Monday, June 20, 2011

Sneaky Smoothies

My 2 year old is pretty good about eating fresh fruit, and he'll eat some veggies if they are prepared the right way, but the variety is lacking. I've been trying to figure out how to get leafy greens into his diet, and the only way I'm successful is by putting it in smoothies. This sounds so gross, but my son likes it so much, he drinks a large glass and then is upset when I tell him it's all gone.
I have a few things I always put in the smoothie, and then the rest of the ingredients depend on what I have in my kitchen.

Sneaky Smoothie
by Brooke Hochstein


Standard Ingredients:
  • 1 Banana
  • 1 heaping spoonful creamy peanut butter
  • 1 large handful of fresh spinach (or whatever greens you want to throw in. I put unseasoned steamed asparagus and edamame in yesterday with spinach. I fill half the blender with these greens. Other ideas: Avocado, cucumber peels, peas, cooked beans, etc.)
  • 2-4 c water (to meet desired consistency)
Additional Ingredients:
  • Frozen fruit to make the smoothie icy (Strawberries, blueberries, peaches, raspberries, etc.)
  • Fresh fruit (Strawberries, blueberries, apples, melon, raspberries, whatever you have in your fridge and need to get rid of soon)
Blend well!

You could also put some greek yogurt or whatever you want to make it creamy. I leave this out since I've cut dairy out of my diet. The banana makes the smoothie creamy enough for me. Sometimes I'll add two.
I'm sure there are nutritionally balance recipes out there. These are usually called "green smoothies." The color of mine tend to be a purple-orange color (is that possible?) with green specks. The appearance doesn't seem to effect the consumption rate at this point.