Green Smoothie Smarts


I was inspired by sites such as Green Monster Movement to give green smoothies a try. Now that I drink them regularly I wonder why I was always so afraid of them! Was it the color? Did they seem too "healthy"? I can assure you, green smoothies do not taste gross! If you enjoy any fruit smoothie, you can stomach one of these Green Monsters.

I am always seeing new recipes for smoothies that have either green kale, red kale, spinach or a mixture in them, with a variety of other things. Although I love looking at recipes to get ideas, I am always winging it. I really don't think you can wreck them. I have put all kinds of crazy things in mine: strawberries, blueberries, mango, apples, yogurt, Stevia or agave if I've needed sweetness, avocados, peanut butter, almond butter, rice milk, almond milk, soy milk, cow's milk, and bananas, ALWAYS bananas (personal preference). You can add spices: pumpkin, cinnamon, vanilla and other extracts for different flavors. I blend mine with ice but you don't have too. I just like my smoothies really cold and with a little icy froth to them.

There are a couple things that will give you a better green smoothie experience. If you are using kale, I would always cut the tough ribs out. Also, with both kale and spinach, I would chop the leaves up into small pieces so as not to put too much stress on your blender. I think its just easier on my Magic Bullet to chop up the leaves if they are cut into small pieces first. Maybe not the case with a Vitamix but I haven't tried one yet!

Don't be afraid to add extra water to your kale smoothie. Even if you have milk or non-dairy milk in it, I think adding a cup of water not only helps the smoothie blend better, but it will be less chunky and will go down the hatch easier.

I prefer to have a source of protein in my smoothies, it helps keep me satisfied so that my smoothie is more like a meal rather than a snack or accompaniment to a meal. Again, yogurt, avocado, or some type of nut butter works well here. Some of you may prefer to add protein powder, and that works too. Seriously, I don't think you can wreck a smoothie!

Why, might you wonder, would I devote a whole page to my blog to Green Smoothies? Because, they have changed my life! Seriously, I have never found a more enjoyable way to ingest a healthy amount of greens/folate/B-vitamins on such a regular basis. If I have one of these a day, (or even 4x/week) I feel like a rock star! Just sayin!