Friday, May 18, 2012

friday photos - spinach smoothies

Why is it so hard to eat vegetables regularly? We hit a low point this week when I gave in to the temptation to do an easy McDs drive-through lunch. Of course, Genghis loved all of his chicken nuggets, almost as much as he loved the ketchup (not a vegetable).

 So today we turned over a new leaf (haha) in our quest for healthy food with ...

Spinach Smoothies!

If you haven't had one, you probably fall into one of two schools of thought:

1) Why haven't I thought of this before?! Sneaking great-for-you vegetables into a refreshing treat that you can enjoy any time of day. What could be better? Can't talk now, I'm halfway to the store to pick up some spinach.

Or...

2) Gross. Why do people have to do bad things to good food?*

Well, we took the plunge this morning, and I'm lovin' it! (Take that, McDs branding.) I think there are two keys to enjoying the spinach smoothie.

First, know that it will taste like spinach...but it will taste like the most awesome spinach you've ever had.

Second, blend the ingredients for a very long time. Several minutes. No chunks allowed.

I've posted the recipe below, but to get to it, you'll have to look at some adorable pictures of Genghis enjoying is spinach smoothie.





Green Smoothie:
2 cups milk
1 banana
1 big spoonful of almond butter
1 small spoonful of honey
1 spoonful of whey protein
1 cup frozen pineapple and strawberries
fill blender with spinach

I pretty much copied this recipe from two of my cousins, based on what I had on hand. Check out their recipes here:
http://californiapixie.com/2012/05/09/tales-of-a-good-green-smoothie/
http://grainday.blogspot.com/2012/05/green-smoothie.html

*The worst offender here is the "black bean brownie". This healthy alternative to something delicious tastes just like its name.

4 comments:

Jen said...

I had to laugh, someone gave me a black bean cookie recently thinking I'd believe it was just a chocolate cookie. There is no masking the flavor of black beans! I'd rather just eat some black beans (with a chocolate cookie for dessert).

Dawn said...

I love spinich...but I'm on the 'gross' side of the debate...I could be wrong however....seeing your son enjoy it makes me wonder....and is he WEARING it in this last photo?

Rita said...

Now you are going to have to get the fancy blender!

Cheeky Candid Contemplations said...

So I love my spinach smoothie. I am happy that you guys like them as well. I also really like the pictures you have that show so many of his expressions. My smoothie is a little different. I put spinach, peaches, pears, apples, celery, ice, and some water or juice from the fruit. I find that if I have good peaches they mask the spinach taste and I love the texture that pears bring. One note of caution celery has more flavor than you think. :) Hope find some other good ones you like.