Now you see it.
And now you don’t.
Know what? You really can’t taste it, either. I kid you not. I’ll be the first to admit my skepticism when Laura touted the yumminess of a green smoothie (I didn’t doubt the nutrition) but when I found myself with a bag of Manager’s Special spinach quickly heading south in the fridge, I had to give it a try.
My “recipe” isn’t quite the same as Laura’s. Here’s what I tossed in the blender.
Green Smoothie
- frozen banana chunks (probably about two or three bananas worth)
- frozen strawberries (maybe a cup?)
- fresh spinach (probably two cups — I used a lot)
- orange juice (about two cups)
No sugar, no artificial sweetener. Nothing but fruit, real orange juice, and spinach. How’s that for a tasty addition to your New Year’s healthy eating tackles?
I’m no expert, but I think the orange juice is key to camouflaging the greens. I don’t think I’d try to stick spinach in my fruit/yogurt/milk smoothies. Ick! Another “key” — frozen fruit eliminates the need for ice, which I think adds a lot of flavor (because the ice can dilute the flavor).
Of course my three year old right-hand-man was by my side throughout the process (Darn! My plan was to sneak the greens in!).
“Mom! What you doing?”
“What you putting in dere?”
“I don’t wike dat. Dat can’t be good, Mom.”
Curiosity got the best of him though, and after some slurping…
“Yum!”
“I wike dis, Mom!”
Told ya. You can’t taste the spinach! Now, go make yourself a green smoothie! Drinking my greens works for me!
Check out some healthy New Year’s recipes over at Life as Mom. Also, be sure to visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tackle It Tuesday, and Blissfully Domestic.
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I’ve used spinach in smoothies a few times, but have gotten out of the smoothie habit with the cooler weather. I didn’t think about it being a good way to use spinach that’s going bad. I had to throw out a little last week. Next time I’ll know. Thanks.
I like all of those ingredients by themselves, but I am like you, I am skeptical. I will have to try it to like it! But I will try!
Wow! We do smoothies a lot, but I have never added spinach. I should slip some in and see if my husband notices.
OK.. you got me. I will be trying this!
Love it. I will try it. I already have the frozen bananas. This is why I love TMTT.
This looks really yummy! Have to give it a try for a snack tomorrow
Thanks so much for sharing it!
I keep hearing about people doing this and I really need to give it a try.
Ha! As soon as I saw your picture – before I even scrolled down – I thought “Laura would be so proud!” :>)
Great job! I just started juicing too, and I actually like the veggie juice as much or BETTER than the fruit! Who woulda thought?!
YUM!!! Thanks for the idea!! Yours looks so pretty!! I love how you spelled out what your son sounds like!! So cute!
I was skeptical too until I tried it. It’s amazing that you really can’t taste the spinach. It was a little hard on my stomach though.
Wow, hard to believe you can’t taste the spinach. I would have never thought to try that. I used to make smoothies for my husband when he was on this special diet/exercise program. He’s talked about getting on it again in the future. Maybe I should try to sneak this in.
It looks yucky but it sounds great! What a healthy drink in the morning.
Great tackle:-) I am going to try this!! Thanks!
My blender is too feeble to tackle such smoothies, however my juicer takes care of that for me. As you say it’s amazing what you can get them to drink once it’s disguised.
Cheers
oh, yeah, i’m all over this one!! yummy!! and good for you! be blessed!
I would have to make this when my 5yr old didn’t see it…and I would have to add something to camo the color. She doesn’t do green. He curiosity wouldn’t get the best of her…she hates “GREEEENNN THIIIIINNNGGS!!” She does eat green beans and peas though. I would love to try this though…I would have to convince myself to try it too though.
I think the green coloring would send my kid running the other way….
When I saw the title to your tackle, I had to check it out. I might just give this a whirl. (pun totally intended!) About 3 months ago I slipped my girls that V8 Fusion instead of their regular juice. They had no clue! I’m game for any advantage when it comes to better nutrition.
I had to read this one! Sounds gross, but I do love smoothies so I think I will give this one a try. I’ll let you know…
If you guarantee it won’t taste how it looks, I’ll give it a try!
I’ve been hearing about these green smoothies a lot and should probably stop being a wimp and give it a try. I also enjoyed reading the comments to this post…
Yikes!!! I am left wordless for once in my life, SPINACH with Bannanas & O.J.!!
It sounds so yucky… but I might just have to try it! ha. I came over from Blissfully Domestic. Come check out my post too:-)
I’ve had green smoothies for breakfast the past two mornings! I agree about the OJ…I think it really masks the spinach. I’ve added frozen pears and frozen mango to mine as well. YUMMY!!
i am going to have to try adding greens to smoothies. so glad you steered me away from putting them in yogurt smoothies, i would have tried that first. loved the commentary from 3yo!
One more thing…I made a “green smoothie” this morning with frozen blueberries. If you’re looking to camo the green, the blueberries will do it! I expect blackberries would also cover the green color. If the kiddos don’t see the spinach go in, they’ll NEVER KNOW!!!
We have been doing green smoothies for over a year now. I like mine with 1 frozen banana, 1 c oj, 1 carrot,1/4 tomato, 1 tbsp of flax, 1 c frozen cranberries, pack as much kale as the liquid will grind up. I like the kale better, the flavor is masked a little better by the fruit than the spinach. I can always taste the spinach and it is a turn off. Sometimes i will throw a shot of honey in the smoothie just to sweeten it a little….we love em in our house! You get a real energy boost after drinking a glass of this stuff!
DELICIOUS and worked well for my picky preschoolers. We just gave this a try and the boys both loved it. Thanks so much for the recipe!