The Green Smoothie

I’m not usually a fan of smoothies, I have to admit.  As a nutrition science major in college, I always learned that drinking your calories isn’t the best way to get your vitamins; you need all those good things in the rind/seeds/pulp of the fruits and veggies, too to get the most bang for your buck.

But I’m blaming this post on a few giant burritos that I may have gorged upon a few weeks back while out of town for a conference.  I needed to bounce back to my usual, normal moderate American diet that consists of at least a few (hopefully) fruits and/or veggies a day and not a mountain of beans and cheese wrapped in a creamy sauce (but, seriously, those burritos were a long time coming and pretty awesome as they went down with a few margaritas.)

I had seen this recipe in the April issue of Bon Appétit, and I was a little skeptical to try it out.  For one, I’m not a fan of parsley.  But I love kale and berries, so that was a plus.  And, I knew I needed all the help I could get with taking in some great vitamins and nutrients.  So what if it was in liquid form?  Faster absorption, maybe?  I don’t know.  All I know is that I was really, REALLY surprised by this smoothie.  It didn’t have the (icky) taste of parsley, even though there’s a hefty dose of it in there.  And, even if it IS green (not my ideal color choice), it didn’t taste like something that should be green.  The berries really made it sweet and light-not too thick and texturally awkward, either.  So, the next time I have extra kale and random parsley in my fridge, this is where it’s going.

The Green Smoothie

Servings: 2

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup packed curly or flat-leaf parsley (leaves and stems)

4 large kale leaves, ribs removed

1 cup frozen mixed berries (or berries of your choice)

1 banana, chopped

1 teaspoon flaxseed (use either ground or whole.  *I prefer whole because I like the little bit of crunchiness it adds.)

1 cup water

 

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of your food processor or blender and purée until smooth.  Serve immediately.

 

Source:  Directly from Bon Appétit, April 2012.

 

April 11, 2012 - 9:48 am

Melissa @ Kids in the Sink - We’ve recently entered the realm of green smoothie and have been trying different flavors. I have been wanting to try a green other than spinach, but have been a little hesitant. I haven’t had much success with using water as the only liquid. Did you find that this held up to a true smoothie consistency? Our have come out too watery and bland unless we used milk and yogurt. I really like the idea of using berries though! Especially now that they are coming into season.

April 11, 2012 - 11:45 am

srlacy - Hi Melissa-

It definitely doesn’t have the thick, almost milkshake-like consistency of a lot of other kinds of smoothies, but I think you could adjust for the amount of water. I kind of actually liked the thinness of the liquid with this one, but I have issues with food texture to begin with, so it helped it go down for me.

April 11, 2012 - 3:24 pm

Jillian {Her Split Ends} - I totally agree with you on the not getting all the benefits of food if you don’t eat therind/seeds/pulp. I recently invested in a 3 horse power blender…so now i’m not only drinking lots of my fruits and veggies but i’m throwing in the seeds…the pulp and skin…all the good stuff!!

To your health
~ Jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com

April 11, 2012 - 11:39 pm

Crystal @ A Lovin' Forkful - I have been wanting to try a smoothie like this for a while now. I think I just finally found my recipe. I like the convenience of frozen berries. I usually always have extra parlsey on hand and it usually goes to my guinea pigs. They are gonna have to share. Thanks for the post!

April 12, 2012 - 4:19 am

Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious - All the cupcakes and muffins got the best of me so I’m on a bit of a health kick right now, which makes this smoothie perfect for my diet. Can’t wait to give this a try!

April 30, 2012 - 2:54 pm

Ann P. - Just got back into the states and gorged myself on ice cream and pancakes and candy. Looks like this smoothie for lunch in order!