Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Our Green Smoothie Week

Here is what held me back about green smoothies:
1--I thought they would taste weird
2--I didn't think my blender could handle the kale
3--I never imagined that my children would drink them

And here is the post on Beauty that Moves that inspired me to try green smoothies. The thought of easily and deliciously increasing my consumption of produce, especially greens, appealed to me. And I liked the idea of a grassy green elixir of life. Why not try it?, I thought, so I committed to a week of green smoothies and started on Sunday, where I bought organic kale at Farmer's market.
And the results are in: we love green smoothies! Even Faith and Dieter are drinking them with me. Such an easy way to increase our fruit and veggie consumption. One note of caution, though: strawberries are local and in-season here much of the year, but our Sunday smoothie, which included the strawberries, was a decidedly brown color--not what I was going for. The more recent smoothies are just bananas, frozen peaches, kale, and fresh squeezed juice from our oranges. Perfect! And we don't need any sweetener beyond the fruit itself. My blender worries were unfounded--I just keep running it until the kale bits are very small. I haven't tried apples yet, but that will be next. I imagine I'll have good luck with those too.
So if you've been hesitating to make a green smoothie, try it! After only 3 days I can't report back if I feel better or more energetic, but we're certainly having fun with these and it's like drinking a big green health tonic.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

yummy! I made one once using spinich instead of kale. Also I cannot eat fesh ornage so I use apple or pinapple juice.

Great way to get the kids into healthy things without them realising it!

heather said...

yeah!! and your kids like them too? nice added bonus! :)

i love that you mentioned the grassy flavor, i actually really like that too.

Aimee said...

We love green smoothies too! Although I have been out of the habit...my fave is simply a banana, and peeled/chunked apple and spinach or kale.

Gretchen said...

ok you have me curious enough to give it a try. I'll have to dust off the blender, it's been awhile since I"ve made a smoothie :)

Our Green Nest said...

Oh yeah, we have them every day - soooo yummy and good for you! We add Berry Green by New Chapter Organics to get extra veggies/fruit and probiotics...as well as some Alive Vitamin C and Spirulina...oh and we switch every other day betweeen molasses or flax oil w/ a tad bit of agave...SO glad you tried them and like them!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh Mary Beth that's a great idea. We are big fruit smoothie people but I never thught of adding kale.

We do however, juice it. Huck loves green juice. I do spinach but add some apple and carrot for sweetness. It's a great healthy drink full of iron and great for your energy.

Anita Ann said...

That sounds so good and looks good.

Kelli said...

have you ever seen a vitamix, we see them at the fairs. They do everything. i think with you and your life style of cooking, you would love it. we are saving up right now for one.

Knit - R - Done said...

We add avocado to ours. I can't wait to try kale.

Jessica said...

I loved that post at Beauty that Moves, but I was too scared of the green color and the taste of the shakes...but yours look sooo good. I'll have to give them a taste!

Anonymous said...

We do this but with spinach and berries and bananas. I should try the kale. Super yum!

Kristen's Raw said...

Super pictures!

I love green smoothies and I'm drinking one now :) One of my favorites is blending spinach, apples and cinnamon. Yum!

Cheers,
Kristen

Anonymous said...

i am posting about my green smoothie today! I love how colorful everything looks in the blender before it all turns green!

Rose said...

Yeah! We love green smoothies here. Honestly, I use frozen organic fruits from Traders Joes in off seasons. I've meed making smoothies for some time and my 3 year old loves to help - even when it comes to putting in the spinach (or kale) And who needs sugar!? After all, what is fruit?

At least we're both getting our added greens in.

Anonymous said...

what a great way to slip some much needed veggies into your diet..i must try this!