Once upon a time I was rather a peaked child. My mother decided that vitamins were the way to go to get me to be more healthy and besides taking a multi-vitamin she insisted that I start drinking wheat grass with my breakfast. (I wasn’t singled out though–I think the whole family came in for these healthy vitamins!) I was allowed to mix it in my orange juice, but no matter how it was presented it was still gross. I alternated between trying to drink it in one gulp (quite a feat as it was usually mixed in 4 ounces or more of liquid!) or sipping it slowly between bites of food. Green stuff that tasted funny for breakfast was just not my thing. I survived that phase and then recently I started seeing around the internet recipes for Green Smoothies!
I shuddered when I saw them because they reminded me of that nasty blue green algae cocktail that I had to drink every morning. I resolved to never put myself through that torture. Then my sister tried it and suggested putting blueberries in because it made the smoothie blue/purple instead of green. Even more important was the fact that you didn’t taste the green stuff in the smoothie. The idea of drinking some of my veggies before noon was somewhat attractive if I didn’t have to look at them or taste them so I reluctantly decided to give it a try.
And it was good! It was even good if you put a whole bunch of strawberries in it and turned it pink! I still shudder a little when I think of a green smoothie, and it isn’t so popular with me that I want to make it everyday. However, occasionally when I have some greens that are trying to go bad on me before I use them for their intended meal, then its nice to have that option. Here’s a rough idea of what I put in my green/pink/blue/purple smoothies:
1 cup liquid (coconut milk is tasty as is almond milk or even juice)
1 cup berries (strawberries or blueberries depending on your color preference)
2-4 cups greens (spinach, kale, and lettuce are all ones I have had success with)
protein powder if desired
Blend together in a blender until smooth. You may need to add more liquid or stop and stir to make sure all the chunks are blended. Drink–if it’s still to green put it in a red or pink glass so you don’t have to look at it!
Loosely adapted from Oh She Glows and Once a Month Mom