Do they really taskte ok? Do your kids like them? Any favorite recipies?
I think they taste great. If you add blueberries, it covers the green color.
I just use a scoop of protein powder, soy milk, a couple of fruits and a handful of greens. Or if I am out of fresh greens, I use a scoop of the powdered kind, like wheat grass.
As long as I put enough bananas (for sweetness) and berries (for pink/purpleness) my kids have no idea there are greens (I stick to mild greens like spinach, lettuces, kale, cucumbers, celery) in them. They love them, and the color isn't green, but dark purple even if I put in a lot of greens.
I use plain yogurt, bananas, greens (always varies) and several frozen fruits including blueberries usually for color. The frozen fruit acts as ice. Sometimes for a treat I add cinnamon, ginger or honey.
Woooooooo!
We call 'em monster shakes and yes my kids like them. Here's our recipe, it sounds gross, but (we think) it tastes good:
- a few decent sized handfuls of baby spinach
- 1 big ripe banana
- 3/4 cup of Greek honey yogurt
- a few tbs of lecithin
- small can pineapple w/ juice
- a few cups of cow milk
- any other yummy fruit
Our basic recipe is:
* 1 cup milk (cow, soy, almond, or rice milk works fine, either regular or choc.)
* 1 cup frozen berries or mango or peaches (we like blueberries because the seeds aren't so annoying)
* 1/2 frozen bananas
* generous handful of fresh baby spinach (we "splurge" on organic spinach because the non-organic spinach is grown with a ton of pesticides).
Directions: Blend until smooth.
Occasional additives (we don't use all of them at once, usually, but you could):
Substitute half of milk with yogurt (vanilla yogurt is often what we use)
1 or 2 heaping T of instant pudding (choc is our fav)
1 T protein powder
1 T wheat germ
1 T honey
1 T ground flax seed
When you blend this up, it is really a "milkshake" consistency, which my kiddo loves. :) We often have these as a snack before bedtime. Makes a good and far healthier substitute over ice cream or commercial frozen yogurt.
A tip: you can make your own frozen fruit by cutting up ripe fruit and placing it on a cookie sheet or cutting board lined with wax paper, spaced so the fruit is not touching. Then place sheet or cutting board in freezer. In a hour or two, the fruit is frozen and you can bag it in a ziploc. We never buy frozen bananas from the store because we always have some "homemade" in the freezer.
Another tip: the riper you let a banana get, the sweeter it gets. So take those super brown ones and cut the up & freeze 'em--they look a bit to yuck for me to eat but in a smoothie, they are awesome. Also the riper they get, the more the banana flavor goes away (I don't actually like the taste of bananas, can you tell? LOL).
Lastly, If you have Kroger grocery stores in your area, they have store brand (called "Private Selection") organic frozen fruit in their freezer section, and often it's on sale. That's what we usually buy.
You might also be interested in this website:
http://greenmonstermovement.com/
I start with water and add a combo of greens and fruit. Chard is milder, kale is more bitter and spinach is in the middle. I also use a Vitamix (I got mine at Costco) and throw in the full leaves. I usually throw in an apple(just cut it in fourths - seeds, peels and all) but it does make it a bit foamy. Bananas are good too. Sometimes I grate some lemon zest or ginger...mostly when using kale to mask the bitterness a bit. My kids like them. They don't love them but no complaints.
I drink the below smoothie often and love it!
Per Kimberly Snyder web site....
I generally recommend starting out consuming around 16 ounces of the Glowing Green Smoothie, and then working up to 24 ounces or more. A Vitamix blender is definitely recommended to make this smoothie, so that it’s smooth, silky, and delicious in only a few minutes of prep time and cleanup.
The advantage of making a big batch like this one is time and convenience. Unlike juice, the Glowing Green Smoothie will keep in your refrigerator, as long as it’s covered, for about two and a half days. You can share it with your family or roommates, or have it yourself over that time period. You can also freeze portion sizes of it in glass containers and thaw out the night before in a bind.
Note: I encourage you to mix and match your greens and fruit. Vary this recipe with kale, chard, arugula, and the like. Just avoid melons, as they don’t combine well with other produce.
Ingredients (64 ounces / 2-4 servings)
1 ½- 2 cups very cold, filtered water
6 cups spinach, chopped
5 cups organic romaine lettuce, chopped
2 stalks of organic celery
1 organic apple, cored and chopped
1 organic pear, cored and chopped
1 organic banana
1–2 Tbs. fresh organic lemon juice
Optional Ingredients
Ice cubes (the extra coldness can help newbies with the taste)
1/2 cup of organic cilantro
1/2 cup of organic parsley
Directions
Add water, spinach and chopped romaine to the blender. Starting the blender on a low speed; mix until smooth.
Gradually move to higher speeds and add the herbs, celery, pear, and apple. Add the banana and lemon juice last.
*For 1 serving, cut out one of the fruits and the celery.
I use 1-2 cups of baby spinach, 1/3 cups baby carrots, 1 cup lite vanilla soy milk, one banana and some berries - all fresh. I just put it in a regular blender on Ice Crushing setting. I think it's good. Btw, Kale is recommended over baby spinach for calcium, but it doesn't grind in a regular blender. Plus, I think it's much more bitter, so I don't use it.
I have not made one, but I do add kale to their berry and banana smoothies and you cannot taste it, even if you add quite a bit. I have a Vitamix, so it blends quite well.
