoothie that I made. It had so many nutritious things in it, but it was eye-wateringly, sneeze-worthily, cringe-necessarily bitter. And I thought to myself, WHY CAN'T I DO THIS?!

It was really bad.

And so this is what I learned on my early journey into the world of smoothies and juices.

1. Look up recipes. You don't need to follow them. Just get an idea of what kinds of things taste scrumptious when you mix them together.
2. Purchase nuts and seeds. I realized that having things like hemp seeds, chia seeds, and walnuts available make it easy to add thickness or texture (and nutrients!) to a smoothie.
3. Add a little at a time. This means both how much of something you add, and what you add. The infamous bitter smoothie that I made? I also made 4 giant glasses of it. Whoops. Don't do that. You can always save some for later, but if it's not-so-scrumptious, you're not going to want to.
4. Juice or smoothie? Realize what you're getting out of both. Smoothies will have all of the benefits of the entire fruit or vegetable. Juices leave behind the fibers. If you don't eat it, you can compost what is left after juicing. 
5. Experiment! I can almost guarantee that you will not always make a delicious smoothie. That's OK! After a disastrous attempt, you may become more cautious and thoughtful about what you are combining.
6. Enjoy. What is better than making a mouth-watering concoction? Knowing that it is good for you. :) Smile!

I am proud to say that my juicing and smoothing(?) experiments have been going much more successfully. Today I found some blueberries in the fridge, so I made a smoothie out of raw milk (more on this later), blueberries, vanilla, maple syrup, and chia seeds. YUM! Yesterday I used a few carrots, an apple, some lemon, and a bit of ginger to make some juice. Come on people. If I can do it, so can you!

Seriously good stuff. Background from mi9.com

TL;DR: Smoothies, juices, smoothie, juicy, smooth, juice, smooj. :)