As a teenager, my mom asked me every time I ate out or made myself something to eat “where’s your green vegetable?” As a typical teenager, I didn’t so much appreciate my mom’s suggestions, or green vegetables for that matter.
Fast forward to me as mom – yes, I’m the one asking my kids where their green vegetable is. My mom tries not to say “I told you so,” but I appreciate her temptation.
My tactic for getting veggies of all colors into my kids: sneak. What they can’t see/taste won’t hurt them. So smoothies have become a bit of a staple in our house. I’ve done the green smoothie thing for years – thousands of them – and have tried many different ingredient combos. The smoothies may not be pretty to look at, but I’ve figured out how to make a pitcher full of veggies taste pretty good.
10 Tips to the Drinkable Green Smoothie:
- Freeze your greens. It seems to make them taste a bit less “green.” Grab the big bag or box of greens (kale, spinach, chard, a mix) and portion it out into sandwich bags. About a cup each and you have a serving per bag. Use them frozen. Thawing turns them to slime.
- Add a bit of red cabbage. It’s great for you, and it ups the color from sludge-ish green to a more appetizing purple.
- Always add at least half a banana. This helps the texture and sweetens the deal.
- Use frozen berries of all dark colors. Berries are at least as good for you as the green stuff, and they make the green stuff go down easier.
- Use a piece of pineapple core. Yes, the woody core. Cut up a pineapple, give your kids the good bits, cut the core into chunks and freeze them. It helps the digestion and the acidity covers the veggie bitterness.
- Mary Poppins and I give you permission to add a sweetener as needed – apologies to the purists. I use a pinch of Stevia. Agave, maple syrup and coconut sugar are all decent options.
- Add liquid – water, milk, yogurt, almond milk or juice. It’ll take more than you think to keep the smoothie from becoming sludge.
- Use a mondo blender. Yes, the ones that cost a bunch are the best. Sorry. You can “fake” it with a regular blender by cutting up the goods in small chunks and blending the harder stuff (carrots, celery, even the greens) first then re-blending with the rest.
- Make and drink it cold. Use some frozen ingredients, or add a few cubes of ice. A room temp green smoothie is a chore to chug.
- If you make more than you’re going to drink, store the leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge. Stir well before drinking the next day. I recommend using one of those cool oversize milkshake straws.
Recipes
Full-On Green Smoothie
Servings: 1 or 2 (about 20 ounces)
1 cup frozen greens
2 inch piece of cucumber
½ carrot
½ rib celery
2 inch piece of red cabbage
⅛ pineapple core
½ banana
½ cup frozen berries, cherries or mix
spot of sweetener – stevia, agave, honey, etc.
10-12 ounces of liquid (cold)
A few cubes of ice if ingredients aren’t cold enough.
Blend until totally smooth. It takes at least 90 seconds to 2 minutes depending upon blender power.
Kid Friendly “Sorbets”
Servings: 1 to 2
Peach:
½ can (¾ cup) white grape peach juice concentrate
1 banana
5 baby carrots (small handful)
3-4 cups of ice
Put all ingredients in blender and process until smooth and frozen.
Green Apple:
½ can (¾ cup) apple juice concentrate
1 banana
1 ½ cup spinach
3-4 cups of ice
Put all ingredients in blender and process until smooth and frozen.
