{angie}
One of my favorite stories my hubby tells me is when he and his little brother, as kids, ate a whole bundle of spinach so they could have big muscles like Popeye. Popeye sure knew what he was doing. Spinach is full of powerful antioxidants, is low in calories, and rich with vitamins. It can be cooked as a vegetable, eaten raw in salads and on sandwiches, or even, like I enjoy it, blended in smoothies. By all definitions, it is truly a super food.
Now, I love veggies--I really do. As a kid I never whined about a single lima bean or broccoli floret (though I did get in a fight with a spaghetti squash once, but that's a story for another day). Despite my true love of vegetables, I still find it difficult to make sure I get my full amount each day. I notice it makes such a difference, especially with greens, so it's a big priority of mine.
So what better way than to sneak them into a fresh fruit smoothie? Perhaps you remember my post about the immune booster smoothie. Well since then, I've made it a habit of mine to toss in a big handful of spinach into my smoothies. I barely notice a difference (except the nice lime green color), it still tastes fantastic, and I'm getting plenty of nutrients. And even better, if you have a Magic Bullet or another machine you can bring to work, you can pack up all the simple ingredients, carry them to the office and have this as part of a healthy, blended lunch in 30 seconds.
Now I'm only sort of going to pretend to share a recipe, because I'll be honest, it changes every time based on what fruits I have in the house. But here are my basics for a tasty green smoothie (it's the least I can do after sharing the naughty recipe for molten chocolate cake the other day).
One of my favorite stories my hubby tells me is when he and his little brother, as kids, ate a whole bundle of spinach so they could have big muscles like Popeye. Popeye sure knew what he was doing. Spinach is full of powerful antioxidants, is low in calories, and rich with vitamins. It can be cooked as a vegetable, eaten raw in salads and on sandwiches, or even, like I enjoy it, blended in smoothies. By all definitions, it is truly a super food.
Now, I love veggies--I really do. As a kid I never whined about a single lima bean or broccoli floret (though I did get in a fight with a spaghetti squash once, but that's a story for another day). Despite my true love of vegetables, I still find it difficult to make sure I get my full amount each day. I notice it makes such a difference, especially with greens, so it's a big priority of mine.
So what better way than to sneak them into a fresh fruit smoothie? Perhaps you remember my post about the immune booster smoothie. Well since then, I've made it a habit of mine to toss in a big handful of spinach into my smoothies. I barely notice a difference (except the nice lime green color), it still tastes fantastic, and I'm getting plenty of nutrients. And even better, if you have a Magic Bullet or another machine you can bring to work, you can pack up all the simple ingredients, carry them to the office and have this as part of a healthy, blended lunch in 30 seconds.
Now I'm only sort of going to pretend to share a recipe, because I'll be honest, it changes every time based on what fruits I have in the house. But here are my basics for a tasty green smoothie (it's the least I can do after sharing the naughty recipe for molten chocolate cake the other day).
{Super Food Smoothie}
Ingredients
1 part frozen fruit (mangoes, strawberries, blueberries, etc)
1 part fresh fruit (half a banana or orange, fresh berries, or whatever you have laying around)
One heaping handful of spinach (make Popeye proud)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (Not essential, but I like the consistency and extra nutrients it adds)
2/3-1 cup water
Directions
Put in blender. Blend. Drink.
Tip: Instead of buying bags of expensive frozen fruit, I generally just chop up fruit and toss it in my freezer so it's not wasted when it's almost ready to over-ripen. I've learned if I do that and I always have a bag of spinach handy, I'm ready to whip up one of these delicious smoothies whenever I crave one, which seems to be almost daily. Enjoy!
1 part frozen fruit (mangoes, strawberries, blueberries, etc)
1 part fresh fruit (half a banana or orange, fresh berries, or whatever you have laying around)
One heaping handful of spinach (make Popeye proud)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (Not essential, but I like the consistency and extra nutrients it adds)
2/3-1 cup water
Directions
Put in blender. Blend. Drink.
Tip: Instead of buying bags of expensive frozen fruit, I generally just chop up fruit and toss it in my freezer so it's not wasted when it's almost ready to over-ripen. I've learned if I do that and I always have a bag of spinach handy, I'm ready to whip up one of these delicious smoothies whenever I crave one, which seems to be almost daily. Enjoy!
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