Green Smoothies for Summer

I remember two times as a kid being forced by cruel and unusual means to eat my vegetables. Disclaimer: My memory is that of a child, so I can't be held responsible for the accuracy of my recollection. The two vegetables in question (on separate occasions) were squash and brussels sprouts. The means of torture was making me sit at the table until I had taken one bite. I don't remember if I gave in before my parents, but I do remember that sitting there while my brothers and sister had gone outside to play (I could hear them with the other neighbor kids through the window, taunting me) was better than taking even one bite of those vegetables. In my memory, I sat there for at least two hours (see disclaimer above). Needless to say, my history with vegetables is not stellar. It has been a huge conflict for me, given my interest in nutrition. I have tried every way possible to get vegetables into my diet without triggering my gag reflexes.  In my college nutrition class, the teacher would joke and say if we were required to name a food that is a good source of any vitamins or minerals, we could just guess spinach and be right most of the time. I wanted desperately to try to work spinach into my diet, but it proved extremely difficult due to the fact that I thought it tasted like swamp water. Luckily, the swamp flavor is rather easy to mask. Anyone who knows me now will probably be surprised by my disdain of vegetables because I have come a long way since my childhood. I have long-since found ways to incorporate most vegetables into my diet.

So, if you are not a vegetable lover, stay tuned. There is hope for you, too. One of my favorite ways to use spinach and other leafy greens that have an outstanding nutritional profile but less than outstanding flavor, is in a green smoothie. I shared a recipe for the "Green Mango Madness" smoothie here. Now, I want to teach you how to make green smoothies a regular part of your life. I have one almost every day. It is a painless way to get about 2 servings of fruit and 1 serving of leafy greens in every day. The key is to experiment with the basic recipe until you find variations that you like. Will they be the best smoothies you've ever tasted? Probably not, but even to a hesitant vegetable eater, they are good (without even a hint of swamp taste). I think I could even eat brussels sprouts in a smoothie. Here is an easy, basic recipe to get you started. Adjust it until you find something that works for you:

Basic Green Smoothie (makes 22-26 oz.)

• 8 oz liquid (I use water, but you could use any kind of milk too.)
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (I usually omit unless I am making it for the kids)
• 1 heaping cup frozen fruit (I almost always use cherries and/or mixed berries for their antioxidants)
• 1/2 banana (usually frozen, see this post about how to always have bananas on hand)
• 2 hand fulls of dark, leafy greens (I rotate between spinach, kale, and swiss chard) 
• Optional additions: chia seeds, flax seeds, nuts, nut butter, unsweetened coconut, granola

Now is the perfect time to plant your own leafy greens. They are one of the easiest vegetables to grow, and a few plants will keep you supplied all summer and into the fall. They grow quickly, take up very little space, and can be grown successfully in a container if you don't have a garden.