Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Going GREEN!


As I had shared earlier, I had made Kimberly Snyder's "glowing green smoothie" and was a little less than excited about the results.  However, I saw potential in the recipe.  There are so many GREEN foods in it as well - the nutrition content must be amazing!! (I'll have to look that up.)  So, I was determined to make it more enjoyable...so the likelihood of my drinking MORE of it would actually go up.

We had a fun trip to our local farmer's market on Saturday and I had picked up a big bag of kale.




















It was only after I had purchased it that the guy told me there were about 4-5 varieties in the bag.  
More than one exists??  I was only familiar with the typically seen "Curly Leaf" kale.  So, upon opening the bag, it was like a scientific classification game.  After dumping all the kale out and organizing it into piles based on appearance, I did some internet research to figure out what type each was.














Kale is considered a superfood based on its nutrient density.  It has tons of antioxidants and is considered an anti-inflammatory. There are, indeed, several different types of kale.  I had these types:



















Since I had it on hand, I decided to use some of the kale as a base for my green smoothie.  I sampled the different types and the plain-leaved kale had the mildest flavor and softest leaf (allowing for easier blending).  So, I pulled the leaves off the stems (those are pretty tough) and chopped up a good 2 handfuls of it.

The main issues I had with the "Glowing Green Smoothie" was the thickness and the fact that I couldn't fit an entire batch in my blender.  I had to pour out 1/2 and blend...then add it back it.  It was a hassle, and a mess!  So, for my smoothie, I wanted it to be easily drinkable and portioned so one batch would fit in my blender.

I think the key to this smoothie is BLENDING.  Now, a Vita-Mix would work wonders here...but, I don't have one...so, you just have to let it blend longer...and blend well after adding each ingredient. I'm not making any promises of "glowing" ...but it is super healthy!


Jennie's Super Green Smoothie

2 cups Water
2 handfuls of chopped kale, stems removed (If you can find the plain-leaved, go with that...otherwise, regular curly-leaved would be fine)

1 handful of baby spinach
2 stalks of celery
1 apple - cored and chopped
1 pear - cored and chopped
2 bananas
1 tablespoon lemon juice


Directions:
Place water and kale in blender.  Blend well.
Add each ingredient individually and blend well.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 
Drink a glass full each morning and enjoy! 

Blend, Blend, Blend...
Yay! A FULL batch fit in my blender!
Then, absolute utter success was when my munchkin grabbed my glass, took a drink and said, "Mmm! Good!"  

So, make a batch and enjoy!!

Now, for transparency sake, I'm a sucker for baked goods...and ice cream.  All it takes is a glimpse of a brownie and I'm done for. They had a 4-pack of these babies for $1.99 at Safeway.  How could I pass that up?? It's a raspberry-filled croissant cup thingy...























I was talking to my hubby about the green smoothie as I started eating one of these.  He laughed and threatened to start a blog titled, "What Jen's REALLY eating..."

I do love nutrition and get excited about healthy food...but I'm far from perfect.

2 comments:

Stephanie B said...

Thank you so much for taking the time to create your own super yummy smoothie recipe! I am going to try this out as soon as I get my hands on some kale! Great job Jen!

Carrie said...

Thank You!! I am so glad you are blogging.. more Jen for ME!!