Related Posts with Thumbnails

Friday, June 10, 2011

Drink Your Vegetables

I really needed a way to pack in some more nutrients to my maternity leave diet. Most of my daytime meals are whatever I can fix in a flash, often microwave leftovers or quick snacks with a few too many boxes of mac n cheese making an appearance. Veggies are usually for dinner only...if we're lucky.


Since I had been hearing a lot about Green Smoothies (smoothies including fresh greens such as spinach or kale), I decided to give one a try for breakfast today and I really just winged it.

First, I threw some blueberries in the freezer overnight to chill the smoothie and act as my "ice", but in the future I will likely get frozen fruit to skip this step. If I'm going to freeze it anyway, frozen fruit is cheaper and less perishable.

Next, I layered the following ingredients in my blender:
  • 1 large handful of frozen fresh blueberries
  • 6 fresh strawberries
  • 2+ handfuls of fresh baby spinach
  • 1 whole banana
  • enough skim milk to cover the blueberries below

Green Smoothie - Blender Before

I gave it a few pulses, stirred it with a spoon to get the spinach to sink down, and proceeded to blend. This was the result:

Green Smoothie - Blender After

Green Smoothie - Blender Inside

My only trouble is I woke a sleeping baby with the blender...oops:

awaken by blender

Here it is ready to drink, and wow was it delicious! I like spinach, but even if you are a greens hater this is a great way to hide them from yourself, or your family, because you really can't taste them!

Green Smoothie - Glass

Moral of the story: Do not fear the green smoothie (which is actually purple). I think I'll add even more spinach next time!

5 comments:

N. June 10, 2011 at 1:59 PM  

I have a green smoothie every day for this same reason. Chasing after a mobile baby doesn't always leave me with the most time to fix 3 healthy meals. And mine are always green, I guess I do add a lot of spinach.

Besides a fruity one, I also like a creamier one every now and then. Almond milk, nut butter, spinach, & banana. Yum!

Also, try adding in wheatgerm and/or flaxseed for even more "healthy without the taste" goodness.

*K June 10, 2011 at 2:19 PM  

I definitely want to try that out. I don't drink milk though so I may have to swap that with yogurt. Thanks for posting!

Stephanie June 10, 2011 at 3:21 PM  

N., thanks for the suggestions!

*K, I think yogurt would work great, too.

Cassi June 10, 2011 at 8:38 PM  

Just gotta say she is ADORABLE!

Colleen MacDonald June 15, 2011 at 10:20 AM  

YAY! I'm glad you thought of this trick; keep it in your pocket for when Claire is feeling picky about eating greens. Sending love...

Labels

About Me

I'm a St. Louis native, but I have been living in Chicago since 2005 and am loving every windy minute of it. I enjoy cooking (more-so eating), home decorating and really anything creative. I'm a supporter of DIY & handmade goods, a fledgling foodie and a connoisseur of kitsch. I spend my days filling online shopping carts, emptying them and repeating the process all over again. Most of all I love spending time with my husband, Dave, our first child, Claire and my dog, Louie.

Etsy Faves

  © Free Blogger Templates 'Photoblog II' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP