A typical smoothie for me contains yogurt, a liquid of some kind (like juice or soy milk), and fruit. In years past, the constant star would be a combination of mangoes and berries, both frozen and thawed in the microwave. (I'm not big on the idea of putting ice or frozen fruit into a smoothie. It's seems pointless, as well as a good way to get brain freeze.) In college, I would throw in a little silken tofu for protein. It blends well and is almost tasteless.
These days, since I'm on an "eat your greens" kick, I have been adding kale to my smoothies. No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you -- I really did say kale. Thanks to a tip from Mothering magazine, I discovered that adding a leaf of dino kale, my favorite variety, is a great way to add a vegetable to the most important meal of the day. During strawberry season, I whirled together a smoothie of vanilla yogurt, a splash of orange juice (for consistency mostly), a pile of red berries, a little honey, and a leaf of kale. This resulted in a pink beverage flecked throughout with bits of green. My boyfriend D called it a "Christmas smoothie." After I stopped buying strawberries, I switched to a smoothie made with yogurt, soy milk, banana, a large spoonful of peanut butter, a squirt of honey, and, of course, kale. Not only is a drink like that full of good things for your body (like calcium, potassium, vitamins A and K, and fiber), it really fills you up!
As noted in Mothering's recipe, you can hardly taste the kale -- it gives the smoothie a bit of a nice green flavor. D, however, would disagree with that. He doesn't like the way kale tastes in a smoothie. So add some greens to your next smoothie... or not. But keep in mind that the possibilities are endless when it comes to your breakfast beverage.
2 comments:
Kale, eh? I'm not sold on it, though I do know that with strong flavored fruits like bananas and strawberries, the kale taste really wouldn't come through.
I love smoothies, but I prefer them cold, so frozen fruit is the way to go for me. Smoothies for me are kinda like veggie soup or shepard's pie - I throw in whatever leftover stuff I have that's appropriate, and it gets rid of it without wasting it.
Mike - Kale is either an acquired taste... or I'm going a little overboard on the healthy eating thing.
Sher - Thank you, and happy anniversary to you! I enjoy reading your blog; I'm glad you're enjoying writing it. (And by the way, the original kale smoothie recipe recommends using pineapple.)
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