Green Smoothies

Green smoothies.  I've always been skeptical of the idea.  I love smoothies, but as far as I am concerned they are meant to be packed full of yummy things like fruit and yogurt, not spinach.  So I never tried it, and didn't have any plans to.

But the other day Steven was being really fussy, rubbing at his face, and refusing to eat much - sure signs of some kind of teething troubles (2 year molars already? Yikes!).  Desperate to get some kind of nutrition into him, Jesse suggested having smoothies for supper, and I thought that if there would ever be a time to try my hand at making a green smoothie, this was it.

In hopes of my green smoothie not being as nasty as I feared, I turned to the internet for guidance, and found this website with some simple guidelines: How to Make a Perfect Green Smoothie.

Apparently a rough recipe is 2 cups greens, 2 cups liquids, and 3 cups fruit.

I used both spinach and kale, since that's what I had in the fridge.  I packed my greens into my measuring cup pretty tightly, because if I didn't pack them in I wouldn't actually be using very much at all.  For liquids I decided to use coconut water, because someone left a couple cans of it here and what else am I going to use it for?  It turned out that there was exactly 2 cups of it in one of the cans.  Well, that was perfect.

The greens and coconut water went in the blender and I mixed them up.  Apparently that's the best way to make sure that the greens actually get pulverized into small enough bits that your smoothie doesn't end up with the texture of a salad.

Next, you add the fruit.  Using frozen fruit helps the smoothie be cold, so I grabbed some blueberries and cherries from the freezer.

And I also cut up a mango, because mangoes are delicious.

The completed smoothie, after everything was blended together.  This recipe made for a very full blender, which was enough for Steven and I both to have as much as we wanted, with one cupful left over in the fridge.  Jesse didn't end up having any... he said it was because he wanted to make sure that Steven had enough, but personally I think he was skeptical of a smoothie that had green stuff in it.  That said, it didn't end up looking particularly green, so if he hadn't seen me making it, would he have figured it out?

So, what was the verdict on my first green smoothie?  Well, it wasn't my favourite, though it was drinkable.  The greens didn't end up in small enough bits for my liking, so I felt like I had to chew it.  And the amount of frozen fruit I used was barely enough to chill the smoothie.  Personally, I like my smoothies so cold and thick that it's hard to get it through a straw.  So next time (if there is a next time), I would probably try adding less liquid so it's not as runny, blending the greens longer, and making sure all of the fruit I add is frozen so the smoothie is colder.

But, I am pleased to say that Steven loved it!  And I was happy knowing that he was getting the nutrition that he needed.