Green Smoothie

I remember in middle school learning hallway etiquette.  Always stay to the right!

Have you ever been walking down a walking path or in a hallway and did the awkward dance with the person approaching you?  

I am sure this has happened to you...you are walking a path and and two people are coming towards you?  Do you believe with all your heart that regardless of the size of your party, you are granted half of the path?  

What about this...ever been walking on a path only big enough for ONE person and someone else was walking from the opposite way on that path?  Who moves?  NBD.

I had a friend in college who was a strong believer that whoever was smaller was responsible for moving aside for the bigger person.  Yeah, he was big.  

Well none of that really matters.  What matters is that I have joined the green smoothie lovers of the world.  You can call it an energy shake.  Or a smoothie.  Or dinner.  

This smoothie is healthy in the sense that it isn't unhealthy.  It is packed with spinach and kale.  Ok, it isn't packed, but each serving has about a cup of raw greens.  Which won't change your life, but it will give you a little boost.  The important thing is  that this smoothie is good.  I loved it.  We tried it also with orange juice instead of almond milk, which I also really enjoyed.  But the almond milk is nice and thick and gives it a great texture and creaminess (cow's milk would be a fairly lame substitute because it has no flavor or texture).  

How do they milk almonds?  Actually, almonds are kind of milky if you think about it.  

Almond milk is good for you, though.  Has some good fat in it, with few calories (unless it is sweetened) and some bonus fiber and protein.  I have been into using milk substitutes a lot lately because I so often prefer whole milk in drinks.  The skim just doesn't do it for me.  So, the milk substitutes like soy and almond have all the creaminess without the fat.  

Really, just try this!  Tastes nothing like kale and spinach.  It is so pretty.  And in the very least, it will make you feel like you are doing something right.  

I was inspired by Joy and Bon Appetit.  

Green Smoothie

1 heaping cup of fresh spinach

1 heaping cup of coarsely chopped raw kale

2 cups almond milk (vanilla flavor)

1 banana, cut into several pieces and frozen

1 pear, cut into several pieces and frozen

2 kiwis, skins removed, cut into several pieces and frozen

Place spinach, kale and almond milk in blender and blend until greens are broken up into tiny pieces. Add frozen fruit and blend until smooth.

(Servings: 2, Prep time: 10 min., Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version

foodforscot Ratings:

Shanon (taste):  9/10

Scot (taste):  7/10

Effort:  1/5

Dishwashing Effort:  2/5

Smoothie Secrets

Let me tell you that smoothies make up about 45% of our caloric intake in the summer.  You know that is a lie because you see a lot of what we eat.  But, we really do make them a lot.

I actually eat so much fruit in the summer that I get stomach aches from it.  But I don't even care.  Because stomach aches get me attention anyways.

Now, everyone makes smoothies their own way.  I would like to consider myself pro, because there are no rules and I can call myself whatevs I want.  Here are my rules:

1.  Always use frozen fruit.  If you want to use fresh fruit, freeze it!  I am telling you, nothing beats the consistency of frozen fruits.  Plus, you can buy the big bags and have smoothies whenever you want.  My favorite fruits to use are:  strawberry, raspberry, mango, pineapple, blueberry, and peach.  I always change it up, different combos.
2.  Always include a banana.  It smoothes it out...gives it a nice sweetness.  If you don't have one, I am sure your smoothie will survive...but you will be missin' out.
3.  I always add yogurt.  Cuts into the acid of all the fruit.  Gives it some creaminess.  Plus, girlies, we need our calcium, so add some yogs whenever you can.  Add whatever kind you want is fine, plain is good to control the sugar, vanilla is my favorite.  And I can only eat full fat yogurt, I am allergic to low-fat ingredients.  But use whatever you want.
4.  You need some liquid.  My favorite is orange juice (plus we always have orange juice...it is sad how much of the stuff we drink).  But just add whatever juice or milk you got.  Sometimes I squeeze some lime in there.
5.  Lastly, my secret ingredient.  Scot and I came up with this one night when we needed to use up some leftovers....AVOCADO.  Let me tell you, it provides a textural component you would never believe.  We love it.  And an avocado a day keeps the doctor away.  It is so so good.

As for proportions, all the matters to me is that you have enough liquid to get the blender going.  And it helps to have a blender with an awesome/loud motor.  Those frozen fruits are pretty hard.

As you can see, we eat smoothies by the mason jar, which is disgusting and amazing all at the same time.