I'm still busy blending in my Optimum 9400 every morning and I've moved on from spinach to kale this week. I do love a green smoothie and this is good one. Very tasty and slurpable.
I made one yesterday that wasn't so good. I used end of season strawberries, frozen mango and kale. I put way too much kale in and it was rather bitter. Not my best effort at all, but I still finished it and Cooper drank most of his too. Graham took his took work, so I'm not sure how he got on, but he didn't complain about it so hopefully he drank all his too.This one isn't bitter, but beautifully sweet with a good apple flavour from some crisp, juicy red apples and boosted with some apple juice. The kale is there but it's not overpowering and I've added some banana in it to sweeten it.
I really believe all the juice we're drinking has prevented us from catching all the stinking colds everyone around us have been suffering with. I'm sure it'll catch up with us at some point during the Winter, but it's definitely helping.
I gave us an extra boost by adding some hemp protein powder, which is full of iron, folate and B vitamins.
Do you juice or blend in the morning?
Kale and Apple Green Smoothie
A sweet green smoothie with the crisp flavour of apples.
Ingredients
- 3 crisp red apples, quartered
- 1 large handful of kale
- 10 cm piece of cucumber, halved
- 1 heaped tsp hemp protein powder (optional)
- 300ml apple juice
- 100ml water
- a generous scoop of ice cubes
Instructions
1. Add all the ingredients to a blender and whizz until smooth.
2. If you don't have a power blender add the ice cubes to the final juice as you pour it or you may burn out your motor.
3. Slurp and enjoy!
2. If you don't have a power blender add the ice cubes to the final juice as you pour it or you may burn out your motor.
3. Slurp and enjoy!
Details
Total time: Yield: Serves 4-6
Here are some more delicious smoothies for you to try:
- Green Mango and Spinach Smoothie - Tinned Tomatoes
- Lunchtime Boost Smoothie - A Mummy Too
- Stegosaurus Green Smoothie - Tinned Tomatoes
- Green Passion Fruit Smoothie - Food to Glow
- Hemp Protein Green Smoothie - Smarter Fitter
- Pear and Spinach Smoothie - Citrus Spice
You can also check out more healthy smoothies from Monica Shaw in her book Smarter Fitter Smoothies.
UPDATE: Stopped juicing for a week and a half. Was just tired and in a rush in the mornings. Cooper got a sniffle and it went into my chest. I am definitely back on the smoothies. Take note folks!
Disclosure: Thanks to http://www.hempseedoil.eu/ for sending me some hemp powder to try and to Froothie for my blender, which I love. As usual I was not asked to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.
Oh that sounds like a good mix Jac, I've made bitter kale smoothies too and it's a real balancing act of ingredients to get it right. I do however struggle to get The Monsters to slurp one, so we just go for fruit, yogurt and oat breakie smoothies instead.
ReplyDeleteCooper is getting better with them, but he still prefers berry smoothies.
DeleteSounds like a great blend! I've been experimenting too - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's a complete fail!
ReplyDeleteI've been really lucky so far Elizabeth, there have only been a couple I haven't liked.
DeleteIt took me a couple of goes a few years back to get the kale right in green smoothies, but once cracked it is brilliant staple item and so easy to 'doctor'. This one has a perfect balance of complementing flavours. One of my favourite kale smoothies is with frozen sour cherries, cacao and dates.Odd but good! Thanks for linking to my kale and passion fruit smoothie.
ReplyDeleteI've been using spinach in my green smoothies. Must give kale a go. This one looks really refreshing x
ReplyDeleteI have been using spinach in a few green smoothies too but not recently and with the amount of cold we are going through I think I need to get back on track.
ReplyDeleteI must try this smoothie out, I think you are right, a vitamin packed l=drink is bound to help with fighting all the winter colds and this sounds like the drink to do it with!
ReplyDeleteI love spinach in a smoothie but am yet to have any success with kale - sylvia not keen on any green which is a shame - I guess I need to push her a bit. This sounds delicious as I have had some lovely kale smoothies when eating out. I have never dared try apple chunks in my old hand held blender smoothies but I found it coped with ice blocks just fine so I am surprised to hear you say they will burn out the motor!
ReplyDeleteWe've been blending too - have yet to pluck up the courage to add kale or spinach (or hemp!) but will do soon and may try your recipe as it looks like it will be nicely sweetened up by the banana and apple.
ReplyDeleteOne day, I will get to make some green smoothies, but meanwhile I'm enoying this morning's kefir, chia seed and banana one.
ReplyDeleteI need to start making smoothies in the morning. I'll deffo have to give this a go!
ReplyDeleteKatie xoxo
Sounds great - I really need to get into making smoothies.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the shout out to my book - this smoothie looks ace!
ReplyDeleteThat's ok Monica and yes it's a good one :)
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