Smoothies, again

Another variation on our smoothies, in a pleasing greenish black color (ha). 


Ingredients:

Almond milk or nut butter+water
Bananas
Greens - spinach, kale, collards, spring mix, romaine or other lettuces/greens
chia or flax seeds
Blueberries, blackberries, other mixed, frozen berries
1 each, oranges and lemons, squeezed juice

Add all to the blender and blend smooth.  We find it easiest to add the liquids and greens first, blend them smooth, and then add the fruit, seeds, etc.

The lemon juice helps mask the green, grassy flavors of the stronger greens (arugula, radiccio, kale) and the orange juice does the same plus adds a bit more sweetness. 

Super Green Smoothie

This one came out really green - almost neon.  A sign that I used a lot of kale and my fruits were mangoes & bananas - nothing that would interfere with the green coloring.    Using strawberries or blueberries turns it more brown than green. 


Almond milk
Chia seeds
1/2 banana
1 mango
about 3/4 cup kale (fresh kale - chopped, washed, and frozen last week)
 

Smoothies, Beyond Spinach

In the hopes of expanding my smoothies beyond spinach, I added chopped romaine lettuce to it this morning.   Despite my fears of soggy lettuce in my drink, it turned out fine.   As usual, you couldn't taste the green stuff.




Ingredients - 

1/2 cup almond milk (or juice)
1 or 2 cups of chopped lettuce (romaine or leafy or other greens)
3/4 cup strawberries
1/2 banana
sprinkling of chia seeds or ground flax

 

Green Monster Smoothie #1

Our usual smoothie has fresh spinach in it, but these are our attempt at something different.   Everyone was nervous, but the taste was the same as the prior ones.    The greens are very mild and most of the taste is strawberries & bananas.


Ingredients, per serving:

Splash of almond milk
1/2 banana (frozen or fresh)
4 large strawberries (frozen or fresh)
1/4 - 1/3 cup frozen collard greens (or fresh)
Optional - 1 tsp flax (ground) or chia seeds
Optional - ice
Optional - splash of vanilla flavoring

Blend the fresh bananas and almond milk first, then add greens.  If using frozen bananas, blend the milk and greens first to make sure you don't end up with chunks of frozen greens.    Then add in the frozen items and finish blending. 

It even passed the 8 year old's yuck test.  

UPDATE:   Apparently, frozen greens are not ready-to-eat, so you'll need to cook these before using.    Either wash and freeze fresh greens, or cook the frozen ones and re-freeze them before using, to avoid bacterial contamination.