I dont know about you, but I have sorta eaten a lot in the last few weeks. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot.
Not only have I eaten like its going out of style, but I have let the kids diets slide as well… not saying no when grandma offers them a cookie. (or eight)Â Letting them eat all of their bread and none of their veggies at Christmas dinners… not taking away the sweet treats and candy gifts people are so generous with during the Holidays.
So I knew I needed to give them some super foods… something to get their little gastrointestinal system back on track.
Bring on the smoothies.
My kids love smoothies.
And for the record, I do to.
I am going to share with you my super powered, body healing, stomach soothing, palate pleasing turbo smoothie.
Here’s how you make it.
Grab your cup of frozen blueberries. I just buy a ton during the summer when they have them ‘buy one get one free’ at the grocery store and throw them in the freezer.
Put blueberries in your blender. Add one cup of water.
Add banana. Blend well.
Add kale. I pull all of the leaves off the stem first… the stem is extremely bitter.
Add spinach. Fresh baby spinach works good too.
Blend everything together really well. On my blender, which was manufacture in 1979 I kid you not, I have to blend it for about 3 minutes.
Now, taste it.
Is it perfect? Then you have done well my friend and have no need of my super secret ingredient.
Is it slightly bitter?
Then you might want to try this.
Is that a super fun  ingredient or what??? If you can find organic even better. I would add no more then 1 teaspoon, but start with 1/2 teaspoon and see how it goes.
Now, sometimes I get really, really bitter kale. Usually the banana cuts most of the bitterness, but when it doesn’t, I just add a teaspoon of this.
But most of the time the sugar is not necessary.
Now, why a blueberry, kale, spinach, banana smoothie?
1. It tastes good.
2. Blueberries are loaded with antioxidants and rate highest among other fruits and vegetables in their capacity to destroy free radicals.
3. Bananas are awesome. If you would like some more technical terms go here.
4. Kale is in season in the winter, and appears to be able to lessen the occurrence of a wide variety of cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers. New research is revealing that phytonutrients in crucifers, such as
kale, work at a much deeper level. These compounds actually signal our
genes to increase production of enzymes involved in detoxification, the
cleansing process through which our bodies eliminate harmful compounds.
Talk about body cleansing. (for more info on kale click here)
5. Spinach rocks. Just ask Popeye. Calorie for calorie spinach provides more nutrients than any
other food. Feeling sluggish from all those cookies? I promise some spinach will give you back some energy!
Let me know if you try it, or if you are already a super smoothie drinking momma.
If you are, why have we not discussed this sooner? I need details girl! 🙂
I have never used kale in my smoothies even though I love smoothies and I love kale. That is a terrific idea!
Happy New Year 🙂
Good for you Jamie! I promise it will be delicious! 🙂
Ok, I’m gonna trust you on this one and try it. It’s an interesting combination, but I too need to get myself and my kiddos back on track with our eating.
Thanks for sharing! Love the pics too.
I hope it’s okay I linked to you today! We love smoothies but have never tried kale in them! Also, I grew up with Watkins amazing products but had forgotten about them! Where do you find them? Thanks for the smoothie recipe and amazingly beautiful pictures! I think a cookbook is in your future!
I am glad for this post. I need to get back on the health wagon. We don’t eat bad but we don’t eat super super good either. I want to expand our horizons.
We eat a lot of fresh fruit & veggies, but kale & spinach….nope. So your smoothie would be a great way to sneak it.
Thanks bunches!
That looks good! I’ve got some of the ingredients! I’ve eaten so much in December… It’ll take all of Jan & Feb to get back on track! I saw my whole self in a fat mirror at a basketball game last night and nearly passed out when I realized it was me!
I am so making some smoothies in this house asap!! I have just recently found your blog and enjoy it very much:)
I love smoothies. I am hoping to eat much better this year and get off this stress induced sugar kick I have been on for the last year.
Gotta love frozen blueberries! Have you ever heard of that super blender thing (vitamix)? Several of my friends have it…I do not because it is like $700.00 but they make THE BEST smoothies. Perfectly smooth.
I’m not sure I’ve really ever had a smoothie, and what you’ve described doesn’t sound “good.”
~M
PS: Still want to know the details on the TV thingy!
ooh…i’m SO going to be trying this! i planted one kale plant in my garden last winter and it went crazy (in a good way, as i like kale)…literally i could use all it’s leaves and it would send more up for me what seemed like the very next day…i have a girlfriend who has been eating raw and making awesome smoothies like this…i even joined a 3 day green smoothie challenge:
http://www.greensmoothiequeen.com/benders/free3
of course i received the recipes, motivational e-mails, encouraging group members and have yet to make my first smoothie…it seems like whenever i try to catch up with you, your posts somehow speak directly to me on some issue i have been avoiding or need to deal with! perfect timing as i reflect on new year’s resolutions (that will be obsessed over and listed and blogged about much later…or maybe read about dec 31 2010 as i’m making my 2011 list! ha!)…looking forward to trying your recipe!