The Kale Smoothie

Ever think you should get more vegetables in but you just can’t tolerate them? Think green smoothies. Kale makes a great smoothie recipe Dark leafy green kale has calcium in a form that the body finds easier to digest than milk – and for those who cannot tolerate milk, but need the calcium, this might be one great source. Pair the kale with pear, green grapes, and orange and a banana, and you get a surprisingly sweet smoothie with a lot of great ingredients.

Add that to the nutrition from the orange, pear, and banana and you have a great smoothie

 

Yield: 4 cups (960 ml)

Time: 1 1/2 minutes

 

1 cup green grapes

1  orange, peeled

1/2 Bartlett pear

1  banana, fresh or frozen

1 cup kale

1/2 cup water

2 scoops Vital Protein Mix (my current favorite)

2 cups ice cubes

 

Mix for 2 minutes or until smooth.

 

With most green smoothies you need a strong mixer. I like the Vita-Mix for these, but I am told standard mixers do well with these. The young Kale is best, if you grow it in your garden.

Here is a simple recipe for a Kale Smoothie:

2 cups of chopped fresh Kale

8 ounces of almond or oat milk

1 banana (fresh or frozen)

1 cup of ice

Blend until it is perfectly smooth

 

Banana and Romaine

 

Ever think you would like lettuce in a smoothie? Sometimes it is a great thing to try. This smoothie is low fat, low sodium, low cholesterol, heart healthy, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and raw!

 

Yield: 4 servings

 

2 bananas

3 oranges, peeled, quartered

1 head romaine lettuce

4 cups cold water

2 scoops Vital Protein Shake mix

 

Put the ingredients in the order listed.

Run until smooth – about 2 minutes

 

Spinach and Pineapple smoothie – more green.

 

2 cups (310 g) fresh, ripe pineapple, with core (or a 2-inch-thick slice)

1 stalk celery (7-inch stalk), halved or about 1/3 cup chopped

2 cups (60 g) spinach leaves, gently packed

4 ounces (113 g) low fat vanilla yogurt or vanilla soymilk or almond milk

2 cups (480 ml) ice cubes

2 scoops of Vital Protein mix

sweetener to taste if pineapple is a bit tart

Make your own

So how do you experiment with a green smoothie? Here is the universal green smoothie recipe:

First Pick your liquid:

This can be 1 cup of almond milk, or a container of greek yogurt, 1 cup of water, or even fruit juice. Some will even juice some vegetables and  use that juice as the basis for the smoothie.

Second: Pick your Vegetable:

Here are the ones that we have mixed and matched:

2 cups of spinach

1 cup of kale

1/2 head of romaine

3/4 cup of raw broccoli

1 small head of bib or  Boston Letuce

Third: Now pick Two of these:

1 cup grapes

1 apple

1 peeled orange

1 cup of melon, peeled

1 cup of pineapple

1 cup of berries

1 banana, peeled

1/2 cup of cucumber that has been peeled

1 kiwi

1 carrot

1 cup of peaches

1 cup of mango

1/2 cup of peeled papaya

2 stalks celery

1 pear

Finally ADD 1 cup of ICE

That is the basis for some great green smoothies.  Get in your vegetables and have fun experimenting.

Again- get a great blender- it will make this a lot easier - and bring a portable blender to work, and with you in your travels.