Green Smoothies

"Are we becoming granola people?"

That was a recent question uttered in our kitchen after we returned unopened gifts of fine china in exchange for a kitchen appliance and started eating more greens. As we blended whole food concoctions at lightening speed, we couldn't help but think back to the beginning of our marriage when "cooking" at home was marked by spaghetti sauce jars, scrambled eggs, or cereal and wonder how we ended up here. A slow progression toward new ways of thinking and behaving in regards to food and the environment has led to choices that could easily cause us to be pigeonholed in new ways. The biggest surprise is that as we implement changes, the good foods actually taste better than the junk. (Except for the smoothie that went down the drain after I learned through one torturous taste that sprouts, shoots, and/or micro greens should NOT be added to anything other than a salad or sandwich.) Besides that one, who knew healthy could be so delicious?

My favorite smoothie (above) was created after Jeni Lee introduced me to kale. Even though my mother-in-law promoted the benefits of greens and I read a book about green smoothies, it wasn't until Jeni steamed up a skillet of greens with garlic and I ate them without protest, that I really entertained the thought of incorporating kale into our meals.

Hiding the kale in this tart and refreshing breakfast treat is one way to add it in. Mark's not a kale fan, so we hide spinach in the second recipe (below) to start his day.

Tart Start Kale Smoothie
This is my favorite concoction to date, but it isn't for those who shy away from sour or tart flavors.

1 large ruby red grapefruit, peeled with sections and juice reserved
1 to 2 cups raw kale, rinsed, center stalk removed, and torn into pieces
4 to 5 fresh mint leaves
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced (discard core and seeds)
1 banana, peeled and frozen
Ice, to taste


For the grapefruit, I prefer to cut the grapefruit in half, cut away the outer peal, and then make four long cuts around the center so you cut out all the seeds before adding the quarters to your blender. You do not want any seeds! I squeeze the center and outer peels to get any juice out of them before discarding. Some people remove the pulp pieces from the membrane/white piths entirely (the traditional way to eat them) since the pith of the grapefruit can be bitter, but I don't take the time to do that. (Also, you may want to google search and make sure grapefruit doesn't interact with any medications you are taking.)

Add the grapefruit juice and sections to the blender, 1 to 2 cups kale leaves, apple pieces, and one banana. I freeze banana pieces before using in smoothies to add a thicker consistency. Next, add any ice you might want to make a thicker smoothie. I usually start with 4 ice cubes and work up as needed.

I'm not sure how smooth these recipes will be using a traditional blender. Our returns, my birthday, and a 20% off coupon, helped us to take the plunge and buy a Vita-Mix, which is the most amazing appliance in our kitchen. It purees the greens to a smooth texture with no obvious pieces; I don't think Mark would be drinking them otherwise. Start on a low setting and work up to high, letting the mixture puree for 1 to 2 minutes using the accelerator tool as needed to get a vortex going.

Yield: Approximately 24 ounces, more or less depending on how you scale the recipe. The recipe above usually makes enough to fill up one 24-ounce tumbler, pictured just beyond the blender. The smaller amount in the other photos was made using one small grapefruit (sections frozen), half of an apple, small banana (frozen), 1 cup kale, the same amount of mint, and no ice.


Hide-the-Spinach Tropical Smoothie
Mark loves blueberries so I heavy hand them to offset any extra spinach.

1 pineapple ring
1/2 orange, peeled
1 cup raw spinach, rinsed
1/2 to 1 cup frozen wild blueberries
4 to 5 fresh mint leaves
1/2 Granny Smith apple
1 banana, peeled and frozen
Ice, to taste


For the pineapple, I bought a skinned pineapple from the produce department, cut it into rings and froze the pieces we didn't use for future smoothies. Just cut back on the ice when you use frozen ingredients, add orange or pineapple juice if the majority of your ingredients are frozen, and always add the frozen ingredients last.

The steps for blending the smoothie are the same as the previous recipe. It usually yields enough to fill a 24-ounce tumbler with the stated ingredient amounts.

The Blender

The first time someone mentioned a Vita-Mix blender to me and I googled the price tag, I am sure I audibly gasped. (Since this is my usual reaction to high prices - just ask my husband about our house hunting drive yesterday.) I also thought it was just a fancy "blender" and didn't realize that it can make homemade nut butters, soups, sauces, and even bread. Having used it daily for over a week, taken in more fruits and vegetables than ever before, I can honestly say that over time it will be worth every penny. And clean-up is a breeze since you don't have to disassemble it like other gadgets.

After a LOT of research, the best price I could find was at Bed, Bath, and Beyond where you can use their 20% off coupon and save $100. That also happened to be where we could return the china for store credit, so we placed an order at the customer service counter. Had we not had the store credit, I would have put $20 aside each month until I could afford to purchase one in a few years and frequented Goodwill in the meantime. One women saw a Vita-Mix at Goodwill get picked up for $12 as told in this "Is it worth it?" Chowhound.com message board post.