My second change for the week is trying a green smoothie. I have been wanting to dabble in this new "trend" for a while but was always intimidated with the thought of putting veggies in a smoothie. This does not sound yummy to me. I am a lover of smoothies in the morning. My favorite being oatmeal, chocolate protein powder, banana, powered peanut butter and coconut milk. So yummy. So veggies....yea not so much. I am obsessed with reading about different healthy options and this one keeps coming up. Most recently a friend of mine from college discussed it in her newsletter. My friend Penina is a certified health coach through the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and has a wealth of knowledge about following a healthy lifestyle. Follow her blog or subscribe to her newsletters to find out more about her and learn new healthy tricks. I asked her about these green smoothies and learned a couple of her favorite recipes. This morning I tried what she calls her "basic recipe" It consisted of
- 2 large kale leaves (stems included)
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 cup of water
Blend to your desired consistency. I used an immersion blender because its easy to clean up and I don't have to mess with the blade from a blender.
This blended smoothie did not taste terrible however is not as enjoyable as my normal smoothie I make. I definitely think this is an acquired taste. I will absolutely keep trying to make these though so stayed tuned. Kale is a bitter green and I almost felt like I had to chew this smoothie. Strange, but by 9am I already had 2 servings or fruit in veggies in me. You can't deny the health factors in these smoothies. I think the trick is finding a blend you like and changing up your blends to avoid the breakfast boredom. I will keep everything posted on my journey to find a blend I like :)
Nutrition facts for the blueberry oatmeal muffins:
Nutrition facts for kale and banana smoothie: