The
holiday season is here! I don't know how
it's for you, but for me that usually means busy mornings. This simple, yet sooo yummy smoothie is the
recipe I use to nourish my family on such mornings. My kids love this brilliant green drink for
its taste. While my husband and I admire it for its nutritional wealth. The "skeleton
recipe" is below. I call it the "skeleton"
because there are so many variations of this smoothie! Try substituting the spinach leaves for kale,
or adding some mint leaves. Don't have a
pear, no problem! Just omit it and add
some frozen blueberries. You get the
idea... Ginger has a strong warming
flavor for which you have to develop a taste.
For that reason, I exclude it when preparing the drink for the kids.
I love
to pair this smoothie with a toast coated with pumpkin butter sprinkled
with chia seeds or sunflower seeds. I
enjoy the pumpkin butter made by Kauffman's:
(http://www.kauffmansfruitfarm.com/folder/%20%20318) Kauffman's brand offers a variety of fruit butters without the extra ingredients. Give them a try!
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1 ripe
Banana, peeled and broken into pieces
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1
small Apple, cored and cut into chunks
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1
small Pear, cored and cut into chunks
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1 cup
Baby Spinach leaves
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1/2 to
3/4 cup Orange Juice (preferably not from concentrate)
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1 to 2
teaspoons ground Flax seed
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1 to 2
teaspoons fresh grated Ginger (1/4-1/2 teaspoons if using ground ginger powder (exclude
if preparing for younger children due to ginger's strong flavor)
1. Place the banana pieces, apple chunks, pear
chunks, and orange juice into the blender.
Blend on high, stopping as needed to push the fruit down.
2. Next add the spinach leaves, flax seed, and
grated ginger; blend again until very smooth.
Add water or ice cubes if needed.
Blend until completely smooth and brilliant green in color.
Whether
you are getting up early for door-busters, getting started on the meal for a
family gathering, or simply jumping into a hectic day with the kids; this
delicious smoothie will recharge your body and give you the much needed energy
to fully enjoy the joyful season!!!
I always buy the basics: apples, bananas, pears and etc only to find them drying in my fruit dish. Well, now every morning instead of looking at my "drying fruits" I throw them in the blender, add spinach and wala... a great nutricious shake for the whole family. What a brilliant idea! And what a great way to add spinach to your everyday menu. Thank you Nasya! I'll be sure give the blueberry-banana shake a try :) ~Natalya Suslaev
ReplyDeleteOh my! I made this green goodness and its amazing! You can bet that this smoothie and hopefully many more different kinds will now be my oh so healthy breakfast. Can't wait to try the blueberry-banana. Gonna have to stockup on some spinach now (fyi, Costco has great organic baby spinich in a box). Really looking forward to more differabt smoothies!
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