2.27.2012

Green

I got super lucky with Josie and Gabriel.

Neither of them are picky eaters.

I don't have to hide green beans in the spaghetti or load up their carrots with ranch (although I have been known to do both anyways).

They both like fruits and veggies.

But I've been reading up on nutrition and nobody in our family comes even close to eating as many or as much of a variety as we need to.

I'm trying to up our intake of food straight from the Earth.

And while my kiddos aren't super picky about eating veggies, it was hard to convince them that spinach and kale were awesome for breakfast.

Until The Green Lantern Smoothies entered the scene.

It's actually just a regular old green smoothie, but adding a fun name to it seems to have gotten Josie's interest.

It's now our go to drink in the mornings or for a quick snack.

I'm notorious for making my kids eat healthy while I sneak Oreos in the corner, but this one I actually love too.

Here's how to whip one up:

Toss some frozen banana into a blender.

*word to the wise, peel and slice your banana before you freeze them.  Nasty mushiness ensues if you don't.


Pour in some milk.  

We are phasing out cow's milk so I use almond milk.  Coconut milk would be good too.


Add a few heaping spoonfuls of yogurt and peanut butter for some lasting protein.


Blend, blend, blend.


This is when I call Josie over and say something lame like, "look at this bland, yellow drink!  Would a superhero drink something like this?!?! We better add some SUPER POWERS to this before we drink it!"

Then I add a ridiculous amount of spinach or kale.  

At least 4 huge handfuls.


Blend, blend, blend again.

You want that spinach really mixed in to get the good green color.  The more spinach you add, the more green your smoothie will be.  

I promise you won't taste it at all.


My little Super Humans love it.


It tastes like a peanut butter milkshake with a touch of banana.  It keeps me full until lunch.


Gabriel drinks his in 2 minutes flat and starts gunning for more.


It's healthy and yummy and erases any guilt when we eat Little Nicki's Pizza for the 5th time in a week!

6 comments:

TonyaElise said...

Thanks for this recipe! Matt and I have decided to phase meat out of our diet as well. We will probably still eat it when we are entertained by others, but not in our house. I feel pretty good about cooking with beans, fruits and veggies, but dumb when it comes to grains, so I ordered a cook book last week to learn how to cook quinoa and couscous and barley and all those things. I'd love any grain recipes your kids like.

Heidi said...

Great idea!!! I make smoothies or homemade smoothie popsicles for Tanner but I will add some green ingredients for some extra nutritional value.

kimmer said...

Love those beautiful babies drinking that beautiful green juice!!! Its gotta be so good for them...and for You too!!! Yummy!

kimmer said...

Love those beautiful babies drinking that beautiful green juice!!! Its gotta be so good for them...and for You too!!! Yummy!

TonyaElise said...

Just added this to my St. Patrick's Day menu :)

Katie V. said...

I loved this! I didn't have any peanut butter so I had to settle for Nutella...if you call that settling! Way less healthy and it gave it a horrible color when it was mixed with the spinach but it tasted amazing!