"green" smoothies

I've heard about this for some time, but was hesitant. how could you put spinach in a fruit smoothie, and not taste the spinach at all? i decided to try it for the first time last week when i had some leftover fresh spinach and some frozen fruit, and i was very excited that no, you cannot taste the spinach at all! this is a great way to get some extra greens in, and your children are even bound to like it...you can even put it in a sippy cup for them to drink with breakfast. it really tastes just like a regular smoothie, but has a slight green tint to it and is full of nutrition. you can put whatever frozen fruit in that you like, and i don't even measure. below is what i made this morning. i make a blender full, so if you only want half as much, just modify the amounts.

*update*

1) Be sure to rinse your spinach very, very well...EVEN if it says it's washed and ready to be used. Our pediatrician gave me that advice when I shared we had been making them for breakfast. He said their digestive tracks are more sensitive than ours...and then told me he has an awful green smoothie story that he wouldn't go into detail about...but it had to do with a child and e-coli from the spinach. YIKES! Needless to say, I'm re-thinking the green smoothie thing and when we do drink them, I'm washing the raw spinach very, very well! I felt like it is important to pass this on to those of you who might be giving these smoothies to your children, whether you were doing this before I posted about it or you learned about it from this blog.

2) A friend recently mentioned that you can be even more "deceptively delicious" by adding avocado into the smoothie. It adds great texture, lots of good fat that is good for the childrens' development (and for adults, too!), and is tasteless. Actually, I noticed a slight avocado aftertaste when I tried it the first time, so I've started to pour my portion of the smoothie without the avocado, and then I'll throw in about 1/4 of an avocado and re-blend it for my child.

3) You can throw in any fruit, juice, applesauce, etc. for the smoothie if you don't have yogurt or strawberries or traditional smoothie ingredients. Kids love these, and any healthy ingredient will benefit them! Be creative.

green smoothies

I N G R E D I E N T S :

1-2 cups frozen frozen fruit-this morning i used strawberries and a little leftover frozen pineapple. i also love mango, peaches, blueberries, mixed berries....i usually include strawberries as the majority if i am using other berries.
1 frozen banana (I microwave it for 1 minute and then squeeze it out of the skin, or you can use a fresh one if that's all you have)
1 cup fresh spinach (or more. I just do 1 or 2 handfuls).
orange juice-probably between 1/2-1 cup
milk-probably between 1/2-3/4 cup (could be less? i usually just add some to thin the smoothie)
yogurt-I use plain, but vanilla is good as well. i probably put 3/4-1 cup
honey-i add a big squirt of it for the sweetness and because i think honey is good for you.
I've also started putting in some ground flax seed, which is full of omega 3,6,9. So far I've done 1 Tbsp to start off with but I may add more.

D I R E C T I O N S :

blend together and enjoy!