Green Smoothies

I LOVE smoothies. I could survive on smoothies, chips and salsa, and cereal for a very long time. My sister recently took my smoothie love to a new level. One of the great things about making smoothies is that you can hide little nutritious nuggets (like carrots and wheat germ) among the good-tasting yogurt, honey and fruit. But I would never have thought that spinach would work so well! The green color gives it away, but you really can't taste it. I promise. Trust me on this one. Granted, I have a Vita Mix, (give me five minutes and I'll have you convinced you need one too!) so it gets things really blended and smooth, but I don't think spinach would change the texture that much anyway. Give it a try! Your kids will think it's cool to have a green drink, meanwhile they are getting a hearty dose of Beta Carotene and Vitamin K!

The possibilities for smoothies, green or otherwise, are endless. The particular mixture in the picture above included (using rough measurements):

half a banana, frozen
one orange, barely peeled, leaving the white pith on (which holds a large percent of an orange's vitamin C!)
three large spoonfuls of plain yogurt
one tablespoon honey
one handful of ice cubes
two large handfuls of fresh spinach, rinsed and patted dry
a splash of apple juice (you can add more if your blender needs more liquid to get the job done)


Also . . .
I also like to add frozen strawberries, but we were out
Flavored yogurt is helpful to sweeten things up if you're a raw smoothie newbie
Don't make the mistake I did and use arugula instead of spinach. Awful. Awful.
Romaine lettuce can be used instead of spinach, but does have a stronger flavor to it.
Leave me a comment and let me know what combination works for you!