…says almost every coworker I have.
“That would be a green smoothie and it is delicious,” I reply, over and over and over again.
I should probably find a big enough container with a wide enough mouth that isn’t clear, but why should I? Why should I be ashamed or embarrassed to be healthy? I shouldn’t…Which is precisely why I am probably going to stick with the good old Mason jar.
So, where am I going with this? I’m going to post a few of my favorite smoothie recipes. These have got to be some of the most healthy things you could put in your body and they are pretty tasty. They are also an excellent way to get all your greens.
When I first started drinking these, they scared me, and I’m a veggie eater. I had been drinking fruit smoothies for years (with yogurt and protein powder and all kinds of unnecessary fillers and things), but I had never really thought about putting veggies in until fairly recently, now I’m hooked. I make a jar full every morning and drink it until lunch. I had to work my way up to the mixture I’m currently drinking, I started out slowly, only using a handful of spinach or a couple leafs of kale or swiss chard. Now I use about half a bunch of kale or swiss chard or whatever greens I have in the fridge or freezer. A few days after I get my CSA delivery, I wash, chop, and freeze whatever greens I have left for future use in smoothies. So here we go!
Tara’s beginner green smoothie
- a couple kale leaves or a handful of baby spinach (chopped)
- 1 frozen banana (I usually buy a bunch to keep in freezer)
- 1 c. mixed berries
- 1 c. milk (I use rice milk)
Throw all in blender and blend away! Add a little more milk if needed. This one turns out more purple or red than green, depending on the berries you use.
Super Bright Green Smoothie
- half a bunch of kale
- 1-1 1/2 frozen bananas
- 1 fresh mango, peeled and cubed
- enough water or milk to get it blended together (I’ve started using water to avoid the excess calories. It actually tastes much fresher)
Purple Smoothie
- half bunch of swiss chard or kale
- 1 frozen banana
- 3 -5 strawberries
- 1/2 c. blueberries
- water or mlk
Really, just throw anything in with half a bunch of greens (or work up to half a bunch like I did). As long as you have a nice sweet banana in there, it should turn out. I was shocked when I discovered that you can hardly taste the greens.
The smoothie I drank today: 1/2 bunch of frozen kale, 1/2 frozen banana, 2 fresh peaches, and water. I sipped on it all morning, out of my clear mason jar. I hardly felt hungry at lunch.
I’m dying for a new blender. A Vita-Mix or Blend-Tec. My old blender can handly handle what I’ve been putting it through recently. Maybe after Jamaica…A girl can dream. I’ve been searching e-bay and craigslist. No luck yet.
~T.
adventures with csa 