The consensus seems to be that I need to add more fruit, namely pineapple and/or mango and use juice. I'm not sure what to do about this since (1) these fruits are $$ and I want to have a shake each day, (2) these fruits aren't in season down here (not like bananas are either, but they are cheap) and (3) using juice adds so much sugar.
Here's what I blended today:
filtered water
1 frozen banana
a small handful of fresh strawberries
a handful of young spinach
a big leaf of deveined dinosaur kale
I'm not giving up yet.
xo
kittee
Can you buy the fruits frozen any more cheaply? Peeled, diced frozen mango has recently become available here and it's awesome.
ReplyDeleteI too use frozen strawberries and mango. I also tend to add some kind of nut butter to my green smoothies and usually stick with spinach since it's not as bitter as other greens. Keep trying!
ReplyDeleteugh, just hearing all that was in it made me gag. ;) seriously, add an apple! or can you buy frozen fruit from the grocery store? it's usually cheaper that way, though now local. trader joe's sells frozen organic fruit for cheap, if you've got one in your area.
ReplyDeleteor maybe a cheaper route would be to just add apple or pineapple juice from the grocery store?
ReplyDeleteLemon! Lemon juice cuts the 'green' taste a lot. Banana does as well.
ReplyDeleteGreens, Banana, Oranges, some lemon, and a little vanilla makes a great Creamsicle taste.
Also, let your greens blend up first with a little water. It'll make sure that they get cut up really well and don't leave that chunky I-have-to-chew-them texture.
freeze the spinach!
ReplyDeletei make smoothies all the time, but have yet to make a green smoothie. i was just thinking of doing so the other day, but didn't quite get up the courage. i love green juice (like superfood) but those taste good because of all the sugary fruit in them. hmmm...
ReplyDeletemore fruits to sweeten that up! don't give up.
ReplyDeleteI'm with everyone else... buy frozen fruit. Or use more, like apples or something cheap. Or sugar-free-canned...
ReplyDeleteIf the purpose of green smoothies is to eat your greens, there are so many more delicious ways to get them down... I'm not sure I could stomach something quite like yours...
Keep experimenting though, you'll find one that works.
I have some agretti and kale in the fridge, I may give this idea a try this weekend... Although it may go over as well as the wheatgrass and spirulina "incidents."
ReplyDeleteI was also going to suggest buying already frozen fruit. It seems like it would be cheaper, and it saves you the step of cutting and freezing the fruit yourself!
ReplyDeleteIf that's still spendy, and maybe this suggestion is totally off base, maybe you could use mango baby food to add some sweetness and flavor. You can get baby food that's just fruit, but of course it's always cooked, and I don't know if this smoothie is meant to be raw. I gave some mango baby food to my rats to disguise their medicine, and had to try it taste. It was pretty good!
One last thing... can you use oranges? I've gotten some sweet, delicious tangerines lately. Most notably the Honey Tangerine. Also Cara Cara oranges are sweet. I'm curious to see what you come up with!
Lemon and avocado!!
ReplyDeleteSo, the green smoothie at my old job is probably not healthy enough to be considered, but just in case:
ReplyDelete1 banana, some pineapple juice or frozen pineapple, a little coconut milk, a BIG handful of kale, and honey (you could leave this out, I always do) blended with ice. Not super-tasty, but not awful.
-vanessa-
Thanks for all of your suggestions. I think I'm gonna try some frozen pineapple or pineapple juice. Oranges just came out of season here and apples are sorta yucky right now. Vanessa's sounds the most appealing, though I may use some almond milk instead of coconut. Yes, the idea is to get the greens down, but raw--not cooked. I'm need a big raw kale salad kinda girl, though I do love steamed greens. For those of you that blend in apples, do you find the texture of the smoothie off-putting? It seems like it would be sorta mealy and thick in a non-homogenized kinda way...?
ReplyDeletexo
kittee
If it were me, I would try tossing in a couple of dates. Dates are amazing at transforming the taste and texture of any smoothie.
ReplyDeleteAnd years ago, I used to do product demos for those green powders you find at health food stores. The manufacturers always insisted on us demo-ing them with cold, organic apple juice. It really was the most palatable way to take the greens.
Kale is the grossness in green smoothies, stick with spinach or, better yet, field greens (they taste a lot milder and are really nutricious). And never skip bananas: the sugar is so necessary for the flava. Apples are meal-y and gross; frozen berries would be good.
ReplyDeleteThose are my suggestions. :]
So glad you're testing these out Kittee. I've been wanting to try them, but haven't brought myself to do it yet. When you have a recipe that you love and enjoy, then that's the one I'm gonna make!
ReplyDeletei've tasted one that a friend made that was actually pretty good. i'll find out what was in it. i'm thinking it was spinach, soy milk, spirulina powder and frozen blueberries?? i'll let you know.
ReplyDeleteHuh. Actually, the banana-strawberry-spinach-kale combo is one of my favorites, although I did make the mistake once of putting 3 kale leaves in! Needed A LOT of bananas to mask that one!
ReplyDeleteFrozen pears are another good thickener...they're not as "mealy" as the apples, although they're also not as smooth as bananas.
My current favorite is the green "superfood" Odwalla juice, carrot juice, 2 or 3 handfuls of spinach, a kale leaf or 2, some frozen bananas, handful of blueberries, rice protein powder, ground flaxseed, and a dab of cashew or almond butter (peanut butter if I'm desperate). It makes a pretty big batch (about 20 oz or so), but it's a VERY filling meal that keeps me full 6-7 hours, at least. :-)
Oh, and if I'm having a particularly crappy day or just wanting a treat, I add some cocoa powder or chocolate syrup to the mix, and have a chocolate-nut butter-banana smoothie. If you add enough bananas (or mango, pineapple, etc) you don't taste the green stuff at all.
PS--don't use collards...they get really "stringy" in the drink. I can't use field greens because they're weird tasting to me, but I can use kale and spinach like crazy. :-)